Introduction: Vision is the most important sensorial part of the human information system. Visual loss leads to reduced ability to perform routine activities of daily living and can be a risk for stable mental health. Aim: The aim of this cross-sectional study is to assess the incidence of depression in patients treated in an ophthalmological outpatient clinic. To our knowledge this is the first study of its kind in our country. Subjects and method:The number of evaluated patients was a hundred; mean age 41.6 ± 15.9 years, with different educational levels and common ophthalmological disorders. For the assessment of the level of depression the Beck Depression Inventory was used. Patients were divided into two groups: serious ophthalmological diagnoses where we expected psychological problems (N = 65) and the simplest ones (N = 35) as a control. Results: Obtained results show that the levels of depression correlate with the diagnoses. Patients in the first group (serious ophthalmological diagnoses) showed moderate depression in 12% and severe in 13% of patients. It was shown that the most depressed were the patients suffering from age-related macular degeneration and proliferative diabetic retinopathy, as well as glaucoma and cataract. The second group showed BDI scores of normal values. The level of depression is positively correlated with age and the level of education (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Depression is an important mental problem in ophthalmological practice. It is usually unrecognized and untreated. Depression could be the risk factor for treatment and prognosis of eyes diseases. Some measures for mitigation of psychological problems are proposed.

Problematic smartphone use and or addiction is defined as a form of behaviour characterized by the compulsive use of a smartphone that results in various forms of physical, psychological, or social harm. Global popularity in the area of the use of smartphones has raised concerns about the negative effects associated with problematic smartphone use, especially in the younger population. Having no consensual definition of smartphone addiction (SA), this behavioural addiction is based on the classic addiction symptomology that was included in DSM-5 criteria for compulsive gambling and substance abuse (APA 2013) This article provides a review of current research related to SA. Articles were found in the PUBMED database using related key words. Statistics confirm the exponential rise of this problem globally, especially in children and adolescents. Therefore, one must make this a high priority among public health issues.

The potential use of modern mobile devices for medical purposes is huge. Digital mental health tools have mostly tended to use psycho-educational strategies based on treatment orientations developed and validated outside digital health. The aim of this study was to test the availability of our own original app named “Neuro-game” for evaluation of reaction time in different neuropsychiatric patients. Reaction time is strongly related to the executive brain functions. The examined sample comprised of 135 neuropsychiatric patients (with epilepsy, depression, general anxiety, psychosis and ADHD) compared with matched 50 healthy persons. We showed that the average reaction time in neuropsychiatric patients compared with healthy people is not notably different. However, we found significant differences in total hits, total misses and total tries in the performances of ill persons. The crucial differences in obtained scores are confirmed for age and gender issues. The most important differences are found in the number of hits, misses and tries in the group of depressed, followed by psychotic and ADHD patients, while anxious ones showed pretty normal parameters. All tested parameters are remarkably different for the epileptic group vs. healthy people. The T-test for epileptic vs. healthy people showed noteworthy differences for total tries, total misses, and total hits, but the average time reaction did not differ significantly. In comparison with other psychometric assessments, this approach by using mobile phones seemed more practical, available anywhere (not only in medical settings), less time consuming and quite interesting for all ages.

Smartphones are ubiquitous, but it is still unknown what physiological functions can be monitored at clinical quality. In medicine their use is cited in many fields (cardiology, pulmology, endocrinology, rheumatology, pediatrics as well as in the field of mental health). The aim of this paper is to explain how the use of mobile application can help clients to improve the index of their focus, concentration and motor skills. Our original developed application on Android operating system, named "neurogame" is based on an open source platform to enable assessment and therapeutic stimulation, focus and concentration with the ability to monitor the progress of the results obtained in a larger number of participants (normal subjects as well as patients with different disorders) over a period of time. Whilst nowadays the predominant focus is on the pharmacological treatments, there is a rapidly growing interest in research on alternative options that will offer help in many cases of disorder management in terms of mobile application games. In order to have some kind of "norms", we evaluated a group of healthy population. Obtained results will serve as a database for comparison the future results. This article displays the results obtained as database.

In this review we present some data about the use of mobile phones in medical practice. The results of over hundred studies cited in PubMed during the last few years have been discussed. The article gives background connected with a project in the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts referring to a personal mobile phone application named "Neurogame" which is currently constructed to evaluate motor skills related to attention and concentration in different samples of people.

The ability to adapt to stress and adversity is a central facet of human development. Coping can be defined as a set of cognitive and affective actions that arise in response to a particular disquiet. The aim of this research was to evaluate coping patterns used to mediate anxiety and stress level in two groups of patients: orthodontic and dental. Psychometric instruments applied in the research are: Sarason’s anxiety questionnaire, Stress-test for children, as well as A-Cope questionnaire. Obtained scores confirmed important level of anxiety, and moderate stress level. It was shown that coping mechanisms used for moderate stress and anxiety were productive and influenced the scores for the stress level and anxiety to be diminished. As far as our knowledge is concerned, this is the first study for coping styles in children in our country.

Science cannot achieve its purpose without some practical applications. The aim of this article is to inform our colleagues about some practical uses of the methodology named biofeedback in the general population. It is important for the staff, especially for those employed in the public health service, because this method is not useful only for treating some disorders, but also for obtaining some health attitudes, performances and mental relaxation in the general population.

Personality correlates in patients with eye diseases have bidirectional influence. It is possible that personality variables lead to behaviours that may influence the cause of eye problems, but the opposite is also possible, that eye problems could have a direct effect on personality. The aim of this study was to evaluate personality traits in patients with glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and cataract using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Obtained results showed similar personality profiles in patients with glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and cataract. However, extraversion and neuroticism were higher in patients with diabetes, while the psychopathic traits are the highest in the group of cataract. Age and gender of patients do not influence the scores obtained on the questionnaire confirmed with one way ANOVA. Not significant difference in parameters (tested with Student t-test) was obtained between groups. It is proposed psychological evaluation to be included in the assessment of more serious eye diseases for helping patients to adjust and adapt to the condition and treatment.