Generalized anxiety disorder and peptic ulcer disease among adults in the United States.

Objective: Previous research has suggested a link between chronic anxiety and peptic ulcer disease, though recent evidence documenting an infectious cause (Helicobacter pylori) for ulcer has led to doubt about this association. The goal of the current study was to determine the relationship between generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and self-reported peptic ulcer disease (PUD) among adults in the community.

Methods: Data were drawn from the National Comorbidity Survey, a representative household survey of the adult population of the United States (N = 8098).

Brain morphometry in female victims of intimate partner violence with and without posttraumatic stress disorder.

Background: To examine neuroanatomical morphometry in adult female victims of intimate partner violence with and without posttraumatic stress disorder.

Methods: Seventeen nonvictimized comparison subjects and 22 victims of intimate partner violence, 11 with and 11 without posttraumatic stress disorder, were studied. Using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging, three mesial temporal lobe areas were measured: hippocampus, amygdala, and parahippocampal gyrus.

Neuropsychological function in female victims of intimate partner violence with and without posttraumatic stress disorder.

Background: Various aspects of neuropsychologic function have been reported to be abnormal in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); however, the majority of these data come from studies of seriously ill, treatment-seeking samples with substantial substance use comorbidity. Few studies have included similarly trauma-exposed subjects without PTSD, and fewer still have focused on women.

Methods: Thirty-nine female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV; 22 without lifetime PTSD and 17 with current PTSD), and 22 nonvictimized comparison (NC) subjects were administered tests of attention, working memory, visuoconstruction, language ability, learning and memory, and executive functioning.

Patterns of incidence and psychiatric risk factors for traumatic events.

Individual differences are thought to influence the propensity for exposure to trauma and the subsequent development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Prior research has identified pre-existing mood disorders as one such individual risk factor for traumatic events as well as for PTSD. The present study reports the incidence of traumatic events (and PTSD) and examines psychiatric risk factors for trauma exposure in a prospective community sample.

Gender differences in long-term posttraumatic stress disorder outcomes after major trauma: women are at higher risk of adverse outcomes than men.

Background: The importance of psychological morbidity after major trauma, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is continuing to gain attention in trauma outcomes research. The Trauma Recovery Project is a large prospective epidemiologic study designed to examine multiple outcomes after major trauma, including quality of life (QoL) and PTSD. Patient outcomes were assessed at discharge and at 6, 12, and 18 months after discharge.

Sexual dysfunction in combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence, clinical correlates, and severity of sexual dysfunction in combat veterans with and without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using a validated instrument for assessing sexual function. The results of recent studies have suggested that combat veterans with PTSD experience a higher rate of sexual dysfunction than do those without PTSD.

Methods: We administered the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and a demographic and health questionnaire to male combat veterans undergoing treatment for PTSD and to age-comparable male combat veterans without PTSD.

Increased amygdala activation to angry and contemptuous faces in generalized social phobia.

Background: Generalized social phobia (GSP) is characterized by fear of social interactions and sensitivity to disapproval by others. Given the established role of the amygdala as part of a distributed neural system for the processing of emotional cues, we hypothesized that subjects with GSP would exhibit greater amygdala activation in response to harsh (angry, fearful, and contemptous) vs accepting (happy) facial emotional expressions compared with healthy control subjects (HCs).

Methods: Fifteen subjects with DSM-IV GSP and 15 age-, sex-, handedness-, and education-matched HCs, free of psychotropic medication for at least 12 weeks, viewed 60 color photographs from a standardized set of human facial stimuli, during which the task was to identify the sex of the person in the photograph.

Scrutinizing the relationship between shyness and social phobia.

The nature of the relationship between shyness and social phobia can be clarified by assessing rates of social phobia in highly shy and normative samples. In the present study, 2202 participants were screened and categorized on a shyness scale as highly shy (90th percentile) or "normatively" shy (40-60th percentile). The Composite International Diagnostic Interview and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders (SCID-II; Avoidant Personality Disorder module) were used to assign clinical diagnoses.

Adjunctive olanzapine for SSRI-resistant combat-related PTSD: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), particularly in combat veterans with chronic illness, is often refractory to standard pharmacological interventions. There is a need to test adjunctive treatments to boost response.

Method: Subjects were 19 patients with PTSD who were minimally responsive to 12 weeks of treatment with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) at maximum tolerated dose.

Genetic and environmental influences on trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: a twin study.

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops in only a subset of persons exposed to traumatic stress, suggesting the existence of stressor and individual differences that influence risk. In this study the authors examined the heritability of trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms in male and female twin pairs of nonveteran volunteers.

Method: Scores on a traumatic events inventory and a DSM-IV PTSD symptom inventory were examined in 222 monozygotic and 184 dizygotic twin pairs.

Predictors of willingness to consider medication and psychosocial treatment for panic disorder in primary care patients.

The purpose of this investigation was to identify demographic and clinical patient characteristics related to willingness to consider panic disorder treatments in the primary care setting. Given the prevalence of anxiety disorders and the increased provision of mental health treatments in general medical settings, patients were selected from primary care settings. An unselected sample of 4,198 patients completed a brief questionnaire containing questions about demographic characteristics, physical health status, and symptoms of panic disorder, social phobia and PTSD.

Anxiety sensitivity and PTSD among female victims of intimate partner violence.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between anxiety sensitivity (AS) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women. The study involved three groups: women with no history of exposure to serious trauma (n = 30), women who had been exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) but never developed PTSD (n = 23), and women with IPV exposure and current PTSD (n = 19). As a part of a larger study, they completed measures of AS, PTSD symptomatology, and depression.

Quality of life in older adults receiving medications for anxiety, depression, or insomnia: findings from a community-based study.

Objective: Depression and anxiety are associated with substantially reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in healthy and medically ill adults. The authors examined the association between these conditions, as indicated by the use of antidepressant, anxiolytic, or hypnotic medications, and HRQoL parameters in older men and women.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of white, middle-class, older (median age 75 years) men (n=533) and women (n=826) within a defined community setting.

Cross validation of the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents in a high school sample.

Social anxiety disorder in adolescents is increasingly recognized as a common condition that may precede onset of other mental health problems. However, few measures are currently available to screen for adolescent social anxiety, and little is known about their psychometric characteristics in school-based samples. To this end, the present study was undertaken as a psychometric cross validation of the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A).

Habituation of attentional networks during emotion processing.

Dysfunctional emotion processing is a key aspect of many neuropsychiatric disorders. This dysfunction may be due to an abnormal magnitude of neural substrate activation during emotion processing or due to an altered time course of the neural substrate response. To better understand the temporal characteristics of the neural substrate activation underlying implicit emotion processing, nine healthy female controls were repeatedly exposed to pictures of affective faces while performing a gender identification task in an fMRI.

Personality disorder comorbidity in panic disorder patients with or without current major depression.

To investigate the relationship between current or past major depressive disorder (MDD) on comorbid personality disorders in patients with panic disorder, we compared the comorbidity of personality disorders using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R personality disorders (SCID-II) in 34 panic disorder patients with current MDD (current-MD group), 21 with a history of MDD but not current MDD (past-MD group), and 32 without lifetime MDD comorbidity (non-MD group). With regard to personality disorders, patients in the current-MD group met criteria for at least one personality disorder significantly more often than patients in the past-MD group or the non-MD group (82.4% vs.

Treating panic disorder in primary care: a collaborative care intervention.

Efficacy research indicates the success of cognitive behavioral treatment and medication treatment for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia. However, research findings to date possess limited generalizability beyond specialty mental health settings. We present a model for collaborative care treatment for panic disorder in the primary care setting that combines cognitive behavioral therapy and medications, and involves a behavioral health specialist, psychiatrist, and primary care physician.

Combined psychoeducation and treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for youth with generalized social anxiety disorder.

Treatment outcome data for childhood social anxiety are scant. Studies that do exist support the efficacy of both pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions. Aside from case reports, studies assessing the efficacy of combined treatment approaches are even more limited.

Heritability of social anxiety-related concerns and personality characteristics: a twin study.

Negative evaluation fears figure prominently in the cognitive psychology of patients with social phobia. In this study, we examine the heritability of negative evaluation fears by using a twin sample. The authors also examine the relationships between negative evaluation fears and personality dimensions relevant to social phobia.

The Parent Threat Inventory: development, reliability, and validity.

Objective: The goal was to develop a retrospective inventory of parental threatening behavior to facilitate a better understanding of such behavior's role in the etiology of psychological distress.

Method: Inventory items were developed based on theory and 135 students' responses to a question eliciting examples of threatening parental behavior. Following item development, two additional student samples (n = 200 and n = 603) completed batteries of self-report measures.

Predictors of response to pharmacotherapy in social anxiety disorder: an analysis of 3 placebo-controlled paroxetine trials.

Background: There is increasing evidence that patients with social anxiety disorder (social phobia) respond to treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Response rates to SSRIs in social anxiety disorder have ranged from at least 50% in controlled trials to up to 80% in open trials. To date, however, there has been little information available about predictors of response to treatment in this disorder.

A randomized, double-blind, fixed-dose comparison of paroxetine and placebo in the treatment of generalized social anxiety disorder.

Background: This multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was carried out to determine the effectiveness and safety of various daily dosages of paroxetine for the treatment of generalized social anxiety disorder.

Method: A 1-week, single-blind, placebo run-in was followed by 12 weeks of double-blind treatment. 384 eligible patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for social anxiety disorder were randomly assigned to receive paroxetine, 20 (N = 97), 40 (N = 95), or 60 mg (N = 97), or placebo (N = 95) once daily in a 1:1:1:1 ratio.