Journal of psychosomatic research
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Delirium is underrecognized clinically. Many tools have been developed to assist with the diagnosis of delirium, and they vary greatly in purpose, quality, and administration time. ⋯ Careful consideration of the needs of the two groups suggests that assessment instruments designed for nonexperts should be entirely objective, whereas those instruments developed for experts should include the full range of constructs associated with the syndrome. This conceptualization is explored in detail, and existing assessment instruments are considered briefly in light of this position.
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Many studies have linked symptoms of depression after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) to negative health outcomes, including mortality. It has been suggested, however, that this link may be due to biased measurement of depressive symptoms in post-AMI patients related to confounding with somatic symptoms related to AMI. The objective of this study was to validate a factor model for the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) that would allow for modeling of depressive symptoms after explicitly removing bias related to somatic symptom overlap. ⋯ The G-S-C model is a novel approach to understanding the measurement structure of the BDI-II, presents advantageous statistical and interpretive properties compared to standard correlated factor models, and provides a viable mechanism to test links between symptoms of depression, as measured by the General Depression factor, and health outcomes among patients with AMI after explicitly removing variance from somatic symptoms unrelated to the General Depression factor.
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This study aimed to evaluate the validity, reliability, and cultural relevance of the Cardiac Depression Scale (CDS) as a disease-specific screening tool for Chinese cardiac patients. ⋯ Empirical data support the C-CDS as a valid and reliable disease-specific tool in assessing depressed mood in Chinese-speaking patients with cardiac disease.
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Our purpose was to determine if migraine, anxiety comorbidities, and chronic depression were independently related to health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD). ⋯ Future studies related to HRQoL of MDD should consider migraine and anxiety comorbidities simultaneously.
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A large number of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients are additionally afflicted with other somatic intestinal and/or extraintestinal comorbidities. The occurrence of one or more comorbidities is correlated with enhanced medical help seeking, worse prognosis, and higher rates of anxiety and depression-all resulting in a reduced quality of life. The aims of this study were, firstly, to review the literature on comorbidities of IBS and to assess gastrointestinal and extraintestinal comorbidities, and, secondly, to evaluate explanatory hypotheses and possible common pathophysiological mechanisms. ⋯ The knowledge and structured assessment of comorbid somatic symptoms might allow to identify subgroups of IBS patients with special characteristics and lead to adaptation of the therapeutic concept.