Our results suggest an association between CT and current MDD in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa, and that this relationship may be explained by PD symptoms. Prospective studies to confirm these results are warranted.

Using a broad theory of human motivation, the study examined the psychological structure of the reasons evoked by Togolese people for not attending medical facilities when they think they have malaria. Five hundred and thirty-two persons living in Lome, Togo were presented with a questionnaire of motives. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, a seven-factor structure of motives was found. Participants explained their reluctance to attend medical facilities by the facts that (a) malaria is not a serious illness that deserves much investment, (b) caregivers behave in an aggressive way and try to extort extra money, (c) malaria has always been self-treated at home, and (d) attending the health care facilities is too alarming for the family. The reasons for not attending were not related to the participants' mistrust in biomedicine, their willingness to keep control over things nor a personal feeling of unease.

Aim:To study the views of lay people and health professionals in an African country, Togo, of the acceptability of physician-assisted-suicide (PAS). February-June 2012, 322 lay people and 198 health professionals (75 physicians, 60 nurses, and 63 health counselors) in Togo judged the acceptability of PAS in 36 concrete scenarios composed of all combinations of four factors: (a) the patient's age, (b) the level of incurability of the illness, (c) the type of suffering, and (d) the patient's request for PAS. In all scenarios, the patients were women who were receiving the best possible care. The ratings were subjected to cluster analysis and analyses of variance. Method: In Results:The majority of lay people (59%) were not systematically opposed to PAS, whereas the majority of health professionals (80%) working in the same area were opposed to it. The most important factors in increasing acceptability among people who were not systematically opposed were advanced age of the patient and untreatability of the illness. Additional acceptability was provided by the patient's request to have her life ended, although much so less than in studies in Western countries, and suffering characterized by complete dependence rather than by extreme physical pain. Conclusion:These empirical findings --the first ones gathered in the African continent--suggest that most Togolese lay people are not categorically for or against PAS, but judge its degree of acceptability as a function of concrete circumstances.

Chronic non-specific low back pain has an important psychological impact. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders (ADD) and factors associated to their apparition in patients suffering from chronic non-specific low back pain in rheumatological consultation in Lomé. Patients and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study, conducted from October 1 st , 2015 to 31 st March 2016. This study focused on all patients suffering from common chronic low back pain without psychiatric history in the Rheumatology Ward at the Sylvanus Olympio's Teaching Hospital of Lomé and who have given their consent. The psychological evaluation was carried out through Hamilton scale. The processing, the statistical treatment and analysis of our data have been carried out using Epiinfo software, version 7.1.5. The investigation was approved by the local Ethics Committee. Results: 48 (39 women and 09 men) out of 123 patients with chronic lower back pain presented anxiety and depressive disorders (ADD) accounting for a prevalence rate of 39%. Their average age was 50.3 years old. The most frequent ADD was: psychic anxiety (58.6%), depressive mood (51.3%), difficulties to feel asleep (47.9%) and disturbed or agitated sleep (43.1%). Factors associated with the anxiety and depressive disorders in common chronic low back pain were: female gender (p = 0.02), dependent children (p = 0.02), occupation (reseller (p = 0.002), liberal profession (p = 0.009), monthly financial income (p = 0.002), surroundings family (0.009), medical history (p = 0.0002) and pain's intensity > 7 (p = 0.04). Conclusion: This study shows the high frequency of anxiety and depressive disorders in common chronic low back pain and their influence by socio-economic and demographic factors.

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