Journal of affective disorders
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Comparative Study
Screening for perinatal common mental disorders in women in the north of Vietnam: a comparison of three psychometric instruments.
There is increasing recognition that Perinatal Common Mental Disorders (CMDs) are a major public health problem for women in resource-constrained countries. There is an urgent need for screening tools suitable for use by community based health workers to assist in the identification of people with compromised mental health. The aim of this study was to establish the validity of three widely used psychometric screening instruments in detecting CMDs in women in northern Viet Nam. ⋯ These instruments are suitable for use as screening tools for CMDs in women in northern Viet Nam, but probably because of differences in emotional literacy, familiarity with test-taking and the effects of chronic social adversity require much lower cut off scores to detect clinically significant symptoms than in other settings.
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Complicated grief is a prolongation of the normal grieving process with distinct characteristics. It impairs mental and physical health and can potentially greatly impact the quality of life of sufferers and their families. The prevalence and characteristics of complicated grief in the general population are currently unclear. The aims of the present study were therefore to evaluate the prevalence of complicated grief in a population-based cohort, examine the overlap between anxiety and depression and identify common bereavement-related and socio-demographic characteristics. ⋯ The prevalence of complicated grief in older adults in the general population was noteworthy. Several factors were predictive of complicated grief and it was demonstrated as a separate condition to anxiety and depression. These findings highlight the need for prevention, diagnosis and treatment options for older adults with complicated grief and for recognition of complicated grief as a distinct diagnosis.
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Until more recently, most studies have examined the changes in brain gray matter in major depressive disorder (MDD) with less studies focusing on understanding white matter pathology in MDD. Studies of brain white matter volume changes, connectivity disruptions, as well as genetic factors affecting myelination can throw light on the nature of white matter abnormalities underpinning MDD. ⋯ Future investigations would want to study white matter changes in different cerebral regions and incorporate multimodal and longitudinal levels of examination in order to better grasp the neural basis of this condition.
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Although Internet has become an important source for affected people seeking suicide information, the connection between Internet searches for suicide information and suicidal death remains largely unknown. This study aims to evaluate the association between suicide and Internet searches trends for 37 suicide-related terms representing major known risks of suicide. ⋯ Appropriate filtering and detection of potentially harmful source in keyword-driven search results by search engine providers may be a reasonable strategy to reduce suicide deaths.
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Depression is a frequent and serious comorbid condition in cancer patients that may require special attention. We investigate the prevalence of depression in cancer and review the current state of evidence regarding the effectiveness of drug treatment of depression in this group. ⋯ Despite the high prevalence of depression in cancer patients, studies on effective pharmacotherapy are relatively scarce. The evidence for the efficacy of conventional medication used for the treatment of depression such as tricyclics antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors is very limited. It is possible that they may be less suitable in this setting because of their relatively late onset of action. The use of psychostimulants which have a rapid onset of action therefore deserves more attention.