The LIFE study is a two-phase randomized clinical trial comparing two approaches to maintaining weight loss following guided weight loss. Phase I provided a nonrandomized intensive 6-month behavioral ...weight loss intervention to 472 obese (body mass index 30-50) adult participants. Phase II is the randomized weight loss maintenance portion of the study. This paper focuses on Phase I measures of sleep, screen time, depression and stress.
The Phase I intervention consisted of 22 group sessions led over 26 weeks by behavioral counselors. Recommendations included reducing dietary intake by 500 calories per day, adopting the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) dietary pattern and increasing physical exercise to at least 180 min per week. Measures reported here are sleep time, insomnia, screen time, depression and stress at entry and post-weight loss intervention follow-up.
The mean weight loss for all participants over the intensive Phase I weight loss intervention was 6.3 kg (s.d. 7.1). Sixty percent (N=285) of participants lost at least 4.5 kg (10 lbs) and were randomized into Phase II. Participants (N=472) attended a mean of 73.1% (s.d. 26.7) of sessions, completed 5.1 (s.d. 1.9) daily food records/week, and reported 195.1 min (s.d. 123.1) of exercise per week. Using logistic regression, sleep time (quadratic trend, P=0.030) and lower stress (P=0.024) at entry predicted success in the weight loss program, and lower stress predicted greater weight loss during Phase I (P=0.021). In addition, weight loss was significantly correlated with declines in stress (P=0.048) and depression (P=0.035).
Results suggest that clinicians and investigators might consider targeting sleep, depression and stress as part of a behavioral weight loss intervention.
The incidence of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) in the population is low, but specifics are unknown. Potential risk factors include bisphosphonate treatment, steroid treatment, osteoporosis, and ...head/neck radiation. This Dental Practice-Based Research Network study estimated ONJ incidence and odds ratios from bisphosphonate exposure and other risk factors using a key word search and manual chart reviews of electronic records for adults aged ≥ 35 yrs enrolled during 1995–2006 in two large health-care organizations. We found 16 ONJ cases among 572,606 cohort members; seven additional cases were identified through dental plan resources. Among 23 cases (0.63 per 100,000 patient years), 20 (87%) had at least one risk factor, and six (26%) had received oral bisphosphonates. Patients with oral bisphosphonates were 15.5 (CI, 6.0–38.7) more likely to have ONJ than non-exposed patients; however, the sparse number of ONJ cases limits firm conclusions and suggests that the absolute risks for ONJ from oral bisphosphonates is low.
The psychometric properties of the 28- and 30-item versions of the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Clinician-Rated (IDS-C) and Self-Report (IDS-SR) are reported in a total of 434 (28-item) ...and 337 (30-item) adult out-patients with current major depressive disorder and 118 adult euthymic subjects (15 remitted depressed and 103 normal controls). Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.92 to 0.94 for the total sample and from 0.76 to 0.82 for those with current depression. Item total correlations, as well as several tests of concurrent and discriminant validity are reported. Factor analysis revealed three dimensions (cognitive/mood, anxiety/arousal and vegetative) for each scale. Analysis of sensitivity to change in symptom severity in an open-label trial of fluoxetine (N = 58) showed that the IDS-C and IDS-SR were highly related to the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Given the more complete item coverage, satisfactory psychometric properties, and high correlations with the above standard ratings, the 30-item IDS-C and IDS-SR can be used to evaluate depressive symptom severity. The availability of similar item content for clinician-rated and self-reported versions allows more direct evaluations of these two perspectives.
Background
The Weight Loss Maintenance Trial tested strategies for maintenance of weight loss. Personal contact was superior to interactive technology and self-directed conditions.
Purpose
We aimed ...to identify behavioral mediators of the superior effect of personal contact vs. interactive technology and of personal contact vs. self-directed arms.
Methods
Overweight/obese adults at risk for cardiovascular disease (
n
= 1,032) who lost at least 4 kg were randomized to personal contact, interactive technology, or self-directed. After 30 months, 880 participants had data on weight and behavioral strategies.
Results
Reported increase of intake of fruits and vegetables and physical activity and more frequent self-weighing met criteria as mediators of the better outcome of personal contact vs. interactive technology. Increased intake of fruits and vegetables, more frequent self-weighing, and decreased dessert consumption were mediators of the difference between personal contact vs. self-directed.
Conclusion
Inducing changes in the identified behaviors might yield better outcomes in future weight loss maintenance trials.
(ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT00054925)
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) afflicts up to 20 million people in the United States, but little is known about their health care costs. The authors analyzed costs and resource use associated with CKD ...by using National Kidney Foundation staging definitions. Patients insured through a large health maintenance organization with a laboratory finding of CKD (defined as estimated GFR between 15 and 90 ml/min per 1.73 m(2) in 1996 followed by a second GFR below 90 at the next creatinine measurement occurring at least 90 d later) were followed from 1996 for up to 66 mo. The final cohort included 13,796 persons with CKD and their age- and gender-matched controls; 1741 in stage 2; 11,278 in stage 3; and 777 in stage 4. Depending on stage, cases had 1.9 to 2.5 times more prescriptions, 1.3 to 1.9 times more outpatient visits, were 1.6 to 2.2 times more likely to have had an inpatient stay, and had 1.8 to 3.1 more stays than did controls. Total per patient follow-up costs were $total, (95% CI) cases and controls, respectively $38,764 (95% CI, 37,033 to $40,496) and $16,212 (95% CI, $15,644 to $16,780) in stage 2; $33,144 (95% CI, $32,578 to $33,709) and $18,964 (95% CI, $18,730 to $19,197) in stage 3; and $41,928 (95% CI, $39,354 to $44,501) and $19,106 (95% CI, $18,212 to $20,000) in stage 4. Cases with no CKD-related comorbidities had costs double that of controls with no CKD-related comorbidities, and comorbidities related to CKD were more costly to manage than CKD alone. Future research in this area could be usefully directed toward analyzing the clinical and economic consequences of better managing or preventing comorbidities in patients with CKD.
Background: This study has two goals: 1) to establish a generalizable model of the symptoms observed in outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD); and 2) to compare symptom coverage of the ...Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, Clinician-Rated (IDS-C) and Self-Report (IDS-SR) to that of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
Methods: A factor analysis of IDS-C, IDS-SR, HDRS, and BDI items was carried out on 324 adult outpatients with MDD. Patients with coexisting Axis I or III illness or those taking psychotropic medication were excluded.
Results: Ten primary factors were identified, six of which were substantially intercorrelated, defining a second-order factor of general depression severity. Schmid–Leiman orthogonalization identified the symptoms most associated with general severity.
Conclusions: The IDS provided more complete factor coverage than did the HDRS or BDI and thus may be more useful in research on symptom profiles.
This study investigated the effects of open-label fluoxetine (20 mg/d) on the polysomnogram (PSG) in depressed outpatients (n = 58) who were treated for 5 weeks, after which dose escalation was ...available (< or = 40 mg/d), based on clinical judgment. Thirty-six patients completed all 10 weeks of acute phase treatment and responded (HRS-D < or = 10). PSG assessments were conducted and subjective sleep evaluations were gathered at baseline and at weeks 1, 5, and 10. Of the 36 subjects who completed the acute phase, 17 were reevaluated after 30 weeks on continuation phase treatment and 13 after approximately 7 weeks (range 6-8 weeks) following medication discontinuation. Acute phase treatment in responders was associated with significant increases in REM latency, Stage 1 sleep, and REM density, as well as significant decreases in sleep efficiency, total REM sleep, and Stage 2 sleep. Conversely, subjective measures of sleep indicated a steady improvement during acute phase treatment. After fluoxetine was discontinued, total REM sleep and sleep efficiency were found to be increased as compared to baseline.
To evaluate the outcome of a sample of children and adolescents hospitalized with major depressive disorder (MDD) and to assess different duration and severity criteria to define recovery and ...recurrence.
Fifty-nine of 70 children and adolescents were reevaluated 1 to 5 years later, and the intervening course of depression and other disorders was assessed using the Kiddie-Longitudinal interval Follow-up Evaluation (K-LIFE).
Ninety-eight percent of subjects had recovered from their index MDD episode within 1 year of their initial evaluation, but 61% had at least one recurrence during the follow-up period. Of those with recurrences, 47.2% had a recurrence within 1 year and 69.4% by 2 years from the offset of the index episode. Changing the criteria for recovery by increasing the length of time required to define recovery resulted in decreases in the number of episodes of recurrence reported.
MDD in children and adolescents is often an episodic disorder. Difference in definitions of recovery and recurrence affect the data reported. Consistent definitions of remission, recovery, relapse, and recurrence are needed. These data suggest that recovery may be defined after two consecutive months without symptoms and that episodes of MDD may be briefer, but more frequent, in children and adolescents than in adults.