Journal of psychiatric research
-
This paper examines the association between psychiatric disorders and headache syndromes in a longitudinal epidemiologic sample of young adults who were selected from the general population of Zurich, Switzerland. Headache syndromes were defined according to the newly introduced diagnostic criteria of the International Headache Society in 1988. The prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders, according to specific headache subtypes, were examined both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. ⋯ In order to investigate the mechanism for the associations between anxiety/depression syndromes and migraine, patterns of co-transmission of migraine and anxiety/depression were examined in data from a controlled family history study of migraine. The results were consistent with a syndromic relationship between migraine and anxiety/depression, rather than their representing discrete manifestations of shared underlying etiology. The implications of these data for research and clinical work are discussed.
-
Benzodiazepines are commonly encountered in both psychiatric and chemical dependency treatment settings. However, in the chemical dependency setting, benzodiazepines are most frequently used as secondary drugs of abuse, and are most often found within a polydrug use pattern. ⋯ The presence of an anxiety disorder, a family history of addiction, or benzodiazepine polydrug use will significantly affect the type of withdrawal a patient will experience and its treatment course. Medical procedures accepted for benzodiazepine discontinuation include (1) graded reduction; (2) substitution of a long-acting benzodiazepine; and (3) phenobarbital substitution.
-
Comparative Study
Two self-rating scales for depression in Hmong refugees: assessment in clinical and nonclinical samples.
An exploratory cross-cultural study was undertaken of two widely used self-rating scales: the Zung and the Depression Scale on the 90 Item Symptom Checklist, or SCL-Depression. Both scales were translated into Hmong and tested in two samples of Hmong refugees in the U. S. ⋯ However, non-depressed controls unexpectedly reported significantly higher symptom levels on certain items. No significant differences were observed on several Zung and SCL items. These unexpected findings are discussed in light of the refugee's adjustment and experience.