Association between the so-called “activation syndrome” and bipolar II disorder,a related disorder,and bipolar suggestive features in outpatients with depression

Background

Activation syndrome (AS) is a cluster of symptoms listed by the US Food and Drug Administration as possible suicidality precursors during antidepressant treatment. We aimed to clarify whether AS is associated with bipolar II disorder (BP-II) and its related disorder, i.e., bipolar disorder not otherwise specified (BP-NOS), which are often mistreated as major depressive disorder (MDD), as well as bipolar suggestive features in outpatients with depression.

Methods

The frequency of AS, bipolar suggestive features, and background variables in consecutive outpatients with a major depressive episode (MDE) due to BP-II/BP-NOS or MDD, who were naturalistically treated with antidepressants, were investigated and analyzed retrospectively.

Results

Of 157 evaluable patients (46 BP-II/BP-NOS, 111 MDD), 39 (24.8%) experienced AS. Patients with BP-II/BP-NOS experienced AS significantly more frequently than patients with MDD (52.2% of BP-II/BP-NOS vs. 13.5% of MDD, p<0.01). Univariate analysis revealed that BP-II/BP-NOS diagnosis, cyclothymic temperament, early age at onset of first MDE, psychiatric comorbidities, and depressive mixed state (DMX) were significantly associated with AS development in the entire sample. Multivariate analysis revealed that BP-II/BP-NOS diagnosis and DMX were independent risk factors for AS.

Limitations

This is a retrospective and naturalistic study; therefore, patient selection bias could have occurred.

Conclusions

Cautious monitoring of AS is needed during antidepressant trials in patients with BP-II/BP-NOS. Clinicians should re-evaluate underlying bipolarity when they confront AS. Antidepressants should be avoided for treating a current DMX beyond the unipolar–bipolar dichotomy. Prospective studies are needed to confirm these results.     

Psychoeducational treatment and prevention of depression: The “coping with depression” course thirty years later

The “Coping with Depression” course (CWD) is by the far the best studied psychoeducational intervention for the treatment and prevention of depression, and is used in routine practice in several countries. The CWD is a highly structured cognitive-behavioral intervention, which has been adapted for several goals, contexts, and target populations. The efficacy of the CWD has been examined in 25 randomized controlled trials. We conducted a meta-analysis of these studies. The 6 studies aimed at the prevention of new cases of major depression were found to result in a reduced risk of getting major depression of 38% (incidence rate ratio was 0.62). The 18 studies examining the CWD as a treatment of depression found a mean effect size (Cohen's d) of 0.28. Direct comparisons with other psychotherapies did not result in any indication that the CWD was less efficacious. The CWD is a flexible treatment which can easily be adapted for different populations and this may have led researchers to use this intervention for complex target groups, which in turn may have resulted in a lower mean effect size. The CWD has contributed considerably to the development and innovation of prevention and treatment of depression in many target populations.     

Depression and suicide ideation in late adolescence and early adulthood are an outcome of child hunger

Background

Child hunger represents an adverse experience that could contribute to mental health problems in later life. The objectives of this study were to: (1) examine the long-term effects of the reported experience of child hunger on late adolescence and young adult mental health outcomes; and (2) model the independent contribution of the child hunger experience to these long-term mental health outcomes in consideration of other experiences of child disadvantage.

Methods

Using logistic regression, we analyzed data from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth covering 1994 through 2008/2009, with data on hunger and other exposures drawn from NLSCY Cycle 1 (1994) through Cycle 7 (2006/2007) and mental health data drawn from Cycle 8 (2008/2009). Our main mental health outcome was a composite measure of depression and suicidal ideation.

Results

The prevalence of child hunger was 5.7% (95% CI 5.0–6.4). Child hunger was a robust predictor of depression and suicidal ideation [crude OR=2.9 (95% CI 1.4–5.8)] even after adjustment for potential confounding variables, OR=2.3 (95% CI 1.2–4.3).

Limitations

A single question was used to assess child hunger, which itself is a rare extreme manifestation of food insecurity; thus, the spectrum of child food insecurity was not examined, and the rarity of hunger constrained statistical power.

Conclusions

Child hunger appears to be a modifiable risk factor for depression and related suicide ideation in late adolescence and early adulthood, therefore prevention through the detection of such children and remedy of their circumstances may be an avenue to improve adult mental health.     

住院精神分裂症与抑郁症患者自杀行为的临床特征比较

目的：比较精神分裂症与抑郁症住院病人自杀行为的发生比率，临床特征及自杀死亡率的差异。方法：采用病史询问、精神状态检查和定式评定的方法，确定精神分裂症有自杀行为者６４例，抑郁症３４例患者为研究对象，并在５年后追踪调查其自杀死亡的情况。结果：住院精神分裂症自杀行为的发生率为３３％，其中自杀未遂者为１２．９％；抑郁发作的自杀行为发生率为８９．５％，自杀未遂者为５７．９％。影响住院精神分裂症的自杀行为的主要因素为幻觉妄想；影响抑郁症自杀行为的影响因素除情绪障碍外，有８～１１％的病人伴有妄想症状。精神分裂症和抑郁症伴有自杀行为的追踪病例中病程在６年内自杀死亡的比率分别为２．９％和５．６％。结论：精神分裂症和抑郁症的自杀行为是精神科临床危机干预的重要内容，临床医师应当重视发病期精神症状对自杀行为的影响。     

Self-reported versus clinician-rated symptoms of depression as outcome measures in psychotherapy research on depression: A meta-analysis

It is not well-known whether self-report measures and clinician-rated instruments for depression result in comparable outcomes in research on psychotherapy. We conducted a meta-analysis in which randomized controlled trials were included examining the effects of psychotherapy for adult depression. Only studies were included in which both a self-report and a clinician-rated instrument were used. We calculated the effect size (Hedges' g) based on the self-report measures, the effect size based on the clinician-rated instruments, and the difference between these two effect sizes (Δg). A total of 48 studies including a total of 2462 participants was included in the meta-analysis. The differential effect size was Δg = 0.20 (95% CI: 0.10–0.30), indicating that clinician-rated instruments resulted in a significantly higher effect size than self-report instruments from the same studies. When we limited the effect size analysis to those studies comparing the HRSD with the BDI, the differential effect was somewhat smaller, but still statistically significant (Δg = 0.15; 95% CI: 0.03–0.27). This meta-analysis has made it clear that clinician-rated and self-report measures of improvement following psychotherapy for depression are not equivalent. Different symptoms may be more suitable for self-report or ratings by clinicians and in clinical trials it is probably best to include both.     

A twin-family study of the association between employment, burnout and anxious depression

BACKGROUND: Earlier studies have shown that employment and burnout are related to anxiety and depression. This twin-family study investigates to what extent these associations are caused by shared etiological factors. METHODS: In a sample of 4,309 Dutch twins and 1,008 siblings, bivariate genetic analyses of employment and anxious depression and of burnout and anxious depression were carried out using structural equation modelling. RESULTS: Employment and anxious depression were both influenced by genetic and individual-specific environmental factors. The association between employment and anxious depression was small, but significant, estimated at -0.08. Power was too low to decide whether the covariance was explained by genetic or environmental factors. In burnout, familial clustering was due to genetic factors in men, but to genetic and common environmental factors in women. In both sexes, there was a strong correlation of around 0.40 with anxious depression, which was explained by shared genetic and shared individual-specific environmental factors. LIMITATIONS: The group of unemployed subjects in our sample not only contained subjects who were searching for a job, but also subjects who were out of the labour force. CONCLUSIONS: Associations between employment and anxious depression as well as between burnout and anxious depression are due to overlapping genetic and individual-specific environmental factors. Work related circumstances, e.g. financial strain or work-family conflict, might be of importance in burnout and anxious depression. These results support the notion that a genetic vulnerability for depression also increases the risk for exposure to high-risk environments, such as unemployment.     

Predictors of rate and time to remission in first-episode psychosis: a two-year outcome study

BACKGROUND: The evidence regarding the independent influence of duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) on rate and time to remission is far from unequivocal. The goal of the current study was to examine the role of predictors for rate and time to remission in first-episode psychosis (FEP). METHOD: The differential effect of age, gender, age of onset, duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), duration of untreated illness (DUI), pre-morbid adjustment, co-morbid diagnosis of substance abuse and adherence to medication on the rate of and time to remission were estimated using a logistic and Poisson regression, and survival analysis respectively, in FEP patients. RESULTS: In a sample of 107 FEP patients 82.2% achieved remission over a period of 2 years after a mean of 10.3 weeks (range 1-72). Regression analysis, based on complete data on all variables of interest (n=80), showed status of remission to be positively influenced by better pre-morbid adjustment (RR 0.57, 95% CI 0.34-0.95, p<0.05), later age of onset (RR 1.09, 95% CI 1.05-1.13, p<0.0001), higher level of adherence to medication (RR 1.96, 95% CI 1.38-2.76, p<0.001) and shorter DUI (RR 0.99, 95% CI 0.997-0.999, p<0.005). Time to remission was influenced by age of onset (HR 1.04, 95% CI 1.00-1.08, p<0.04) and adherence to medication (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.11-2.23, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Improving adherence to medication early in the course of treatment may be an important intervention to improve short-term outcome.     

The impact of patient participation on adherence and clinical outcome in primary care of depression

OBJECTIVE: Patient participation in shared treatment decision-making is hypothesized to improve depression treatment adherence and clinical outcomes in depressed patients. The study aim was to evaluate the impact of patient participation on these factors and to determine the variance of clinical outcome as the primary outcome variable. METHODS: A survey was administered to 30 general practitioners and 207 depressed patients, at initial consultation and 6-8 weeks later. General practitioners documented their clinical practice and patients completed questionnaires including Brief-PHQ for depression and clinical outcome, patient participation scale, and visual analogue scales for treatment adherence. Assessment of correlations was followed by the development of a structural equation model (as a latent variable analysis) to define a model to explain the entire set of the variables' relationships. RESULTS: Sixty percent of the variance in clinical outcome was attributable to patient adherence (beta=0.41) and baseline depression severity (beta=0.65). Depression severity predicted clinical outcome but not patient participation. Participation predicted adherence (beta=0.39) but did not directly affect clinical outcome. Adherence was explainable by physician- (beta=0.57) and patient-reported treatment adherence (beta=0.66). CONCLUSION: In a specific pathway via adherence, patient participation in decision-making influences clinical outcome in primary care of depression. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The research findings reveal the significance of patient participation as a key factor to address for improving treatment adherence and clinical outcome. Quality improvement strategies for depression treatment should emphasize patient participation.     

School‐based prevention of depression and anxiety in Australia: Current state and future directions

Depression and anxiety constitute an enormous public health burden in Australia, and as such primary prevention is an important focus for school‐based prevention efforts. The focus of the current literature review is school‐based prevention programmes for depression and anxiety in Australia. Most prevention studies to date would be better characterised as early‐intervention treatment studies rather than prevention approaches. Although there are some promising results for early intervention, particularly in the anxiety literature, there is not yet enough evidence to recommend the implementation of any single prevention programme. Future research of universal prevention programmes is required, and a focus on transdiagnostic factors informed by co‐morbidity studies and the tripartite model may inform future development of such programmes.     

Family processes in the development of youth depression: Translating the evidence to treatment

There is strong evidence that family factors play a role in the development, maintenance and course of youth depression. However, to date few clinical trials of psychotherapy for youth depression employ family therapy interventions or target the known family risk factors. This is surprising given recent meta-analytic findings showing only modest effect sizes for psychotherapy for youth depression, and that cognitive therapies do not outperform non-cognitive therapies. The aim of this review is to 1) use a developmental systems approach to review empirical evidence on family risk factors for youth depression to identify potential targets for treatment, 2) examine the extent to which these family risk factors have been targeted in clinical trials for youth depression, and 3) provide a road map for the development of empirically validated family-based interventions for youth depression.     

General practitioners’ and psychiatrists’ responses to emotional disclosures in patients with depression

Objective

To investigate general practitioners’ (GPs’) and psychiatrists’ responses to emotional disclosures in consultations with patients with depression.

Methods

Thirteen patient consultations with GPs and 17 with psychiatrists were video-recorded and then analyzed using conversation analysis (CA).

Results

Psychiatrists responded to patients’ emotional disclosures by attempting to clarify symptoms, by rational argumentation, or by offering an interpretation of the emotions from their own perspectives. GPs responded by claiming to understand the emotions or by formulating the patients’ statements, but without further exploring the emotions.

Conclusion

GPs displayed a greater engagement with patients’ emotions than psychiatrists. Their approach could be described as empathic, corresponding to a mentalizing stance. The different approaches taken by psychiatrists could represent conceptual differences and might affect fruitful interdisciplinary work. Psychiatric nurses’ responses to patients’ emotions must also be studied to complete our knowledge from psychiatry.

Practice implications

Experiences from training in mentalization could be used to develop physicians’ empathic or mentalizing approach. As most patients with depression are treated in primary care, developing GPs’ mentalizing capacity instead of offering didactic training could have a substantial effect in the population.     

Beck自杀意念量表中文版评价抑郁症患者的信、效度

目的探讨Beck自杀意念量表中文版(Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation-Chinese Version,BSI-CV)在抑郁症患者自杀意念评价中的信、效度。方法采用BSI-CV和自杀意念自评量表(SIOSS)对334名抑郁患者进行问卷调查。用SPSS软件和LISREL8.7进行信度、效度分析。结果①BSI-CV用于评价抑郁症患者"近1周"和"最消沉忧郁"时自杀意念的内部一致性信度分别为0.944/0.957,分半信度分别为0.926/0.896;②模型拟合分析显示,各条目因子载荷均在0.5以上,模型拟合优度指标提示模型拟合较好;③BSI-CV评分与SIOSS评分呈相关关系(P<0.01)。结论 Beck自杀意念量表中文版在抑郁症患者人群中具有良好的信、效度。     

Postpartum depression: in relation to life events and patterns of coping

Summary The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) and its relationship with life events (LE) and patterns for coping. We performed a cross-sectional study of 113 women, on the 10^th day of puerperium, at the Obstetric Clinic of the São Paulo University Medical School. The study was based on the following: Pitt (1967) and Stein (1980) Scales, Beck Depression Inventory (1961), Holmes and Rahe Schedule of Recent Events (1967), Folkman and Lazarus Ways of Coping (1985) and questionnaire of social-demographic and obstetric data. Logistic regression was performed to calculate prevalence of PPD and its association with several risk factors. The significance level was defined at 5%. The prevalence of PPD was 15.9% (IC 9.7% to 24.0%). According to the multivariate analyses, the variables of coping with distancing, number of children and ethnic origin were significant. There were no association between PPD and LE. The depressed puerperal women have a low educational level, greater number of children and resort to inadequate coping strategies, such as distancing. This pattern of coping might be an etiological factor of the PPD as well as a reaction to their difficult life environment.     

Development and preliminary validation of the male depression risk scale: Furthering the assessment of depression in men

Background

The last decade has seen the burgeoning publication of male-specific depression rating scales designed to assess externalising depression symptoms (e.g., substance use, risk-taking, and aggression). These symptoms are theorised to reflect the behavioural manifestation of depression amongst men who rigidly conform to masculine norms. To date, research findings from these scales have been mixed, and each scale is limited by psychometric shortcomings or constrained assessment of symptom sub-domains.

Methods

The Male Depression Risk Scale (MDRS-22) was developed from online, non-clinical, community samples. Following best-practice recommendations, initial scale items were subject to expert review. Study 1 (male n=386) reduced the item pool via exploratory factor analysis while Study 2 (male n=499, female n=291) refined and validated the factor structure using confirmatory factor analysis. Sex and masculinity comparisons were evaluated.

Results

Goodness of fit indices validated the six-factor solution with subscales assessing: emotional suppression, drug use, alcohol use, anger and aggression, somatic symptoms and risk-taking. Between-groups analyses indicated higher MDRS-22 scores for males reporting higher conformity to masculine norms.

Limitations

Data were drawn from an online community sample without use of diagnostic interview. Test-retest correlations were not evaluated. Future research should look to examine longitudinal typical-externalising symptom trajectories across a range of clinical and non-clinical settings.

Conclusions

The MDRS-22 reports satisfactory preliminary psychometric properties with validated subscales enabling multidimensional assessment of theorised externalising symptom sub-domains. MDRS-22 scale brevity may facilitate use in primary care settings enabling better identification of at-risk males.     

抑郁症患者抑郁水平、生活质量与自杀风险关系

目的:探讨抑郁症患者的抑郁水平、生活质量和自杀风险之间的关系。方法:采用一般状况调查问卷、简明国际神经精神访谈(M.I.N.I)、贝克抑郁自评问卷(BDI)和健康状况调查问卷(SF-36)对山东省某医院210例抑郁症患者进行调查。结果:1重度抑郁组自杀风险高于轻中度抑郁组(t=9.793,P0.01),在生活质量及各维度上,重度抑郁组低于轻中度抑郁组(t=-9.413~-2.746,P0.01),差异有统计学意义;2自杀风险与抑郁水平存在正相关(r=0.665,P0.01),与生活质量及生理机能、躯体疼痛、一般健康、精力、社会功能、精神健康等维度呈负相关(r=-0.590~-0.420,P0.01);3中介效应检验表明,生活质量在抑郁水平和自杀风险之间起部分中介作用,中介效应为21.0%。结论:抑郁症患者的抑郁水平和生活质量均能预测其自杀风险,生活质量是抑郁水平预测自杀风险的部分中介因素。     

Participation of patients and family members in healthcare services at the service and national levels: A lesson learned in Dublin,Ireland

ObjectiveIdentify the current amount and intensity of patient and family participation at the patient, service and national levels from a diabetes and a psychiatric service perspective. Establish the current level of support for greater participation and related characteristics.MethodResearcher-administered questionnaires were conducted with 738 patients and family members in an outpatient type 2 diabetes service and an outpatient psychiatric service, both in Dublin, Ireland.ResultsPatient and family participation at the service and national levels are restricted to the provision of information. Typically no involvement in discussions or the decision -making process is reported. The majority of participants favour greater patient participation at the service level (537/669; 80.3%) and the national level (561/651; 86.2%). Greater support for patient and family member participation is significantly associated with participant’s age, service satisfaction and level of education.ConclusionPatient and family participation is greatest at the patient level. The majority of patients and family members support greater participation at the service and national levels.Practice implicationsThe best way to implement participation needs to be identified. There needs to be a greater focus on participation at the service level. The role of family members also needs to be investigated further.     

Zinc,magnesium and NMDA receptor alterations in the hippocampus of suicide victims

Background

There is evidence for an association between suicidal behavior and depression. Accumulating data suggests that depression is related to a dysfunction of the brain's glutamatergic system, and that the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor plays an important role in antidepressant activity. Zinc and magnesium, the potent antagonists of the NMDA receptor complex, are involved in the pathophysiology of depression and exhibit antidepressant activity.

Methods

The present study investigated the potency of Zn²⁺ and Mg²⁺ to [³H] MK-801, which binds to the NMDA receptor channel in the hippocampus of suicide victims (n=17) and sudden death controls (n=6). Moreover, the concentrations of zinc and magnesium (by flame atomic absorption spectrometry) and levels of NMDA subunits (NR2A and NR2B) and PSD-95 protein (by Western blotting) were determined.

Results

Our results revealed that there was a statistically significant decrease (by 29% and 40%) in the potency of zinc and magnesium (respectively) to inhibit [³H] MK-801 binding to NMDA receptors in the hippocampus in suicide tissue relative to the controls. These alterations were associated with increased NR2A (+68%) and decreases in both the NR2B (−46%) and PSD-95 (−35%) levels. Furthermore, lower concentrations (−9%) of magnesium (although not of zinc) were demonstrated in suicide tissue.

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that alterations in the zinc, magnesium and NMDA receptor complex in the hippocampus are potentially involved in the pathophysiology of suicide-related disorders (depression), which may lead to functional NMDA receptor hyperactivity.     

Working with clients at the intersection of depression and personality dysfunction: Scientific and clinical findings regarding complex depression

Depression is often complicated by concurrent personality dysfunction, which poses significant challenges for clinicians and researchers. Complicated depression is thus broadly presented as a useful clinical and scientific entity, describing clients presenting with depressive symptoms that are further complicated by personality dysfunction or personality pathology. The article introduces a collection of research-based papers addressing the clinical management of patients with complicated depression. The articles in the issue provide an up-to-date framework for understanding different forms of complicated depression and provide useful clinical information to illuminate the treatment of clients presenting with difficulties at the intersection of depression and personality dysfunction.