Dysthymic Disorder (dysthymic + disorder)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Commentary on Sprock and Fredendall's (2008), "Comparison of Prototypic Cases of Depressive Personality Disorder and Dysthymic Disorder"

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 12 2008
Steven K. Huprich
Abstract In this commentary, the author discusses the merits and contributions of Sprock and Fredendall's (2008) study of depressive personality and dysthymia using a prototype methodology with experienced clinicians. Their article demonstrates the difficulty in differentiating depressive personality disorder from dysthymia, though it seems to raise even more salient questions about the current ways by which personality disorders are assessed and diagnosed. In light of these findings, the author offers some ways by which personality disorder assessment could be improved. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 64:1,5, 2008. [source]


Prevalence of acute and post-traumatic stress disorder and comorbid mental disorders in breast cancer patients during primary cancer care: a prospective study

PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 3 2007
Anja Mehnert
Abstract This study aimed at the identification of acute and post-traumatic stress responses, and comorbid mental disorders in breast cancer patients. Structured clinical interviews for DSM-IV (SCID) were conducted post-surgery with 127 patients (t1). Screening measures were used to assess post-traumatic stress responses, anxiety, and depression at t1 and at 6 months follow-up (t2). Based on the SCID, prevalence rates were 2.4% for both, cancer-related ASD and PTSD. Experiences most frequently described as traumatic were the cancer diagnosis itself and subsequent feelings of uncertainty. Patients with lifetime PTSD (8.7%) were more likely to meet the criteria for cancer-related ASD or PTSD (OR=14.1). Prevalence estimates were 7.1% for Adjustment Disorder, 4.7% for Major Depression, 3.1% for Dysthymic Disorder and 6.3% for Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Using the screening instruments, IES-R, PCL-C and HADS, we found PTSD in 18.5% at t1 and 11.2,16.3% at t2. The estimates of anxiety and depression reveal rates of 39.6% (t1) and 32.7% (t2) for anxiety, as well as 16.0% (t1) and 13.3% (t2) for depression (t1) (cut-off,8). The diagnosis of a life-threatening illness has been included as a potential trauma in the DSM-IV. However, it has to be critically evaluated whether subjective feelings of uncertainty like fears of treatment count among traumatic stressors, and thus, whether the diagnosis of PTSD is appropriate in this group of cancer patients. However, a large number of women with emotional distress illustrate the need for psychosocial counseling and support in this early treatment phase. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


A review of empirically supported psychological therapies for mood disorders in adults

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 10 2010
Steven D. Hollon Ph.D.
Abstract Background: The mood disorders are prevalent and problematic. We review randomized controlled psychotherapy trials to find those that are empirically supported with respect to acute symptom reduction and the prevention of subsequent relapse and recurrence. Methods: We searched the PsycINFO and PubMed databases and the reference sections of chapters and journal articles to identify appropriate articles. Results: One hundred twenty-five studies were found evaluating treatment efficacy for the various mood disorders. With respect to the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), and behavior therapy (BT) are efficacious and specific and brief dynamic therapy (BDT) and emotion-focused therapy (EFT) are possibly efficacious. CBT is efficacious and specific, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) efficacious, and BDT and EFT possibly efficacious in the prevention of relapse/recurrence following treatment termination and IPT and CBT are each possibly efficacious in the prevention of relapse/recurrence if continued or maintained. IPT is possibly efficacious in the treatment of dysthymic disorder. With respect to bipolar disorder (BD), CBT and family-focused therapy (FFT) are efficacious and interpersonal social rhythm therapy (IPSRT) possibly efficacious as adjuncts to medication in the treatment of depression. Psychoeducation (PE) is efficacious in the prevention of mania/hypomania (and possibly depression) and FFT is efficacious and IPSRT and CBT possibly efficacious in preventing bipolar episodes. Conclusions: The newer psychological interventions are as efficacious as and more enduring than medications in the treatment of MDD and may enhance the efficacy of medications in the treatment of BD. Depression and Anxiety, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Treatment of major depressive disorder in the Finnish general population

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 11 2009
Juha Hämäläinen M.D.M.A.
Abstract Background: Few general population studies of the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) have included the whole spectrum of treatments. We estimated the rates of different treatments and the effect of individual and disorder characteristics plus provider type on treatment received. Methods: In the Health 2000 Study, a representative sample (n=6,005) from the adult Finnish population (,30 years) were interviewed (CIDI) in 2000,2001 for the presence of DSM-IV mental disorders during the past 12 months. Logistic regression models were used to examine factors influencing the type of treatment: either pharmacotherapies (antidepressants, anxiolytics, sedatives/hypnotics, antipsychotics) or psychological treatment. Results: Of the individuals with MDD (n=288), currently 24% used antidepressants, 11% anxiolytics, 16% sedatives/hypnotics, 5% antipsychotics, and 17% reported having received psychological treatment. Overall, 31% received antidepressants or psychological treatment or both; 18% received minimally adequate treatment. Of those 33% (n=94) using health care services for mental reasons, 76% received antidepressants or psychological treatment or both; 54% received minimal adequate treatment. In logistic regression models, the use of antidepressants was associated with female sex, being single, severe MDD, perceived disability, and comorbid dysthymic disorder; psychological treatment with being divorced, perceived disability, and comorbid anxiety disorder. Conclusions: Due to the low use of health services for mental reasons, only one-third of subjects with MDD use antidepressants, and less than one-fifth receives psychological treatment. The treatments provided are determined mostly by clinical factors such as severity and comorbidity, in part by sex and marital status, but not education or income. Depression and Anxiety 26:1049,1059, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Hierarchical structures of affect and psychopathology and their implications for the classification of emotional disorders,

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 4 2008
David Watson
Abstract The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,IV groups disorders into diagnostic classes on the basis of the subjective criterion of "shared phenomenological features." The current mood and anxiety disorders reflect the logic of older models emphasizing the existence of discrete emotions and, consequently, are based on a fundamental distinction between depressed mood (central to the mood disorders) and anxious mood (a core feature of the anxiety disorders). This distinction, however, ignores subsequent work that has established the existence of a general negative affect dimension that (a) produces strong correlations between anxious and depressed mood and (b) is largely responsible for the substantial comorbidity between the mood and anxiety disorders. More generally, there are now sufficient data to eliminate the current rational system and replace it with an empirically based taxonomy that reflects the actual,not the assumed,similarities among disorders. The existing structural evidence establishes that the mood and anxiety disorders should be collapsed together into an overarching superclass of emotional disorders, which can be decomposed into three subclasses: the distress disorders (major depression, dysthymic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder), the fear disorders (panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, specific phobia), and the bipolar disorders (bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymia). An empirically based system of this type will facilitate differential diagnosis and encourage the ultimate development of an etiologically based taxonomy. Depression and Anxiety 25:282,288, 2008. Published 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Ruminative coping among patients with dysthymia before and after pharmacotherapy

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY, Issue 4 2007
Owen Kelly Ph.D.
Abstract The pivotal role of rumination in relation to other coping strategies was assessed in chronically depressed (dysthymic disorder) individuals versus nondepressed controls. Individuals with dysthymia demonstrated elevated use of rumination and other emotion-focused strategies (emotional expression, emotional containment, self- and other-blame). Among patients with dysthymia, rumination was linked to this limited array of emotion-focused efforts and diminished use of cognitive disengagement, whereas among controls, rumination was correlated with a broad constellation of problem- and emotion-focused strategies. Following 12 weeks of pharmacotherapy (sertraline), despite attenuation of depressed mood and reduced rumination, the limited relations between rumination and emotion-focused efforts persisted. Inflexibility in the ability to combine various coping efforts effectively may be characteristic of individuals with dysthymia, potentially increasing risk for recurrence. Depression and Anxiety 24:233,243, 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


The DSM-IV ,minor depression' disorder in the oldest-old: prevalence rate, sleep patterns, memory function and quality of life in elderly people of Italian descent in Southern Brazil

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2002
Flávio M. F. Xavier
Abstract Objectives (1) To describe the prevalence of minor depression in a community-dwelling population aged 80 years and over. (2) To compare the sleep pattern, memory function and the prevalence rate of other psychiatric diagnoses between normal controls and subjects with minor depressive disorder. Design A random representative sample (sample,=,77 subjects/county population of oldest-old,=,219,35%) aged 80 years or more was selected from the county of Veranópolis in the Brazilian rural southern region. Of this group, eight subjects who met the DSM-IV criteria for minor depression, and 50 subjects without diagnosed delirium disorder, cognitive or affective problems were compared. Results The prevalence rate of minor depression was 12%. Subjects with this diagnosis were more likely to complain about sleep and memory problems than elderly people without any other affective disorder (major depression or dysthymic disorder). Otherwise, objective evaluation of these two areas, memory and sleep, did not show differences between the groups. Moreover, in terms of factors such as life satisfaction and some domains from the Short-form 36 Quality of Life Scale (SF-36), subjects with minor depression presented worse self-reported evaluations. Female gender was associated (p,=,0.01) with a more frequent presence of minor depression disorder, and those with this diagnosis were more likely to have co-morbidity with generalized anxiety disorder (p,=,0.007) when compared with elderly people without any depressive disorder. Conclusion In this study, minor depression has been significantly associated with lower life satisfaction and worse indexes of life quality. The results supported the current concept that minor depression is prevalent in later life, especially among the oldest-old. Subjects with minor depression had worse self-reported opinions about memory and sleep patterns, but when these variables were objectively measured, no meaningful differences could be determined by the research team. Female gender and the concurring presence of generalized anxiety disorder were both significantly associated with the presence of minor depression diagnosis. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Bone marrow transplantation in subjects with mental disorders

PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 3 2003
Rie Akaho
Abstract Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a critical treatment of malignant illnesses including leukemia and others. Successful achievement of BMT requires the patients to tolerate isolation for several weeks to avoid infections. They are also required to follow several regulations and instructions to survive the treatment because the patients' physical condition is complicated due to the malignant illness, preparatory treatment and transplant of bone marrow from other subjects. These could be a significant challenge for patients with mental disorders. Here the cases are reported of seven leukemia patients who were referred to the Metropolitan Komagome Hospital for BMT from April 1996 through May 2000, who had been suffering from mental disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar I mood disorder, panic disorder, dysthymic disorder, autistic disorder, and borderline personality disorder, prior to the treatment. The BMT was achieved in six out of the seven subjects; the exception was a subject with borderline personality disorder. Psychiatric treatments, including medication, to improve and maintain mental status appeared to be critical for the achievement of BMT in several patients. Understanding of the status of the malignant disease and the role of BMT was another significant issue. Test admission seemed to be helpful to reduce concerns and anxiety both in the patients and hospital staff. [source]