Daniel Ciurescu

According to the ABC model of positive feelings, responding to positive activating events with irrational beliefs will result in dysfunctional positive feelings. Evidencing the role of irrational beliefs in dysfunctional positive feelings may have important clinical implications. However, no study has tested this model. Here, we tested the ABC model of positive feelings based on the REBT model of emotion. 115 participants had to imagine eight anticipatory positive situations. Then they reported how vividly they imagined the situations, and what they would believe and feel if they were in each situation. After that, they completed a hypomania scale, a general measure of positive irrational beliefs, and a general measure of irrational beliefs about adverse events. Results showed that situational positive primary irrational beliefs mediate the effect of vividness of imagining positive situations on dysfunctional positive feelings (b = 2.436, 95% CI: LL = 1.314 to UL = 3.832) while situational preferences mediated the effect of positive events on functional positive feelings (b = 0.642, 95% CI: LL = 0.165 to UL = 1.209). Moreover, the effect of positive primary irrational beliefs on dysfunctional positive feelings was mediated by secondary positive irrational beliefs such as positive intolerance (b = 3.826, 95% CI: LL = 0. 370; to UL = 7.740), and extreme self-valuing (b = 1. 330, 95% CI: LL = 0.287 to UL = 2.471) but not by wonderfulizing (b = 0.061, 95% CI: LL = −3.337 to UL = 3.298). Finding support for the ABC model of positive feelings and showing the role of irrational beliefs in dysfunctional and functional positive feelings may advance existing treatments for promoting mental health and reducing the disturbances of positive emotions.

Background and objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of body mass index on PCa outcomes in our institution and also to find if there are statistically significant differences between the variables. Materials and Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed to extract information about all male patients with prostate cancer between 1 February 2015, and 25 October 2022, and with information about age, weight, height, follow-up, and PSA. We identified a group of 728 patients, of which a total of 219 patients resulted after the inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival, which was defined as the length of time that the patient lives with the disease, but no relapses occur, and this group included 105 patients. In this case, 114 patients had a biological, local or metastatic relapse and were included in the progression group. Results: Our study suggests that prostate cancer incidence rises with age (72 ± 7.81 years) in men with a normal BMI, but the diagnostic age tends to drop in those with higher BMIs, i.e., overweight, and obese in the age range of 69.47 ± 6.31 years, respectively, 69.1 ± 7.51 years. A statistically significant difference was observed in the progression group of de novo metastases versus the absent metastases group at diagnostic (p = 0.04). The progression group with metastases present (n = 70) at diagnostic had a shorter time to progression, compared to the absent metastases group (n = 44), 18.04 ± 11.37 months, respectively, 23.95 ± 16.39 months. Also, PSA levels tend to diminish with increasing BMI classification, but no statistically significant difference was observed. Conclusions: The median diagnostic age decreases with increasing BMI category. Overweight and obese patients are more likely to have an advanced or metastatic prostate cancer at diagnosis. The progression group with metastatic disease at diagnostic had a shorter time to progression, compared to the absent metastases group. Regarding prostate serum antigen, the levels tend to become lower in the higher BMI groups, possibly leading to a late diagnosis.