scholarly journals Association between Spirometric Parameters and Depressive Symptoms in New Mexico Uranium Workers

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-68
Author(s):  
Shiva Sharma ◽  
◽  
Xin Shore ◽  
Satyajit Mohite ◽  
Orrin Myers ◽  
...  

Background: Uranium workers are at risk of developing lung disease, characterized by low forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and/or forced vital capacity (FVC). Previous studies have found an association between decreased lung function and depressive symptoms in patients with pulmonary pathologies, but this association has not been well examined in occupational cohorts, especially uranium workers. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated the association between spirometric measures and depressive symptoms in a sample of elderly former uranium workers screened by the New Mexico Radiation Exposure Screening & Education Program (NM-RESEP). Race- and ethnicity-specific reference equations were used to determine predicted spirometric indices (predictor variable). At least one depressive symptom [depressed mood and/or anhedonia, as determined by a modified Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2)], was the outcome variables. Chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression models were used for statistical analyses. Results: At least one depressive symptom was self-reported by 7.6% of uranium workers. Depressed mood was reported over twice as much as anhedonia (7.2% versus 3.3%). Abnormal FVC was associated with at least one depressive symptom after adjustment for covariates. There was no significant interaction between race/ethnicity and spirometric indices on depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Although depressive symptoms are uncommonly reported in uranium workers, they are an important comorbidity due to their overall clinical impact. Abnormal FVC was associated with depressive symptoms. Race/ethnicity was not found to be an effect modifier for the association between abnormal FVC and depressive symptoms. To better understand the mechanism underlying this association and determine if a causal relationship exists between spirometric indices and depressive symptoms in occupational populations at risk for developing lung disease, larger longitudinal studies are required. We recommend screening for depressive symptoms for current and former uranium workers as part of routine health surveillance of this occupational cohort. Such screening may help overcome workers’ reluctance to self-report and seek treatment for depression and may avoid negative consequences to health and safety from missed diagnoses.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liat Korn ◽  
Miriam Billig ◽  
Gil Zukerman

Introduction: We examined how community type, residence attachment, and religiosity contribute to resilience to depressive symptoms, psychosomatic complaints, residential stress, and avoidance behavior among students exposed to terror.Methods: Undergraduate students from Ariel University (N = 1,413; 62.7% females; Mage = 26.5; SD = 6.03) completed a self-report questionnaire on socio-demographics, terror exposure, place attachment, and depressive/psychosomatic symptoms. Participants were divided into three residential groups: “Ariel,” “Small settlement communities in Judea and Samaria” or “Other places in Israel.”Results: Participants from small settlement communities in Judea and Samaria showed significantly fewer depressive symptoms and greater adjustment– less avoidance, psychosomatic symptoms, and residential stress– compared to those living in Ariel or other places in Israel, despite significantly higher exposure to terror.Conclusion: Greater religiosity and residence attachment may protect against depressive symptom development following terror exposure. Secular, temporary residents living in highly terror-exposed areas should be targeted for community strengthening interventions.


2020 ◽  
pp. 027243162097853
Author(s):  
Karlijn W. J. de Jonge-Heesen ◽  
Sanne P. A. Rasing ◽  
Ad A. Vermulst ◽  
Yuli R. Tak ◽  
Rutger C. M. E. Engels ◽  
...  

Adolescent depression is a major concern for public health and is associated with negative consequences and outcomes. Identifying adolescent characteristics that might relate to the risk for developing depression is crucial. This study investigated bidirectional associations between coping strategies and depressive symptoms over time. The participants were 1,341 secondary school students from the Netherlands ([Formula: see text] = 13.91, SD = 0.55, 47.5% girls) who completed self-report questionnaires at six waves over 2.5 years. Cross-lagged models were used to investigate the associations between coping strategies and depressive symptoms. Coping strategies did not predict depressive symptoms over time. However, there was an indication of the reverse relationship. When adolescents experienced elevated depressive symptoms, they used fewer adaptive techniques to target stress. Gender differences were found in the use of avoidance. The inconsistencies of these findings with earlier studies are discussed and provide new directions for future research on working mechanisms underlying depression prevention programs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S32-S32
Author(s):  
A. Batra ◽  
S. Eck

Smoking is associated with major depression, schizophrenia, anxiety and compulsive disorders, personality disorders, or substance abuse disorders [1,2]. More than that, smokers often report higher levels of novelty seeking, anxiety or depressive symptoms without fulfilling full diagnostic criteria for a psychiatric disorder.In a former study, Batra et al. [3] had shown that smokers reporting higher levels of novelty seeking/hyperactivity, depressivity, and nicotine dependence evince higher relapse rates after completion of a six-weeks behavioural treatment program than smokers reporting low scores on self-report psychological symptom measures.Another study [4] showed that a modified smoking cessation program matched to at-risk smokers’ needs with n = 268 adult smokers leads to higher long-term abstinence rates.All at-risk smokers had been randomly assigned to receive either a standard or modified treatment. Best results were shown for smokers with mild depressive symptoms. The talk reports results of former and recent studies and focuses on the German treatment guidelines for tobacco related disorders.These [5] recommend to assess tobacco use among patients with mental disorders and should be offered smoking cessation support under consideration of the acuteness and the particularities of the mental disorder using the same psychotherapeutic and pharmaceutical measures as for smokers without additional mental disorders.Disclosure of interestFinancial support by Pfizer, Parexel, SKB, Novartis for smoking cessation studies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Geschwind ◽  
Martijn van Teffelen ◽  
Elin Hammarberg ◽  
Arnoud Arntz ◽  
M.J.H. Huibers ◽  
...  

Background: Previous research suggests a relationship between measurement frequency of self-reported depressive symptoms and change in depressive symptom scores for the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II). The goal of the current study was to investigate the differential effects of weekly and monthly completion of the BDI-II and Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology self-report (QIDS-SR). Methods: Seventy individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) waiting for treatment were randomly assigned to either completing BDI-II weekly, BDI-II monthly, QIDS-SR weekly, or QIDS-SR monthly for a duration of nine weeks. After nine weeks participants also completed the Zung depression scale once. Mixed multilevel regression modelling and Bayesian Statistical Analysis were used to test the relationship between the measurement frequency and depression scores, and to compare scores of the repeatedly completed instruments with the instrument completed only in week nine.Results: Measurement frequency was not related to BDI-II, QIDS-SR or Zung scores. However, depression scores declined in the weekly and monthly QIDS-SR (but not BDI-II) conditions, while Bayesian analyses indicated moderate support for equal depression scores on the Zung SDS.Limitations: Lack of a clinician-rated depression scale at week nine in addition to the self-report measure. Conclusion: In contrast to previous studies in non-clinical samples, our findings suggest that measurement frequency does not have an impact on scores of the BDI-II. Implications for clinical studies monitoring depressive symptom scores with self-report scales are discussed. Keywords: major depressive disorder; retest effects; measurement error; measurement frequency; Beck Depression Inventory; Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology


Author(s):  
María Teresa Chamizo-Nieto ◽  
Lourdes Rey

AbstractRecently, there has been an increase in the problem of cyberbullying all over the world, which implies important negative consequences for adolescent victims’ mental health, such as depression. There are few research studies that analyse the role of gratitude and cognitive coping strategies for the consequences of cybervictimisation. To date, there are few studies examining the influence of both these resources in a cyberbullying context. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to analyse the mediating role of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (CERS) in the relationship between cybervictimisation and depressive symptoms, and to explore the potential moderating role of gratitude among the study variables. A sample of 1156 students between 12 and 18 years (54.33% females) filled out self-report questionnaires measuring cybervictimisation (ECIPQ), cognitive coping strategies (CERQ-SA), depressive symptoms (DASS-21) and gratitude (GQ-5). The outcomes showed that maladaptive CERS partially mediated the relation between cybervictimisation and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, gratitude buffered the relation between maladaptive CERS and depressive symptoms. These findings provide evidence for the buffering role of gratitude in a more frequent use of maladaptive CERS and depressive symptoms in cybervictimisation. The limitations and implications of the study are discussed.


Author(s):  
Jeremy D. Davey ◽  
Patricia L. Obst ◽  
Mary C. Sheehan

This study examined aspects of the work environment, which may impact on individual police officers’ risk of harm from alcohol consumption. A self report survey containing demographic questions, the AUDIT and questions relating to perceived control over the job, overtime, pressure, boredom and job satisfaction was completed by 67 per cent of officers in an Australian state police service. The results of the current study indicate that gender, age and marital status, are individual risk factors for problem drinking, as has been shown in previous research. Within the policing context, years of service, job satisfaction, perceived control within the job and being an operational officer, also emerged as significant predictors of at risk alcohol consumption patterns. Findings further suggest that there is a strong norm of drinking at work or after a shift, which suggests a culture of acceptance of drinking within the workplace. This acceptance is strongly predictive of both risk of alcohol dependency and negative consequences from drinking within the police service. This study suggests directions for future research, which may lead to the introduction of informed interventions within the police service that could reduce officers’ risk of harm from alcohol consumption.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 660-672
Author(s):  
Suzanne H. Kimball ◽  
Toby Hamilton ◽  
Erin Benear ◽  
Jonathan Baldwin

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the emotional tone and verbal behavior of social media users who self-identified as having tinnitus and/or hyperacusis that caused self-described negative consequences on daily life or health. Research Design and Method An explanatory mixed-methods design was utilized. Two hundred “initial” and 200 “reply” Facebook posts were collected from members of a tinnitus group and a hyperacusis group. Data were analyzed via the LIWC 2015 software program and compared to typical bloggers. As this was an explanatory mixed-methods study, we used qualitative thematic analyses to explain, interpret, and illustrate the quantitative results. Results Overall, quantitative results indicated lower overall emotional tone for all categories (tinnitus and hyperacusis, initial and reply), which was mostly influenced by higher negative emotion. Higher levels of authenticity or truth were found in the hyperacusis sample but not in the tinnitus sample. Lower levels of clout (social standing) were indicated in all groups, and a lower level of analytical thinking style (concepts and complex categories rather than narratives) was found in the hyperacusis sample. Additional analysis of the language indicated higher levels of sadness and anxiety in all groups and lower levels of anger, particularly for initial replies. These data support prior findings indicating higher levels of anxiety and depression in this patient population based on the actual words in blog posts and not from self-report questionnaires. Qualitative results identified 3 major themes from both the tinnitus and hyperacusis texts: suffering, negative emotional tone, and coping strategies. Conclusions Results from this study suggest support for the predominant clinical view that patients with tinnitus and hyperacusis have higher levels of anxiety and depression than the general population. The extent of the suffering described and patterns of coping strategies suggest clinical practice patterns and the need for research in implementing improved practice plans.


Crisis ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 272-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison S. Christian ◽  
Kristen M. McCabe

Background: Deliberate self-harm (DSH) occurs with high frequency among clinical and nonclinical youth populations. Although depression has been consistently linked with the behavior, not all depressed individuals engage in DSH. Aims: The current study examined maladaptive coping strategies (i.e., self-blame, distancing, and self-isolation) as mediators between depression and DSH among undergraduate students. Methods: 202 students from undergraduate psychology courses at a private university in Southern California (77.7% women) completed anonymous self-report measures. Results: A hierarchical regression model found no differences in DSH history across demographic variables. Among coping variables, self-isolation alone was significantly related to DSH. A full meditational model was supported: Depressive symptoms were significantly related to DSH, but adding self-isolation to the model rendered the relationship nonsignificant. Limitations: The cross-sectional study design prevents determination of whether a casual relation exists between self-isolation and DSH, and obscures the direction of that relationship. Conclusions: Results suggest targeting self-isolation as a means of DSH prevention and intervention among nonclinical, youth populations.


2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soumia Cheref ◽  
Robert Lane ◽  
Lillian A. Polanco-Roman ◽  
Regina Miranda

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