Elderly committing suicide can be in a “preclinical phase” of dementia. Depressive symptoms may indicate a risk to develop a disease of dementia, for example Alzheimer’s Disease. Today almost 10% of the Swedish population older than 65 years suffer from a cognitive impairment diagnosed as dementia. Symptoms of dementia are associated with degenerative changes in the brain caused by a deposition of amyloid, leading among others things to a nerve cell death. A clinical diagnosis can be hard to set, and a definitive diagnose can only be set after a pathological examination, which only is possible after death. For this study we used Congo red staining of brains sections to find amyloid in autopsies from elderly people committing suicide. 35 cases (>60 year) were studied. Of the 35 cases 1/3 showed to be positive for amyloid deposition. This result in addition to other studies suggest that depressive symptoms is a “preclinical phase” of dementia, and therefore the suicide risk for this group must be consider to be elevated. However, more reliable prospective studies most be done to confirm this retrospective study.

Mental illness is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease. As public health practitioners, we must generate more than sufficient knowledge about mental health and illness in order to identify risk factors, increase awareness, improve treatment, eliminate the overall disparity associated with mental illness, and improve access to care to all affected, including those disproportionally affected by mental illness. Over time, there has been an overall lack of sufficient research studies on depression among African American women. As research in this area grows, it is critical to examine the underlying causative factors that are correlated with this disease and this population in order to provide better treatment options and a global understanding. This project will examine and analyze data obtained from the study assessment as it relates to psychosocial factors as reported by the study participants and generate a conclusion based on these findings. Additionally, this project will look to determine the help‐seeking behaviors of these women with access to a primary care physician and/or clinic. Overall, findings from this thesis project will provide an understanding of the specific psychosocial variables affecting African American women with depression and depressive symptoms, as well as provide an understanding of the help‐seeking behaviors of African American women, and contribute to the improvement of research in mental health in the United States.

Early childhood malnutrition is a global public health problem with serious short- and long-term consequences. The aim of this thesis is to evaluate the effects of psychosocial stimulation (PS) with or without food supplementation (FS) on growth and development of severely malnourished children, quality of home environment, mother’s child-rearing practices and depressive symptoms. The study setting was Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the participants were severely malnourished children, aged 6-24 months, admitted at Dhaka Hospital of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B). A hospital-based study was conducted in Nutrition Rehabilitation Unit of ICDDR,B hospital, where a control group (n=43) was studied initially, followed by an intervention group (n=54). All received standard nutrition rehabilitation care. The intervention group received daily group meetings and play sessions in the hospital, and was thereafter visited at home for 6 months. A community-based randomised trial was conducted including children (n=507) admitted at hospital for initial treatment of an acute infection, and thereafter assigned to PS, FS, PS+FS, clinic control or hospital control groups. PS was delivered at follow-up visits, fortnightly for 6 months at community clinics. FS included distribution of cereal-based food packets (150–300 kcal/day depending on age) for 3 months. All groups received standard medical care and micronutrient supplementation. In the hospital-based study, the intervention group had significantly higher scores in mental (p<0.001, effect size 0.52 SD) and motor development (p=0.047, effect size 0.37 SD), and weight (p=0.03, effect size 0.39 SD), after 6- months intervention. In the community-based trial, there was a significant effect of stimulation after six months of intervention on children’s mental development (group*session interaction p=0.037, effect size=0.37 SD) and weight (group*session interaction p=0.02, effect size=0.26 SD) but no effect on motor development or linear growth. The PS+FS and PS groups differed in total HOME score, two HOME subscales (maternal involvement and play materials), and in mother’s child- rearing practices scores but not in depressive symptoms. PS with or without FS had small improvement on children’s growth and development, quality of home environment and mother’s rearing-practices of severely malnourished children. More intensive interventions with longer duration are therefore recommended.

Bakgrund: Depression är en global sjukdom och kan drabba vem som helst, år 2020 beräknas depression vara den näst största sjukdomsbördan i världen. Skillnader mellan män och kvinnors symtom och beteenden vid depression kan vara en förklaring till att män med mild depression lätt förbises av läkare. Män kan därmed bli utan den behandling som är nödvändig. Syfte: Att beskriva mäns symtom och beteende vid depression. Metod: Litteraturstudie med deskriptiv design baserad på elva vetenskapliga artiklar med kvalitativ och/eller kvantitativ ansats. Artiklarna som publicerades mellan 2002-2012 söktes från databaserna Psychinfo och Psycharticles samt genom manuell sökning. Huvudresultat: De manliga symtomen var ofta atypiska, som ilska och irritabilitet. Att söka vård upplevdes som svårt då den maskulina normen bidrog till att de inte skulle visa svaghet. Kortsiktiga hanteringsstrategier hos män med depression var till exempel att arbeta mer samt att bruka droger och/eller alkohol. Slutsats: Mäns beteenden och annorlunda symtom vid depression bidrar till att de lätt kan förbises inom sjukvården. Mer forskning behövs om mäns symtom och beteenden vid depression för att de lättare ska upptäckas och få behandling.

Religious coping and spiritual well-being were found to be culturally important resilience factors for African American women suffering from abuse and depressive symptoms. This investigation aimed to investigate whether: (1) spiritual well-being and its two components of existential and religious well-being mediate the Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)-Depressive Symptoms (DS) link; (2) positive and negative religious coping moderate the IPV-DS association; and (3) the mediating effect of spiritual well-being in the IPV-DS link is moderated by level of religious coping (i.e., moderated mediation). The study utilized data from 208 low income, suicidal and abused African American women, ages 18-55. Only the existential component of spiritual well-being was found to fully mediate the IPV-DS link. This indirect effect weakened at higher levels of negative religious coping. As predicted, higher levels of negative religious coping were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Surprisingly, higher levels of negative religious coping were also associated with increases in existential well-being which, in turn, led to decrease in depressive symptoms. The findings underscore the importance of addressing existential well-being and religious coping in clinical interventions and in training for mental health professionals. Clinical and research implications of these findings are discussed and future directions recommended.

No description available.

The present study aimed to test the Response Styles Theory with Turkish preadolescents. Therefore, two phases were followed. In thefirst phase, psychometric properties of Children&#039 / s Response Styles Questionnaire (CRSQ) were examined. In the second phase, the relationship of response styles and problem solving way of children to their depressive symptoms with respect to grade and gender was tested. The sample consisted of 599 children and preadolescents(299 females, 300 males) with a mean age of 11.77 (SD = 1.53), from 4th and 7th grade levels. In this study, Children&#039 / s Depression Inventory (Kovacs, 1980), Children&#039 / s Response Styles Questionnaire (Abela, Vanderbilt, &amp / Rochon, 2000), Children&#039 / s Action Tendency Scale (Deluty, 1979), and a demographic form were used. Results of the study demonstrated that 7.5 % of the children and preadolescents reported to have depressive symptoms. Seventh graders&#039 / scores were higher than fourth graders for depressive symptoms. there was not any gender difference in depressive symptoms. Seventh grade females had higher scores on the Rumination Subscale of Children&#039 / s Response Styles Questionnaire (CRSQ) than fourth grade females and seventh grade males. Fourth graders scored higher on the Distracting Subscale of CRSQ than seventh graders. Problem solving was not found to be mediating or moderating the relationship between response styles (rumination and distraction) and depressive symptoms. It is concluded that both response styles and problem solving independently contribute to depressive symptoms in preadolescents. Findings were discussed in the light of the literature.

Abstract Cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a rare, incurable, chronic disease accounting for approximately 3% of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnoses every year. Patients with CTCL have skin lesions that can vary in severity putting patients at risk for developing symptoms that may impair their quality of life (QOL). The disease burden can lead to increased depressive symptoms, fatigue distress, and anxiety that the disease may be worsening. Seventy-five participants agreed to take part in an exploratory, prospective study to evaluate depressive symptoms, anxiety, fatigue distress, and spirituality as predictors of QOL in CTCL patients. Demographic variables including stage of disease, ethnicity, age, gender, marital status, level of education, and time since diagnosis, were also included in the analyses to assess for relationships. Bivariate correlations, t-tests, and regression analyses were conducted to assess for relationships among the predictor variables and QOL. The analyses revealed that the proposed model explained 64% of the variance, and depressive symptoms (t= -2.4, p= 0.020) and stage of disease (t= -3.0, p= 0.004) significantly predicted the QOL of CTCL patients. Evaluating for predictors that influence the QOL helps us to better understand the needs of the patients afflicted with CTCL. The importance of studying the QOL of the CTCL patients lies in the fact that nurses can assist in helping patients alleviate some of the symptoms they experience, thereby improving their QOL. Further study is warranted in developing interventions to assist in the preservation of QOL.

This dissertation study was designed to examine measurement equivalence of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale across White, African American, and Mexican American elders. Specific aims were to identify race/ethnicity-, sociodemographic-, and acculturation and instrument language-related measurement bias in the CES-D. Three studies were conducted in this dissertation to accomplish these aims. Two existing national datasets were used: the New Haven Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) for the White and African American samples and the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) for the Mexican-American sample. Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses were conducted using both confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and item response theory (IRT) methods. Study 1 focused on the role of race/ethnicity on the measurement bias in the CES-D. Results from Study 1 showed a lack of measurement equivalence of the CES-D among Mexican Americans in the comparison with both Whites and Blacks. Race/ethnicity-specific items were also identified in Study 1: two interpersonal relation items in Blacks and four positive affect items in Mexican Americans. Study 2 focused on identifying sociodemographic-related measurement bias in responses to the CES-D among diverse racial/ethnic groups. Results from Study 2 showed that gender and educational attainment affected item bias in the CES-D. The interaction between gender and educational level and race/ethnicity was also found in Study 2: Mexican American women and lower educated Blacks had a greater predisposition to endorse the 'crying' item. Focusing on Mexican American elders, Study 3 examined how level of acculturation and language influence responses to the CES-D. In Study 3, acculturation and instrument language-biased items were identified in Mexican American elders. Study 3 also suggested that acculturation-bias was entirely explained by whether the CES-D was administered in the English or the Spanish versions. Possible reasons for item bias on the CES-D are discussed in the context of sociocultural differences in each substudy. Findings from this dissertation provide a broader understanding of sociocultural group differences in depressive symptom measures among racially/ethnically diverse older adults and yield research and practice implications for the use of standard screening tools for depression.

Αντικρουόμενα συμπεράσματα παρουσιάζονται στη βιβλιογραφία σχετικά με την υγεία των καλλιεργητών. Στην παρούσα μελέτη η επίδραση της ενασχόλησης με τις αγροτικές καλλιέργειες διερευνήθηκε με κλινικά και εργαστηριακά ευρήματα, συγκρίνοντας αγρότες με μη αγρότες που διαμένουν στις ίδιες αγροτικές περιοχές. Δείγμα 328 αγροτών και 347 μη αγροτών, σταθμισμένα κατά ηλικία και φύλο, επελέγησαν με τυχαίο τρόπο σε αγροτικές περιοχές του νομού Αιτωλοακαρνανίας στη Δυτική Ελλάδα. Στα μέλη και των δύο ομάδων έγινε αιμοληψία για διενέργεια γενικής εξέτασης αίματος και βιοχημικών εξετάσεων ενώ εφαρμόστηκαν δύο νευροψυχιατρικές δοκιμασίες, η MMSE και η MADRS για την εκτίμηση της μνήμης και της διάθεσης αντίστοιχα και δύο νευρομυϊκές δοκιμασίες, η MRCS και η MAS για την εκτίμηση του μυϊκού τόνου και της μυϊκής κινητικότητας αντίστοιχα. Έγινε καταγραφή των δημογραφικών στοιχείων, διατροφικών και άλλων συνηθειών και του ατομικού ιατρικού ιστορικού. Από τους αγρότες ζητήθηκαν πληροφορίες σχετικά με τις καλλιέργειες, τα χρησιμοποιούμενα φυτοφάρμακα και τα λαμβανόμενα προστατευτικά μέσα. Οι αγρότες ανέφεραν συχνότερα αρτηριακή υπέρταση και κάποιες καρδιαγγειακές νόσους, ορθοπεδικά και ΩΡΛ προβλήματα. Στους αγρότες παρατηρήθηκαν χαμηλότερες τιμές αιματοκρίτη, αιμοσφαιρίνης και χολινεστεράσης πλάσματος και υψηλότερες τιμές καλίου, ασβεστίου, SGOT, LDH, χολερυθρίνης, ολικών λευκωμάτων, CRP και τριγλυκεριδίων. Στους αγρότες νεότερων ηλικιών παρατηρήθηκαν χαμηλότερες τιμές αρτηριακής υπέρτασης και καλύτερες επιδόσεις στις δοκιμασίες MMSE και MADRS σε σχέση με τους μη αγρότες, ενώ στις μεγαλύτερες ηλικίες συνέβαινε το αντίθετο. Κανένας νέος αγρότης δεν εμφάνιζε παθολογικά αποτελέσματα στις δοκιμασίες MRCS και MAS, ενώ οι ηλικιωμένοι αγρότες είχαν μεγαλύτερη συχνότητα παθολογικών αποτελεσμάτων σε σχέση με τους ηλικιωμένους μη αγρότες. Οι αγρότες είναι περισσότερο ευάλωτοι σε διάφορα προβλήματα υγείας. Οι παράγοντες που σχετίζονται με αυτή την τάση δεν είναι απολύτως σαφείς. Χρειάζονται περισσότερες αποδείξεις για να συνδεθεί η έκθεση στα φυτοφάρμακα με τα παρατηρούμενα προβλήματα υγείας. / Contradictory outcomes concerning the farmers’ health are reported in the literature. In this study the effect of “farming” is investigated by comparing farmers versus non-farmers living in the same rural area with regard to certain clinical and neurobehavioral health outcomes. 328 farmers and 347 non-farmers, matched per age and sex, were selected randomly in an agricultural area in West Greece. Both groups underwent haematological and biochemical examinations and were administered two neurobehavioral tests, namely the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) as well as two neuromuscular tests, the Medical Research Council Scale (MRCS) and the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS). Sociodemographic, personal medical, nutritional data and lifestyle were recorded. Farmers also gave details concerning cultivations, application of pesticides and protective measures taking. According to personal statements, farmers suffered from hypertension, cardiovascular, orthopaedic and ENT problems in higher frequency. Haematocrit, haemoglobin and serum cholinesterase’s activity were found to be lower among farmers. Potassium, calcium, SGOT, LDH, bilirubin, albumin, CRP and triglycerides levels are higher among farmers. Lower prevalence of hypertension and better performances on MMSE and MADRS tests were recorded in young farmers in relation to young non farmers, while these findings were reversed in older ages. Noone young farmer has abnormal results in MRCS and MAS tests, while in older ages farmers present abnormal results in higher frequency than non farmers in those scales. Farmers are susceptible to potential impairments on their health status. Factors affecting these impairments remain to be clarified. The pesticides’ exposure needs further investigation and evidence in order to be correlated with the observed effects.