Predictive Factors for Psychological Distress Related to Diagnosis of Breast Cancer.

Predictive factors for psychological distress related to diagnosis of breast cancer.

Psychooncology. 2013 Mar; 22(3): 523-9
Iwatani T, Matsuda A, Kawabata H, Miura D, Matsushima E

The aims of the present study were as follows: (i) to clarify the proportion of women who experience psychological distress during breast cancer diagnosis and (ii) to identify the predictors of psychological distress related to the diagnostic process.This was a longitudinal prospective study of women who required further breast examination. Questionnaires were administered at pre-medical consultations (Time 1), after describing radiological examination (Time 2), and after explaining pathological findings (Time 3). All participants completed Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–Breast, and Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy–Spiritual subscale at Time 1 to identify predictors. Participants also completed HADS at Times 2 and 3 to identify the presence or absence of psychological distress.Of the 222 eligible patients, at Time 2, 31 (22.6%) participants with no clinical abnormalities and 39 (45.9%) participants with abnormal findings had HADS scores of ? 11 points (?2 test, 13.14; p < 0.001). At Time 3, 14 (28.0%) participants with benign breast changes and 24 (68.6%) participants with breast cancer had scores of ? 11 (?2 test, 13.71; p < 0.001). Higher HADS scores at Time 1 were associated with the presence of psychological distress at all stages of breast cancer diagnosis. Advanced tumor stage was a predictor of psychological distress for participants with breast cancer (odds ratios = 3.314, 95% confidence interval = 1.033-9.509; p = 0.044).These results suggest that intensive psychological intervention is necessary for breast cancer patients with large tumors, as well as for women with suspected breast cancer with high HADS scores at pre-consultation. HubMed – depression

Supplementation with High Doses of Vitamin D to Subjects without Vitamin D Deficiency May Have Negative Effects: Pooled Data from Four Intervention Trials in Tromsø.

ISRN Endocrinol. 2013; 2013: 348705
Jorde R, Strand Hutchinson M, Kjærgaard M, Sneve M, Grimnes G

Data were pooled from four randomized clinical trials with vitamin D performed in Tromsø with weight reduction, insulin sensitivity, bone density, and depression scores as endpoints. Serum lipids, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein, (HS-CRP) were measured at baseline and after 6-12 months of supplementation with vitamin D?20?000?IU-40?000?IU per week versus placebo. A total of 928 subjects who completed the interventions were included. At baseline the mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level in those given vitamin D was 55.9 (20.9)?nmol/L and the mean increase was 82.4 (40.1)?nmol/L. Compared with the placebo group there was in the vitamin D group at the end of the studies a slight, but significant, increase in HbA1c of 0.04%, an increase in HS-CRP of 0.07?mg/L in those with serum 25(OH)D HubMed – depression

Asthma and wheezing are associated with depression and anxiety in adults: an analysis from 54 countries.

Pulm Med. 2013; 2013: 929028
Wong KO, Hunter Rowe B, Douwes J, Senthilselvan A

Background. Asthma and depression are important public-health concerns worldwide. While some epidemiologic studies have shown asthma and wheezing to be associated with depression and anxiety, the patterns are unclear at the multinational level due to the lack of cross-study comparability. Our study examined the associations of self-reported asthma diagnosis and current wheezing with self-reported depression diagnosis and 30-day anxiety using an international survey. Methods. Using the 2002 World Health Survey, a standardized international survey conducted by the WHO, we estimated the associations between diagnosed asthma and current wheezing with diagnosed depression and 30-day anxiety via multiple logistic regressions for 54 countries worldwide. Results. Diagnosed depression and 30-day anxiety were associated with diagnosed asthma in 65% and 40% of the countries, respectively. Diagnosed depression and 30-day anxiety were associated with current wheezing in 83% and 82% of the countries, respectively. Conclusions. The association between asthma and depression was generally seen at the global level. These results indicated the importance of addressing the asthma-depression comorbidity as public-health and clinical management priorities, in order to improve the overall health of the countries. HubMed – depression

Increased corticosterone in peripubertal rats leads to long-lasting alterations in social exploration and aggression.

Front Behav Neurosci. 2013; 7: 26
Veenit V, Cordero MI, Tzanoulinou S, Sandi C

Stress during childhood and adolescence enhances the risk of psychopathology later in life. We have previously shown that subjecting male rats to stress during the peripubertal period induces long-lasting effects on emotion and social behaviors. As corticosterone is increased by stress and known to exert important programming effects, we reasoned that increasing corticosterone might mimic the effects of peripubertal stress. To this end, we injected corticosterone (5 mg/kg) on 7 scattered days during the peripuberty period (P28-P30, P34, P36, P40, and P42), following the same experimental schedule as for stress administration in our peripubertal paradigm. We measured play behavior in the homecage and, at adulthood, the corticosterone response to novelty and behavioral responses in tests for anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, aggression, and social exploration. As compared to vehicle, corticosterone-treated animals exhibit more aggressive play behavior during adolescence, increased aggressive behavior in a resident-intruder (RI) test while reduced juvenile exploration and corticosterone reactivity at adulthood. Whereas the corticosterone treatment mimicked alterations induced by the peripuberty stress protocol in the social domain, it did not reproduce previously observed effects of peripuberty stress on increasing anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors, respectively evaluated in the elevated plus maze (EPM) and the forced swim tests. Our findings indicate that increasing corticosterone levels during peripuberty might be instrumental to program alterations in the social domain observed following stress, whereas other factors might need to be recruited for the programming of long-term changes in emotionality. Our study opens the possibility that individual differences on the degree of glucocorticoid activation during peripuberty might be central to defining differences in vulnerability to develop psychopathological disorders coursing with alterations in the social realm. HubMed – depression