Filippo Tati’s research while affiliated with University of Messina and other places

Sleep related problems affect approximately 25-40% of children and adolescents. The acquisition of sleep patterns characterised by later bedtimes, insomnia and excessive daytime sleepiness is related to poorer school performance, daytime drowsiness, physical tiredness and a higher rate of psychiatric illnesses. Many studies have investigated the correlation between sleep and mood in children and adolescents and overall, show a positive association between sleep problems and psychiatric disorders. However, little is known about adolescents' personal perception of their psychological status as it is linked with the occurrence of mood changes and sleep-related problems. The aim of the study is to explore the impact of variables such as age, gender, education and the perception of their own psychological status (evaluated through suitable questionnaires) on the simultaneous presence of sleep disturbances and affective symptoms in a sample of adolescents. A positive correlation between these two dependent variables signals the need to intervene with proper support programs. A recursive bivariate probit model has been employed. This method allows us to take into account two dependent dummy variables and to consider the relationship between the two, presuming that one may also influence the other. The analysis has been carried out on a sample of 2,005 adolescents out of a total of 4,000 who declared their willingness to be telephonically interviewed using a questionnaire in two parts designed to obtain information about the participants sleep habits and affective symptoms. There is a positive correlation between sadness and daytime drowsiness. The estimated joint probability ranging from 5.5% to 9% in girls demonstrates a greater tendency for girls to experience both depression and altered sleep patterns. DISCUSSION AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY: Just as sadness is a key symptom of affective disorders, daytime drowsiness indicates the presence of sleep disorders caused by sleep habits that are likely to evolve into affective symptoms. This assumption is confirmed by the results of this analysis. However, since the interviews were conducted during the years 2003 and 2004, a replication of the analysis would outline whether this evidence is still the same or whether changes in habits and behaviours have intervened to modify substantially this pattern in recent years. As the analysis considers a sample of adolescents living in two southern Italian regions, the study should be replicated in other geographical areas. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVISIONS AND USE: The early detection of affective symptoms in adolescents may presumably lead to a diminished use of antidepressants and an improvement in learning abilities and school results along with strengthening of personal motivations. Counselling and educational programs directed towards those adolescents demonstrating poor sleep habits should be planned and implemented to avoid further complications and impact on their mental health.

Telephone interviews have been used extensively as a tool to explore and assess sleep disorders and psychopathological conditions. The aim of this study was to set up and validate a telephone interview aimed at assessing the correlation between mood and sleep variables in adolescents. The study included 16-18 years subjects. A total of approximately 4,000 calls were made; 529 adolescents were finally enrolled. The questionnaire was divided into two parts: the first one focused on affective variables, the second one explored sleep variables. A factorial analysis was carried out to explore the structure of the questionnaire according to two factors: the first, which we labeled "affective factor", and the second, "quality of sleep". A positive correlation was found regarding the feeling of wellbeing on awakening. A negative correlation was found between feeling of wellbeing on awakening and daytime drowsiness. In adolescence, increased daytime sleepiness seemed to correlate with worsening mood.

Dental anxiety in the general population is more prevalent in females than in males. The presence of dental anxiety was studied in a group of 189 females and 176 males using the following scales: the Dental Anxiety Scale (divided into DAS 1 containing 6 items, which explores a patient's dental anxiety and DAS 2 containing 13 items, which looks at dental anxiety concerning dentist-patient relations), the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and the Quality of Life Index (QL-Index). The results obtained showed significant differences only in relation to dental anxiety regarding the use of instruments (such as needles and handpieces) and the tilted-back position of the chair (DAS 1). No significant gender differences emerged between the two groups in relation to dental anxiety regarding dentist-patient relations (DAS 2), depression (SDS), and the quality of life (QL-Index). The results may explain why women avoid dental care and indicate new designs to make the chair position more comfortable would be useful. Citation Settineri S, Tatì F, Fanara G. Gender Differences in Dental Anxiety: Is the Chair Position Important? J Contemp Dent Pract 2005 February;(6)1:115-122.

Aim. The aim of this paper is to verify the presence of affectivity disturbances in chronic schizophrenic patients and to confirm the adequacy of the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and of the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) and Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) for the examination of the study group. Methods. A total of 85 chronic schizophrenic patients with a DSM IV-R diagnosis of schizophrenia from at least 2 years were studied. We applied the SAPS-SANS for the schizophrenic symptomatology, and the CDSS was applied to relieve depressive symptomatology. Results. Factorial analysis was conducted. Five factors from principal component analysis were obtained with a 62.184% variance. These factors are: F1 Depression (19.89%); F2 Paranoia (11.86); F3 Disorganization (10.71%); F4 Negative Symptoms (10.55%); Excitement (9.15). These factors outline psychopathological areas (the overlapping of variables in more than one factor is very low). Conclusion. In the observed population an important depressive symptoms were observed. This is completely different from negative symptomatology and from disorganization. For the affective disturbances excitement symptoms were observed which is also important in a chronic patients group. The positions of factors and their variable composition give the cue for considerations which are confirmed in the more recent literature.