Journal of anxiety disorders
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Epidemiological studies are quite rare in the Arab world. The Institute for Development Research Advocacy and Applied Care (IDRAAC) has conducted a systematic review of all epidemiologic research on anxiety disorders in the Arab world up to 2006. ⋯ Epidemiological data on prevalence, gender differences, age of onset, comorbidity, risk factors and treatment of anxiety disorders in the Arab world were found in clinical and community samples. There is an evident need for national data on anxiety disorders in the Arab world in order to identify the magnitude of these diseases and their burden on the individual and community.
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Comparative Study
Attention in sub-clinical obsessive-compulsive checkers.
The aim of the study was to explore differential attention profiles, according to attention types, in sub-clinical obsessive-compulsive checkers compared to controls. To examine attention biases in obsessive-compulsive phenomena, we compared sub-clinical checkers to non-checkers on their recall and recognition performances, using neutral and threat-relevant stimuli in three attention paradigms: focused attention, divided attention, and passive attention. ⋯ Even though instructions and tasks were different in each attention paradigm, the checkers showed similar attention biases in all paradigms. Results indicate that there is an attention bias in obsessive-compulsive checkers that is independent from the type of attention.
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Comparative Study
The symptom structure of posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Replication Survey.
Previous research has provided mixed findings for the validity of various three- and four-factor models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. However, much of this research has been restricted to clinical samples rather than nationally representative community-based samples. The current study employed confirmatory factor analysis to evaluate the validity of three competing models of PTSD symptom structure using the DSM-IV-based National Comorbidity Replication Survey (part II of the NCS-R: N=5692). ⋯ Confirmatory factor analysis of the clinician-administered PTSD scale: evidence for the dimensionality of posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychological Assessment,10, 90-96] model demonstrated a significantly superior fit over the DSM-IV three-factor model. Because this study provided support for both the DSM-IV three-factor model and the King et al., four-factor model of PTSD symptoms, further research is still necessary to provide more definitive conclusions in this area.
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Dysfunction of the serotonergic system has been hypothesized to play an important role in panic disorder. We investigated the 5-HT2A receptor (5HTR2A) and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) genes for an association with panic disorder (PD). Patients with PD (n=107) and control subjects (n=161) were genotyped for 5HTR2A 1438A/G, 5HTR2A 102T/C, and TPH218 A/C. ⋯ However, we found a significant difference in symptom severity among the genotypes of both the 5HTR2A 1438A/G and 102T/C polymorphisms. Although there were no significant differences in the genotype and allele distributions, we found a significant association between panic symptom severity and the serotonin 2A receptor gene. This result suggests that 5HTR2A 1438A/G and 102T/C polymorphic regions can be associated with the phenotype or the pathogenesis of panic disorder.
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Comparative Study
Convergent and discriminant validity of the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale-Symptom Checklist.
The Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale-Symptom Checklist (CY-BOCS-SC; Scahill, L., Riddle, M. A., McSwiggin-Hardin, M., Ort, S. I., King, R. ⋯ The CY-BOCS-SC demonstrated good to excellent convergent validity, as demonstrated by large correlations with conceptually similar items on the ADIS-IV-P. The discriminant validity of the CY-BOCS-SC was also good, as evidenced by small, generally non-significant, correlations between the CY-BOCS-SC dimensions and depressive and anxiety symptoms, OCD symptom severity, and trichotillomania symptoms. These results provide initial psychometric support for the CY-BOCS-SC and support its use as a clinical and research instrument for assessing presence of a range of obsessive and compulsive symptoms in youth with OCD.