Measurement invariance of the experiences in close relationships questionnaire across different populations.

The measurement invariance of the Experiences in Close Relationships (ECR) questionnaire was investigated across four samples of non-clinical subjects (N = 222), dermatological patients (N = 458), psychiatric inpatients (N = 156), and patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (N = 101). The results provided evidence of configural, metric, and scalar invariance across groups. Overall, our findings provide further support to the reliability and validity of the ECR.

A melanoma risk score in a Brazilian population.

Background: Important risk factors for cutaneous melanoma (CM) are recognized, but standardized scores for individual assessment must still be developed.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to develop a risk score of CM for a Brazilian sample.

Methods: To verify the estimates of the main risk factors for melanoma, derived from a meta-analysis (Italian-based study), and externally validate them in a population in southern Brazil by means of a case-control study.

Alexithymia in the medically ill. Analysis of 1190 patients in gastroenterology, cardiology, oncology and dermatology.

Objective: To use the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) for characterizing alexithymia in a large and heterogeneous medical population, in conjunction with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) and other DCPR criteria.

Method: Of 1305 patients recruited from 4 medical centers in the Italian Health System, 1190 agreed to participate. They all underwent an assessment with DSM-IV and DCPR structured interviews.

Anniversary reactions in medical patients.

The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence and characteristics of anniversary reactions (somatic symptoms occurring at the anniversary of specific events) in a large sample of 1498 medical patients from different medical settings who underwent the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) and the Structured Interview for Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR), which provide definition of anniversary reactions. In 54 (3.6%) of the 1498 patients for whom anniversary reaction was identified, 61.

The combination of depressive symptoms and smoking shorten life expectancy among the aged.

Background: Depression is a potential risk factor for mortality among the aged and it is also associated with other chronic diseases and unhealthy lifestyles that may also affect mortality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between depressive symptoms and mortality, controlling for health, nutritional status, and life-style factors.

Methods: A cohort of elderly people (N = 167) was followed-up for ten years.

Reliability of self-reported information on skin cancer among elderly patients with squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate reliability of self-reported information on skin cancer among individuals aged > 65 years with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Methods: A test-retest was performed with patients completing two questionnaires one month apart.

Results: Among 102 recruited patients the response rate was 97.

Polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1, sun exposure and the risk of melanoma: a case-control study.

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a family of enzymes that are known to play an important role in cellular protection against oxidative stress, including the oxidative stress caused by ultraviolet radiation. This study focused on the possible involvement of GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms in risk modulation of cutaneous melanoma. Within a case-control study, the presence of the null polymorphism at GSTM1 and GSTT1 was investigated in 188 cases of cutaneous melanoma and 152 controls.

Subtyping depression in the medically ill by cluster analysis.

Background: There is increasing awareness of the need of subtyping major depressive disorder, particularly in the setting of medical disease. The aim of this investigation was to use both DSM-IV comorbidity and the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) for characterizing depression in the medically ill.

Methods: 1700 patients were recruited from 8 medical centers in the Italian Health System and 1560 agreed to participate.

Somatoform and psychoform dissociation among students.

Recent evidence suggests a relationship between psychoform and somatoform dissociation both in clinical and non clinical samples. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between the two forms of dissociation among 947 university students who completed two self-administered questionnaires, the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20) and the Dissociative Experience Scale (DES). The main result of the study was that the association between somatoform and psychoform dissociation was strong for individuals with moderate level of DES scores (O.

Timely diagnosis of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: the GP's role.

Background: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most frequent skin cancer among Caucasians. Advanced cases determine significant tissue destruction and they can metastasize.

Objectives: To evaluate the role of GPs in timely diagnosis of SCC, examining the probability of delay before the diagnosis and treatment of SCC among patients having first seen a GP compared to patients having accessed directly a dermatologist.

Delay in diagnosis and treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin.

Advanced squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the skin can cause significant tissue destruction and may metastasize. Understanding the determinants of patient delay could help prevent advanced presentation. The purpose of the present study was to examine patient- and healthcare-related factors associated with delay before the detection and treatment of SCC.

Factors associated with large cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas.

Background: Large cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is associated with a higher risk of disfigurement, local recurrence, and metastasis; however, little is known about factors associated with tumor size at diagnosis.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate factors associated with SCC size, including diagnostic/treatment delay and patient and tumor characteristics.

Methods: We studied a stratified sample of 308 patients with SCC recently treated at a dermatologic referral center in Italy.

Identifying individuals at high risk of melanoma: a simple tool.

Simple and reliable tools for identifying patients at high risk for melanoma with preventive measures have important public health implications. An individual risk score for cutaneous melanoma was constructed and externally validated. With the summary coefficients of the risk factors for cutaneous melanoma, derived from a meta-analysis, a melanoma risk score was tested in an Italian population and externally validated in a Brazilian population.

Reliability of self-reported household pesticide use.

Household pesticide exposure has been associated with cancer risk in both adults and children. We investigated the reliability of reported lifetime household pesticide exposure through repeated administration of a standardized questionnaire. A questionnaire including detailed questions about lifetime frequency and duration of pesticide use in nonoccupational circumstances was administered on two occasions to 163 cutaneous melanoma cases and 113 controls.

Skin cancer knowledge and preventive behaviors among patients with a recent history of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

Aims: To evaluate skin cancer knowledge and preventive behaviors of patients recently treated for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and to examine the factors associated with the adoption of preventive behaviors.

Methods: Telephone survey on 315 SCC patients treated at a large dermatological hospital in Italy, evaluating skin cancer knowledge, sun protection and skin examination practices as well as medical recommendations received after SCC removal.

Results: Skin cancer knowledge was fair/low for 48.

Toward a biopsychosocial approach to skin diseases.

A link between the mind and the skin has long been hypothesized. Indeed, some studies suggested that psychosocial factors may play a role in the pathogenesis and course of several skin diseases. Conversely, other studies suggested that psychiatric disorders and psychosocial difficulties may result as a complication of a primary skin disease.

Pharmacokinetics and toxicity of an early single intravesical instillation of gemcitabine after endoscopic resection of superficial bladder cancer.

Background: The tolerability and plasma absorption of gemcitabine administered at 40 mg/ml after small and extensive endoscopic transurethral resection of bladder tumors (TURB) were evaluated.

Patients And Methods: Nine patients with a history of recurrent superficial bladder cancer were eligible for a single immediate, post TURB, intravesical instillation of gemcitabine. The endoscopic resection was small in 5 patients and extensive in 4.

The association between residential pesticide use and cutaneous melanoma.

Occupational pesticide exposure has been linked to cutaneous melanoma in epidemiological studies. We studied the association between cutaneous melanoma and the residential use of pesticides. This is a case-control study of cutaneous melanoma (287 incident cases; 299 controls).

Alexithymia and global psychosocial functioning: a study on patients with skin disease.

Objective: The relationship between alexithymia and psychosocial functioning has been investigated in a few studies using indirect measures of adaptation. We aimed at directly evaluating the relationship between alexithymia and global psychosocial functioning, as measured by a standardised scale.

Methods: A large, consecutive sample of dermatological inpatients (N=545) completed the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Skindex-29 and were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Axis I disorders and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale.

Effect of psychological stress on salivary interleukin-1beta in psoriasis.

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease in which several Th1 cytokines such as interleukin-1 beta (IL-beta) have been shown to play a pivotal role. Psychological stress has also been implicated in triggering or exacerbating the disease.

Methods: Salivary IL-1beta and cortisol levels of 25 patients with psoriasis were compared with those of 50 age- and sex-matched healthy controls under basal conditions and after a standardized stressful procedure including mental arithmetics and the Stroop Color-Word Naming Test.

Cardiovascular reactivity to experimental stress in psoriasis: a controlled investigation.

A defective response of psoriatic skin to beta-adrenergic stimulation has been implicated in the pathophysiology of psoriasis. A psychophysiological study was planned to investigate whether the beta-adrenergic receptor hyporesponsiveness found in psoriatic skin can also be detected in other systems. Twenty-five psoriatic patients and 50 healthy controls were submitted to a standardized stressful procedure (mental arithmetic and the Stroop Colour-Word Naming Test) to trigger the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, and their haemodynamic responses were compared.

Survival and prognostic variables of cutaneous melanoma observed between 1995 and 2000 at Istituto Dermopatico Dell'Immacolata (IDI-IRCCS), Rome, Italy.

Introduction: Melanoma is an increasingly common malignancy of melanocytes, with incidence rates steadily rising over the past several decades. The objective of this study was to evaluate 5-year survival and to investigate the association between melanoma mortality and clinical and histological features.

Methods: We conducted a 5-year cohort study among 1020 patients from the same geographic area (Rome) with a single primary cutaneous melanoma diagnosed between January 1995 and December 2000.

Integration of multiple criteria for psychosomatic assessment of dermatological patients.

Psychological distress has been frequently reported in the setting of skin disorders. The Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR) have been found to yield valuable integrative information, in addition to DSM-IV nosology, in a variety of medical diseases. The aim of this study was to verify whether this integration could also be helpful in dermatology.