Depression
Middle age is truly depressing, says study
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A global study on happiness shows middle age is truly miserable, although an Australian researcher says this is not necessarily so.
A study using data from around 80 countries has found happiness is greatest in youth and old age with depression being most common among men and women in their forties
“In a remarkably regular way throughout the world people slide down a U-shaped level of happiness and mental health throughout their lives,” says researcher Professor Andrew Oswald at Warwick University in the UK.
Antidepressants Unproven as Treatment for Low Back Pain
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Antidepressants might be worthless for treating low back pain, suggests a new review that found no evidence to support using the drugs in this way. Yet, up to 23 percent of U.S. physicians report prescribing antidepressants to patients with low back pain.
“The prescription of antidepressants as a treatment for back pain remains controversial,” Donna Urquhart, Ph.D., research fellow at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and lead review author.
The review appears in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.
Post-concussion depression more than emotional
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Post-concussion symptoms of depression may stem from an underlying neurological abnormality caused by the concussion, results of a Canadian study suggest.
Depression after a blow to the head may not simply be the individual’s emotional or psychological reaction to the injury and their subsequent loss of playing time, as is commonly thought, investigators note in the medical journal, Archives of General Psychiatry.
“It seems there is a cerebral dysfunction caused by the injury,” Dr. Alain Ptito, of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University in Quebec, told Reuters Health. The injury manifests itself as symptoms of depression, he added.
Genes, parenting linked to teen depression
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U.S. researchers are using a new design that allows them to test the interaction of genetic and environmental liabilities concerning depression.
University of Notre Dame psychologist Gerald Haeffel and colleagues investigated whether a gene associated with dopamine interacted with maternal parenting style to predict episodes of depression.
Study finds exercise reduces menopausal anxiety, stress and depression
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With more menopausal women seeking natural therapies to ease symptoms, a new study has found that simply adding a brisk walking routine can reduce a variety of psychological symptoms such as anxiety, stress and depression. The research is published in the January issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
“With the aging population, physical activity represents one way for women to stay mentally healthy. Physical activity can help throughout the menopausal transition and afterwards,” said Temple University public health researcher Deborah Nelson, Ph.D, the study’s lead author.
Venlafaxine extended-release effective for patients with major depression
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Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the most common major mental illness, afflicting almost one in five individuals. More than 75% of people who recover from an episode of MDD will have at least one recurrence, with the majority having multiple recurrences. MDD is the leading cause of disability of all medical illnesses, with substantial functional impairment, morbidity, and mortality. Few studies have assessed the efficacy of antidepressant medications beyond 1 year of maintenance treatment for the prevention of recurrent depression. However, a new study being published in the upcoming December 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry has done just that.
The PREVENT study, an acronym for the title of the study “The Prevention of Recurrent Episodes of Depression with Venlafaxine for Two Years study,” is, according to one of the senior authors on the paper, Dr. Martin B. Keller, “a multiphase, double-blind, randomized clinical trial designed to investigate the efficacy of the serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) venlafaxine extended release in the prevention of depressive recurrence over 2 years in patients with a history of recurrent MDD who have responded to acute and continuation treatment.” The investigators randomly assigned patients with recurrent depression to receive treatment with either venlafaxine extended-release (ER) or fluoxetine, an antidepressant already established as efficacious as a comparative medication. Although the PREVENT study followed patients for over two years, this article reports only on the acute and continuation phases, which were 10 weeks and 6 months long respectively.
Natural human hormone as the next antidepressant?
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Novel treatment strategies for major depression with broader treatment success or a more rapid onset of action would have immense impact on public health, a new study published in the December 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry explains. This new study reports findings that support the evaluation of a potential new antidepressant agent.
According to the lead author on this study, Kamilla Miskowiak, MSc: “Although depression is often related to problems in the chemistry of the brain, recent evidence also suggests that there may be structural problems as well with nerve cells not being regenerated as fast as normal or suffering from toxic effects of stress and stress hormones.”
Depression screening for cancer patients too often falls between the cracks
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Depression is known to be associated with cancer yet too many cancer patients are not screened for this mental disorder, according to researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine, the Regenstrief Institute and the Roudebush VA Medical Center.
In a study published in the November-December issue of General Hospital Psychiatry, Caroline Carney Doebbeling, M.D., M.Sc. and Laura Jones, Ph.D., looked at data from the Roudebush VA Medical Center, where 95 percent of veterans in primary care are screened for depression.
Is there a developmental component to the risk for depression?
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Psychiatrists remain divided as to how to define and classify the mood and anxiety disorders, the most common mental disorders. Committees across the globe are currently pondering how best to carve nature at its anxious joints for the fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-V), the “gold standard” reference book for psychiatrists. Only recently has the process of refining the diagnostic system been informed by high quality longitudinal data. An important new study of this type was published in the December 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry.
Ian Colman, Ph.D., the lead author, notes, ““Rarely have classification systems in psychiatry considered the nature of symptoms of depression and anxiety over time; however research into trajectories of alcohol abuse and antisocial behaviour shows that accounting for symptoms over time may help in better understanding causes and outcomes of these disorders.”
Relatives of patients with Parkinson’s disease face increased risk of depression/anxiety disorders
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Immediate relatives (brother, sister, mother, father, son or daughter) of people who have Parkinson’s disease are at increased risk for developing depression and anxiety disorders, according to a new study by Mayo Clinic. The risk is particularly increased in families of patients who develop Parkinson’s disease before age 75. The Mayo Clinic report appears in the December 2007 issue of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry (archpsyc.ama-assn.org/).
“Studies by our group and others have shown that relatives of patients with Parkinson’s disease have an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease,” explains Walter Rocca, M.D., senior author of the study and a Mayo Clinic neurologist and epidemiologist. “Recently, we showed they also have increased risk of essential tremor and of cognitive impairment or dementia. However, their risk of psychiatric disorders was unknown.
Depression in Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period
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The author reviews the risks and benefits of untreated maternal depression during pregnancy and the postnatal period and its effects on the well-being of the mother and infant. She then discusses the significant role psychiatrists can play in detecting and managing maternal depression as a primary measure for preventing future child psychopathology.
Obese teens may be at risk of depression later
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Obese teenage girls may be more likely than their thinner peers to develop depression or anxiety disorders as adults, a study suggests.
Researchers found that among nearly 800 children and teenagers followed for 20 years, girls who were obese as teens had a roughly four-times higher risk of clinical depression or anxiety disorders in adulthood.
Exercise found to ease chronic pain of fibromyalgia
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Regular walks and stretching exercises can help ease the chronic, depressing pain of fibromyalgia, a mysterious ailment with no obvious cure, researchers said on Monday.
Striking more than 3 percent of U.S. women and 0.5 percent of men, the illness’ primary symptoms are debilitating pain throughout the body—often with sensitivity and stiffness focused in the joints. Other symptoms include sleep problems, fatigue and depression.
Behavior Therapy Plus Medication May Help Teens With Depression And Substance Use Disorders
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The antidepressant fluoxetine combined with cognitive behavioral therapy appears as effective for treating depression among teens who also have substance use disorders as among those without substance abuse problems, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
“Adolescents with substance use disorders (SUDs) have higher rates of depression (15 percent to 24 percent) than adolescents in the general population,” the authors write as background information in the article.
Psychotherapy may relieve postpartum depression
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Symptoms of postpartum depression appear to be reduced by any psychosocial therapy, with women opting for this treatment doing better than those who try to struggle through with no treatment at all, findings of a study review suggest.
Many women experience mild, short-term depressive symptoms, or “baby blues,” shortly after delivery, while others - about 13 percent - develop more serious postpartum depression, according to lead author Dr. Cindy-Lee Dennis of the University of Toronto. Although antidepressant drugs can be effective in treating depression, about 50 percent of new mothers want to avoid taking drugs.
