Achondroplasia: a pilot study on the psychosocial and medical features of a sample in Puerto Rico

This study explores the psychological wellbeing of twenty-two (n = 22) adults with achondroplasia. The sample was composed of seven (n = 7) males and fifteen (n = 15) females between the ages of 21 and 75 (mean age = 39.6). Each individual completed four self-administered questionnaires: the Beck De...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Boletin de la Asociación Médica de Puerto Rico Vol. 107; no. 3; p. 58
Main Authors:	Rodriguez-Gomez, José, Aldarondo, Ariadna, Vidot, Frances, Quiñones, Ana, Rivera, Maily, Cintrón, Eledy, Gonzilez, Natalie, Trujillo, Rodolfo F, Lopez-Cordova, Nanet M, Colón, Natalia
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	Spanish
Published:	Puerto Rico 01-07-2015
Subjects:	Achondroplasia - epidemiology Achondroplasia - psychology Adult Aged Anxiety - epidemiology Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology Bone Diseases - epidemiology Chronic Disease - epidemiology Comorbidity Cross-Sectional Studies Depression - epidemiology Female Humans Male Middle Aged Mood Disorders - epidemiology Nervous System Diseases - epidemiology Personality Disorders - epidemiology Pilot Projects Puerto Rico - epidemiology Quality of Life Severity of Illness Index Surveys and Questionnaires Young Adult Puerto Rico
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Summary:	This study explores the psychological wellbeing of twenty-two (n = 22) adults with achondroplasia. The sample was composed of seven (n = 7) males and fifteen (n = 15) females between the ages of 21 and 75 (mean age = 39.6). Each individual completed four self-administered questionnaires: the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-l), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS), and Derogatis Symptom Check-list-90-Revisited (SCL-90-R). They also filled out a socio-demographic questionnaire. We found that 31.8% of the sample reported at least one comorbid condition such as, hypertension, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, scoliosis, thyroid problems, neuropathy, psoriasis, gastritis and/or sleep apnea; 32% reported mild to severe depressive symp- toms; 55% reported mild to severe symptoms associated to anxiety and 18% reported mild to severe symptoms associated with hopelessness; 22.7% reported mild to severe symptoms in at least one of the sub-scales in Derogatis Symptom Checklist-90-Revisited (SCL-90-R) particularly the obsessive-compulsive, paranoid and depressive subscales. Chi Square correlations (X2) were made to observe if there was interdependence between the socio-demographic variables and the administered tests. In general, no significant correlations were found between BDI-Il, BAI, BHS, SCL-90-R and civil status, gender, income and age. However, a significant correlation was found between age and the somatization sub-scale of the SCL-90-R (rs = 0.510, p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that this particular sample is at risk for developing psycho-medical conditions. There is a marked lack of research in Puerto Rico associated to achondroplasia. The development of preventive and cultural sensitive interventions is suggested in order to protect and treat individuals with the condition.
ISSN:	0004-4849