Depression and anxiety
-
Depression and anxiety · Aug 2019
Comparative StudyIs rTMS effective for anxiety symptoms in major depressive disorder? An efficacy analysis comparing left-sided high-frequency, right-sided low-frequency, and sequential bilateral rTMS protocols.
Anxiety symptoms are common in major depressive disorder. Whilst therapeutic efficacy of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in depression is well-established, minimal research has investigated rTMS's efficacy in treating anxiety symptoms in depression. ⋯ This study addresses the clinical knowledge gap pertaining to rTMS's therapeutic efficacy in treating anxiety symptoms in depression and the relative efficacy of three commonly used stimulation protocols. Our findings suggest therapeutic equivalence across left-sided high-frequency, right-sided low-frequency, and sequential bilateral rTMS approaches.
-
Depression and anxiety · Jan 2019
Shortening self-report mental health symptom measures through optimal test assembly methods: Development and validation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-Depression-4.
The objective of this study was to develop and validate a short form of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), a self-report questionnaire for assessing depressive symptomatology, using objective criteria. ⋯ The PHQ-Dep-4 is a valid short form with minimal loss of information of scores when compared to the full-length PHQ-9. Although OTA methods have been used to shorten patient-reported outcome measures based on objective, prespecified criteria, further studies are required to validate this general procedure for broader use in health research. Furthermore, due to unexamined heterogeneity, there is a need to replicate the results of this study in different patient populations.
-
Depression and anxiety · Nov 2018
Alcohol use disorders and insomnia mediate the association between PTSD symptoms and suicidal ideation in Korean firefighters.
There has been a strong association between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal ideation, which are both major mental health concerns in firefighters. Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and insomnia are linked with both PTSD and suicidal ideation, but no studies have examined whether the relationship between PTSD and suicidal ideation can be explained by AUDs and insomnia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of AUDs and insomnia in the relationship between PTSD symptoms and suicidal ideation. ⋯ We presented a model in which AUDs and insomnia mediate the relationship between PTSD symptoms and suicidal ideation in firefighters. Efforts to treat AUDs and alleviate insomnia could be beneficial in minimizing suicidal ideation in firefighters.
-
Depression and anxiety · Oct 2018
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyModerating effect of comorbid anxiety disorders on treatment outcome in a randomized controlled psychotherapy trial in early-onset persistently depressed outpatients.
Persistent depressive disorder (PDD) is associated with high rates of comorbid psychiatric disorders, mostly anxiety disorders (ADs). Comorbid AD was found to be associated with poorer treatment outcome in PDD patients. The effect of comorbid AD on disorder-specific treatment for PDD (Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy [CBASP]) has not been studied yet. ⋯ Patients suffering from PDD comorbid with AD might experience greater benefit when they are treated with specific as opposed to unspecific therapy. Analyzing subgroups of patients with PDD seems worthwhile to improve treatment effectiveness even within disorder-specific treatment programms.
-
Depression and anxiety · Oct 2018
Exposure-based therapy changes amygdala and hippocampus resting-state functional connectivity in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder.
Recent research suggests that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with altered amygdala and hippocampal resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC). However, less research has examined whether Prolonged Exposure (PE), a first line exposure-based treatment for PTSD, has the potential to alter resting state neural networks. ⋯ Enhanced amygdala and hippocampus rsFC with prefrontal cortical regions following PE could underlie improved capacity for inhibition and re-evaluation of threat, and heightened memory encoding and retrieval ability, respectively. These findings encourage further investigation of this circuitry as a therapeutic target in PTSD.