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Antidepressants and public health in Iceland: time series analysis of national data
- Authors:
- HELGASON Tomas, TOMASSON Helgi, ZOEGA Tomas
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Psychiatry, 184(2), February 2004, pp.157-162.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
Major depressive disorder is the second leading cause of disability-adjusted life-years in developed regions of the world and antidepressants are the third-ranking therapy class worldwide. Nationwide data from Iceland are used as an example to study the effect of sales of antidepressants on suicide, disability, hospital admissions and out-patient visits. Sales of antidepressants increased from 8.4 daily defined doses per 1000 inhabitants per day in 1975 to 72.7 in 2000, which is a user prevalence of 8.7% for the adult population. Suicide rates fluctuated during 1950–2000 but did not show any definite trend. Rates for out-patient visits increased slightly over the period 1989–2000 and admission rates increased even more. The prevalence of disability due to depressive and anxiety disorders has not decreased over the past 25 years. The dramatic increase in the sales of antidepressants has not had any marked impact on the selected public health measures. Obviously, better treatment for depressive disorders is still needed in order to reduce the burden caused by them
The impact of dispositional emotional expressivity and social constraints on distress among prostrate cancer patients in Iceland
- Authors:
- AGUSTDOTTIR Sjofn, et al
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Health Psychology, 15(1), February 2010, pp.51-61.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This report, part of a larger study, identifies individual factors that predict which Icelandic prostrate cancer patients are more likely to experience emotional distress (anxiety, depression or intrusive thoughts). Social constraints, such as unsupportive social networks, can prevent patients talking, or writing, about distress related to their illness which is generally considered to be beneficial to those who can. When individuals are displaced, in situations or locations which hamper their preferred coping styles they have poorer cardiovascular adjustment, contributing to distress. Using the Icelandic Cancer registry, 184 prostrate cancers survivors, mostly over 70 years, completed questionnaires, including measures for demographics, medical details, hospital anxiety, depression, impact of specific events, emotional expressivity and social constraints, and the data was analysed according to scales defined in the report. A significant positive relationship was observed between perceived social constraints and distress, but only among prostrate cancer survivors with higher levels of dispositional emotional expressivity. This suggests the relationship between social constraints and distress was moderated by dispositional emotional expressivity, with prostrate cancer survivors with high levels of social constraints and high dispositional emotional expressivity having the highest level of distress about their prostrate cancer. It may be important, say the authors, to assess individual differences as well as social environmental factors in the treatment of emotional distress among prostrate cancer survivors.