Beck Depression Inventory-II Scale Research Articles

Suboptimal health among Chinese middle school students may be associated with psychological symptoms and sleep duration: a cross-sectional survey in China

BackgroundSuboptimal health status (SHS) is an intermediate status between ideal heath and illness, it is characterized by the perception of health complaints, general weakness, decreased immunity and low energy. An increasing number of Chinese middle school students are suffering from psychological symptoms (PS), particularly anxiety and depression. The relationship between SHS and PS is unclear in adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of SHS and the correlation between SHS and PS among Chinese middle school students and to identify the SHS-related risk factors from the perspective of public health.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with the cluster sampling method among 1955 middle school students in Shantou, China. SHS was assessed by Suboptimal Health Status Questionnaire-25 (SHSQ-25). And the PS of anxiety and depression were assessed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and Beck Depression Inventory-II Scale (BDI-II) self-assessment questionnaires. Variate logistic analysis was applied to explore risk factors of SHS. The relationship between SHS and PS among Chinese middle school students was subsequently analyzed.ResultsAmong the 1955 participants, 1904 middle school students were finally included in the analysis, the effective response rate was 97.39%. The prevalence of SHS was 10.3% (197/1904) while the prevalence of anxiety and depression was 30.7% (585/1904) and 34.1% (649/1904), respectively. A strong correlation was identified between SHS and PS among middle school students. With the aggravation of anxiety and depression, the probability of suffering from SHS increased (both P<0.01). The scores for various dimensions of SHS among the depression and anxiety groups were higher compared to those of the non-depression and non-anxiety groups (all P<0.01 ). Multivariate regression showed that compared with sleeping less than six hours, 6–8 h is a protective factor for SHS (OR = 0.486, 95%CI = 0.278–0.851).ConclusionsAttention should be given to SHS and PS in Chinese middle school students, as they are strongly associated. Lack of sleep is a risk factor for SHS, so sufficient sleep should be recommended to prevent it. Identifying additional risk factors and promoting adequate sleep will improve adolescent health.

Assessment of depression in patients with open-angle glaucoma

Background/Aim. Depression can be caused by a life situation. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of glaucomatous damage on the frequency of occurrence of depression, as well as to determine the risk factors for the onset of depression in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG). Methods. The study was designed as a clinical, observational study (cross-sectional study). The research included 150 patients of both genders over the age of 40 with a confirmed diagnosis of OAG. Anamnestic and sociodemographic data were collected by a questionnaire and detailed ophthalmological examinations were performed. The Beck Depression Inventory-II scale was used as a measurement instrument to assess depression. Results. A high (51.3%) prevalence of depressive symptoms in patients with OAG was confirmed. The patients who suffered from depression more often were women, people with lower monthly earnings, and lower mean deviation values of the visual field index. In patients with advanced glaucoma, a significantly higher frequency of depressive symptoms was observed. Conclusion. Due to the high prevalence of depressive symptoms, it is important to introduce a multidisciplinary approach to treatment by ophthalmologists and psychiatrists. Detecting and treating depressive symptoms at an early stage of the disease leads to a significant reduction in treatment costs and patient disability.

The Influence of Coping Strategy, Loneliness, and Sleep Quality on Student’s Depression During Covid-19 Pandemic

This study aims to examine the effect of the variable coping strategy, loneliness, and sleep quality on symptoms of depression in college students during the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors hypothesized that coping strategy, loneliness, and sleep quality had significant effects on symptoms of depression in students during the Covid-19 pandemic. The population in this study was students who domiciled in Greater Jakarta and were undergoing online lectures during the Covid-19 pandemic. A sample of 203 students were recruited using purposive sampling. The measuring instrument consisted of the Beck Depression Inventory-II scale, The Brief COPE scale, the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, and The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scale. We tested the validity of the instrument using the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) technique. The data were analyzed using multiple regression techniques. The results of hypothesis testing indicated that four variables, namely problem-focused coping, emotional loneliness, social loneliness, and sleep quality, significantly influenced symptoms of depression. This study's results showed significant effects of coping strategy, loneliness, and sleep quality on depression symptoms in college students during the Covid-19 pandemic, 52.3%. Meanwhile, avoidant, emotionfocused, and socially-supported coping did not significantly affect students' depression symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The predictive role of intolerance of uncertainty and trait of worry in breast cancer patients: A prospective, observational, single-center clinical study.

Breast cancer diagnosis and treatment compromise well-being in a pervasive way, and negative consequences may remain after recovery. The psychological side of breast cancer has been extensively investigated; however, the role of intrusive thoughts and intolerance of uncertainty have been studied less systematically. The present study aimed to prospectively evaluate worry content, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress symptoms and to define the role of the trait of worry and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) related to breast cancer. Patients with their first breast cancer diagnosis were enrolled in a single-center, prospective observational trial. The trait of worry and IU were assessed using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) and the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Revised (IUS-R). The psychological aspects were evaluated using the Worry Domains Questionnaire (WDQ), the Beck Anxiety (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Questionnaires were administered in a randomized sequence at diagnosis (T0), 3 months post-diagnosis (T1), and 12 months post-diagnosis (T2). One hundred and fifty eligible patients were enrolled in the study and provided the T0 assessment. Further compliance rates were 57% at T1 and 64% at T2. All patients showed a significant and continuous increase in the IES-R scale (p < 0.0001) from diagnosis to the end of the study, while no significant changes were observed for the WDQ, BAI, and BDI-II scales. The clinical PSWQ levels and/or high levels of the IUS-R score were the only variables that aided the distinction between patients who maintain high levels of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic disorders and those who did not. An early assessment of the components of the trait of worry and intolerance of uncertainty could be critical in identifying patients with a higher psychopathological risk. Furthermore, if future studies confirm the present findings, support and monitoring throughout the prognosis may present crucial benefits, and possibly affect the course of treatment.

Effects of depressive symptoms on regulating emotional goals: Preferences for distinct facial emotions

BackgroundAlthough many studies of emotion regulation in depression have focused on regulatory strategies, few have explored the goals of regulation. Regulatory strategies refer to methods of adjusting emotions, while regulatory goals refer to the desired states of emotion. According to situational selection strategy, individuals choose situations to regulate their emotions, and also selectively approach or avoid certain people. MethodsWe used the Beck Depression Inventory-II scale to classify healthy individuals into two groups: those with either high or low levels of depressive symptoms. We then explored the influence of these symptoms on individual goals for emotion regulation. Event-related potentials in the brain were recorded as participants viewed and selected images of happy, neutral, sad, and fearful faces. Participants also provided subjective emotional preferences. ResultsLate positive potential (LPP) amplitudes for all faces were smaller in the high depressive-symptom group than those in the low depressive-symptom group. Additionally, participants in the high depressive-symptom group chose to look at sad and fearful faces more often than they chose to view happy or neutral faces, and showed a stronger preference for sad and fearful emotions and a weaker preference for happy emotions. ConclusionThe results suggest that the more individuals exhibit depressive symptoms, the less likely that they will be motivated to approach happy faces and avoid sad and fearful faces. The result of this emotional regulation goal is an increase in the experience of negative emotions, which likely contributes to their depressive state.

Allergic Rhinitis Seasonality, Severity, and Disease Control Influence Anxiety and Depression.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) has been associated with anxiety and depression. A possible influence of frequency and intensity of the AR symptoms has remained unclear. Therefore, we evaluated the association between AR, as well as its control, seasonality and severity, and the presence of anxiety and depression. Participants were selected from a preexistent national database and consecutively contacted by phone. AR was classified according to Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma. Presence of anxiety and depression was identified by Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). We built linear regression models assessing the association between any of the assessed anxiety or depression scores and the occurrence, degree of control, seasonality or severity of AR. We analyzed 115 participants with AR and 38 participants with no respiratory symptoms. Patients with AR presented higher scores of anxiety (HADS: 3.1; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.9; 4.3; p < 0.001) and depression (HADS: 3.8; 95% CI=2.5; 5.0; p < 0.001). Poorer AR control was positively associated with higher prevalence and scores of anxiety (HADS: 3.0; 95% CI=1.5; 4.5; p < 0.001) and depression (HADS: 1.8; 95% CI=0.2; 3.4; p=0.031). Similar results were obtained with BAI and BDI-II scales. A moderate/severe presentation of AR were also related with higher scores of anxiety (HADS: 1.7; 95% CI=0.1; 3.2; p=0.040) and depression (HADS: 1.7; 95% CI=0.1; 3.3; p=0.037). The presence of AR, a poorer control, and a moderate/severe presentation of the disease were significantly associated with higher scores of anxiety and depression. Thus, it is important to alert to this association to allow a quick diagnosis of AR-associated pathologies. Laryngoscope, 133:1321-1327, 2023.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Depression Symptoms in Women Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer in Kazakhstan.

Diagnosis of breast cancer is associated with the presence of psychological disorders including depression. There is a lack of study examining the prevalence of depression among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients in Kazakhstan. This study aims to assess the prevalence and associated sociodemographic and clinical factors of depression symptoms in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. 162 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients at the oncology center in Almaty were recruited for this study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire on sociodemographic and clinical information and the Beck Depression Inventory-II scale. The mean age of the patients was 54.41 years (SD=8.1). 95% of participants had unilateral breast cancer, and 79% of participants had stage I or stage II breast cancer. 73% of patients said that they do not have reliable social support. 46% of patients had symptoms of moderate depression, and 31% of patients had symptoms of severe depression. According to the multivariate analysis, factors associated with depression symptoms were: social status, household income level, reliability of social support, and stage of breast cancer. The prevalence of depression symptoms is very high among newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Unemployed or retired patients, with a lower household income, and no reliable social support diagnosed with an advanced stage of breast cancer are especially at high risk for developing depression.

Diabetes distress and depression among patients with type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional study

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the rates of diabetes distress and depression in patients with Type 2 diabetes and to explore the relationship between glycemic control, depression, and diabetes distress. Patients and Methods: One hundred and fifteen adults with Type 2 diabetes were recruited for this cross-sectional study from the Dubai Diabetes Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Arabic version of the Diabetes Distress Scale was used to assess diabetes distress, and the Arabic version of the Beck Depression Inventory-II scale was used to assess depression symptoms. Results: Our study population consisted of 63 males (54.8%) and 52 females (45.2%). We found that, out of this study population, 54.3% had uncontrolled diabetes with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) &gt;7% (53 mmol/mol), 54.8% exhibited diabetes distress, and 29.6% showed depression. Using a combined oral and insulin treatment was found to be significant independent predictors of poor glycemic control as defined by an HbA1c &gt;7% (53 mmol/mol). Conclusion: This study has identified psychosocial issues as a significant health problem among adult patients with type 2 diabetes and offers data confirming the relevance of diabetes distress and depression among them. This finding can help clinicians have a better understanding of the extent to which psychosocial issues influence diabetes management so as to develop effective and appropriate treatment approaches.

Depression among end-stage renal disease patients undergoing hemodialysis: a cross-sectional study from Palestine

BackgroundThe impact of end-stage renal disease on the patient’s psychological status necessitates the value of increasing depression awareness. The current study aimed to assess the depression prevalence among Palestinian hemodialyzed patients and its association with patients’ characteristics.MethodsA convenience clustered sampling technique was followed. Sample was collected from ten hemodialysis centers in the West Bank, Palestine, during 3 months in 2015. We used the Beck Depression Inventory-II scale (BDI-II) to evaluate depression among participants. All data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16.0.ResultsTwo hundred and eighty-six hemodialyzed patients were interviewed. The mean age (± standard deviation) of the patients was 52.0 ± 14.3 years, and most participants were males 172 (60.1%). Regarding the dialysis characteristics, the median of years of dialysis was 2 years (1–4). The prevalence of depression was 73.1%. Elderly patients (p = 0.001), female (p = 0.036), living in rural areas or camp (p = 0.032), low income (p = 0.041), unemployment (p = 0.001), not doing regular exercise (p = 0.001), and having multi comorbidities (p = 0.001) were significantly associated with more depression scores. The results of binary logistic regression showed that only patients who were living in camps, patients who were previously employed, and patients who were not practicing exercise remained significantly associated with a higher depression score.ConclusionsThis study is the first one confirmed about depression and its prevalence among hemodialyzed patients in the West Bank, Palestine. Compared to other communities, the study found a higher depression prevalence rate. There is a need to offer psychological interviews and non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions.

The multiple mediating effects of cancer threat appraisal and quality of life on the association between mindfulness and depression for colorectal cancer survivors.

This study explored the multiple mediating effects of cancer threat appraisal, functional status, and symptom distress on the association between mindfulness and depression in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients at the transition stage after completing cancer treatments. A total of 90 CRC survivors who received cancer treatments within 3months participated in this cross-sectional study. The functional status and symptom distress (EORTC-C30 and EORTC CR29), dispositional mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire), cancer threat appraisal ( Constructed Meaning Scale), and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II scale) were collected. The mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS macros for SPSS. Survivors' dispositional mindfulness (γ=-0.49, p<0.001) and cancer threat appraisal (γ=-0.59, p<0.001) were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Simple mediation analysis indicated that cancer threat appraisal mediated the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and depression (β=-0.02, 95% CI=-0.04 to -0.001). The multiple mediated analysis identified the path between dispositional mindfulness and depression via cancer threat appraisal and colorectal symptom distress (β=-0.01, 95% CI=-0.03 to -0.01). In the mediated moderation model, the path between dispositional mindfulness and depression via colorectal function was moderated by cancer threat appraisal (β=-0.02, 95% CI=-0.05 to -0.004). The two cognitive mechanisms of reducing CRC survivors' depression are as follows: (1) dispositional mindfulness reducing the appraisal of cancer as a threat and increasing positive perceptions of CRC symptoms and (2) the cancer threat appraisal buffered the impacts of CRC's mindfulness and colorectal function on depressive symptoms. Developing mindfulness with cognitive training is recommended for improving depressive symptoms among CRC patients in the transition period.

LEVEL OF C-REACTIVE PROTEIN AMONG PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

Background: The relationship between inflammation and major depressive disorder (MDD) and its associated suicide has been widely debated in recent years. MDD is one of the most common psychiatric disorders, effects on about 6.7% of adult in every year and it is also one of major causes of suicide. C-reactive protein (CRP) is one of signs of inflammation in body and may have a role as an inflammatory marker in depression and associated suicide. Objective: To find the association between depression and C-reactive protein. Patients and Methods: The sample consisted of 25 adult diagnosed with MDD, and 15 adult were not diagnosed with any mental disorder. They were diagnosed clinically according to DSM-5 through a designed semi structured clinical interview and through application of Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and Suicidal Probability Scale (SPS), and blood samples were taken to measure plasma level of CRP. Results: There was a relationship between major depressive disorder and C-reactive protein where it was found that there were statistically significant differences between the cases and control groups in scores of CRP. The mean of cases were 3.88mg/L and control group was 3mg/L with P value 0.019. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference between CRP level and degree of severity of depression on BDI-II scale. Besides that, there was a relationship in CRP of cases group when compared between depression with suicide ideations and without, yet not a statistically significant. There were also statistically significant differences between cases and controls groups on BDI-II and also on Suicidal Probability Scale (SPS). Conclusion: C-reactive protein elevated in major depressive disorder patients, and also associated with severity of MDD although this elevation lie in normal range of CRP.

LEVEL OF C-REACTIVE PROTEIN AMONG PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

Background: The relationship between inflammation and major depressive disorder (MDD) and its associated suicide has been widely debated in recent years. MDD is one of the most common psychiatric disorders, effects on about 6.7% of adult in every year and it is also one of major causes of suicide. C-reactive protein (CRP) is one of signs of inflammation in body and may have a role as an inflammatory marker in depression and associated suicide. Objective: To find the association between depression and C-reactive protein. Patients and Methods: The sample consisted of 25 adult diagnosed with MDD, and 15 adult were not diagnosed with any mental disorder. They were diagnosed clinically according to DSM-5 through a designed semi structured clinical interview and through application of Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and Suicidal Probability Scale (SPS), and blood samples were taken to measure plasma level of CRP. Results: There was a relationship between major depressive disorder and C-reactive protein where it was found that there were statistically significant differences between the cases and control groups in scores of CRP. The mean of cases were 3.88mg/L and control group was 3mg/L with P value 0.019. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference between CRP level and degree of severity of depression on BDI-II scale. Besides that, there was a relationship in CRP of cases group when compared between depression with suicide ideations and without, yet not a statistically significant. There were also statistically significant differences between cases and controls groups on BDI-II and also on Suicidal Probability Scale (SPS). Conclusion: C-reactive protein elevated in major depressive disorder patients, and also associated with severity of MDD although this elevation lie in normal range of CRP.

Nurses' Attitudes Toward Psychiatric Help for Depression: The Serial Mediation Effect of Self-Stigma and Depression on Public Stigma and Attitudes Toward Psychiatric Help.

This study aimed to examine the mediating effects of self-stigma and depression on the public stigma and nurses’ attitudes toward psychiatric help. A cross-sectional study with 184 nurses at one general hospital in South Korea was conducted employing a self-administered survey, using the Attitudes toward Seeking Psychological Help Scale, the Beck Depression Inventory-II Scale, and the modified Depression Stigma Scale. A multiple-mediation analysis procedure was applied to analyze the data. Each indirect effect of self-stigma (B = −0.0974, bootLLCI, bootULCI: −0.1742, −0.0436) and depression (B = −0.0471, bootLLCI, bootULCI: −0.1014, −0.0060) is statistically significant in the relationship between public stigma and attitudes toward psychiatric help. The individualized intervention for enhancing positive attitude or motivation for seeking help at the personal level of the nurse and depression tests—including regular physical health check-ups—is necessary.

Outcome of cardiorespiratory arrest in patients with respiratory diseases in emergency department

Objective Cardiorespiratory arrest is rapidly fatal without resuscitation. The authors aimed to determine the outcome of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for patient with respiratory disease presenting to the emergency setting with cardiorespiratory arrest. Materials and methods This prospective cohort study was carried out on 60 patients who presented to the emergency room with respiratory disorders and presented with or developed cardiorespiratory arrest. CPR was done guided by international guidelines for CPR. Patient demographic and clinical data, frequency of cardiopulmonary arrest, duration of resuscitation, length of hospital and ICU stay, and the outcome of resuscitation were recorded. Clinical and neurological examination and Glasgow coma scale were applied for all patients. Psychological assessment was done only for survivors (15 patients) using Beck depression inventory-II scale and Taylor manifest anxiety scale. Results Of 60 patients, 15 (25%) were discharged fully conscious, whereas 45 (75%) patients died. Age, sex, comorbidities, and cause of arrest did not show any statistically significant association with the outcome (P>0.05 for all). The duration of CPR was significantly lower in survivor group compared with nonsurvivor group (4.50±2.10 vs 12.87±8.52 min; P=0.001). There was a significant negative correlation between GSC and duration of CPR (r=−0.502, P Conclusion Cardiorespiratory arrest had unfavorable outcome, and there was an inverse correlation between CPR duration and survival to hospital discharge, neurological outcome, and psychological outcome.

Effects and side effects of a transdiagnostic bias modification intervention in a mixed sample with obsessive-compulsive and/or depressive symptoms-a randomized controlled trial.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and major depression disorder (MDD) are underdiagnosed and undertreated mental disorders. Prior studies have verified the efficacy of the self-help manual My Metacognitive Training (myMCT) for patients with primary OCD. As depression and OCD share a number of (meta)cognitive biases and dysfunctional coping strategies, we examined the efficacy of myMCT in a mixed patient sample with OCD and/or depression. A total of 80 Italian-speaking individuals with symptoms of OCD and/or depression were randomized to either myMCT or to a waitlist control group (both groups had access to care as usual during the intervention). Post-assessment was carried out 6 weeks after inclusion. Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory-II scale (BDI-II) served as the primary outcome. Adverse effects were assessed with a newly devised self-report scale. Participants in the myMCT condition showed significant symptom improvement on the BDI-II scale at a medium to large effect size compared to the control group (using intention-to-treat and per protocol analyses). The intention-to-treat analyses yielded significant positive effects on the PHQ-9 scores and psychological as well as environmental well-being in favor of myMCT; for the OCI-R total score, group differences bordered significance in favor of the myMCT. The most prevalent adverse effects were feeling pressured by the suggested exercises or feeling bad due to not performing the exercises correctly. Our results indicate that the myMCT manual represents an effective program for patients with OCD as well as those with depressive symptoms in an Italian-speaking population. Adverse events due to unguided self-help deserve more attention in the future.

Validation and calibration of the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-9) in Argentina

BackgroundThe Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a brief tool to assess the presence and severity of depressive symptoms. This study aimed to validate and calibrate the PHQ-9 to determine appropriate cut-off points for different degrees of severity of depression in Argentina.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study on an intentional sample of adult ambulatory care patients with different degrees of severity of depression. All patients who completed the PHQ-9 were further interviewed by a trained clinician with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Reliability and validity tests, including receiver operating curve analysis, were performed.ResultsOne hundred sixty-nine patients were recruited with a mean age of 47.4 years (SD = 14.8), of whom 102 were females (60.4%). The local PHQ-9 had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.87) and satisfactory convergent validity with the BDI-II scale [Pearson’s correlation = 0.88 (p < 0.01)]. For the diagnosis of Major Depressive Episode (MDE) according to the MINI, a PHQ-9 ≥ 8 was the optimal cut-off point found (sensitivity 88.2%, specificity 86.6%, PPV 90.91%). The local version of PHQ-9 showed good ability to discriminate among depression severity categories according to the BDI-II scale. The best cut off points were 6–8 for mild cases, 9–14 for moderate and 15 or more for severe depressive symptoms respectively.ConclusionsThe Argentine version of the PHQ-9 questionnaire has shown acceptable validity and reliability for both screening and severity assessment of depressive symptoms.

Assessment of cognitive dysfunction, depression, and anxiety in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in relation to serum interleukin-6

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a well-recognized multicomponent disease, but its influences on cognitive function and other associated psychological disorders were poorly identified. Systemic inflammation is considered as a key link between these diseases. Aim To assess the cognitive impairment, anxiety, and depression among stable COPD patients using different neuropsychological tests, in relation with serum interleukin-6 (IL-6). Patients and methods A study was conducted upon 100 stable COPD patients and 25 controls. All the participants were subjected to neurological and psychiatric assessment, such as The Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II scale, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale. Serum IL-6 was measured for all participants. Results COPD patients had more frequent anxiety disorders, depression, cognitive dysfunction, and higher serum IL-6 than control group. Visual-spatial/executive and delayed recall domains of cognitive dysfunction were significantly affected in COPD than controls ( P P <0.001). Conclusion Anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairment were significantly more prevalent between COPD patients. Serum IL-6 was a valid predictor for cognitive dysfunction in COPD patients.

Artificial Intelligent System for Automatic Depression Level Analysis Through Visual and Vocal Expressions

A human being’s cognitive system can be simulated by artificial intelligent systems. Machines and robots equipped with cognitive capability can automatically recognize a humans mental state through their gestures and facial expressions. In this paper, an artificial intelligent system is proposed to monitor depression. It can predict the scales of Beck depression inventory II (BDI-II) from vocal and visual expressions. First, different visual features are extracted from facial expression images. Deep learning method is utilized to extract key visual features from the facial expression frames. Second, spectral low-level descriptors and mel-frequency cepstral coefficients features are extracted from short audio segments to capture the vocal expressions. Third, feature dynamic history histogram (FDHH) is proposed to capture the temporal movement on the feature space. Finally, these FDHH and audio features are fused using regression techniques for the prediction of the BDI-II scales. The proposed method has been tested on the public Audio/Visual Emotion Challenges 2014 dataset as it is tuned to be more focused on the study of depression. The results outperform all the other existing methods on the same dataset.

Yoga- and meditation-based lifestyle intervention increases neuroplasticity and reduces severity of major depressive disorder: A randomized controlled trial.

Current interventions for major depressive disorder (MDD) are suboptimal, and only one third respond to them on initial treatment. Neuroplasticity theories are the basis for several emerging treatments. Evidence on the impact of yoga, a well-known mind-body intervention, on neuroplasticity in MDD is limited. To determine the effects of 12-week yoga- and meditation-based lifestyle intervention (YMLI) on depression severity and systemic biomarkers of neuroplasticity in adult MDD patients on routine drug treatment. A total of 58 MDD patients were randomized into yoga or control group. The severity of depression was assessed with Beck Depression Inventory-II scale (BDI-II). Blood samples were collected before and after intervention for the measurement of the biomarkers that characterize neuroplasticity, including mind-body communicative and cellular health biomarkers. There was a significant decrease [difference between means, (95% CI)] in BDI-II score [-5.83 (-7.27, -4.39), p < 0.001] and significant increase in BDNF (ng/ml) [5.48 (3.50, 7.46), p < 0.001] after YMLI compared to control group. YMLI significantly increased DHEAS, sirtuin 1, and telomerase activity levels, and decreased cortisol, and IL-6 levels, in addition to decreasing DNA damage and balancing oxidative stress. Multiple regression analyses were used to associate neuroplasticity biomarkers with depression severity. A 'post-intervention change in BDNF' x 'group' interaction indicated that yoga group had more BDNF in association with less BDI-II scores relative to controls. Increased sirtuin 1 and telomerase activity and decreased cortisol significantly predicted this association (all p < 0.05). These results suggest that decrease in depression severity after YMLI in MDD is associated with improved systemic biomarkers of neuroplasticity. Thus YMLI can be considered as a therapeutic intervention in MDD management.

Depression in patients treated with haemodialysis: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe increasing incidence of end-stage renal disease in the Palestinian population and the effect of the disease on the psychological status of the patient underlie the importance of increasing knowledge about the mental health status of patients with end-stage renal disease. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of depression in Palestinian patients treated with haemodialysis and its correlation with patients' clinical characteristics, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and adherence to medications. MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, we collected a convenience sample from ten haemodialysis centres in the West Bank, occupied Palestinian territory, over 3 months in 2015. The Beck Depression Inventory-II scale (BDI-II) was used to assess depression, the EuroQol-5 Dimension scale was used to assess HRQoL, and the Morisky Medication Adherance-8 scale was used to assess compliance. We used SPSS version 16.0 for all statistical analyses. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at the An-Najah National University. Informed verbal consent was obtained from the participants before the start of the study. FindingsWe interviewed 286 patients who were treated with haemodialysis. The mean age was 52·0 years (SD 14·3), and 172 (60%) patients were men. The median number of years of dialysis was 2 years (IQR 1–4). 209 (73%) patients had depression. Most participants were non-compliant with their drug regimens and had low HRQoL. High depression scores were associated with old age (p<0·0001), female sex (p=0·036), low income (p=0·041), living in rural areas or in a camp (p=0·032), not doing regular exercise (p<0·0001), unemployment (p<0·0001), having multiple comorbidities (p<0·0001), and low adherence to medications (p=0·0075). We found an inverse correlation between depression and HRQoL (p<0·0001). InterpretationThis study is to our knowledge the first of its kind in the West Bank. The incidence of depression is higher than reported in other communities. Most patients treated with haemodialysis were moderately to severely depressed and had low HRQol. There is a need to provide for a patient's needs in term of psychologist interviews and pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. FundingNone.