Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Depression, Anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder And A History Of Pervasive Gender-Based Violence Among Women Asylum Seekers Who Have Undergone Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Retrospective Case Review, Hazel Lever, Deborah Ottenheimer, Jimmitti Teysir, Elizabeth Singer, Holly G. Atkinson

Publications and Research

We sought to evaluate the frequency of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and any experiences of violence in women who had undergone Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) and were seeking asylum in the United States. We undertook a retrospective qualitative descriptive study of FGM/C cases seen in an asylum clinic over a 2-year period. Standardized questionnaires provided quantitative scores for anxiety, depression and PTSD. Clients’ personal and physician medical affidavits were analyzed for experiences of violence. Of the 13 cases, anxiety and depression were exhibited by 92 and 100% of women, while all seven women screened for PTSD had symptoms. Qualitative analysis revealed …

Incremental Decreases In Quality-Adjusted Life Years (Qaly) Associated With Higher Levels Of Depressive Symptoms For U.S. Adults Aged 65 Years And Older, Haomiao Jia, Erica I. Lubetkin

Publications and Research

Background: Quality-adjusted life years (QALY) is a single value index that quantifies the overall burden of disease. It reflects all aspects of heath, including nonfatal illness and mortality outcomes by weighting life-years lived with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scores. This study examine the burden of disease due to increasing levels of depressive symptoms by examining the association between the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) scores and QALY for U.S. adults aged 65 years and older.

Methods: We ascertained respondents’ HRQOL scores and mortality status from the 2005–2006, 2007–2008, and 2009–2010 cohorts of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey …

The Specificity Of Mental Pain In Borderline Personality Disorder Compared To Depressive Disorders And Healthy Controls, Eric A. Fertuck, Esen Karan, Barbara Stanley

Publications and Research

Background: Individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) may experience a qualitatively distinct depression which includes “mental pain.” Mental pain includes chronic, aversive emotions, negative self-concept, and a sense of pervasive helplessness. The present study investigated whether mental pain is elevated in BPD compared to Depressive Disorders (DD) without BPD.

Methods: The Orbach and Mikulincer Mental Pain Scale (OMMP) was administered to BPD (N = 57), DD (N = 22), and healthy controls (N = 31). The OMMP assesses total mental pain, comprised of nine subtypes: irreversibility, loss of control, narcissistic wounds, emotional flooding, freezing, self-estrangement, confusion, social distancing, and emptiness. …

Development Of A Technology-Based Behavioral Vaccine To Prevent Adolescent Depression: A Health System Integration Model, Benjamin W. Van Voorhees, Tracy Gladstone, Stephanie Cordel, Monika Marko-Holguin, William Beardslee, Sachiko Kuwabara, Mark Allan Kaplan, Joshua Fogel, Anne Diehl, Chris Hansen, Carl Bell

Publications and Research

Efforts to prevent depression have become a key health system priority. Currently, there is a high prevalence of depression among adolescents, and treatment has become costly due to the recurrence patterns of the illness, impairment among patients, and the complex factors needed for a treatment to be effective. Primary care may be the optimal location to identify those at risk by offering an Internet-based preventive intervention to reduce costs and improve outcomes. Few practical interventions have been developed. The models for Internet intervention development that have been put forward focus primarily on the Internet component rather than how the program …

Evolutionary Cognitive Therapy Versus Standard Cognitive Therapy For Depression: A Protocol For A Blinded, Randomized, Superiority Clinical Trial, Cezar Giosan, Oana Cobeanu, Cristina Mogoase, Vlad Muresan, Loretta S. Malta, Katarzyna Wyka, Aurora Szentagotai

Publications and Research

Background: Depression is estimated to become the leading cause of disease burden globally by 2030. Despite existing efficacious treatments (both medical and psychotherapeutic), a large proportion of patients do not respond to therapy. Recent insights from evolutionary psychology suggest that, in addition to targeting the proximal causes of depression (for example, targeting dysfunctional beliefs by cognitive behavioral therapy), the distal or evolutionary causes (for example, inclusive fitness) should also be addressed. A randomized superiority trial is conducted to develop and test an evolutionary-driven cognitive therapy protocol for depression, and to compare its efficacy against standard cognitive therapy for depression.

Methods/design: …