Distressed Personality Without a Partner Enhances the Risk of Depression in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease.

Distressed personality without a partner enhances the risk of depression in patients with coronary heart disease.

Asia Pac Psychiatry. 2012 Dec 5;
Lim HE, Lee MS, Ko YH, Park YM, Han C, Joe SH

Cultural differences in the combined effects of Type D personality and other mediating factors in the Asian population have not been reported. We examined the influence of the Type D personality in relation to the presence of a partner by measuring symptoms of anxiety and depression, quality of life, self-perception of health status in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients and normal controls.Normal controls (n?=?541) and patients with CHD (n?=?110) were included. All participants completed self-report measures on Type D personality, questionnaires on socio-demographic factors, the Spielberger State and Trait Anxiety Inventory-State (STAI-S), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). By stratifying participant group, personality type, and partner status, eight groups were constructed.The subjects with Type D personality showed higher mean scores on the STAI-S and CES-D as well as perception of their health. In cases of depression, CHD patients with Type D personality and without partner showed about a 50-fold increase in odds ratio when compared with non-Type D normal controls with partners. Odds ratio for depression changed from 31.44 to 48.72 in CHD patients with Type D personality based on the existence of a partner.Having a partner significantly predicted the risk of depression. It is important to identify social support systems in CHD patients with Type D personality. HubMed – depression

Hepatitis C virus infection is independently associated with depression among methadone maintenance treatment heroin users in China.

Asia Pac Psychiatry. 2012 Jul 27;
Wang Z, Du J, Zhao M, Page K, Xiao Z, Mandel JS

Depression and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are two common conditions among heroin users in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). However, the comorbid relationship between depression and HCV infection among MMT patients is not well understood.One hundred and fifteen MMT patients were recruited from the Yangpu MMT Clinic in Shanghai. Demographic characteristics, drug use and HCV-related information were collected using a structured interview. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were administered to evaluate participants’ symptoms of depression and stress severity. HCV antibody (anti-HCV) test results were collected from patients’ MMT clinical medical records.58.2% of participants were anti-HCV positive, and 41.3% scored moderate-to-severe for symptoms of depression (BDI-II scores >19). The prevalence of depressive symptoms (BDI-II score >19) was greater in HCV positive than HCV negative participants (51.6% versus 27.7%, respectively; P?=?0.02). There was no significant difference in the perceived stress level by anti-HCV status; overall, the perceived stress level score was 15.9?±?5.7. In logistic regression analysis, positive anti-HCV status (OR?=?3.75, 95% CI?=?1.42-9.90), and greater perceived stress (OR?=?1.23, 95% CI?=?1.11-1.36) were independently associated with depression, after controlling for gender, age, duration of drug use and the awareness of HCV infection.Depression and HCV infection are common and co-occurring among MMT patients in Shanghai. HCV infection itself appears to be associated with depressive symptoms regardless of whether the individual is aware of his HCV infection status. This finding indicates that it is important to consider the impact of depressive symptoms on injection risk behaviors and HCV transmission when planning intervention programs in MMT clinics. HubMed – depression

Electroconvulsive therapy without consent from patients: One-year follow-up study.

Asia Pac Psychiatry. 2012 Jul 18;
Chiu NM, Lee Y, Lee WK

No previous study has been designed to analyze the reasons for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) without patients’ consent. In the present study we compared the clinical characteristics and one-year outcomes between patients with refusal to undergo ECT and patients without competency for ECT consent.In a retrospective cohort study, 29 patients were treated with ECT without providing consent between 1 January 2006 and 31 August 2010. A surrogate family member gave informed consent for ECT to meet current legal requirements. Patients were assigned to one of two groups: a consent-refusal group comprising patients who refused to give consent for ECT and could clearly say “no” or argue with psychiatric staff about receiving ECT; and a consent-incompetent group comprising patients who were incompetent for consent but underwent ECT passively or reluctantly without argument.The patients were clinically diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder (n?=?6), psychotic disorder (n?=?12), bipolar I disorder (n?=?8) and major depressive disorder with psychotic features (n?=?3). The consent-incompetent patients had longer hospital stays and more recurrence in one year than the consent-refusal patients, which may be because the former group had more psychotic disorders and fewer mood disorders. All patients improved rapidly and efficiently. However, remission was temporal in two-thirds of patients and the rehospitalization rate in one year was 66% (n?=?19).ECT can be applied early, emergently and successfully to patients who have a wide range of psychiatric disorders and life-threatening conditions without threat of lawsuits, even during their first hospitalization. HubMed – depression

Validation of the Chinese version of Perception of Care in an acute psychiatric ward in Hong Kong.

Asia Pac Psychiatry. 2012 Nov 14;
Fu CK, Chow PL, Lam WS, Tung CK, Cheung YL

This study aimed to validate and culturally adapt the Perception of Care (PoC) for patients receiving acute psychiatric inpatient services in Hong Kong.The PoC was translated and culturally adapted into a written Chinese version (C-PoC). Subjects completed C-PoC, Chinese version of Admission Experience Survey (C-AES) and World Health Organization Quality of Life Measure (WHOQOL-BREF). They were then rated by assessors with Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety and Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale. Explorative factor analysis and correlation between C-PoC, WHOQOL-BREF and C-AES served as the theoretical basis of construct validity. Multivariate analysis was used to identify predictors of satisfaction.The C-PoC has a four-factor structure that resembles the original scale with demonstrating satisfactory construct validity and test-re-test reliability. Psychiatric symptom ratings did not predict any satisfaction ratings. Extrapyramidal symptoms predicted poorer satisfaction. Younger patients with affective diagnoses had better satisfaction.The C-PoC is a psychometrically sound translation of the original scale. The current study paves the way for further studies among Chinese-speaking communities on the determinants and implications of patients’ satisfaction by offering a psychometrically sound and yet concise instrument. HubMed – depression