Multimethod Validation of the Beck Depression Inventory—II and Grossman-Cole Depression Inventory with an Inpatient Sample

Assessment of Mental Workload by Visual Motor Activity among Control Group and Patient Suffering from Depressive Disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mood state that is not usually associated with vision problems. Recent research has found that the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA levels in the occipital brain have dropped. Aim. The aim of the research is to evaluate mental workload by single channel electroencephalogram (EEG) approach through visual-motor activity and comparison of parameter among depressive disorder patient and in control group. Method. Two tests of a visual-motor task similar to reflect drawings were performed in this study to compare the visual information processing of patients with depression to that of a placebo group. The current study looks into the accuracy of monitoring cognitive burden with single-channel portable EEG equipment. Results. The alteration of frontal brain movement in reaction to fluctuations in cognitive burden stages generated through various vasomotor function was examined. By applying a computerised oculomotor activity analogous to reflector image diagram, we found that the complexity of the path to be drawn was more important than the real time required accomplishing the job in determining perceived difficulty in depressive disorder patients. The overall perceived difficulty of the exercise is positively linked with EEG activity measured from the motor cortex region at the start of every experiment test. The average rating for task completion for depression patients and in control group observed and no statistical significance association reported between rating scale and time spent on each trial (p=1.43) for control group while the normalised perceived difficulty rating had 0.512, 0.623, and 0.821 correlations with the length of the pathway, the integer of inclination in the pathway, and the time spent to complete every experiment test, respectively (p < 0.0001) among depression patients. The findings imply that alterations in comparative cognitive burden levels during an oculomotor activity considerably modify frontal EEG spectrum. Conclusion. Patients with depression perceived the optical illusion in the arrays as weaker, resulting in a little bigger disparity than individuals who were not diagnosed with depression. This discovery provided light on the prospect of adopting a user-friendly mobile EEG technology to assess mental workload in everyday life.

Measuring mental health burden in humanitarian settings: a critical review of assessment tools

Background

The effects of disasters and conflicts are widespread and heavily studied. While attention to disasters’ impacts on mental health is growing, mental health effects are not well understood due to inconsistencies in measurement.

Objective

The purpose of this study is to review mental health assessment tools and their use in populations affected by disasters and conflicts.

Method

Tools that assess posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, substance use disorder, and general mental health were examined. This review began with a search for assessment tools in PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar. Next, validation studies for the tools were obtained through snowball sampling. A final search was conducted for scientific studies using the selected tools in humanitarian settings to collect the data for analysis. The benefits and limitations described for each tool were compiled into a complete table.

Results

Twelve assessment tools were included, with 88 studies using them. The primary findings indicate that half of the studies used the Impact of Events Scale-Revised. The most common limitation discussed is that self-report tools inaccurately estimate the prevalence of mental health problems. This inaccuracy is further exacerbated by a lack of cultural appropriateness of the tools, as many are developed for Western contexts.

Conclusion

It is recommended that researchers and humanitarian workers reflect on the effectiveness of the mental health assessment tool they use to accurately represent the populations under study in emergency settings. In addition, mental health assessment should be coupled with action.

Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) compared to enhanced treatment as usual (E-TAU) for suicidal patients in an inpatient setting: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) is a therapeutic framework that has been shown to reduce suicidal ideation and overall symptom distress. CAMS has not been previously evaluated in a standard acute inpatient mental health care setting with only short treatment times for suicidal patients. In this randomized controlled trial (RCT) we are investigating whether CAMS is more effective than Enhanced-Treatment as Usual (E-TAU) in reducing suicidal thoughts as primary outcome variable. We are also investigating depressive symptoms, general symptom relief, and the quality of the therapeutic alliance as secondary outcomes.

METHODS/DESIGN

This RCT is designed as a single-center, two-armed, parallel group observer-blinded clinical effectiveness investigation. We are recruiting and randomizing 60 participants with different diagnoses, who are admitted as inpatients because of acute suicidal thoughts or behaviors into the Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ev. Hospital Bethel in Bielefeld, Germany. The duration of treatment will vary depending on patients' needs and clinical assessments ranging between 10 and 40 days. Patients are assessed four times, at admission, discharge, 1 month, and 5 months post-discharge. The primary outcome measure is the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation. Other outcome measures are administered as assessment timepoints including severity of psychiatric symptoms, depression, reasons for living, and therapeutic relationship.

DISCUSSION

This effectiveness study is being conducted on an acute ward in a psychiatric clinic where patients have multiple problems and diagnoses. Treatment is somewhat limited, and therapists have a large caseloads. The results of this study can thus be generalizable to a typical inpatient psychiatric hospital settings.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This clinical trial has been retrospectively registered with the German Clinical Trials Register; registration code/ DRKS-ID: DRKS00013727 (on January 12, 2018). In addition, the study was also registered with the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform of the World Health Organization (identical registration code). Registry Name: "Evaluation von CAMS versus TAU bei suizidalen Patienten - Ein stationärer RCT".

Using the suicide index score to predict treatment outcomes among psychiatric inpatients

For many suicidal people, the desire to die is moderated by a competing desire to live. This study aimed to demonstrate the ability of a wish-to-live versus wish-to-die index score to measure ambivalence and trichotomize suicidal inpatients into distinct stratified risk groups. Analyses revealed that index scores calculated for patients at treatment start significantly discriminated among the groups at index and uniquely predicted suicidal ideation, hopelessness, and depression scores across treatment. On average, patients with wish-to-live and wish-to-die orientations resolved suicidal ideation by discharge. Changes in suicidal ideation among ambivalently oriented patients were more variable. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

Collaborative assessment and management of suicidality in an inpatient setting: results of a pilot study

Patients hospitalized for psychiatric reasons exhibit significantly elevated risk of suicide, yet the research literature contains very few outcome studies of interventions designed for suicidal inpatients. This pilot study examined the inpatient feasibility and effectiveness of The Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS), a structured evidence-based method for risk assessment and treatment planning (Jobes, 2006). The study used an open-trial, case-focused design to assess an inpatient adaptation of CAMS, spread over a period averaging 51 days. The intervention was provided via individual therapy to a convenience sample of 20 patients (16 females and four males, average age 36.9) who were hospitalized with recent histories of suicidal ideation and behavior. Results showed statistically and clinically significant reductions in depression, hopelessness, suicide cognitions, and suicidal ideation, as well as improvement on factors considered "drivers" of suicidality. Treatment effect sizes were in the large range (Cohen's d > .80) across several outcome measures, including suicidal ideation. Although these findings must be considered preliminary due to the lack of a randomized control group, they merit attention from clinicians working with patients at risk for suicide. This study also supports the feasibility of implementing a structured, suicide-specific intervention for at-risk patients in inpatient settings.

Dietary intervention promoting high intakes of fruits and vegetables: short-term effects on eating behaviors in overweight-obese postmenopausal women

OBJECTIVE

To compare changes in eating behaviors in response to two dietary interventions: one focusing on restrictive messages to limit consumption of high-fat foods (LOFAT) and the other one based on non-restrictive messages to increase consumption of fruits and vegetables (HIFV).

METHODS

Sixty-eight overweight-obese postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to one of the two 6-month dietary interventions that included three group sessions and ten individual sessions with a dietitian. Anthropometric variables and eating behaviors were measured at baseline, 3months and 6months.

RESULTS

Body weight decreased significantly in both groups at 6months compared to baseline (LOFAT: -3.5±2.9kg; HIFV: -1.6±2.9kg). At 6months, dietary restraint score was higher in the LOFAT group compared to the HIFV group (12.7±4.2 vs 10.5±4.9; p<0.05). Disinhibition and hunger decreased significantly in the HIFV group after 6months while only hunger decreased in the LOFAT group.

CONCLUSION

A weight loss approach based on increasing fruit and vegetable consumption leads to a significant weight loss and is associated with a decrease in disinhibition and hunger without any increase in dietary restraint.

Improvement in cerebral function with treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) are signature illnesses of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but current diagnostic and therapeutic measures for these conditions are suboptimal. In our study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used to try to differentiate military service members with: PTSD and mTBI, PTSD alone, mTBI alone, and neither PTSD nor mTBI. Those with PTSD are then randomized to virtual reality exposure therapy or imaginal exposure. fMRI is repeated after treatment and along with the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scores to compare with baseline. Twenty subjects have completed baseline fMRI scans, including four controls and one mTBI only; of 15 treated for PTSD, eight completed posttreatment scans. Most subjects have been male (93%) and Caucasian (83%), with a mean age of 34. Significant improvements are evident on fMRI scans, and corroborated by CGI scores, but CAPS scores improvements are modest. In conclusion, CGI scores and fMRI scans indicate significant improvement in PTSD in both treatment arms, though CAPS score improvements are less robust.

A comparison of two depressive symptomatology measures in residential substance abuse treatment clients

Comorbid depression is common among substance abusers, making routine assessment of depression critical for high-quality care. We evaluated two of the most commonly used depressive symptomatology measures in a sample of clients (N = 240) in residential substance abuse treatment settings. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) has previously been used in clients receiving substance abuse treatment. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), originally developed for primary care settings, has not been used as frequently in substance abuse treatment settings, and it is unknown how it performs in this population. The measures were highly correlated with each other (r = .76) and demonstrated good internal consistency reliability (BDI-II = 0.91, PHQ-9 = 0.87); however, the PHQ-9 classifies more individuals as having "mild" depression symptoms relative to the BDI-II, which tends to suggest these individuals have no depression symptoms. Implications for assessing depression symptoms in individuals receiving substance abuse treatment are discussed.

Efficacy and safety of duloxetine in elderly women with stress urinary incontinence or stress-predominant mixed urinary incontinence

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of duloxetine in community-dwelling women > or =65 years with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) or stress-predominant mixed urinary incontinence (S-MUI) versus placebo.

METHODS

Patients were randomly assigned for 12 weeks to placebo (N=134) or duloxetine (N=131) (20mg twice daily [BID] for 2 weeks and 40 mg BID for an additional 10 weeks), followed by a double-blind 4-week dose de-escalation/discontinuation phase. The primary efficacy variable was the percent change in incontinence episode frequency (IEF) from baseline to endpoint. Other variables included absolute IEF change, responder rate, changes in mean time between voids (MTBV), weekly continence pad usage, the impact of treatment on quality of life, patient's global impression of improvement (PGI-I), and changes in depression and cognition.

RESULTS

Duloxetine-treated patients had a significantly greater decrease from baseline to endpoint in mean IEF/week than placebo-treated patients (-52.47% vs. -36.70%, P<0.001). The IEF responder rate (> or =50% reduction in IEF/week) was 57.1% in the duloxetine group and 35.2% in the placebo group (P<0.001). Significant benefits of duloxetine were also demonstrated for weekly continence pad usage (P=0.011), MTBV (P<0.001), incontinence quality of life questionnaire (I-QOL) scores (P<0.001), and PGI-I ratings (P<0.001). Patients with depressive symptoms and cognitive impairments were few and changes were insignificant. The proportion of patients with > or =1 treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) was similar with both treatments, but dry mouth, fatigue, constipation, and hyperhidrosis were significantly more common in women taking duloxetine.

CONCLUSIONS

Duloxetine is a safe and effective treatment for elderly women with symptoms of SUI or S-MUI.