Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 10 of 95
Depression
- Author:
- ROYAL COLLEGE OF PSYCHIATRISTS
- Publisher:
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- Publication year:
- 1999
- Pagination:
- 10p.
- Place of publication:
- London
Part of a series of booklets describing a range of mental health problems, aiming to make people more understanding of what these are and of the people who suffer from them. This pamphlet looks at depression.
Social origins of depression: a study of psychiatric disorder in women
- Authors:
- BROWN George W., HARRIS Tirril
- Publisher:
- Tavistock
- Publication year:
- 1978
- Pagination:
- 410p.,tables,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- London
Prevalence of depression in older patients consulting their general practitioner in the Netherlands
- Authors:
- LICHT-STRUNK Els, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(11), November 2005, pp.1013-1019.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Data of The West Friesland Study were used. Five thousand, six hundred and eight-six GP attendees of 55 years and older filled in the Geriatric Depression Scale - 15 items as a screening instrument for depression (response 62%). Of those screened positive on the GDS-15, 846 (77.5%) were interviewed using the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD). A random sample of 102 patients scoring below the threshold of the GDS-15 was interviewed to estimate the proportion of false negatives. Major depression was prevalent in 13.7% and minor depression in 10.2% of the patients. Depressed patients were older, more often female and lived more often in urban districts. Patients with major depression were younger and more often female than those with a minor depression. Only 22.9% of the patients with a major depression were treated with antidepressants. Depression in older GP attendees is a very common health problem. Further research should focus on identifying those groups of patients with high risk of persistence of depression. This could help to focus the limited resources available in general practice to those patients in whom treatment is most urgently needed.
Longitudinal syndromal and sub-syndromal symptoms after severe depression: 10-year follow-up study
- Authors:
- KENNEDY Noel, ABBOTT Rosemary, PAYKEL Eugene S.
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 184(4), April 2004, pp.330-336.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Few follow-up studies of depression have evaluated depressive symptomatology over time at both threshold and sub-threshold levels. The aim was to evaluate long-term longitudinal symptomatic course after an episode of severe depression. A total of 61 participants from a previous study cohort underwent a detailed interview covering the longitudinal course of depression and pharmacological treatment over 8–11 years of follow-up. Of the follow-up months, 52% were spent at an asymptomatic level, 15% at minor symptom level, 20% at residual symptom level and 13% at full depression level. Also, 30% of follow-up months were spent in an episode of depression, and 18% of patients never achieved asymptomatic status during follow-up. The percentage of patients at each symptom level remained relatively stable after the first 2 years, but levels in individuals fluctuated, with a mean of two changes in symptom levels per follow-up year.
Anxiety among older psychiatric patients: a hidden comorbidity?
- Authors:
- BENDIXEN Anette Bakkane, ENGEDAL Knut
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 20(11), 2016, pp.131-1138.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
Objectives: The authors' aims were to explore prevalence of anxiety among patients admitted to departments of geriatric psychiatry for treatment of various diagnoses and to examine how often anxiety was registered as a previous or ongoing diagnosis. Method: In all, 473 patients admitted to one of five departments of geriatric psychiatry were included in a quality register and examined according to a standardised protocol. The Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) was used to measure anxiety during the first week after admission. Diagnoses were made at discharge. Results: Using a cutoff on the GAI of 8/9, the prevalence of anxiety for the following diagnostic groups was depression 65.3%, psychosis 28%, dementia 38.8% and mania 33.3%. Of 24 patients with a primary diagnosis of anxiety, 66.7% scored above 8 on the GAI. Of 236 patients with a GAI score above 8, only 22 (9.3%) were reported to have a comorbid anxiety disorder by the treating psychiatrist. In a multiple regression analysis, we found that the severity of depression (beta 0.585, p < 0.001), being female (beta 0.096, p 0.028) and the use of antipsychotic drugs (beta 0.129, p 0.006) and anxiolytic drugs (beta 0.129, p 0.005) were associated with a higher GAI score. Conclusion: Anxiety is common in geriatric psychiatric patients, regardless of the primary diagnosis. The findings suggest that anxiety is often a hidden comorbidity in various psychiatric disorders. A high score on the GAI was associated with the severity of depression, female gender and the use of antipsychotic and anxiolytic drugs. (Edited publisher abstract)
People with physical impairments and mental health support needs: a critical review of the literature
- Author:
- MORRIS Jenny
- Publisher:
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 53p.
- Place of publication:
- York
This report reviews the literature on the mental health support needs of people with physical impairments. The review is divided into two parts. The first part reviews research literature concerned with psychology, psychiatry and rehabilitation services. The second part of the review looks at what is known about the mental health support needs and experiences of people with physical impairments from a social model perspective. It was the first stage of a research project. (Edited publisher abstract)
Mood disorders in later life
- Editors:
- ELLISON James M., KYOMEN Helen H., VERMA Sumer, (eds.)
- Publisher:
- Informa Healthcare
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 372p.
- Place of publication:
- New York
- Edition:
- 2nd ed.
Provides a single-source reference on the spectrum of mood disorders in older adults, focusing on major and nonmajor depressive disorders, bipolar disorder (manic and depressive phases), depression with psychotic features and vascular depression. It provides indepth discussions of diagnosis and treatment options including psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy and ECT. Additional topics in the second edition include: discussion of the epidemiology of late life mood disorders, the diagnosis and treatment of late life bipolar disorder, use of non-ECT neurotherapeutic approaches and the importance of open access to the full range of treatments.
Symptoms of mental health and psychotropic drug use among old people in geriatric care, changes between 1982 and 2000
- Authors:
- LOVHEIM Hugo, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23(3), March 2008, pp.289-294.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Some major changes have occurred in the care of older people in institutions providing geriatric care from a few decades ago to today. How these changes regarding organization, diagnosis and pharmacological treatment, have affected the mental health of the population in general remains unclear. The prevalence of symptoms of mental health in two comparable cross-sectional surveys from 1982 and 2000 were studied. The study population consisted of all the people aged 65 years or older living in geriatric care units in the county of Västerbotten, in northern Sweden. Multivariate regression was used to correct for the effect of change in demographic structure. Six out of 14 symptoms showed a significant decrease, correcting for demographical changes. These were, expressed as descriptions of behaviours, Sad, Crying, Fearful, Disturbed and restless, Lacking initiative and Does not cooperate. Two symptoms showed a significant increase, Overactive/manic and Hallucinates visually. The use of antidepressants had increased from 6.3% 1982 to 39.9% 2000. The use of minor tranquillizers had increased from 13.2% to 39.2% and the prevalence of antipsychotic use had decreased from 25.1% to 20.5%. This article clearly shows that the prevalence of several important symptoms and behaviours in a geriatric care population have decreased over the course of eighteen years, correcting for demographical changes. This might at least partly be accounted for by today's more widespread use of antidepressants and benzodiazepines.
Construction and validation of a patient- and user-friendly nursing home version of the Geriatric Depression Scale
- Authors:
- JONGENELIS K., et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(9), September 2007, pp.837-842.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The aim was to construct a patient- and user-friendly shortened version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) that is especially suitable for nursing home patients. The study was carried out on two different data bases including 23 Dutch nursing homes. Data on the GDS (n = 410), the Mini Mental State Examination (n = 410) and a diagnostic interview (SCAN; n = 333), were collected by trained clinicians. Firstly, the items of the GDS-15 were judged on their clinical applicability by three clinical experts. Subsequently, items that were identified as unsuitable were removed using the data of the Assess project (n = 77), and internal consistency was calculated. Secondly, with respect to criterion validity (sensitivity, specitivity, area under ROC and positive and negative predictive values), the newly constructed shortened GDS was validated in the AGED data set (n = 333), using DSM-IV diagnosis for depression as measured by the SCAN as gold standard. The eight-item GDS that resulted from stage 1 showed good internal consistency in both the Assess data set ( = 0.86) and the AGED dataset ( = 0.80). In the AGED dataset, high sensitivity rates of 96.3% for major depression and 83.0% for minor depression were found, with a specificity rate of 71.7% at a cut-off point of 2/3. The GDS-8 has good psychometric properties. Given that the GDS-8 is less burdening for the patient, more comfortable to use and less time consuming, it may be a more feasible screening test for the frail nursing home population.
Paranoia: the psychology of persecutory delusions
- Authors:
- FREEMAN Daniel, GARETY Philippa
- Publisher:
- Psychology Press
- Publication year:
- 2004
- Pagination:
- 188p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Hove
Taking persecutory delusions as its focus, this study defines the phenomenon in detail and analyzes the content of persecutory delusions. It reviews previous psychological writings, explores the relationship between psychosis and neurosis, reports on innovative empirical studies with patients, and highlights future essential research directions.