Journal of affective disorders
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The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) was designed to efficiently measure the core symptoms of anxiety and depression and has demonstrated positive psychometric properties in adult samples of anxiety and depression patients and student samples. Despite these findings, the psychometric properties of the DASS remain untested in older adults, for whom the identification of efficient measures of these constructs is especially important. To determine the psychometric properties of the DASS 21-item version in older adults, we analyzed data from 222 medical patients seeking treatment to manage worry. ⋯ Results also indicated good internal consistency, excellent convergent validity, and good discriminative validity, especially for the Depression scale. Receiver operating curve analyses indicated that the DASS-21 predicted the diagnostic presence of generalized anxiety disorder and depression as well as other commonly used measures. These data suggest that the DASS may be used with older adults in lieu of multiple scales designed to measure similar constructs, thereby reducing participant burden and facilitating assessment in settings with limited assessment resources.
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Comparative Study
Prevalence and rates of recognition of depressive disorders in internal medicine outpatient departments of 23 general hospitals in Shenyang, China.
One important approach to increasing recognition and treatment rates for depression in urban China is to identify persons with depression who have contact with primary health care services, most of which are provided in the outpatient departments of general hospitals. We aim to assess the prevalence, risk factors and rates of recognition of depressive disorders in internal medicine outpatient departments of general hospitals. ⋯ The prevalence of depression in primary care settings in urban China is lower than that reported in most western countries but the risk factors for depression are similar. The very low rates of recognition and treatment are related both to the low rates of care seeking for psychological problems and to the high-volume collective model of hospital-based primary care delivery. Increasing the recognition and treatment of depression in Chinese general hospitals will require changing the attitudes of patients and clinicians and, more importantly, altering the structure of care delivery.
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To examine factors associated with the use of antidepressants (AD) and benzodiazepines (BZD) in 6 European countries. ⋯ Less than one third of subjects with a 12-month prevalence of MDE had been taking antidepressants. But seeking help for emotional problems was a more important predictor of the use of ADs or BZDs than a formal (DSM-IV) psychiatric diagnosis, suggesting that usage of ADs is not always according to the licensed DSM-IV indication.
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Functional neuroimaging studies on both cognitive processing and psychopathology in patients with major depression have reported several functionally aberrant brain areas within limbic-cortical circuits. However, less is known about the relationship between psychopathology, cognitive deficits and regional volume alterations in this patient population. ⋯ The volumetric results indicate that regional abnormalities in gray matter volume and concentration may be associated with both psychopathological changes and cognitive deficits in depression.
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This study measured antenatal risk factors for postnatal depression in the Australian population, both singly and in combination. Risk factor data were gathered antenatally and depressive symptoms measured via the beyondblue National Postnatal Depression Program, a large prospective cohort study into perinatal mental health, conducted in all six states of Australia, and in the Australian Capital Territory, between 2002 and 2005. ⋯ Antenatal depressive symptoms appear to be as common as postnatal depressive symptoms. Previous depression, current depression/anxiety, and low partner support are found to be key antenatal risk factors for postnatal depression in this large prospective cohort, consistent with existing meta-analytic surveys. Current depression/anxiety (and to some extent social support) may be amenable to change and can therefore be targeted for intervention.