Journal of affective disorders
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Comparative Study
Student anxiety and depression: comparison of questionnaire and interview assessments.
Recent reports note a reliance on self-report measures and a lack of information about diagnosable mental disorder in university students. Professional concern about perceived increases in student mental health problems raises questions about whether questionnaire assessments can provide valid approximations of such disorders in this group. The aim of this study was to validate the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) against DSM-IV diagnoses in university students. ⋯ The HADS depression scale is likely to be a reasonably accurate indicator of depressive conditions in university students at the recommended cut-off but the HADS anxiety scale overestimates the extent of clinical anxiety. Students' self-reported higher symptom levels in comparison to general population norms cannot be assumed to indicate higher levels of more serious mental health conditions. However this is not to deny the genuine distress and severe problems that some students experience.
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Meta Analysis
Duloxetine in the treatment of major depressive disorder: comparisons of safety and tolerability in male and female patients.
While some studies have suggested sex differences in the efficacy of antidepressant medications, there have been few investigations into potential sex differences related to safety and/or tolerability. Pooled data from double-blind, placebo-controlled studies were utilized to assess the safety and tolerability of duloxetine in the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in male and female patients. ⋯ No evidence of clinically meaningful sex differences in the safety and tolerability of duloxetine were uncovered.
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Recent investigations have shown that intrusive memories of negative past events, the hallmark symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are also commonly experienced in depression. This study explored whether Ehlers and Steil's [Ehlers, A., Steil, R., 1995. Maintenance of intrusive memories in posttraumatic stress disorder: a cognitive approach. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 23, 217-249] model of PTSD maintenance, which focuses on the role played by negative interpretations of intrusive symptoms in the persistence of PTSD, also describes processes that operate in depression. ⋯ The demonstrated utility of Ehlers and Steil's [Ehlers, A., Steil, R., 1995. Maintenance of intrusive memories in posttraumatic stress disorder: A cognitive approach. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 23, 217-249] model of PTSD to account for one aspect of depression maintenance supports recent commentaries [Harvey, A.G., Watkins, E., Mansell, W., Shafran, R., 2004. Cognitive behavioural processes across psychological disorders: A transdiagnostic approach to research and treatment. New York: Oxford University Press] that call for a transdiagnostic approach to understanding the cognitive and behavioural processes that underpin psychological disorders.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Predictive validation study of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in the first week after delivery and risk analysis for postnatal depression.
Postnatal depression is a major public health problem. The aim of this study is to validate the use of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in the early postpartum, and to identify the markers for risk of postnatal depression. ⋯ The use of EPDS between the third and fifth day postpartum is valid. An EPDS score of >10 should be completed by a clinical assessment and suitable management. The risk markers identified here are clinical indices that can be used for first-line early screening by non-psychiatric health workers.
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Review
Cross-cultural and social diversity of prevalence of postpartum depression and depressive symptoms.
The prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) is currently considered to be 10-15%. Most studies were performed with a brief unidimensional instruments (mostly the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale-EPDS) with focus on depression and not on other symptoms and disorders. Most cited studies were conducted in Western economically developed countries. ⋯ We believe that the widely cited mean prevalence of PPD-10-15% is not representative of the actual global prevalence and magnitude of the problem, due to the wide range of reports. The variability in reported PPD might be due to cross-cultural variables, reporting style, differences in perception of mental health and its stigma, differences in socio-economic environments (e.g. poverty, levels of social support or its perception, nutrition, stress), and biological vulnerability factors. The elucidation of the underlying processes of this variability as well as the diversity of postpartum normal versus abnormal expressions of symptoms may contribute to better understanding of the diversified ante, peri- and postpartum phenomena.