Esra Cop

Factors associated with Internet addiction: Cross-sectional study of Turkish adolescents.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Internet addiction (IA), and the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics, depression, anxiety, attention‐deficit–hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and IA in adolescents.

Ferritin and hyperactivity ratings in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Background:  Iron is a co‐factor of tyrosine hydroxylase which is a critical enzyme in dopamine synthesis. Dopamine has been implicated in the pathophysiology of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Our objective was to investigate the association of ferritin level with parent and teacher ratings and cognitive measures after controlling for age, sex, ADHD subtype, comorbid conditions, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume and reticulocyte distribution width in a large sample.

Psychiatric morbidity and quality of life in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis

Şenses-Dinç G, Özçelik U, Çak T, Doğru-Ersöz D, Çöp E, Yalçın E, Çengel-Kültür E, Pekcan S, Kiper N, Ünal F. Psychiatric morbidity and quality of life in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis. Turk J Pediatr 2018; 60: 32-40. The aim of this study was to investigate psychiatric disorders, depression and anxiety levels, and quality of life in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF), and to compare them with those of children with non-cystic fibrosis (non-CF) bronchiectasis and healthy controls. A total of 103 children and adolescents aged 7-16 years (35 CF, 28 non-CF bronchiectasis, 40 healthy) were evaluated using The Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children (K-SADS), The Child Depression Inventory (CDI), The State-Trait Anxiety Inventories for Children (STAI-C) and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL)-C. The three groups were not statistically different with respect to age, sex, and familial sociodemographic variables. 80% of the children and adolescents in the CF group were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, which was significantly more compared to those of the two other groups. The CF group had significantly greater rates of depressive and oppositional defiant disorder and the non-bronchiectasis group had a significantly greater rate of anxiety disorder than the control group. The depression and anxiety symptom levels were significantly greater and the quality of life levels significantly lower in both the CF and non-CF bronchiectasis groups than the healthy controls. In the CF group, the presence of any associated psychiatric disorder led to significantly lower total and psychosocial quality of life scores. In conclusion, CF is associated with poorer QOL in childhood. In order to improve quality of life in CF, the psychiatric conditions of children and adolescents should also be evaluated and their follow-up and treatment should involve a multidisciplinary team approach.

Which psychiatric symptoms of the mother are related with preschool child’s emotional and behavioral problems?

Which psychiatric symptoms of the mother are related with preschool child’s emotional and behavioral problems? Objective: In this study, it is aimed to explore mother’s which psychiatric symptoms are related to child’s internalizing and externalizing problems. Method: The study group consisted of the mothers of 4-6 years old children, who were referred to Yildirim Beyazit University, Yenimahalle Training and Research Hospital, Child and Adolescent Outpatient Clinic. The control group consisted of 4-6 years old children who have never referred to a child and adolescent psychiatry clinic and their mothers. The mothers filled in the Child Behavior Check List 4-18 (CBCL/4-18), and Symptom Check List-90-R (SCL-90-R). The data were compared with the control group. Results: The study sample consisted of 61 children in the case group, age-matched 55 control children and their mothers. The most common referral complaint was delayed speech (34.4%). There were clinically significant internalizing disorders in 29 (49.2%) children from the study group and 5 (9.4%) from the control group and significant externalizing disorders in 18 (30.5%) children from the study group and 3 (5.7%) from the control group. The correlation analysis revealed that all emotional and behavioral problems of the children were significantly related to the psychiatric symptoms of the mothers. Psychiatric symptom scores of the mothers of children with internalizing and externalizing problems were found significantly higher than the scores of the mothers of children without problems. Conclusion: Mother’s psychiatric symptoms are seen to be related to internalizing and externalizing problems of the child, independent of Psychiatric diagnosis. The fact that any psychiatric symptom of the mother would have an emotional or behavioral reciprocation on the child has to be taken into account by the clinician.

Overview of young people attempting suicide by drug overdose and prevention and protection services

Overview of young people attempting suicide by drug overdose and prevention and protection services Objective: Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year-old-people in the world. The aim of this study is to present the characteristics of children and adolescents attempting suicide by drug overdose and to draw attention to preventive measures that can be taken in Turkey. Method: Records of the patients who admitted to a training and research hospital in one year period due to a suicide attempt by drug overdose were reviewed retrospectively. Sociodemographic data and psychiatric evaluation records of attempters were documented. Results: During the study period, 163 adolescents applied to the hospital with suicidal drug overdose. Child psychiatry consultation was ordered for 61.3% (n=100) of them. It was the first attempt of 90% of the cases. The frequency of having previous psychiatric diagnosis was significantly higher in patients with recurrent suicide attempts. In both impulsive and planned suicide attempts, the most preferred times were evening and night time. Women more often attempted suicide due to family conflict, while men attempted due to emotional relationship problems. All cases without psychiatric disorder or with externalizing problems attempted impulsive suicide. The most preferred drugs for suicide were, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antidepressants, paracetamol, antibiotics and antipsychotics. Of the all cases, 22.5% attempted suicide by self medications. It has not been possible to maintain pediatric psychiatric follow up of the 71% of the cases. Conclusion: It is considered that public attention should be drawn to the increasing number of adolescent suicide attempts in order to prevent this issue. Family-oriented protective approaches, school-based preventive programs and new legal regulations on drug safety could help to reduce the frequency of suicide attempts..