Journal of affective disorders
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Estimates of the prevalence of lifetime suicidal ideation and attempt, and risks for new-onset suicidality, among HIV-infected (HIV+) individuals are not widely available in the era of modern combined antiretroviral treatment (cART). ⋯ High rates of lifetime suicidal ideation and attempt, and the relationship of past report with current depressed mood, suggest that mood disruption is still prevalent in HIV. Findings emphasize the importance of properly diagnosing and treating psychiatric comorbidities among HIV persons in the cART era.
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Uncontrollable stress is frequently accompanied by a primarily opioid-mediated stress analgesia. In posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exaggerated stress-induced analgesia to trauma reminders was proposed. The present study investigated whether enhanced analgesia occurs in response to a trauma-unrelated cognitive stressor in PTSD. ⋯ These findings show enhanced stress reactivity and accompanying reduced pain perception in PTSD-patients in contrast to traumatized participants without PTSD. The results suggest that the previously reported enhanced analgesic response after trauma-related stress in PTSD transfers to trauma-unrelated stressors.
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Depression has been associated with a decreased level of asthma control. The aim of our study was to examine associations between health-professional diagnosed work-related asthma (WRA) and current depression and the effect of current depression on the associations of WRA with adverse asthma outcomes. ⋯ Depression may play an important role in asthma management and should be considered when assessing patients with asthma and, in particular, those with WRA.
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There has been a widening suicide gender gap in Taiwan in the past decade. This study aimed to examine the contributions of changing incidence patterns of suicidal behavior and case fatalities of different suicide methods in quantitatively explaining the male excess in suicide rates and the associated changes in gender ratio of suicide in Taipei City from 2004 to 2006. ⋯ Suicide attempt incidences in males and females have increased considerably in the period 2004-2006. As males especially those 40-59 years old are drawn to use more lethal methods of suicide (i.e. charcoal burning and jumping), the excessive male suicide rate and the suicide gender ratio continues to increase even though the gender ratio of attempt incidence remains the same.
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Previous neuroimaging studies found evidence of brain functional and structural abnormalities in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), but they rarely excluded compounding effects of some important factors, such as medication and brain degeneration. This study sought to explore the brain biochemical changes of first-episode, treatment-naive, non-late-life adult patients with MDD in the frontal white matter and gray matter by using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS). ⋯ These findings suggest that biochemical abnormalities in prefrontal white matter may occur early in the course of MDD and may be related to the neuropathology of depression.