Diagnostic accuracy of self-rating scales for screening of depression in coronary artery disease patients.

Objective: We evaluated the internal consistency and psychometric properties of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) for screening of major depressive episodes (MDE) in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients undergoing rehabilitation.

Methods: Five-hundred and twenty-two consecutive CAD patients (72% men; mean age 58±9 years) attending a rehabilitation program 2 weeks after inpatient treatment for acute ischemic cardiac events completed the HADS depression subscale (HADS-D), HADS anxiety subscale (HADS-A) and the BDI-II. Interview outcome using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) for current MDE according to the DSM-IV-TR criteria was considered as the gold standard.

Stroke mortality trends in the population of Klaipėda from 1994 to 2008.

Unlabelled: The objective of the study was to evaluate the trends in stroke mortality in the population of Klaipėda aged 35-79 years from 1994 to 2008.

Material And Methods: Mortality data on all permanent residents of Klaipėda aged 35-79 years who died from stroke in 1994-2008 were gathered for the study. All death certificates of permanent residents of Klaipėda aged 35-79 years who died during 1994-2008 were examined in this study.

Effects of social support and stressful life events on health-related quality of life in coronary artery disease patients.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the effects of social support and stressful life events on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients.

Methods: Five hundred sixty consecutive patients with CAD attending cardiac rehabilitation program were invited to participate in the study. Data on stressful life events, perceived social support, and HRQoL were collected from the self-administered questionnaires, Social Readjustment Rating Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and 36-Item Short Form Medical Outcome Questionnaire, respectively.

Specific fatigue-related items in self-rating depression scales do not bias an association between depression and fatigue in patients with coronary artery disease.

Objective: Self-rating instruments for depression include questions targeting fatigue, which is a common symptom of coronary artery disease (CAD) patients. We evaluated if specific fatigue-related questions in self-reported instruments of depression bias an association between fatigue and depression in CAD patients.

Methods: A total of 1470 CAD patients attending cardiac rehabilitation program were evaluated for fatigue using the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20) and for symptoms of depression using the depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS-D) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II).

Relationship of fatigue and exercise capacity with emotional and physical state in patients with coronary artery disease admitted for rehabilitation program.

Background: The relationship between subjective fatigue, exercise capacity, and symptoms of depression and anxiety in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) needs to be specified.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 1,470 (64% men; mean age 57 ± 11 years) consecutive CAD patients admitted for cardiac rehabilitation after treatment of acute cardiac events were evaluated for demographic characteristics, for past and current diagnosis and treatment, for New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, for symptoms of depression and for symptoms of anxiety using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and for subjective fatigue using the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory. On the next day, all patients underwent exercise capacity evaluation using a standard bicycle ergometer testing procedure.

Delusions of persecution and poisoning in patients with schizophrenia: sociocultural and religious background.

This article presents data on the phenomenology of delusions of persecution and poisoning in patients with schizophrenia and determines parallels between sociodemographic status and personal religiosity and this type of delusions. We have studied the content of delusions in patients with schizophrenia looking for persecution and poisoning themes using Fragebogen fuer psychotische Symptome (FPS). A total of 295 patients suffering from schizophrenia participated in this study; 74.

Thyroid disease and mental disorders: cause and effect or only comorbidity?

Purpose Of Review: To discuss the effects of thyroid dysfunction and thyroid autoimmunity on mental symptoms and disorders in patients with thyroid disease with reference to recent epidemiological, clinical, and genetic findings.

Recent Findings: During brain development, iodine deficiency, maternal thyroid dysfunction, and neonatal thyroid malformations together with genetic factors contribute to neurological deficit. Most adults with thyroid dysfunction will develop mental symptoms.

Changes in health-related quality of life among patients with coronary artery disease: a 2-year follow-up.

Unlabelled: The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in health-related quality of life in patients with coronary heart disease according to age, gender, and treatment method.

Material And Methods: The study enrolled 167 patients after acute myocardial infarction (MI), percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The mean age was 59.

Depressive disorder and thyroid axis functioning during pregnancy.

Background: Depression and thyroid dysfunction are prevalent in women, including pregnant women. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between depression and thyroid function during pregnancy.

Methods: One hundred and ninety-nine pregnant women three times during pregnancy were assessed for depressive disorder and for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT(4)) concentrations.

Thyroid disorders in mental patients.

Purpose Of Review: Thyroid hormones play important roles in brain development and function. Recent findings concerning thyroid hormones secretion, transport, and metabolism in the brain have provided a better understanding of the role of thyroid hormones in mental disorders.

Recent Findings: The intracellular actions of thyroid hormones in brain are determined by a complex of factors, including circulating concentrations of thyroid hormones, availability of free hormone, activity of thyroid hormone transporters and deiodinase enzymes, and activity of thyroid hormone receptors.

Psychosocial risk factors for depression during pregnancy.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of antenatal depressive disorder in different trimesters and to evaluate the relation of psychosocial risk factors to antenatal depressive disorder.

Design: Cohort follow-up.

Setting: University Hospital, Kaunas, Lithuania.

The association of thyroid immunity with blood pressure and body mass index in primary care patients.

Objectives: To evaluate the association of thyroid immunity with cardiovascular symptoms and body mass index (BMI).

Methods: Four hundred and sixty-five primary care patients underwent ultrasound evaluation of the thyroid gland, with hypo-echoic thyroid pattern indicating autoimmune involvement. BMI and blood pressure (BP) were the main outcomes.

Brain lesions manifesting as psychiatric disorders: eight cases.

Sometimes patients with organic brain lesions in neurologically silent brain areas might present only with psychiatric symptoms, such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, anorexia nervosa, or cognitive dysfunction. This study presents eight cases of patients with brain lesions (four cases of meningiomas, one case of intracerebral cysts, one case of anaplastic oligodendroglioma, one case of multiform glioblastoma, and one case of occlusive hydrocephalus) who, for a significant period of time, were diagnosed and treated for psychiatric disorders (three cases of Alzheimer's disease, two cases of schizoaffective disorder, one case of schizophrenia, one case of depression, and one case of organic emotional lability disorder). When neurologic symptoms developed, they underwent neuroimaging studies and organic brain lesions were diagnosed.

Factors associated with poor sleep and health-related quality of life.

Objective: The aim of the study was to establish factors associated with poor sleep and to assess the relationship between self-evaluated sleep quality and health-related quality of life.

Material And Methods: Sleep complaints were evaluated using Basic Nordic Sleep Questionnaire, and health-related quality of life was assessed by SF-36. Subjective data about sleep quality were obtained from 1602 randomly selected persons: 600 males and 1002 females, aged 35-74 years.

Medico-legal implications of sleep apnoea syndrome: driving license regulations in Europe.

Background: Sleep apnoea syndrome (SAS), one of the main medical causes of excessive daytime sleepiness, has been shown to be a risk factor for traffic accidents. Treating SAS results in a normalized rate of traffic accidents. As part of the COST Action B-26, we looked at driving license regulations, and especially at its medical aspects in the European region.

Depression and thyroid axis function in coronary artery disease: impact of cardiac impairment and gender.

Background: Increased rates of depression are reported in coronary artery disease (CAD). In heart disease, depression increases disability, reduces quality of life, and increases mortality.

Hypothesis: The study was undertaken to examine the relationship between depression and thyroid axis function in patients with CAD.