Archives of general psychiatry
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Arch. Gen. Psychiatry · Aug 2008
Testing causality in the association between regular exercise and symptoms of anxiety and depression.
In the population at large, regular exercise is associated with reduced anxious and depressive symptoms. Results of experimental studies in clinical populations suggest a causal effect of exercise on anxiety and depression, but it is unclear whether such a causal effect also drives the population association. We cannot exclude the major contribution of a third underlying factor influencing exercise behavior and symptoms of anxiety and depression. ⋯ Regular exercise is associated with reduced anxious and depressive symptoms in the population at large, but the association is not because of causal effects of exercise.
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Arch. Gen. Psychiatry · Aug 2008
Capsulotomy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: long-term follow-up of 25 patients.
Capsulotomy is sometimes used as a treatment of last resort in severe and treatment-refractory cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). ⋯ Capsulotomy is effective in reducing OCD symptoms. There is a substantial risk of adverse effects, and the risk may vary between surgical methods. Our findings suggest that smaller lesions are safer and that high radiation doses and multiple procedures should be avoided.
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Arch. Gen. Psychiatry · Jul 2008
Psychiatric disorders in pregnant and postpartum women in the United States.
Psychiatric disorders and substance use during pregnancy are associated with adverse outcomes for mothers and their offspring. Information about the epidemiology of these conditions in this population is lacking. ⋯ Pregnancy per se is not associated with increased risk of the most prevalent mental disorders, although the risk of major depressive disorder may be increased during the postpartum period. Groups of pregnant women with particularly high prevalence of psychiatric disorders were identified. Low rates of maternal mental health care underscore the need to improve recognition and delivery of treatment for mental disorders occurring during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
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Arch. Gen. Psychiatry · Jun 2008
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyTreatment of acute stress disorder: a randomized controlled trial.
Recent trauma survivors with acute stress disorder (ASD) are likely to subsequently develop chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Cognitive behavioral therapy for ASD may prevent PTSD, but trauma survivors may not tolerate exposure-based therapy in the acute phase. There is a need to compare nonexposure therapy techniques with prolonged exposure for ASD. ⋯ Exposure-based therapy leads to greater reduction in subsequent PTSD symptoms in patients with ASD when compared with cognitive restructuring. Exposure should be used in early intervention for people who are at high risk for developing PTSD.