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Depressed Women (depressed + woman)
Selected AbstractsDepression and Altered Quality of Life in Women with Epilepsy of Childbearing AgeEPILEPSIA, Issue 1 2004Ettore Beghi Summary: Purpose: To calculate the prevalence of depression in a referral population of women of childbearing age, to define the factors associated with depression, and to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the same population. Methods: The 642 consecutive women with epilepsy aged 18,55 years were enrolled by 40 neurologists over an 8-month period and asked to give details on selected demographic and clinical features regarding the disease, any associated clinical condition, and any drug treatment. Depression was diagnosed by using the Hamilton depression scale and HRQOL was measured through the SF-36 form. Demographic, clinical, and therapeutic risk factors for depression were searched for within the study population. Results: Depression (any severity) was present at interview in 242 women, giving a prevalence rate of 37.7%[95% confidence interval (CI), 33.9,41.6]. Mild depression was reported by 18.5% of women, moderate depression by 8.6%, major depression by 10.3%, and severe depression by 0.3%. Factors found to be independently associated with depression (any severity) included treatment of associated conditions [relative risk (RR), 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2,1.8), concurrent disability (RR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.0,1.6), seizures in the preceding 6 months (RR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1,1.7), and being unemployed or a housewife (RR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.0,1.5). Factors associated with moderate to severe depression included treatment for associated conditions (RR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.4,2.7), seizures in the preceding 6 months (RR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2,2.5), and being unemployed or a housewife (RR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1,2.2). Compared with normal women of similar age, patients with epilepsy tended to present lower scores for each HRQOL domain (mostly Role Physical, General Health, Social Functioning, and Role Emotional). However, when the analysis was limited to nondepressed women with epilepsy, any difference disappeared. Conclusions: Women with epilepsy of childbearing age are at high risk of depression. Factors associated with depression include lack of occupation, the presence of an underlying disabling condition (with treatment), and the severity of epilepsy. Compared with the general population, depressed women have greater impairment of HRQOL with epilepsy, which reflects the physical, social, and emotional implications of the disease. [source] Massage in combination with group interpersonal psychotherapy for prenatally depressed women: unsuitable study design prevents any conclusionsFOCUS ON ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES AN EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACH, Issue 1 2010Article first published online: 6 APR 2010 [source] Psychopathology and autobiographical memory in stroke and non-stroke hospitalized patientsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 1 2003Mark John Sampson Abstract Background Psychopathology and autobiographical memory were investigated in a cohort of stroke and non-stroke hospitalized patients. Both these cohorts have been identified as having high levels of psychopathology (Katon and Sullivan 1990; Burvill et al., 1995). Difficulties recalling specific autobiographical memories (overgeneral memory) have been identified as important psychological variables in depression and predictors of outcome (Williams and Scott 1988; Brittlebank et al., 1993). Intrusive autobiographical memories have also been found to be associated with depression and overgeneral memory in depressed women (Kuyken and Brewin, 1995) and depressed cancer patients (Brewin et al., 1998a). This study looked at levels of psychopathology and autobiographical memories in stroke and non-stroke hospital patients. Method 417 patients were screened, of the 176 eligible 103 agreed to participate (54 stroke and 49 non-stroke). Participants were assessed for overgenerality using the Autobiographical Memory Test and intrusiveness of memories using the Impact of Events Scale. Also assessed were PTSD-like symptoms (PCL-S), mood (HADS, GHQ-28) and cognitive ability (MMSE, verbal fluency, digit span and estimated pre-morbid IQ). Results No significant differences were found between stroke and non-stroke patients on severity of depression, anxiety, severity of PTSD-like symptoms or autobiographical memories. Backward multivariate regression analyses for combined data (stroke and non-stroke) indicated that overgeneral memory recall, intrusive memories of past events and intrusive memories of illness were significant independent predictors of depression (HADS). Avoidance of intrusive memories and reported childhood distress were not predictors of overgeneral memory recall. Significant predictors of overgeneral memory recall were; Gender, antidepressant medication, and estimated IQ. Conclusion Significant levels of psychopathology were identified in this cohort. However, there were no significant differences in the levels of depression, anxiety, PTSD symptoms and autobiographical memory between stroke and non-stroke hospitalized patients. Of particular interest was the finding that PTSD-like symptoms did not appear to be influenced by the nature of the person's illness. In combined data (stroke and non-stroke) autobiographical memories (intrusive images of their illness, intrusive memories of other events and overgeneral memory recall variables) were significant predictors of depression in this cohort. This suggests that psychological intervention of memory processes may be a worthwhile target in psychological intervention for depression in these cohorts. Gender, cognitive impairment, antidepressant medication, and estimated IQ were significant predictors of overgeneral memory recall and further investigation into the validity of these findings are warranted. Suggestions for further research and limitations of the study are also discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Impact of PTSD comorbidity on one-year outcomes in a depression trialJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 7 2006Bonnie L. Green Low-income African American, Latino, and White women were screened and recruited for a depression treatment trial in social service and family planning settings. Those meeting full criteria for major depression (MDD; N = 267) were randomized to cognitive,behavior therapy (CBT), antidepressant medication, or community mental health referral. All randomly assigned participants were evaluated by baseline telephone and clinical interview, and followed by telephone for one year. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) comorbidity was assessed at baseline and one-year follow-up in a clinical interview. At baseline, 33% of the depressed women had current comorbid PTSD. These participants had more exposure to assaultive violence, had higher levels of depression and anxiety, and were more functionally impaired than women with depression alone. Depression in both groups improved over the course of one year, but the PTSD subgroup remained more impaired throughout the one-year follow-up period. Thus, evidence-based treatments (antidepressant medication or structured psychotherapy) decrease depression regardless of PTSD comorbidity, but women with PTSD were more distressed and impaired throughout. Including direct treatment of PTSD associated with interpersonal violence may be more effective in alleviating depression in those with both diagnoses. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 62: 815,835, 2006. [source] Positive and negative depression coping in low-income African American women,RESEARCH IN NURSING & HEALTH, Issue 2 2005Linda Denise Oakley Abstract The purpose of the study was to examine positive and negative depression coping (DC) in low-income African American women. Because low-income African American women have been shown to be vulnerable to depression symptom onset yet less accepting of treatment, DC in this population is of interest to researchers. Depression symptom severity, defense mechanisms, difficult life circumstances (DLC), and social support were examined as possible determinants of DC. In 244 mildly or moderately to severely depressed women, mature defense mechanisms predicted positive DC, and DLC predicted negative DC. Social support had no effect on positive or negative DC. Findings are discussed in terms of individual and community tailored rehabilitative psychotherapy to promote positive DC. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 28:106,116, 2005 [source] Validation of the WHOQOL-BREF among women following childbirthAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 2 2010Joan WEBSTER Background:, There is increasing interest in measuring quality of life (QOL) in clinical settings and in clinical trials. None of the commonly used QOL instruments has been validated for use postnatally. Aim:, To assess the psychometric properties of the 26-item WHOQOL-BREF (short version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life assessment) among women following childbirth. Methods:, Using a prospective cohort design, we recruited 320 women within the first few days of childbirth. At six weeks postpartum, participants were asked to complete the WHOQOL-BREF, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Index and the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index. Validation of the WHOQOL-BREF included an analysis of internal consistency, discriminate validity, convergent validity and an examination of the domain structure. Results:, In all, 221 (69.1%) women returned their six-week questionnaire. All domains of the WHOQOL-BREF met reliability standards (alpha coefficient exceeding 0.70). The questionnaire discriminated well between known groups (depressed women and non-depressed women. P , 0.000) and demonstrated satisfactory correlations with the Australian Unity Wellbeing index (r , 0.45). The domain structure of the WHOQOL-BREF was also valid in this population of new mothers, with moderate-to-high correlation between individual items and the domain structure to which the items were originally assigned. Conclusion:, The WHOQOL-BRF is a well-accepted and valid instrument in this population and may be used in postnatal clinical settings or for assessing intervention effects in research studies. [source] Exploring therapeutic alliance in brief inpatient psychotherapy: a preliminary studyCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 5 2010Mark A. Blais Abstract Background: Therapeutic alliance is one of the most widely investigated variables in psychotherapy research but few studies have explored its role in inpatient psychotherapy. Many factors likely contribute to the lack of inpatient alliance research including the short length of hospital stays, complexity of patient psychopathology and the burdensome quality of most alliance scales. This paper reports on the development and initial application of two comparable brief scales designed to capture patient and therapist alliance ratings. Method: Participants were 20 patients receiving supportive,expressive inpatient psychotherapy. The patients were predominantly depressed women. Baseline measures of distress, symptom severity and functioning were obtained at the first and third sessions. Measures of alliance were obtained at the second session. Results: The brief alliance scales demonstrated adequate internal consistency and the individual items had good adjusted item-to-scale correlations. Consistent with the broad alliance literature, we found that patients rated alliance higher than therapists, patient and therapist alliance ratings were not significantly correlated, and level of functioning was significantly associated with both patients and therapists' alliance ratings. The perceived depth of psychotherapy was also significantly associated with alliance. Unexpectedly, alliance ratings were also negatively associated with improvement during hospitalization. Conclusions: Overall, the study demonstrates both the feasibility and potential benefit of conducting inpatient psychotherapy research.,Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: This paper shows that inpatient psychotherapy can be studied and potentially improved through the application of brief targeted instruments. [source] Dependency and self-criticism in post-partum depression and anxiety: a case control studyCLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 1 2009Nicole Vliegen This study investigates the role of self-criticism and dependency in inpatient post-partum depressed women (n = 55) and non-depressed controls (n = 37) as well as the relationship between both personality dimensions and severity of depression and anxiety. As expected, mothers with post-partum depression showed not only increased levels of depression but also anxiety compared with non-depressed mothers. Furthermore, they had significantly higher levels of self-criticism, but not of dependency. In the post-partum depressed mothers, both personality dimensions were positively associated with severity of depression. However, in non-depressed mothers, self-criticism was positively associated with depression, while there was an inverse relationship between dependency and severity of depression. In both samples, self-criticism, but not dependency, was related to state anxiety. The cross-sectional nature of this study limits the ability to draw causal conclusions. The study was based on self-report and conducted in relatively small samples. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||