脑肿瘤患者放射治疗过程中的焦虑抑郁状况及影响因素分析

目的了解脑肿瘤患者放射治疗过程中的焦虑抑郁状况及其影响因素。方法采用抑郁自评量表（SDS）、焦虑自评量表（SAS）及相关因素调查表对患者进行调查测评、分析。结果脑肿瘤患者放射治疗过程中的焦虑抑郁情感障碍程度明显高于正常人,相关因素分析显示,患者心理负担集中在治疗效果和治疗费用上。结论脑肿瘤患者放射治疗过程中存在焦虑抑郁情感障碍,这种不良情绪是多方面因素导致的。     

医科毕业生毕业前夕焦虑状况调查

目的：了解我校学生毕业焦虑状况并探讨其影响因素。方法：以SAS（焦虑自评量表）调查60名泸州医学院2002级本科学生。结果：①医学生毕业前夕的SAS得分高于一般人群（P〈0．05）。焦虑状态的发生率为18．7％,高于一般人群。②医学生毕业前夕的SAS得分高于其他非医学类的毕业生（P〈0．05）。③性别、城乡家庭环境及就业状况对医学生焦虑状况差异无统计学意义。结论：医学生的焦虑状况得分高,应进一步加强对医学生毕业前夕的心理卫生指导。     

情绪障碍患者父母焦虑抑郁水平的研究

目的探讨患有情绪障碍患者的父母的焦虑抑郁水平。方法采用症状自评量表、抑郁自评量表、焦虑自评量表3个量表对82例情绪障碍患者的父母(研究组)进行测试和评定。同时对82例正常患者的父母(对照组)进行测试。结果研究组3个量表总分均高于对照组,差异有统计学意义(P<0.01)。两组自杀意念比较差异有统计学意义(χ2=20.845,P<0.01)。结论情绪障碍患者父母心理健康问题值得关注,对于焦虑抑郁症状突出的父母,临床工作者应该给予咨询、指导和支持。     

Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children Among Chinese Secondary School Students

The objective of the current study was to develop a Chinese translation of the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) [March (1997) Multidimensional anxiety scale for children: Technical manual, Multi health systems, Toronto, ON], and to evaluate its reliability and validity. The original version of the MASC was translated into Chinese (MASC-C) and administered to 1,538 Chinese adolescents between the ages of 14 and 19. In comparison to the American normative sample [March (1997) Multidimensional anxiety scale for children: Technical manual, Multi health systems, Toronto, ON], Chinese adolescents reported significantly higher scores on the subscales of social anxiety and separation anxiety. Girls reported higher levels of anxiety on all subscales than males. Participants between the ages of 16 and 19 reported higher scores on the physical symptoms and harm avoidance subscales. The MASC-C exhibited strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.91 and the mean inter-item correlation coefficient was 0.20) and moderate test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.84 over a one-month interval). MASC scores inter-correlated a small to moderate degree with measures assessing negative life events and depressive symptoms indicating acceptable convergent validity. The results of confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the four-factor structure of the MASC was suitable for the Chinese sample. The four factor structure was also invariant across sex and age. As the Chinese translation of the MASC indicated high levels of reliability and validity, the MASC-C is appropriate for assessing anxiety in Chinese adolescents.     

Self-efficacy: A Comparison Between Clinically Anxious and Non-referred Youth

Although diminished self-efficacy has been linked to childhood psychopathology, including depression, it has only recently been studied in relation to childhood anxiety disorders. This study examines the relationship between self-efficacy and self-reported anxiety in children who have been referred for an assessment and possible treatment of anxiety symptoms as well as a comparison group of non-referred children. A self-efficacy questionnaire for children and a childhood anxiety measure were administered to a group of children referred for assessment and treatment of a clinical anxiety disorder (n = 50) and a non-referred control group (n = 50). Results indicate that the two samples differed significantly on measures of emotional self-efficacy, but not in terms of self-reported anxiety or other self-efficacy domains. Potential explanations for observed findings are discussed, including the possibility that self-reports of emotional self-efficacy in children may vary by clinical or referral status, amongst those reporting higher levels of anxiety overall.     

Effects of anxiety on TNF-alpha levels during psychological stress

OBJECTIVES: Psychological stress can influence the immune system, which may result in stress-related illnesses. In this study, we investigated the effect of psychological stress and the coping skill on plasma cytokine levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred eighty-three students, at different stages of an academic year, participated in this study. Plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-2 soluble receptor alpha, and IL-4 were measured and examined in relation to the measures of anxiety [State Anxiety Inventory (SAI)] and Bell Adjustment Inventory (BAI) score. RESULTS: SAI scores were significantly higher in both midterm students (MTS) and examination-taking students (ETS), compared with the freshly admitted students (FAS). In addition, TNF-alpha levels were significantly different between the high- and the low-anxiety groups of ETS but not in MTS or FAS. The correlation between SAI scores and the BAI emotional scores was highest in the ETS group. CONCLUSIONS: TNF-alpha level was significantly lower in the ETS group with high anxiety scores, and it is situation specific.     

Oxidative stress in the hippocampus, anxiety-like behavior and decreased locomotory and exploratory activity of adult rats: effects of sub acute vitamin A supplementation at therapeutic doses

Vitamin A participates in the maintenance of normal hippocampal function during embryonic and postnatal stages of the vertebrate life. Some works demonstrated that vitamin A metabolites impair learning and induce a depression-like behavior in mice, among other effects. Since vitamin A has prooxidant effects on other experimental models, we decided to investigate whether vitamin A can induce oxidative stress in the adult rat hippocampus. We analyzed the sub acute effects of therapeutic (1000 and 2500 I.U./kg) or excessive (4500 and 9000 I.U./kg) vitamin A doses on the hippocampal redox state, as well as on levels of anxiety, and locomotory and exploratory activity. Vitamin A supplementation induced lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, and oxidation of the protein thiol content in the rat hippocampus in all periods analyzed. Increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and decreased catalase (CAT) activity were also observed, which gives rise to an imbalance in the principal cellular enzymatic antioxidant system. Then, our results show, for the first time, that vitamin A induced oxidative stress in the adult rat hippocampus, is anxiogenic, and decreases locomotion in and exploration of an open field.     

Does dispositional optimism predict psychological responses to counseling for familial breast cancer?

OBJECTIVE: The present study sought to assess the ability of dispositional optimism to predict the psychological responses of women with a family history of breast cancer who had been referred to counseling for familial breast cancer. METHODS: Women completed questionnaires prior to (n=735), immediately after (n=655), and 9 months after (n=545) attending counseling. Breast cancer risk status was assessed and communicated to the women in the clinics. RESULTS: Dispositional optimism was found to predict lower levels of anxiety and breast cancer worries immediately following counseling as well as lower levels of anxiety and perceived risk at 9-month follow-up, controlling for corresponding baseline scores. In addition, risk status moderated the optimism-perceived risk relationship, such that optimism was only predictive of lower risk perceptions among women at high risk. CONCLUSIONS: Low levels of dispositional optimism may be considered to be a risk factor for adverse reactions to high breast cancer risk information. The implications of the findings for the clinical management of such reactions are discussed.     

The 12-month prevalence of DSM-IV anxiety disorders among Nigerian secondary school adolescents aged 13-18 years

AIMS: To estimate the 12-month prevalence of DSM-IV-specific anxiety disorders among Nigerian secondary school adolescents aged 13-18 years. METHOD: A representative sample of adolescents (n=1090) from senior secondary schools in a semi-urban town in Nigeria was assessed for the 12-month prevalence of DSM-IV-specific anxiety. RESULTS: The 12-month prevalence for all anxiety disorders was 15.0% (females=19.6%; males=11.4%). There were significant gender differences in the prevalence for all anxiety disorders (P<0.001; OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.35-2.65) and social anxiety disorder (P=0.035; OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.03-3.19) and significant age difference in the prevalence of separation anxiety disorder (P=0.045; OR 2.43, 95% CI 0.99-5.96). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of anxiety disorders in Nigerian secondary school adolescents was comparable to the rates found in the western world. Health policies must integrate adolescents' anxiety as a disorder of public health significance. Further studies are needed to evaluate the factors associated with anxiety disorders amongst adolescents in this region.     

The effect of placebo administration on the first-night effect in healthy young volunteers

The first-night effect is a well-known phenomenon that is considered to result from a subject's lack of adaptation to the unfamiliar environment of a sleep laboratory and to the technical equipment used for polysomnography. The effect has been explored as a laboratory model for transient insomnia. The main characteristics of this effect are short total sleep time (TST) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, a lower sleep efficiency index, and longer REM sleep latency. Previous studies have reported that personality traits (such as trait anxiety) are a potential cause of the first-night effect and that the placebo effect is closely related to the anxiety levels of the subjects. To the best of our knowledge, there are no reports regarding the effects of a placebo on first-night sleep. This omission can be explained by the fact that the polysomnographic recordings obtained during the first night of a study are generally excluded from the analysis in order to avoid the inclusion of the first-night effect. In the present study, 8 male university students were subjected to polysomnographic examinations during drug-free, placebo-administration, and benzodiazepine-administration conditions in order to clarify the placebo effect on sleep during consecutive nights, particularly on the first night. The recordings for each condition were conducted for 4 consecutive nights. A placebo or 5 mg nitrazepam was administered at 2230 h using a double-blind crossover design, while no drug was administered during the drug-free condition. There was a 10-day interval between the examination of each condition. Polysomnographic recording was started at 2300 h and continued until the natural awakening of the subjects on the next morning. Subsequently, the subjects were requested to fill in a rating scale that is used to evaluate the subjective perception of sleep. An increase in stage-2 sleep associated with the first-night effect was observed on the first night during the drug-free and placebo-administration conditions. However, REM sleep reduction associated with the first-night effect was detected on the first night during the drug-free condition; this decrease in REM sleep was counteracted by the placebo during the placebo-administration condition. The nitrazepam, but not the placebo, decreased both slow-wave sleep (SWS) and REM sleep. The values for the tendency to fall asleep, feeling refreshed upon awakening in the morning, and the tension upon awakening in the morning were improved to a greater extent by the placebo and nitrazepam administrations than when no drug was administered. These results demonstrate the possibility that placebo administration may have a hypnotic/anxiolytic effect and may improve transient insomnia without causing SWS and REM sleep reductions.