Anxiety in pregnancy and stress responsiveness: An exploratory study of heart rate variability, cortisol, and alpha-amylase in the third trimester.

The present study aimed to explore the association between anxiety symptoms, including sleep, and physiological stress responsiveness in pregnant women with and without anxiety, as identified by psychiatric diagnosis. Fifty-four pregnant women with (n = 25) and without (n = 29) anxiety completed a laboratory cognitive stressor (the Stroop Color-Word Task) during the third trimester. Heart rate variability (HRV) (as the root mean square of successive differences, RMSSD) was recorded during baseline, stressor, and recovery periods.

High worry in pregnancy predicts postpartum depression.

Background: Anxiety in pregnancy is one of the strongest risk factors for postpartum depression (PPD), and high worry is a hallmark of many anxiety disorders. We sought to determine whether the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ), designed for the general population, could identify high worry in pregnancy and predict the development of PPD symptoms (PPDS).

Methods: We followed women (N = 295) with and without mood and anxiety disorders across pregnancy and up to 6 months postpartum.

Lack of psychotropic medication changes among mood disordered women across the peripartum period.

Objective: Peripartum depression is a leading contributor to peripartum morbidity and mortality. Despite the evidence for relative safety, many patients and providers remain reluctant to use or modify psychotropics in the peripartum period. We hypothesized that depressed women in the peripartum period taking psychiatric medications would not experience dose adjustments.

Using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in the Peripartum.

Pathological worry is a major feature of anxiety in the peripartum, and we sought to examine the factor structure, validity, and reliability in the peripartum of a scale used to measure worry in the general population (the Penn State Worry Questionnaire, PSWQ). Pregnant/postpartum women ( = 295) were followed at up to six visits, which included completion of the PSWQ and other psychological scales. Principal components analysis, descriptive statistics, paired -tests, chi-square tests, and mixed linear regression models were used to evaluate scale reliability and validity.

Hyeropic shift after LASIK induced diffuse lamellar keratitis.

Background: Diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK) is a relatively new syndrome that is increasingly being reported after LASIK. We have observed that a hyperopic shift may be associated with the occurrence of this diffuse lamellar keratitis.

Case Presentation: A 26 year old man developed bilateral diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK) following myopic LASIK.