Psychosomatic medicine
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Psychosomatic medicine · Sep 2007
Anxiety predicts mortality and morbidity after coronary artery and valve surgery--a 4-year follow-up study.
To explore the long-term effect of anxiety and depression on outcome after cardiac surgery. To date, the relationship between psychosocial factors and future cardiac events has been investigated mainly in population-based studies, in patients after cardiac catheterization or myocardial infarction. ⋯ The results of the present study suggest that the assessment of psychosocial factors, particularly the ongoing assessment of anxiety, could help in risk stratification and identification of patients at risk of mortality and cardiovascular morbidity after cardiac surgery.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Jun 2007
Clinical TrialAdherence, reports of benefits, and depression among patients treated with continuous positive airway pressure.
To examine if reported obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) symptom improvement, baseline depressive symptoms, or polysomnographically measured sleep parameters are associated with adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). CPAP is a highly effective treatment for OSA. Low adherence to CPAP therapy is common and poorly understood. Depression and lack of perceived benefits from CPAP are possible reasons for low adherence. ⋯ Patients with the greatest level of CPAP adherence also reported the greatest improvement in OSA symptoms. Patients who continued to experience OSA symptoms after CPAP treatment also tended to have more depressive symptoms after CPAP treatment.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Apr 2007
Depressive symptoms, omega-6:omega-3 fatty acids, and inflammation in older adults.
To address how interactions between polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels and depressive symptoms were related to proinflammatory cytokine synthesis. Depression and stress promote proinflammatory cytokine production. Dietary intakes of omega-3 (n-3) and omega-6 (n-6) PUFAs also influence inflammation; high n-6:n-3 ratios enhance proinflammatory cytokine production, although n-3 has anti-inflammatory properties. ⋯ Diets with high n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios may enhance the risk for both depression and inflammatory diseases.
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Psychosomatic medicine · Apr 2007
Perfectionism and the cortisol response to psychosocial stress in men.
To test the hypothesis that perfectionism is an important moderator of the neuroendocrine stress response, with higher perfectionism predicting increased neuroendocrine activation. ⋯ The typical cognitions, and presumably the associated emotions, of perfectionists seem to contribute independently to stress-induced bodily responses, including HPA axis activation, in response to psychosocial stress.
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To characterize the domains of benefit finding in caregiving among close family members of cancer survivors and to relate the domains of benefit finding in cancer caregiving to other psychosocial variables. Although cancer is a problem that involves the entire family, little is known about which caregivers of cancer survivors are likely to find meaning in their caregiving experience or about the relationship of benefit finding to caregivers' psychological adjustment. ⋯ These findings suggest that caregivers may benefit from interventions that enhance their ability to accept their situation and find meaning in their caregiving experience, which may improve their satisfaction with life and reduce their depressive symptoms.