Low Mood (low + mood)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Can we predict future improvement in glycaemic control?

DIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 2 2008
R. Singh
Abstract Aims To determine the factors responsible for poor glycaemic control in diabetes and whether any such factors are associated with likely improvement in glycaemic control. Methods A prospective cohort study of 130 diabetic patients with poor glycaemic control (HbA1c , 10.0%) with 1-year follow-up in a teaching hospital Diabetes Clinic. Changes in HbA1c were measured after 1 year. Results Poor glycaemic control was attributed to one of 15 possible causes. Those cases due to recent diagnosis of diabetes, inadequate treatment with diet, oral glucose-lowering agents or insulin, exacerbation of co-existent medical problems, recent stressful life-events and missed clinic appointments were all associated with significant improvement in HbA1c at 12 months. Patients with low mood or alcohol excess, inadequate blood glucose monitoring, poor exercise/sedentary lifestyle, refusal to take tablets or underdosing and refusal to take insulin at all or to increase the dose were all associated with continuing poor glycaemic control at 12 months. The patients were divided almost equally between the two groups. Conclusions In patients with poor glycaemic control, it is possible by simple features identified at clinic to predict which individuals are likely to show improvement in control and which will not. These findings have not been reported previously and suggest that about half of individuals with poor control will improve within our current diabetes clinic practice. Additional strategies will be required to address those individuals who are not likely to respond. [source]


The epidemiology of depression in diabetes

EUROPEAN DIABETES NURSING, Issue 3 2008
K Winkley BSc, PhD Lecturer in Diabetes, Psychology
Abstract Depression is characterised by a period of low mood and loss of interest in everyday activities, and its prevalence in people with diabetes is thought to be twice as high as for those without the condition. Depression in diabetes is associated with a number of adverse outcomes such as increased morbidity, mortality and poor quality of life. As diabetes is increasingly common amongst the economically active, this has serious implications for health services and in the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) has recognised that depression in people with diabetes is a significant problem and recommends screening for depression in this group. Risk factors for depression in diabetes are almost identical to those in people without diabetes, but less is known about its course when people have diabetes, although the available evidence suggests it is more chronic. Research into the mechanisms by which depression is bad for people with diabetes suggests that biological, psychological and social factors play a part but the inter-relationships between these factors are likely to be complex and are not yet fully understood. Depression in people with diabetes can be treated successfully with pharmacological and psychological treatments at least in the short-term, but we do not yet know which treatments are successful in the long-term. Further research into the pathological mechanisms of depression and its treatment are needed if we are to continue to improve the health and lives of people with diabetes. Copyright © 2008 FEND [source]


Perinatal Sadness among Shuar Women: Support for an Evolutionary Theory of Psychic Pain

MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2007
Edward H. Hagen
Psychiatry faces an internal contradiction in that it regards mild sadness and low mood as normal emotions, yet when these emotions are directed toward a new infant, it regards them as abnormal. We apply parental investment theory, a widely used framework from evolutionary biology, to maternal perinatal emotions, arguing that negative emotions directed toward a new infant could serve an important evolved function. If so, then under some definitions of psychiatric disorder, these emotions are not disorders. We investigate the applicability of parental investment theory to maternal postpartum emotions among Shuar mothers. Shuar mothers' conceptions of perinatal sadness closely match predictions of parental investment theory. [source]


The common adolescent bipolar phenotype shows positive biases in emotional processing

BIPOLAR DISORDERS, Issue 6 2010
Philippa L Rock
Rock PL, Goodwin GM, Harmer CJ. The common adolescent bipolar phenotype shows positive biases in emotional processing. Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 606,615. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objectives:, Bipolar disorder is associated with abnormalities in emotional processing that persist into periods of remission. However, studies of euthymic bipolar disorder patients may be confounded by the experience of mood episodes and medication. We therefore assessed an adolescent group for vulnerability markers associated with the bipolar phenotype. Methods:, The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) is a screening tool for bipolar disorder that targets mood-elevation symptoms. We selected 32 high-scoring students (, 7 symptoms) with the adolescent bipolar phenotype and 30 low-scoring controls (, 3 symptoms) and screened them with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview,Plus for bipolar disorder and other psychiatric disorders. We investigated emotional processing by assessing facial expression recognition, emotional memory, emotion-potentiated startle, and a dot-probe task. Results:, Of the high-MDQ participants, 12 were in remission from bipolar disorder defined by DSM-IV-TR and interview (bipolar II disorder/bipolar disorder not otherwise specified) and 3 from major depressive disorder. High-MDQ participants had higher levels of neuroticism, low mood, and lifetime anxiety comorbidity and alcohol dependence compared with low-MDQ participants. The high-MDQ group showed facilitated recognition of surprised and neutral facial expressions and enhanced processing of positive versus negative information in emotional recognition memory and emotion-potentiated startle. There were no effects on emotional categorisation/recall memory or attentional bias in the dot-probe task. Conclusions:, These results suggest that students with the common adolescent bipolar phenotype show positive emotional processing biases despite increased levels of neuroticism, low mood, and anxiety. Such effects may represent a psychological vulnerability marker associated with the bipolar phenotype. [source]


Risk factors for early post-operative psychiatric symptoms in patients undergoing epilepsy surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy

ACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 3 2009
K. Moss
Objective,,,De-novo psychiatric symptoms may develop within 3 months after a temporal lobectomy for epilepsy. The objective of this study was to identify presurgical risk factors for psychiatric symptoms. Methods,,, Twenty-seven patients who had a temporal lobectomy for epilepsy were included. Twenty-four had hippocampal sclerosis or gliosis, and three had cavernous haemagiomata. Twelve had operations on the left, and 15 on the right side. Twenty-four patients were rendered free of seizures (SZ) with loss of awareness, three had early post-operative convulsions, one continued to have habitual SZ. Results,,, Nine patients (33%) developed low mood, anxiety and emotional lability within 3 months after surgery. Patients with early post-operative psychiatric symptoms were younger (27.9/34.8 years, P = 0.01), and more anxious on the presurgical Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (12/8.44, P = 0.02) than patients without post-operative psychiatric symptoms. There was also an association between right temporal lobectomies and early post-surgical symptoms (P = 0.02 Fisher's exact test). Conclusion,,, Potential risk factors were age, anxiety and operation on the right side. Larger studies are required to determine if these risk factors are independent. [source]