Posts Tagged ‘depression’

Levels and causes of postnatal depression

Posted by admin on September 9th, 2010

Researchers from the Medical Research Council in the U.K. have been looking into the levels of postnatal depression experienced by mothers and fathers and what might make some people more vulnerable to suffering from it. They looked at data from 86,957 families seen in primary-care clinics between 1993 and 2007. They found that more than a third of mothers and about a fifth of fathers had an episode of depression between their child’s birth and their 12th birthday. In any one year 7.53% of mothers and 2.69% of fathers suffered from depression but there was a greater risk – 13.93% in mothers and 3.56% in fathers – in a child’s first year. Depression was most likely to occur in parents with a history of depression, those who were aged 15 to 24 when their child was born and those who were more socially deprived.

You can find out more about this research by clicking on the title of this post.

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Depression and heart problems

Posted by admin on September 1st, 2010

Depression is both a risk factor for developing heart disease and makes things worse for those who already have it. Researchers from the University Medical Centre in Groningen, in the Netherlands have been looking into this issue in more detail. They studied 1,019 people with an average age of 67 who had stable coronary heart disease asking them about their depression symptoms. They found that those who had somatic (bodily) symptoms of depression were more likely to have health problems with fatigue, appetite problems and sleeplessness increasing the risk most. However, the cognitive symptoms of depression, such as difficulty in concentrating, were not found to increase people’s risk.

You can find out more about this research by clicking on the link in the title of this post.

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Health visitors and postnatal depression

Posted by admin on September 1st, 2010

With governments all over the world looking to make cuts in expenditure health visitors can often be seen as an easy option for cuts. However, research from the universities of Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield have found that they can play a role in preventing post-natal depression. The researchers studied more than 2,000 women; 767 received normal care from a health visitor while the rest received support from health visitors trained in assessing mental-health problems and giving psychological support. Six months after childbirth the women who had been seen by the health visitors with additional mental-health training were 30% less likely to develop depression.

You can find out more about this research by clicking on the title of this post.

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Teenage smoking and depression

Posted by admin on August 31st, 2010

Teenagers who smoke to cheer themselves up may actually be more prone to depression. Researchers from the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre studied 662 teenagers asking them about their smoking habits and their mood. The participants were divided into three groups: those who had never smoked, those who smoked but did not do so to ’self-medicate’ and those who smoked to improve their mood. Those who used cigarettes as mood-enhancers had higher risks of elevated depressive symptoms than those teenagers who had never smoked.

You can find out more about this research by clicking on the title of this post.

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Mindfulness, conditional goal setting and depression

Posted by admin on August 27th, 2010

People sometimes say to themselves ‘I’ll be happy when I’ve got a new car,’ or ‘I’ll have achieved domestic bliss as soon as I’ve painted the front room.’ Psychologists call this way of thinking Conditional Goal Setting and in a number of studies it has been associated with depression. Mindfulness is another way of thinking which derives from Buddhism and which stresses living in the moment, being aware of one’s thoughts and surroundings in the present and being open-minded and non-judgmental. Buddhism is also against the idea that happiness is dependent on the achievement of other goals such as material posessions or exam results and a team of researchers from Oxford University and the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London studied 31 depressed patients to see whether there was a link between people’s mindfulness and their conditional goal setting – both of which were measured with questionnaires. They found a significant association between ‘increased dispositional mindfulness’ and reduced conditional goal setting – an indication of another way in which mindfulness might reduce depression.

Crane, Catherine … [et al] – The relationship between dispositional mindfulness and conditional goal setting in depressed patients British Journal of Clinical Psychology September 2010, 49(3), 281-290

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Memory, child abuse and depression

Posted by admin on August 27th, 2010

Autobiographical memory is our memory of events and experiences from our own past rather than of skills like how to make a cup of tea, or facts like what the capital of Sweden is. Psychologists divide autobiographical memories into a number of different kinds. They can be of specific events, extended periods of time or of different categories of events e.g. all the times I have done embarrassing or stupid things. Psychologists call the last kind of autobiographical memory ‘categorical’ and there is evidence that too much of this kind of autobiographical memory – ‘overgeneral memory’ – can be linked to depression. There is also evidence that childhood sexual abuse can lead to people being more likely to experience overgeneral memory. Researchers from the universities of Manchester and Oxford studied this issue in a sample of 103 women aged between 25 and 37. The researchers found that overgeneral memory was associated with childhood sexual abuse even in women who weren’t depressed. However, the women who were depressed and who had suffered childhood sexual abuse were more likely to have more overgeneral memories.

Aglan, Azza … [et al] – Overgeneral autobiographical memory in women: association with childhood abuse and history of depression in a community sample British Journal of Clinical Psychology September 2010, 49(3), 359-372

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Coping with depression – guest post by Maryanne Osborg

Posted by admin on August 26th, 2010

Coping With Depression and the Loss of a Loved One
There are times when I’ve looked at people with mental illnesses and wondered how they got that way – if it’s not a degenerative disease like Alzheimer’s and dementia, there must be a stressor that caused them to lose their mind and become half the person they were. The most common trigger seems to be the feeling of loss – it could either be the loss of personal possessions or the loss of a loved one. The most devastating effects are caused when a loved one dies, especially if the death is sudden and unexpected. It’s like the survivor’s heart stops and refuses to beat on.

The finality of death makes it hard to accept; and if you’re weak in spirit or beset by other problems simultaneously, you could slip into a depression so deep that only medical intervention can help. Having been around people who suffer from depression, I’ve found that it is a millstone around the necks of the sufferers – it weighs them down even as they try to keep their heads above water. Therefore, the best thing to do is to prevent sadness and the irreparable sense of loss from turning into depression through timely intervention.

If you feel yourself moping around with no interest in anything in life, it’s time to turn to friends and family for support. You may not realize the depths to which you’ve sunk, but if well-meaning friends tell you that it’s time to start living again, seek their help if you’re unable to do it on your own. In my experience, I’ve found that work is salvation when coping with the loss of a loved one. It keeps your mind and body occupied and soothes your tortured soul. Once you start to get back into your routine, vary it a little; go out and meet friends, spend time doing the things you love and with the people you love, and avoid being alone as much as possible.

Sometimes, this feeling of intense loss arises even when a relationship goes sour and you’re left bearing the emotional brunt of it. You know you can never go back to the person you thought was special and that you must move on; however, it is difficult to accept the change and cope with it because your trust could have been betrayed or you could have been abused mentally and/or physically.

Whatever the loss, depression is an ominous omen to more severe problems, especially if it persists for days together and affects your ability to function normally. Seek help immediately, for both peace of mind and sound mental health.

By-line:
This guest post is contributed by Maryanne Osberg, who writes on the topic of RN to MSN Online (you can visit the site by clicking on the title of this post). She can be reached at mary.anne579@gmail.com

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Army wives – depression and deployment

Posted by admin on August 25th, 2010

Army wives whose husbands are deployed while they are pregnant, or shortly after they have given birth, are more likely to become depressed. Researchers from the Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington studied 3,956 women who were screened for depression when they first visited an obstetrician, at 28 weeks and at six weeks after birth. Women whose husbands were deployed during pregnancy were three times as likely to be depressed as other women and women whose husbands were deployed shortly after they had given birth were twice as likely to be depressed.

You can find out more about this research by clicking on the title of this post.

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Depression and Alzheimer’s

Posted by admin on August 5th, 2010

People with Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) which usually precedes it often have depression as well and some studies suggest that having a history of major depression can double the risk of developing dementia. But it is unclear whether depression is an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease or whether it actually plays a part in causing it. Researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago studied 357 people who were taking part in a long-term study of the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. Every three years the sample completed a brief questionnaire about their levels of depression and were evaluated to see whether they had Alzheimer’s disease. The study found no change in the level of people’s depression before, during and after their development of Alzheimer’s disease suggesting that it was depression which caused people’s dementia rather than vice versa. The other implication of the research is that depression does not automatically go hand-in-hand with dementia and should be treated just the same in people with Alzheimer’s as those without.

You can find out more about this research by clicking on the title of this post.

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Could ‘Special K’ be a solution for bipolar depression?

Posted by admin on August 4th, 2010

Ketamine could help people with bipolar disorder shake off depression. Ketamine was first introduced in 1962 and is legally used as a human, and animal, anaesthetic. It is also used as a ‘party’ drug when it is known, among other things, as ‘Special K’. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland used much smaller doses of the drug than are used recreationally on 18 patients with severe bipolar depression. The patients had tried an average of seven different drugs to treat their illness and 55% had had electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). However, 40 minutes after receiving a ketamine injection the patients depressive symptoms had improved – an effect that lasted for at least three days. Side effects included anxiety, feeling woozy, headaches and a temporary sense of disconnection from reality although there were no ’serious adverse effects.’

You can find out more about this research by clicking on the title of this post.

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