In a perinatal cohort of women in urban and rural Turkey, we investigated associations between antenatal depressive symptoms and subsequent changes in perceived quality of key family relationships.
...Of 730 women recruited in their third trimester (94.6% participation), 578 (79.2%) were reassessed at a mean of 4.1 (s.d. = 3.3) months after childbirth, 488 (66.8%) were reassessed at 13.7 (s.d. = 2.9) months, and 448 (61.4%) at 20.8 (s.d. = 2.7) months. At all four examinations, self-reported quality of relationship with the husband, mother and mother-in-law was ascertained using the Close Persons Questionnaire with respect to emotional support, practical support and negative aspects of the relationship. Antenatal depressive symptoms were defined using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. A range of covariates in mixed models was considered including age, education, number of children, family structure, physical health, past emotional problems and stressful life events.
Key findings were as follows: (i) reported emotional and practical support from all three relationships declined over time in the cohort overall; (ii) reported emotional support from the husband, and emotional and practical support from the mother-in-law, declined more strongly in women with antenatal depressive symptoms; (iii) associations between depressive symptoms and worsening spouse relationship were more pronounced in traditional compared with nuclear families.
Antenatal depressive symptoms predicted marked decline in the quality of key relationships over the postnatal period. This may account for some of the contemporaneous associations between depression and worse social support, and may compound the risk of perinatal depression in subsequent pregnancies.
Introduction
Since there is no objective criteria, unique clinical symptom or laboratory test to make the diagnosis of conversion disorder; its diagnosis and treatment is challenging which leads to a ...poor prognosis.
Objectives
The aim of this study is to investigate the brain metabolic activity of patients with conversion disorder with PET/MRI.
Methods
12 conversion disorder patients were included. Somatosensory Amplification Scale, Somatoform Dissociation Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-15, Toronto Alexithymia Scale were filled in by the participants. Neurological, mental status examinations, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised Form (WAIS-R) and brain F18-FDG-PET/MRI were performed. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5, Hamilton Depression and Anxiety Scales were administered.
Results
83% of the patients were female, the mean age was 33 years and average education period was 10,2 years. WAIS-R total scores were consistent with low avarage intelligence level.Cerebral hypermetabolism was detected in the primary visual cortex. Average regional brain metabolic activity had a tendency to increase in bilateral prefrontal, right sensorimotor (SM),cingulate,right inferior parietal,occipital lateral,right temporal lateral cortices and cerebellum. Each region was metabolically correlated with the homologous contralateral regions. Significant correlations in the same direction was found between frontal and occipital lateral & primary visual cortices; cerebellum and left sensorimotor cortex; anterior cingulate cortex(ACC) and superior parietal cortex & cerebellum. No correlations were found between ACC and left SM cortex.
Conclusions
Findings of our study indicate that there are moderate changes in regional brain metabolic activities and inter-regional correlations in patients with conversion disorder. In order to confirm these findings, furter functional neuroimaging studies are needed.
Disclosure
No significant relationships.
Objective
An association between bipolar disorder and cognitive impairment has repeatedly been described, even for euthymic patients. Findings are inconsistent both across primary studies and ...previous meta‐analyses. This study reanalysed 31 primary data sets as a single large sample (N = 2876) to provide a more definitive view.
Method
Individual patient and control data were obtained from original authors for 11 measures from four common neuropsychological tests: California or Rey Verbal Learning Task (VLT), Trail Making Test (TMT), Digit Span and/or Wisconsin Card Sorting Task.
Results
Impairments were found for all 11 test‐measures in the bipolar group after controlling for age, IQ and gender (Ps ≤ 0.001, E.S. = 0.26–0.63). Residual mood symptoms confound this result but cannot account for the effect sizes found. Impairments also seem unrelated to drug treatment. Some test‐measures were weakly correlated with illness severity measures suggesting that some impairments may track illness progression.
Conclusion
This reanalysis supports VLT, Digit Span and TMT as robust measures of cognitive impairments in bipolar disorder patients. The heterogeneity of some test results explains previous differences in meta‐analyses. Better controlling for confounds suggests deficits may be smaller than previously reported but should be tracked longitudinally across illness progression and treatment.
Quality of life (QOL) of immigrant groups with mental disorders should be compared with similar patients in the country of origin. Therefore, this study evaluated the QOL in Turkish patients who were ...in treatment because of depressive disorders in Ankara and Berlin.
Patients with depressive disorders were recruited from services in Ankara and Berlin. The same researcher interviewed all patients and assessed socio-demographic characteristics, symptomatology, psychiatric diagnosis and QOL.
QOL of patients in Ankara was significantly higher than that of patients in Berlin. Satisfaction with specific life domains also showed significant differences between the two groups. Factors positively associated with QOL in Berlin were marital status, shorter duration of marriage, fewer occupants per household, a relaxed religious attitude, being informed about the illness by the physician, and lower levels of symptoms. In Ankara, only initial help seeking behavior and level of depressive symptoms were associated with QOL.
QOL of Turkish patients with depression in Berlin appears lower than that of similar patients in Ankara. Different factors may influence QOL of Turkish patients with depression living in the place of origin and having emigrated to Germany.
A procedure for preconcentration of Mn（Ⅱ）, Fe（Ⅱ）, Co（H）, Cu（Ⅱ）, Cd（Ⅱ）, Zn（Ⅱ）, Pb（Ⅱ） and Ni（Ⅱ） based on retention of their complexes with 8-hydroxyquinoline （HQ） on Amberlite XAD-2000 resin in a ...column was proposed for the analysis of environmental samples by flame AAS. Various parameters such as pH, eluent type, volume, concentration, flow rate and volume of sample solution, and matrix interference effect on the retention of the metal ions were investigated. The optimum pHs for the retention of metal complexes in question were about 6 except for Mn^2＋ for whose value is 8. The loading capacity of the adsorbent for these metals and their recoveries from the resin under the optimum conditions were in the range 6.82-9.26 mg·g^-1 and 95%-101%, respectively. The enrichment factor was calculated as 100 and the limit of detection was in the range 0.3-2.2 μg·L^-1 （n=20, blank＋ 3s）. The proposed enrichment method was applied to tap water, stream water and vegetable samples. The validation of the procedure was carried out by analysis of certified reference material and standard addition. The analytes were determined with a relative standard deviation lower than 6% in all samples.
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