44 research outputs found
Body Mass Index and risk for onset of mood and anxiety disorders in the general population: Results from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study-2 (NEMESIS-2)
No full textBACKGROUND: Examine the onset of a clinical diagnosis of mood (major depression, dysthymia and bipolar disorder)- and anxiety disorders (panic disorder, agoraphobia without panic disorder, social phobia, specific phobia and generalized anxiety disorder) by Body Mass Index levels at baseline in the general adult population over three years. METHODS: Data are from NEMESIS-2, a representative psychiatric cohort study in the Netherlands. A total of 5303 subjects aged 18–64 were interviewed with the CIDI (3.0 based on DSM-IV) in two waves, with an interval of three years. The first wave was performed from November 2007 to July 2009, the second wave from November 2010 to June 2012. RESULTS: Persons with obesity at baseline had a significantly increased risk of the onset of any mood -or anxiety disorder adjusting for covariates compared to persons with a normal Body Mass Index (OR = 1.71; 95% CI: 1.11–2.62). The odds ratio of the underweight category was non-significant. A dose–response effect of the continuous BMI scores on the onset of any mood or anxiety disorder was found (OR = 1.06; 95% CI: 1.02 = 1.10; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Obesity at baseline is a risk for the onset of mood -and anxiety disorders at three year follow up
Effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for procrastination among university students – A randomized controlled trial study protocol
No full textProcrastination is a widespread problem that is highly prevalent among the young adult population and is associated with several negative consequences. However, current evidence on the effectiveness of e-health interventions for procrastination either lack a comparison to an inactive control, do not include a student population or are of poor quality. This protocol describes the design of a trial that will overcome these limitations and examine the effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention (GetStarted) to reduce problematic procrastinating behaviors in college students compared to a waitlist control. This study will be a two-armed randomized controlled trial with a calculated sample size of N = 176. Participants will be students from seven universities in the Netherlands. The intervention group will receive a four-week e-coach-guided intervention for procrastination. The waitlist control group will get access to treatment four weeks after randomization. Assessments will take place at baseline, post-test (4 weeks post-baseline) and follow-up (6 months post-baseline). Data will be analyzed with an intent-to-treat principle. The primary outcome is change in procrastination behaviors measured on the Irrational Procrastination scale (IPS). Secondary outcomes are depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life. Additionally, sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, satisfaction with treatment, program usability, satisfaction with e-coach and treatment adherence will be examined as potential moderators. The results from this study can build evidence for the effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for treating procrastination in college students. Should it be effective, GetStarted could provide a flexible, low-intense and cost-effective treatment for procrastination and prevent common mental health problems in college students. Trial registration: This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration and Results System (Trial number: NCT05478096)
Treating the patient not just the disease? : Delving deeper into the possible link between affective disorders and coronary heart disease through statistical analysis of a random sample of Maltese people
Full text linkBackground: Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death in Males in Malta and globally. Affective disorders are the commonest psychological problem. This cross-sectional study utilizes a multiple regression model utilizing binary logistic to delve deeper into the link between affective disorders and coronary heart disease and also the link between coronary heart disease and anxiety and depression separately.
Methods: The study was performed in the small Mediterranean island of Malta through the European health interview survey (EHIS), at a national level involving 5500 participants. The response rate attained in the actual field work was 72%. Statistical analysis involved performing chi-squared tests on all contributing variables and retaining those variables that were significant to both diseases. These were then placed in a multiple regression model using forward stepwise binary logistic to retain only the most significant variables.
Results: Age, gender, BMI, diabetes prevalence, depression prevalence, anxiety prevalence, hypertension prevalence, affective disorders( having either anxiety or depression), smoking status, frequency of alcohol intake, and educational level all had a significance of <0.05, some; than less than 0.01. On fitting a multiple regression model, Anxiety (p=0.033), age (p=<0.001), gender (p=<0.001), hypertension (p=0.016) retained their significance in the model. Diabetes could not be analyzed due to power issues.
Conclusion: BMI was not retained in the model having been replaced by associated conditions such as hypertension, together with age and gender as strongly associated risk factors. Anxiety nevertheless retained its independent association with coronary heart disease, in spite of the presence of the other stronger predictors described above.peer-reviewe
The effects of fifteen evidence-supported therapies for adult depression: A meta-analytic review
No full textObjective: In the past decades, many different types of psychotherapy for adult depression have been developed. Method: In this meta-analysis we examined the effects of 15 different types of psychotherapy using 385 comparisons between a therapy and a control condition: Acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), guided self-help using a self-help book from David Burns, Beck’s CBT, the “Coping with Depression” course, two subtypes of behavioral activation, extended and brief problem-solving therapy, self-examination therapy, brief psychodynamic therapy, non-directive counseling, full and brief interpersonal psychotherapy, and life review therapy. Results: The effect sizes ranged from g = 0.38 for the “Coping with Depression” course to g = 1.10 for life review therapy. There was significant publication bias for most therapies. In 70% of the trials there was at least some risk of bias. After adjusting studies with low risk of bias for publication bias, only two types of therapy remained significant (the “Coping with Depression” course, and self-examination therapy). Conclusions: We conclude that the 15 types of psychotherapy may be effective in the treatment of depression. However, the evidence is not conclusive because of high levels of heterogeneity, publication bias, and the risk of bias in the majority of studies
Predictors of Depression and Anxiety in Adults with Autism
No full textASD is a lifelong condition, leading to a need for more studies exploring the adult population (Wise et.al. 2017). Autistic individuals have rates of co-morbidity as high as 58% to 98% (Rosa et.al. 2016). Depression and anxiety are the most common (Uljarevic et.al. 2019), with an estimation of current and lifetime prevalence in adults with ASD at 23% to 37% for depressive disorder and 27% to 42% for any anxiety disorder (Hollocks. et.al. 2019). This is in sharp contrast to a 10% rate of depressive disorders and 5% to 10% of anxiety disorders in the general population (Chandrasekhar & Sikich, 2015; Baxter et.al. 2012).
Predictors of depression and anxiety in the general population are age, gender, family/genetic factors, physical/medical illness, IQ, co-occurring psychiatric conditions, lack of social support, self-esteem, social isolation, and life stress (see Ghaziuddin et.al. 2002; Cooper et.al. 2016; Matheis & Turygin, 2016; Chandrasekhar & Sikich, 2015; Keller et.al. 2019; Lever & Geurtz, 2016). For the ASD population research has further added autism severity, alexithymia, loneliness, satisfaction with social support, and, externalizing symptomatology, excessive irritability and behavioral excesses, as significant predictors of depressive symptomology (Morey et.al. 2019; Liss et.al. 2008; Kuzminskaite et.al. 2020; Hedley et.al. 2018). Moreover, sensory processing sensitivity, experienced throughout live by 94% of individuals with ASD (Crane et.al. 2009; Milosavljevic et.al. 2016), is related to the presence of depression/anxiety (Liss. et.al. 2005; Serafini et.al. 2017), or anxiety only (Neat et.al. 2002; Green & Ben-Sasson, 2010; Suy & Lin, 2018). Mixed results have been also been found for the effects of gender and IQ, and autism severity (Hedley et.al. 2018; Ghaziuddin et.al. 2002; Rosen et.al. 2018; Lin et.al. 2013; De-la-Iglesia & Olivar, 2015; Jackson et.al. 2018; Matheis & Turygin, 2016).
Given mixed research results about rates and predictors of depression and anxiety, the methodological inconsistencies, low sample sizes, the adverse effects that depression and anxiety has on overall quality of life, education, employment, and well-being (Howlin et.al. 2004) and its link to increasing suicidal ideation in the adult ASD population in which suicidal ideation is at a 66% while attempts or planning at a 35% (Keller. et.al. 2019; Lai et.al. 2015), it is essential that these factors are further explored in a large sample of autistic adults.
The aim of this study is to examine if the rates and common predictors of anxiety/ depression from 3 categories (socio-demographic, comorbidity, and autism traits) are found also in the adult ASD population
Depression and body mass index, a u-shaped association
Full text linkBackground Results of studies concerning the association between obesity and depression are conflicting. Some find a positive association, some a negative association and some find no association at all. Most studies, however, examine a linear association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and depression. The present study investigates if a nonlinear (U-shaped) trend is preferable over a linear trend to describe the relationship between BMI and depression, which means that both underweight and obesity are associated with depression. Methods We investigated the existence of such a U-curve in a sample of 43,534 individuals, aged between 18–90 years, who participated in a cross-sectional study (Continuous Survey of Living Conditions) of physical and mental health in the general population of the Netherlands. We calculated linear and nonlinear (quadratic) ANOVA with polynomial contrast and curve fit regression statistics to investigate whether there was a U-shaped trend in the association between BMI and depression. Results We find a very significant U-shaped association between BMI categories (underweight, normal, overweight and obesity) and depression (p ≤ 0.001). There is a trend indicating a significant difference in the association between males and females (p = 0.05). We find a very significant U-shaped (quadratic) association between BMI (BMI2) and depression (p ≤ 0.001), continuous BMI is not linearly associated with depression (p = 0.514). Conclusion The results of this study give evidence for a significant U-shaped trend in the association between BMI and depression
The effect of psychological treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder on depression, anxiety, and quality of life: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
No full textObsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by persistent and recurrent obsessions and/or compulsions that are time-consuming and cause clinically significant distress/anxiety, or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning [1]. While reducing OCD symptom severity remains the primary focus of treatment, there has been increasing research on quality of life (QoL) in recent years due to its critical role in the assessment and treatment of OCD [2]. According to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, health is defined as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." This definition implies that expert-rated illness severity is related to QoL but does not fully capture subjective well-being [3]. For instance, a reduction in OCD symptom severity does not necessarily correspond to an improvement in QoL. Furthermore, previous studies have suggested that there were negative associations between depression, anxiety (frequently co-occur with OCD), and QoL[4, 5]. However, there are no comprehensive studies that investigate them simultaneously. Therefore, our aim is to study depression, anxiety, and QoL outcomes in psychological treatments for OCD, and to analyze their interrelationships as well as their associations with OCD symptom severity through a meta-analysis
The effectiveness of psychological interventions for obsessive-compulsive disorders: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
No full textObsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) rank as the tenth leading cause of disability worldwide(Fontenelle, Mendlowicz, & Versiani, 2006). It is associated with considerable loss of quality of life in patients, excessive healthcare costs, and premature mortality (Fontenelle et al., 2006; Macy et al., 2013). Various psychological interventions are available for people with OCD, however, there are few meta-analyses investigating the effectiveness of the variety of psychological interventions for OCD. Recent meta-analyses primarily focused on comparisons between exposure with response prevention (ERP) and control groups. The primary outcome was the Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). Results have shown that ERP is more effective than control groups (Ferrando & Selai, 2021; J. E. Reid et al., 2021). Few meta-analyses have compared a broad variety of psychological interventions to a control group in treating OCD. Moreover, the previously published meta-analyses on psychological interventions for OCD only included trials conducted in western countries, which has possibly led to missing high-quality studies published in other, non-English languages. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to investigate the effectiveness of a broad variety of psychological interventions for OCD, with consideration of any outcome measuring symptoms of OCD and extended with Chinese databases
