Season of birth, clinical manifestations and Dexamethasone Suppression Test in unipolar major depression.

Background: Reports in the literature suggest that the season of birth might constitute a risk factor for the development of a major psychiatric disorder, possibly because of the effect environmental factors have during the second trimester of gestation. The aim of the current paper was to study the possible relationship of the season of birth and current clinical symptoms in unipolar major depression.

Methods: The study sample included 45 DSM-IV major depressive patients and 90 matched controls.

Difference in symptom profile between generalized anxiety disorder and anxiety secondary to hyperthyroidism.

Objective: The differential diagnosis between subclinical hyperthyroidism and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is often a difficult problem to solve without laboratory examination. The aim of this pilot study was to assess whether there are differences in the symptom profile between these two disorders.

Methods: Fifty patients took part in the study: Twenty-five were hyperthyroid patients, and twenty-five were GAD patients.

Burnout in nursing staff: is there a relationship between depression and burnout?

Objective: There is evidence that burnout may be a clinical entity with pathological stress reaction features related to the inability in finding pleasure from work. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between burnout and depression.

Methods: The study took place in the general hospital AHEPA of Thessaloniki.

The validation of the short form of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) in Greece.

The Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15) is a short, 15-item instrument specifically designed to assess depression in geriatric populations. Its items require a yes/no response. The Geriatric Depression Scale was first introduced by Yesavage et al.