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Depression
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Topic Started: Jan 24 2006, 08:39 PM (714 Views)
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flea dip
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Sep 1 2009, 05:57 PM
Post #21
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Rock Star From Mars
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Teetotallers more depressed than moderate drinkers
Non-Drinkers Report More Depression
Alcohol Abstinence Linked To Depression
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flea dip
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Dec 8 2009, 09:41 PM
Post #22
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Rock Star From Mars
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Bombshell study: Antidepressants will affect your personality A study finds steep drops in neuroticism and increases in extroversion among patients taking Paxil. Such traits had been believed to shift very little over a lifetime.- By Melissa Healy
Antidepressant medications taken by roughly 7% of American adults cause profound personality changes in many patients with depression, far beyond simply lifting the veil of sadness, a study has found.
Researchers saw strong drops in neuroticism and increases in extroversion in patients taking antidepressants, two of five traits thought to define personality and shape a person's day-to-day thoughts and behavior. The findings are striking, researchers said, because psychologists have long thought that such fundamental traits are moorings of an adult's personality that shift very little over a lifetime.
The medications would seem to relieve depression by chemically altering brain processes that spawn negative thoughts rather than just alleviating symptoms associated with a depressed state, said Northwestern University psychologist Tony Z. Tang, the lead author of the study.
The findings, published in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, could have significant implications for depression treatment, researchers not connected with the study said.
It is unclear how long-lasting the changes in personality are, the authors said. But the study found that patients whose personalities shifted the most were less likely to relapse. And they said that monitoring those altered traits could be a useful, early gauge of whether a medication is working and how probable a recurrence would be.
The findings are likely to rekindle debate on the impact and effectiveness of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, on which Americans spent $9.6 billion last year alone. SSRIs increase the availability of serotonin, a key brain chemical, low levels of which are linked to depression.
The trial involved 240 adults with moderate to severe depression. Of those, 120 were given the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor paroxetine (Paxil) for 16 weeks. Another 60 received cognitive therapy but no medication for 16 weeks, and 60 others were given a placebo alone for eight weeks.
All subjects who reported improvements in their depression in response to psychotherapy or medication were followed for a year.
Patients who received paroxetine were more likely to have their symptoms ease than patients in the other two groups, and they showed more dramatic personality changes.
Those given placebo pills reported early improvements in their depressive symptoms almost as great as those reported by those on medication, but their underlying personalities "didn't budge," said Northwestern's Tang. And their relief from depressive symptoms was briefer and more muted than the improvement of those on medication or cognitive therapy. They were given the antidepressant if their condition failed to improve after eight weeks.
That finding "pokes a hole" in the charges of many critics that SSRIs are little more effective at treating depression than sugar pills, said UCLA psychiatrist Andrew Leuchter.
Still, several researchers not involved in the study cautioned that the findings might prompt greater use of medications for which U.S. physicians already write 164.2 million prescriptions a year. For insurers and healthcare policymakers wary of the high cost of psychotherapy, the study might make the drugs look like a better value.
That would be a mistake, said University of Illinois psychologist Brent Roberts. Not all depressed patients respond to SSRIs so favorably. "And it would be foolish to base policy on the findings of one study," he said.
Other studies will be necessary before the cost-effectiveness of different treatments can be established, Roberts added.
The personality changes in the study were striking, researchers said. While adults typically become slightly less neurotic with age, it is a gradual change. In the study, experimental subjects who responded to SSRI treatment changed roughly twice as much on the neuroticism scale as most adults do in a lifetime. And they did so in eight weeks.
"That is a dramatic change," said Robert McCrae, a leading researcher on personality, now retired. "If you were these patients or someone in their family, you'd notice a difference."
The study also suggests a new measure to identify people at risk of developing depression and to predict who would benefit most from a particular medication or therapy. Doctors could refer to a personality inventory that would measure a patient's "big five" traits -- neuroticism and extroversion, as well as agreeableness, conscientiousness and openness -- to test a patient's early response to a drug or psychotherapy.
Such a tool could improve the trial-and-error method of prescribing that is common in the treatment of depression, UCLA's Leuchter said.
To drive down the rate of relapse in depression, Tang said, psychiatrists should focus on helping patients achieve fundamental personality changes and not just recover from a current episode of depression. Roughly half of those treated successfully for the disorder can be expected to suffer a recurrence in the following year.
"They should be thinking how to prevent relapse -- not just about short-term recovery, which we're pretty good at -- as soon as the patient walks through their door," Tang said.
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flea dip
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Jan 3 2010, 01:17 PM
Post #23
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Rock Star From Mars
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Late-night teens 'face greater depression risk'
Earlier Bedtimes May Fight Teen Depression- Teens Who Regularly Sleep 5 or Fewer Hours Are 71% More Likely to Report Depression
By Bill Hendrick WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Jan. 1, 2010 -- Adolescents whose parents set earlier bedtimes are significantly less likely to suffer from depression or have suicidal thoughts compared to youngsters who hit the sack later, new research indicates.
Youngsters in the study whose parents set bedtimes of midnight or later were 24% more likely to suffer from depression and 20% more apt to have thoughts of suicide, compared to youngsters with bedtimes of 10 p.m. or earlier, researchers report in the Jan. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP.
This suggests sufficient sleep may offer youngsters some protection from depression and thoughts of suicide, the researchers say.
Adolescents who reported they usually sleep five or fewer hours per night were 71% more likely to report depression, and 48% more likely to have thoughts of committing suicide, compared to young people reporting eight hours of sleep nightly, the study shows.
"Our results are consistent with the theory that inadequate sleep is a risk factor for depression," says study researcher James E. Gangwisch, PhD, of Columbia University Medical Center in New York.
He and his colleagues collected data on 15,659 adolescents and their parents who had participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a school-based sample of students in seventh to 12th grades, between 1994 and 1996.
The researchers found that:
* The average sleep duration was 7 hours and 53 minutes. The researchers note that adolescents need 9 hours of sleep daily. * Nearly 70% of youngsters said they went to bed at a time that complied with the weeknight limit set by their parents.
The researchers say lack of sleep may produce moodiness that hinders the ability to cope with stresses of daily life, harming relationships with peers and adults. They say educating adolescents and their parents about the benefits of healthier sleep practices may be beneficial.
The researchers conclude that parents of adolescents should set earlier bedtimes to make sure their teens get adequate sleep.
One of the researchers, Gary K. Zammit, PhD, of Columbia, reported receiving research support from GlaxoSmithKline and other pharmaceutical companies. He also disclosed he has financial interests in two companies involved in sleep research.
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Jan 30 2010, 01:30 PM
Post #24
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Rock Star From Mars
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UPDATE 1-New U.S. rules set parity for mental health care- Employer-provided group health plans must offer the same level of coverage for mental illness and drug abuse treatment as for other ailments, according to federal regulations issued on Friday.
The measures, known as mental health parity, ban group health plans from applying different coverage standards for mental health disorders or substance abuse treatment than those for general medical treatment or surgery.
Workers Fear Stigma of Seeking Mental Health Care- SATURDAY, Jan. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Fears about losing status at work and about confidentiality are among the main reasons that many American workers are more hesitant to seek treatment for mental health issues than for physical health problems, according to a national survey released this week by the American Psychiatric Association.
More than 40 percent of the 1,129 respondents said their employer was supportive or extremely supportive of their workers seeking care for health concerns. However, the online survey also found that barriers persist for workers who said their workplace is unsupportive of employees seeking treatment, especially for mental health concerns.
Among employees, 76 percent believed their work status would be damaged by seeking treatment for drug addiction, 73 percent for alcoholism, and 62 percent for depression, compared with 55 percent who thought seeking care for diabetes would affect their work status and 54 percent for heart disease.
"It is important to support an environment that encourages employees taking care of their physical and mental health," Dr. Alan Axelson, chairman of the association's Partnership for Workplace Mental Health Advisory Council, said in an association news release. "Research supports the fact that when people receive needed care, they are healthier and more productive -- and employers realize the return on their health care investment."
The partnership offers the suggestions for employers:
* Supervisors and managers should lead by example by taking care of their physical and mental health. * Workplaces should promote prevention, early intervention and wellness programs. This includes holding health fairs, providing healthy meals and snacks at meetings, encouraging exercise and promoting a balance between work and the rest of an employee's life. * Employees should be discouraged from coming to work if they're ill. * Workers should be reminded of health benefits and available programs, and efforts should be taken to make sure they know how to access care. * Employees should be reassured about confidentiality, especially those seeking mental health treatment.
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Feb 2 2010, 12:55 AM
Post #25
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Rock Star From Mars
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The Depressing News About Antidepressants- Studies suggest that the popular drugs are no more effective than a placebo. In fact, they may be worse.
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