Journal of affective disorders
-
Depression is a frequent and serious comorbid condition in cancer patients that may require special attention. We investigate the prevalence of depression in cancer and review the current state of evidence regarding the effectiveness of drug treatment of depression in this group. ⋯ Despite the high prevalence of depression in cancer patients, studies on effective pharmacotherapy are relatively scarce. The evidence for the efficacy of conventional medication used for the treatment of depression such as tricyclics antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors is very limited. It is possible that they may be less suitable in this setting because of their relatively late onset of action. The use of psychostimulants which have a rapid onset of action therefore deserves more attention.
-
Earthquakes are one of the most frequently occurring natural disasters and extensive research has been conducted on mental disorders on exposed populations, particularly on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). On April 6th 2009, the town of L'Aquila (Abruzzo), in central Italy, was struck by an earthquake with a strength of 5.9 on the Richter scale. In the town of L'Aquila many buildings collapsed and large parts of the town were destroyed. Overall, 309 people were killed, 1600 injured among which 200 severely injured and hospitalized, more than 65,000 people were displaced. ⋯ Our results show high rates of full or partial PTSD in adolescents who survived the April 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, with women being the most affected. Thus, these results highlight the need to carefully explore these conditions.
-
Marked increases in the incidence of charcoal burning suicide have contributed to Taiwan's rising suicide rate in the past decade. To assess possible opportunities for intervention, we have compared survivors of suicide attempts by charcoal burning with people who ingested poisons. ⋯ Survivors of suicide attempts by charcoal burning have high levels of intent and low levels of psychiatric contact indicating they may be more difficult to prevent than suicides by self-poisoning. Encouraging responsible media reporting of suicide and restricting the availability of charcoal may be the most promising approaches to preventing these deaths.
-
Patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) show clinically relevant depression and anxiety, but little is known about their levels of posttraumatic stress. We assessed chronic posttraumatic stress attributable to a traumatic cardiac event and its predictors in patients at two time points after ICD placement. ⋯ Between 2 and 5.5 years post-ICD placement chronic posttraumatic stress slightly increased and nearly one-fifth of patients had newly developed PTSD. The identified psychological predictors of long-term chronicity of posttraumatic stress might particularly inform behavioral interventions for ICD recipients.