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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 May 2016

Cosme Alvarado-Esquivel, Antonio Sifuentes-Alvarez and Carlos Salas-Martinez

We sought to evaluate the capacity of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in discriminating mental disorders other than depression in pregnant women in northern…

Abstract

We sought to evaluate the capacity of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in discriminating mental disorders other than depression in pregnant women in northern Mexico. Three hundred pregnant women attending prenatal consultations in a public hospital in Durango City, Mexico submitted a validated EPDS and were examined for mental disorders other than depression using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 4th Ed. (DSM-IV) criteria. Sensitivity and specificity of cut-off points of the EPDS, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated. Of the 300 pregnant women studied, 21 had mental disorders other than depression by the DSM-IV criteria. The best EPDS score for screening mental disorders other than depression was 8/9. This threshold showed a sensitivity of 52.4%, a specificity of 67.0%, a positive predictive value of 11.5%, a negative predictive value of 95.4%, and an area under the curve of 0.643 (95% confidence interval: 0.52-0.76). The EPDS can be considered for screening mental disorders other than depression in Mexican pregnant women whenever a cut-off score of 8/9 is used. However, the tool showed small power to separate pregnant women with and without mental disorders other than depression.

Details

Mental Illness, vol. 8 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 22 February 2011

Leena Korpinen and Rauno Pääkkönen

The aim was to study how the working-age population's mental symptoms had a relation to the using of the Internet. In addition, the aim was to analyze how the mental symptoms had…

Abstract

The aim was to study how the working-age population's mental symptoms had a relation to the using of the Internet. In addition, the aim was to analyze how the mental symptoms had a relation to background information. The study was carried out as a cross-sectional study by posting a questionnaire to 15,000 working-age (18-65) Finns. Mental symptoms of responses (6121) were analysed using the model factors age, gender and use of the Internet. Only 0.06% mentioned that they were somehow addicted to the Internet. Based on statistical analyses, age and marital status had an influence on many mental symptoms. The use of the Internet at leisure had an influence on substance addiction and fear situations. The importance of the Internet only had an influence on the fear situations. In the future it will be essential to take into account that the use of the internet can affect mental symptoms.

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Mental Illness, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 26 July 2012

Rodney A. Lambert

Routine general practice (GP) care is rarely comprehensively described in clinical trials. This paper examines routine GP care within the lifestyle approach to managing panic

Abstract

Routine general practice (GP) care is rarely comprehensively described in clinical trials. This paper examines routine GP care within the lifestyle approach to managing panic (LAMP) study. The aim of this paper is to describe/discuss routine GP care for panic disorder (PD) patients within both study arms in the LAMP study. An unblinded pragmatic randomised controlled trial in 15 East of England GP practices (2 primary care trusts). Participants met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria for PD with/without agoraphobia. Follow-up measures recorded at 20 weeks/10 months following randomisation. Control arm, unrestricted routine GP care (practice appointments, referrals and prescriptions). Trial arm, occupational therapy-led lifestyle treatment comprising lifestyle review of fluid intake, diet pattern, exercise, caffeine, alcohol and nicotine. Primary outcome measure: beck anxiety inventory. At baseline, participants attended 2-3 times more GP appointments than population average, reducing at 10 months to 1.6 times population average for routine GP care and 0.97 population average for lifestyle arm. At 10 months, 33% fewer referrals (6 referrals; 0 mental health) than at baseline (9 referrals; 2 mental health) were made for lifestyle arm patients compared with 42% increase (from 12 referrals; 8 mental health at baseline to 17 referrals; 7 mental health) in GP care arm. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors were prescribed most often. Benzodiazepines and beta-blockers were prescribed more often than tricyclic against current clinical guidelines. In conclusion, we found that PD patients at baseline were high healthcare resource users. Treatment in both study arms reduced resource use. Routine GP care requires further review for this patient group.

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Mental Illness, vol. 4 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 26 July 2012

Jonathan Kusumi and Randal G. Ross

Childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) refers to schizophrenia with onset of psychotic symptoms prior to a child's 13th birthday. Optimal treatment likely includes family-based…

Abstract

Childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS) refers to schizophrenia with onset of psychotic symptoms prior to a child's 13th birthday. Optimal treatment likely includes family-based services supplementing antipsychotic pharmacotherapy. However, family-based services can require adjustment based on parental psychopathology; there has been little literature exploring the frequency or type of psychopathology seen in parents of COS cases. This report includes the results of a structured psychiatric evaluation on 80 parents of a COS case with comparison to a sample of 304 parents. Having a child with psychosis and being of minority racial/ethnicity status increased risk for psychiatric illness. Psychotic disorders (15% vs. 5%), mood disorders (54% vs. 27%), anxiety disorders (30% vs. 18%), and substance use disorders (49% vs. 31%) were all increased in the parents with a psychotic child. Psychiatric illness is common in parents of a child with COS and will need to be considered as family-based services for COS are developed.

Details

Mental Illness, vol. 4 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 19 October 2017

Melanie Hagen, Beatrice Faust, Nina Kunzelmann, Ozan Y. Tektas, Johannes Kornhuber and Helge H.O. Müller

Factitious disorder, commonly called Munchhausen's syndrome, is a rare disorder that lacks evidence-based guidelines. Reporting clinical cases is important for sharing clinical…

Abstract

Factitious disorder, commonly called Munchhausen's syndrome, is a rare disorder that lacks evidence-based guidelines. Reporting clinical cases is important for sharing clinical experiences and treatment strategies. The symptoms and progression of the following case have not been previously reported in the literature. Here, we report a case involving a 41-year-old Caucasian with a suspected psychosomatic disorder. After intensive multi-professional diagnostics, we concluded that the patient had factitious disorder. The symptoms in this case changed rapidly during treatment, which posed a challenge. For factitious disorder, establishing interdisciplinary exchange is important. Symptoms that are normally treated by internists are most commonly described in the literature. This case demonstrates that psychiatrists are challenged by this diagnosis and should consider the possibility of factitious disorder when seeing patients diagnosed with somatoform disorders. The most important clinical conclusion was the importance of involving the patients' relatives in the treatment of patients with factitious disorder.

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Mental Illness, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 November 2016

Stefan Gebhardt and Martin Tobias Huber

Treatment satisfaction of different mental disorders is still poorly understood, but of high clinical interest. Inpatients of a general psychiatric care hospital were asked to…

296

Abstract

Treatment satisfaction of different mental disorders is still poorly understood, but of high clinical interest. Inpatients of a general psychiatric care hospital were asked to fill out questionnaires on satisfaction and clinical variables at admission and discharge. On the basis of an exploratory approach, differences in treatment satisfaction among diagnostic groups were examined by means of one-way analysis of variance. Potential associated clinical and socio-demographic variables were studied using multi/univariate tests. Patients with personality disorders (n=18) showed a significantly lower treatment satisfaction (ZUF-8, Zurich Satisfaction Questionnaire) and a slightly lower improvement of symptoms (CGI, Clinical Global Impression) and global functioning (GAF, Global Assessment of Functioning scale) than that of other diagnostic groups (n=95). Satisfaction in patients with personality disorders correlated much stronger with the symptom improvement and slightly with the functioning level than in patients without personality disorders. Interestingly, in patients with personality disorders psychopharmacological treatment in general (present versus not present) was independent from satisfaction. This exploratory investigation suggests that a lower satisfaction of patients with personality disorders in a general psychiatric hospital is mainly based on a reduced improvement of the symptoms and of the global functioning level.

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Mental Illness, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 26 July 2012

Lisa Crona and Louise Brådvik

This study is a follow-up of inpatients diagnosed with severe depression/melancholia between 1956 and 1969. During this period, all inpatients at the Department of Psychiatry…

Abstract

This study is a follow-up of inpatients diagnosed with severe depression/melancholia between 1956 and 1969. During this period, all inpatients at the Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital, Lund, were rated on a multidimensional diagnostic schedule on discharge. There were 471 patients born from 1920 onward. In the present follow-up, 2006 to 2010, 169 survivors could be traced. They were asked to participate in the study involving a telephone interview, in which a structured life chart was used. Of the patients contacted, 16 were ill or confused and 3 did not remember ever being depressed, leaving 150 who could participate. Seventy-five of these agreed to participate in the study. Long-term course of depression was evaluated by cluster analysis and compared to background variables, such as heredity for depression, perceived parental rearing behaviour, and treatment of index depressive episode. Using a cluster analysis the patients could be separated into six clusters describing the course: i) single or few episodes followed by long-lasting remission; ii) single or few episodes followed by long-lasting remission, although shorter; iii) single or few episodes followed by late recurrence; iv) single or few episodes, but more frequently ill, followed by late recurrence; v) several episodes followed by lasting remission; vi) chronic course of episodes. Remission or recurrence could therefore occur even after more than a decade. In summary, there was a short-term course with or without recurrence or a chronic course with or without late remission. Heredity for depression was significantly related to a chronic course with or without late remission.

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Mental Illness, vol. 4 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 November 2016

Andrew Toyin Olagunju, Dapo Adebowale Adegbaju and Richard Uwakwe

Evidence-based rehabilitative treatment is constrained due to limited knowledge about disability and its related factors among individuals with schizophrenia across West Africa…

Abstract

Evidence-based rehabilitative treatment is constrained due to limited knowledge about disability and its related factors among individuals with schizophrenia across West Africa. This study aims to investigate the pattern of disability, and the associated factors among individuals with schizophrenia. One hundred consecutively recruited consenting participants were subjected to designed questionnaire to inquire about their demographic and illness-related variables. This was followed by the administration of Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Axis I Disorders and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale to confirm the diagnosis of schizophrenia and rate severity of symptoms respectively in them. In addition, the World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Scale II (WHODAS-II) was used to assess for disability in all participants. Different degrees of disability based on WHODAS-II mean score of 27.02±3.49 were noted among individuals with schizophrenia, and affectation of domains of disability like self care, getting along with others, life activities and participation in the society among others were observed. In addition, high level of disability was significantly associated with younger adults in the age group 18-44 years (P=0.007), unemployment status (P=0.003), remittance source of income (P=0.034) and ethnicity (P=0.017); conversely, less number of children (P=0.033), less amount spent on treatment (P<0.001) and lower BPRS score (P<0.001) correlated negatively with high level of disability. In spite of clinical stability following treatment, individuals with schizophrenia were disabled to varied degrees, and socioeconomic as well as illness-related factors constituted important correlates. Integration of rehabilitation along with social intervention into treatment design to reduce disability is implied, and further research is also warranted.

Details

Mental Illness, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 26 July 2012

Randal G. Ross, Sharon K. Hunter, Gary O. Zerbe and Kate Hanna

It is unclear whether information obtained from a one parent can be used to infer the other parent's history of psychopathology. Two hundred and one parental dyads were asked to…

Abstract

It is unclear whether information obtained from a one parent can be used to infer the other parent's history of psychopathology. Two hundred and one parental dyads were asked to complete psychiatric interviews. Based on maternal report, non-participating husbands/ fathers had higher rates than participating fathers of psychiatric illness. For fathers who did participate, maternal report did not match direct interview of paternal psychopathology with sensitivities less than 0.40 and positive predictive values of 0.33 to 0.74. Psychopa -thology may be over-represented among fathers who do not participate in research. Mother report of paternal symptoms is not an effective proxy. Alternative methods need to be developed to: i) improve father participation or ii) identify psychiatric status in fathers who do not participate in research projects.

Details

Mental Illness, vol. 4 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 January 2010

Olawale O. Ogunsemi, Francis A. Oluwole, Festus Abasiubong, Adebayo R. Erinfolami, Olufemi E. Amoran, Adekunle J. Ariba, Christopher O. Alebiosu and Michael O. Olatawura

Mental disorders lead to difficulties in social, occupational and marital relations. Failure to detect mental disorder denies patients potentially effective treatment. This study…

Abstract

Mental disorders lead to difficulties in social, occupational and marital relations. Failure to detect mental disorder denies patients potentially effective treatment. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and nature of mental disorders at the primary care settings and the recognition of these disorders by the attending physicians. Over a period of eight weeks, consecutive and consenting patients who attended three randomly selected primary health care facilities in Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun state were recruited and administered a questionnaire that included a socio-demographic section and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). A total of 412 subjects took part in the study. Subject age ranged from 18-90 years with a mean age of 52.50±21.08 years. One hundred and seventy-six (42.7%) of the subjects were males. A total of 120 (29.1%) of the subjects had depressive disorder, 100 (24.3%) had anxiety disorder, 196 (47.6%) somatoform disorder and 104 (25.2%) met the criteria for an alcohol related problem. The PHC physicians were only able to diagnose disorders relating to mental health in 52 (12.6%) of the subjects. Health and work situations accounted for more than three-quarters of the causes of stress experienced by the subjects. We conclude that there is a high prevalence of mental disorders among patients seen in primary care settings and that a significant proportion of them are not recognized by the primary care physicians. Stress relating to health, work and financial problems is common among primary health care attendees. Physicians in primary health care should be alert to the possibility and the impact of undetected psychiatric morbidity.

Details

Mental Illness, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2036-7465

Keywords

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