Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine
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There are emerging data indicating that sleep disturbance may be linked with an increase in opioid use. The majority of sickle cell disease (SCD) patients experience sleep disturbances, which can elevate pain severity and pain catastrophizing, both of which are important predictors of opioid consumption. ⋯ These findings provide some preliminary evidence as to the mechanism linking sleep continuity disturbance and opioid requirement in SCD patients. Future studies should replicate and extend these findings with clearer temporal information and employing more refined measures of sleep continuity and prescription opioid use in a larger sample.
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Practitioners and researchers may not always be able to adequately evaluate the evidential value of findings from a series of independent studies. This is partially due to the possibility of inflated effect size estimates for these findings as a result of researcher manipulation or selective reporting of analyses (i.e., p-hacking). In light of the possible overestimation of effect sizes in the literature, the p-curve analysis has been proposed as a worthwhile tool that may help identify bias across a series of studies focused on a single effect. The p-curve analysis provides a measure of the evidential value in the published literature and might highlight p-hacking practices. ⋯ The p-curve for studies examining the Köhler effect demonstrated evidential value and that this motivation effect is likely not a byproduct of p-hacking. The p-curve analysis is explained, as well as potential limitations of the analysis, interpretation of the results, and other uses where a p-curve analysis could be implemented.
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Research suggests that loneliness and social isolation (SI) are serious public health concerns. However, our knowledge of the associations of loneliness and SI with specific chronic diseases is limited. ⋯ Loneliness and SI were independently associated with a diagnosis of CVD and T2D within a 5 year follow-up period. The associations of loneliness and SI with CVD and T2D were fully explained by baseline psychological and behavioral factors.
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Cross-sectional studies have found that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively affected population-level mental health. Longitudinal studies are necessary to examine trajectories of change in mental health over time and identify sociodemographic groups at risk for persistent distress. ⋯ These findings highlight the trajectory of mental health symptoms during an unprecedented pandemic, including the identification of populations at risk for sustained mental distress.
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The influence of individual and home neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) on health-related behaviors have been widely studied, but the majority of these studies have neglected the possible impact of the workplace neighborhood SES. ⋯ These within-individual comparisons suggest that workplace neighborhood SES might have a role in health-related behaviors, particularly alcohol consumption.