Associations Between Negative and Positive Life Events and the Course of Depression: A Detailed Repeated-Assessments Study.

Although the effects of life events on the onset of depression are well documented, little is known regarding their effects on the course of symptoms in depressed persons. We prospectively examined the associations between negative and positive life events and the course of depressive symptomatology in depressed primary care patients. A total of 267 depressed patients were followed for 3 years using a repeated-assessments design consisting of 36 monthly assessments of the 9 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders depression symptoms and positive and negative life events.

Tobacco smoking and depression: time to move on to a new research paradigm in medicine?

A recent paper published in BMC Cardiovascular Disorders reported on a study into whether tobacco smoking may serve as a risk factor for depression in patients with heart disease. In the current paper, we discuss several limitations of that study, of which many apply not just to the study itself but to the nomothetic research design that was used. Particularly when bidirectionality between variables is expected, fluctuation in variables over time takes place, and/or inter-individual differences are considerable, a nomothetic research approach does not seem appropriate, and may lead to false conclusions.

Wind direction and mental health: a time-series analysis of weather influences in a patient with anxiety disorder.

Time-series analysis was used to study the associations between daily weather variables and symptomatology in a man suffering from recurrent anxiety. Outcome measures were the patient's main symptoms: anxiety and energy. Wind direction appeared to be related to the patient's energy levels; these were significantly lower when the wind blew from the southeast.