Psychiatry research
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Psychiatry research · Aug 2009
Validity of cognitive complaints in substance-abusing patients and non-clinical controls: the Patient's Assessment of Own Functioning Inventory (PAOFI).
To determine the validity of substance-abusing (SA) patients' self-reports of cognitive impairments, we assessed the independent contributions of depression, actual neurocognitive performance and an index of cognitive decline, in predicting cognitive complaints in groups of SA patients and normal controls. The SA sample comprised 74 veterans enrolled in day treatment. The non-clinical sample consisted of 150 English-speaking adults. ⋯ BDI scores accounted for 12% of the variance in PAOFI total score for the SA sample and 44% for the non-clinical sample in multiple regression analysis. Cognitive complaints were related more to depression than cognitive performance for both SA and non-clinical samples. The results do not support self-report as a valid means of neuropsychological assessment in SA samples, although self-reports may provide other information about perceived cognitive difficulties that may be relevant to clinical evaluation.
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Psychiatry research · Aug 2009
The effect of prolonged exposure to war stress on the comorbidity of PTSD and depression among hospital personnel.
The relationship between exposure to war stress and to traumatic and depressive symptoms among hospital personnel is understudied. Hospital personnel who were exposed to frequent missile attacks and casualties of war, both military and civilians (n=106), were assessed for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and depression a month after the war between Lebanon and Israel erupted. Increased risk for PTSD symptoms was found to be highly associated with increased risk for depression. ⋯ No profession differences were found in the levels of depression, but physicians were found to be less vulnerable than other hospital staff to develop PTSD symptoms. PTSD symptoms were significantly associated with depression. The results warrant further longitudinal study.