High Depressive Symptomatology Research Articles

High depressive symptomatology reduces emotional reactions to pictures of social interaction

Individuals with severe depressive symptoms present diminished facial expressions compared to healthy individuals. This reduced facial expression, which occurs in most depressive patients could impair social relationships. The current study sought to investigate whether pictures with social interaction cues could elicit different modulations of facial expressions and mood states in individuals with depressive symptoms compared to healthy individuals. A total of 85 individuals were divided into depressive and non-depressive groups based on their beck depression inventory scores. Participants viewed pictures containing neutral (objects), affiliative (people interacting socially), and control (people not interacting) scenes. Electromyographic signals were collected during the entire period of visualization of the blocks, and emotional questionnaires were evaluated after each block to assess sociability and altruism (prosocial states). In non-depressed individuals, affiliative pictures increased the activity of the zygomatic muscle compared to both neutral and control pictures and reduced fear of rejection compared to neutral pictures. During the visualization of the affiliative block, zygomatic major muscle activation was higher and fear of rejection was lower in the non-depressive individuals than in the depressive. These effects reflected the low expressions of smiling and sociability to affiliative pictures in depressive individuals. These findings highlight the importance of smiling and prosocial states in social interactions, especially in these individuals.

Gender, age and depressive symptoms in adolescence

The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship of gender and age with depressive symptomatology in adolescents. The participants were 1,212 adolescents, from 1st (53.9%) and 2nd (46.1%) year in Compulsory Secondary Education, belonging to seven schools in the Region of Murcia (Spain), and 104 parents. The percentage of adolescents with clinically significant depressive symptoms is similar to that found in other studies in Spain. The girls presented greater depressive symptomatology. The gender difference was greater in the group with high depressive symptomatology. Depressive symptomatology increased with age, consistent with previous research. The difference was highlighted in adolescent self-reports but not in parent reports. The main conclusion is that the development of depression prevention programs should take gender and age into consideration.

COHORT EFFECTS IN MULTIMORBIDITY AMONG OLDER US ADULTS: DIFFERENCES BY RACE/ETHNICITY AND NATIVITY

Abstract Multimorbidity (≥ 2 co-occurring chronic health conditions) affects > 50% of US adults aged 65 and older. Building on emerging work suggesting greater risk of multimorbidity in more recent cohorts of aging Americans, we examine heterogeneity in cohort-patterns of multimorbidity by race/ethnicity and nativity. Observations were drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (1998–2018) including adults aged 51 and older across 7 birth cohorts (born < 1924, 1924–1930, 1931–1941, 1942–1947, 1948–1953, 1954–1959, and 1960–1965). Multimorbidity was measured using a sum of 9 possible chronic conditions (heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, lung disease, cancer, high depressive symptomatology, and cognitive impairment). Linear mixed models adjusting for age, period, and cohort effects tested whether cohort-specific multimorbidity risk varied for US-born White, US-born Black/African American, US-born Hispanic/Latino, and foreign-born Hispanic/Latino older adults. 30,607 adults contributed 158,727 total observations, grand mean age was 65.40 (SD=10.07), and mean multimorbidity was 2.18 (SD=1.60). US-born Black/African Americans had the greatest multimorbidity burden regardless of cohort. US-born Hispanic/Latinos experienced the highest cohort-related increases in multimorbidity, followed by US-born Black/African Americans. For example, compared to US-born Hispanic/Latinos born 1931–1941, US-born Hispanic/Latinos born 1954–1959 had 1.03 (CI: 0.78;1.28) more expected chronic conditions. Foreign-born Hispanic/Latinos had the smallest cohort-related increases in multimorbidity. Our results document heterogeneity in rising rates of multimorbidity across cohorts, suggest that US-born minority adults in Baby Boom cohorts may be at especially high risk of multimorbidity, and confirm protective effects of immigrant status among Hispanic/Latino older adults.

Meaning Making as a Lifebuoy in Dementia Caregiving: Predicting Depression from a Generation Perspective Using a Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Depressive symptomatology is associated with caregiver burden and poor health outcomes among dementia caregivers. Scholars called for a paradigm shift to focus on positive aspects of caregiving, in particular, meaning making during the caregiving journey. This study draws on the meaning making model and a generation perspective to predict depression among dementia caregivers from two generations, including Baby Boomers who were born between 1946 and 1964 and Generation X who were born between 1965 and 1980, using a configuration approach. Data was collected in a two-wave longitudinal design, from December 2019 to March 2021 in Hong Kong. A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis resulted in six configurations with an overall solution consistency and overall solution coverage of 0.867 and 0.488, respectively. These configurations consist of a different combination of conditions that predict high depressive symptomatology among dementia caregivers in two generations. Specifically, generation is related to five out of six configurations. This study is the first to predict depression among dementia caregivers using a meaning making model from a generation perspective. It advances the understanding of factors contributing to high depressive symptomatology among dementia caregivers from two generations, thus contributing to the future development of generation-responsive assessments, interventions, and policies.

Universal school-based intervention targeting depressive symptoms in adolescents: A cluster randomized trial.

We investigated the effects of three different interventions on depressive symptoms in adolescents. As a secondary aim, we explored the mediating role of social isolation, anxiety, sleep quality, and cognitive function of the intervention effect on depressive symptoms. We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial, in which schools were randomly assigned to 1. Doubling physical education (PE) classes (3:20h of PE/week); 2. Workshop with the PE teachers; 3. Workshop with the PE teachers+Doubling PE classes; and 4. Control group (1:40h of PE/week). In total, 1279 adolescents were included, 56.4% females. Doubling PE classes and the workshop with the PE teachers+Doubling PE classes groups did not affect depressive symptoms (-0.947, 95% CI -3.176 to 1.281; and, 0.726, 95% CI -1.558 to 3.009, respectively). The workshop with the PE teachers decreased adolescents' depressive symptoms (-2.495, 95% CI -4.668 to -0.323), social isolation (-4.759, 95% CI -9.025 to -0.493), and poor sleep quality (-0.560, 95% CI -1.108 to -0.012) compared with the control group. Social isolation mediated 32% of the workshop effect on depressive symptoms. The workshop with the PE teachers and the workshop with the PE teachers+Doubling PE classes groups lowered in 93% and in 54% the risk of the adolescents in developing high depressive symptomatology compared with the control group, respectively. A workshop updating PE teachers on pedagogical and health-related topics decreased depressive symptoms in adolescents. Moreover, improvements in the adolescents' social isolation mediated the effect of PE teachers' workshop intervention on the depressive symptoms in adolescents.

The Association Between Midlife Education and Depressive Symptoms in Late Life: The AGES-Reykjavik Study

BACKGROUND: Disability and depression are associated with cumulative health adversities such as socioeconomic status (SES), nutrition, medical care, and education among older adults. However, there is little evidence on the longitudinal association between mid-life education level with a disability and depressive symptoms in older adults in Iceland. The aim of the study was to examine the association between mid-life education and prevalence of activity of daily living (ADL) dependency and high depressive symptoms in late-life. METHODS: A large community-based population residing in Reykjavik, Iceland (n=4991, 57.3% women, 76.9±5.8 yrs) participated in a longitudinal study with an average of 25 years of follow-up. Mid-life education was categorized into 4 groups (primary, secondary, college, and university). ADL dependency and high depressive symptoms were assessed on average 25 (±4) years later. The 5-item ADL dependency score ranged between 0 (no difficulty) and 18. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). RESULTS: After controlling for demographic and health-related risk factors, those with higher education at mid-life were significantly less likely to have high depressive symptomatology (6 or higher GDS scores, Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.65, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.52 ~ 0.82, P < 0.0001). However, mid-life education was not associated with ADL dependency in later life. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that mid-life education is associated with depressive symptoms 25 years later, while no association found with ADL dependency among Icelandic older adults.

Is There Limited Utility for Lifestyle Recommendations for Diabetes Prevention Among Overweight or Obese Depressed Patients?

Background: Lifestyle interventions like diet and exercise are commonly recommended for diabetes prevention, but it is unclear if depression modifies the likelihood of adherence. We evaluated the relationship between high depressive symptomatology and adherence to lifestyle interventions among patients with pre-diabetes.Methods: We conducted an analysis of the nationally representative National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017–2018. Adults, aged ≥18 years old who were overweight or obese (BMI ≥25) and had diagnosed or undiagnosed pre-diabetes (HbA1c 5.7–6.4) were included. Depressive symptomatology was classified by the Patient Health Questionniare-9 (PHQ-9). We used self-reported adherence to physician suggested lifestyle changes of diet and exercise.Results: In this nationally representative survey of overweight or obese adults with pre-diabetes, 14.8% also have high depressive symptomatology. In unadjusted analyses, an interaction was observed with high depressive symptomatology acting as an effect modifier for adherence to exercise oriented interventions among patients with diagnosed pre-diabetes (p = 0.027). In logistic regressions, adjusting for age, sex, race, outpatient medical care in the past 12 months, and obesity, among patients with diagnosed pre-diabetes, depressed patients were less likely to attempt to exercise more (OR = 0.31; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.94) and no association between high depressive symptomatology and attempting to lose weight was observed (OR = 0.45; 95% CI: 0.14, 1.42).Conclusions: The findings of this nationally representative study of US adults, high depressive symptomatology decreases the likelihood of adherence to exercise based lifestyle recommendations among patients with diagnosed pre-diabetes.

Foods, Nutrients and Dietary Patterns in Relation to Irrational Beliefs and Related Psychological Disorders: The ATTICA Epidemiological Study

We explored the differences in dietary habits and dietary patterns between individuals characterized by irrational beliefs with no or low anxiety and depressive symptoms and individuals characterized by irrational beliefs with high anxiety and depressive symptomatology. Within the context of the ATTICA cohort study (2002–2012), 853 participants without evidence of cardiovascular disease (453 men (45 ± 13 years) and 400 women (44 ± 18 years)) underwent mental health assessment through the irrational beliefs inventory (IBI), the Zung self-rating depression scale (ZDRS) and the state–trait anxiety inventory (STAI). Demographic characteristics, a thorough medical history, dietary behaviour and other lifestyle behaviours were also evaluated and analysed using factor analysis. Five main factors related to dietary patterns were extracted for the high-IBI/low-STAI group of participants (explaining the 63% of the total variation in consumption), whereas four factors were extracted for the high-IBI/high-STAI participants, the high-IBI/low-ZDRS participants and the high-IBI/high-ZDRS participants, explaining 53%, 54% and 54% of the total variation, respectively. A Western-type dietary pattern was the most dominant factor for individuals reporting irrational beliefs and anxiety or depressive symptomatology. The high refined carbohydrates and fats dietary pattern was the most dominant factor for individuals with irrational beliefs but without psychopathology. Linear regression analysis showed that irrational beliefs, in combination with anxiety or depression, age, sex and BMI, were important predictors of adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Dietary habits interact with irrational beliefs and, in association with the consequent psychological disorders, are associated with overall diet, and presumably may affect the health status of individuals.

Brazilian version of the postpartum depression screening scale-24

IntroductionThe PDSS-24 is a Portuguese short version of the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (Beck and Gable, 2002). Items were selected on the basis of exploratory factor analysis (those with loadings &gt;.60). The PDSS-24 proved to be superior to the 35-items PDSS in reliability, validity and screening ability (Pereira et al. 2013).ObjectivesTo analyze the psychometric properties (construct validity using Confirmatory Factor Analysis, discriminant validity and reliability) of the Brazilian preliminary version of PDSS-24MethodsAfter confirming the items semantic equivalence and slightly adapt two adjectives from European to Brazilian Portuguese, 350 pregnant women (Mean age: 30.01±5.452; Mean gestation weeks=25.17±6.55), with uncomplicated pregnancies, completed the PDSS-24 and the Brazilian recently validated versions of Profile of Mood States-25 (PoMS; Barros et al. 2021). SPSS and AMOS software were used.ResultsAfter some errors were correlated the multidimensional second-order model of PDSS-24 presented an aceptable fit (χ2=3.448; RMSEA=.099; CFI=.817, TLI=.886, GFI=.886). The PDSS Cronbach’s alpha for the total was α=.90. Cronbach alpha was .90 for the total and &gt;.75 for the dimensions. Appling the Portuguese validated cut-off score for Major Depression/DSM-5 (&gt;42) to this sample 224 (64.0%) participants presented clinical relevant depressive symptoms.ConclusionsThe Brazilian PDSS-24 has acceptable validity and reliability. The percentage of women with high depressive symptomatology is three times higher than the figures reported in Portuguese Studies. This can be partly explained by the fact that data collection was done during the COVID19 pandemic. It is important to determine the PDSS cut-offs to screen for perinatal depression in Brazil.

Psycho-social factors associated with high depressive symptomatology in female adolescents and gender difference in adolescent depression: an epidemiological survey in China\u2019s Hubei Province

BackgroundExploring etiological clues to adolescent depression, especially in female adolescents, might be helpful to improve the social environment of female adolescents. The aim at this study is to explore psycho-social factors of female adolescents with high depressive symptomatology and gender differences in depressive symptoms among Chinese adolescents.MethodWe examined 4100 adolescents from Wuhan city and Jianli county via a cross-sectional study. Depressive symptomatology was screened through the Chinese version of Center for Epidemiology Studies Depression Scale. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to explore the factors related to high depressive symptomatology in female and male adolescents, respectively.ResultsThe prevalence of high depressive symptomatology in female and male were 38.9 and 30.2% respectively. The psycho-social factors of high depressive symptomatology in female adolescents were age (Adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.201, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.076 ~ 1.341), single parent family (aOR = 2.004, 95%CI, 1.448 ~ 2.772) and fathers’ education level (compared to primary school and below, [Junior middle school, aOR = 0.641, 95%CI, 0.439 ~ 0.934; Senior middle school, aOR = 0.603, 95%CI, 0.410 ~ 0.888; College degree and above, aOR = 0.639, 95%CI, 0.437 ~ 0.936]).ConclusionFathers’ education level was associated with high depressive symptomatology in female adolescents. Female adolescents whose father with primary school education or below deserves more attention. Further epidemiologic researches need to be conducted to explore the different risk factors between female and male adolescents in China.

Autonomic reactivity to emotion: A marker of sub‐clinical anxiety and depression symptoms?

Anxiety and depression are both characterized by dysregulated autonomic reactivity to emotion. However, most experiments until now have focused on autonomic reactivity to stimuli presented in central vision (CV) even if affective saliency is also observed in peripheral vision (PV). We compared autonomic reactivity to CV and PV emotional stimulation in 58 participants with high anxious (HA) or low anxious (LA) and high depressive (HD) or low depressive (LD) symptomatology, based on STAI-B and BDI scores, respectively. Unpleasant (U), pleasant (P), and neutral (N) pictures from IAPS were presented at three eccentricities (0°: CV; -12 and 12°: PV). Skin conductance (SC), skin temperature, pupillary diameter, and heart rate (HR) were recorded. First, HA participants showed greater pupil dilation to emotional than to neutral stimuli in PV than in CV. Second, in contrast to HD, the valence effect indexed by SC and emotional arousal effect indexed by skin temperature were observed in LD. Third, both anxiety and depression lead to a valence effect indexed by pupillary light reflex and heart rate. These results suggest a hyperreactivity to emotion and hypervigilance to PV in anxiety. Depression is associated with an attenuation of positive effect and a global blunted autonomic reactivity to emotion. Moreover, anxiety mostly modulates the early processes of autonomic reactivity whereas depression mainly affects the later processes. The differential impact of emotional information over the visual field suggests the use of new stimulation strategies in order to attenuate anxious and depressive symptoms.

Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: Online Survey.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has had numerous worldwide effects. In the United States, there have been 8.3 million cases and nearly 222,000 deaths as of October 21, 2020. Based on previous studies of mental health during outbreaks, the mental health of the population will be negatively affected in the aftermath of this pandemic. The long-term nature of this pandemic may lead to unforeseen mental health outcomes and/or unexpected relationships between demographic factors and mental health outcomes.ObjectiveThis research focused on assessing the mental health status of adults in the United States during the early weeks of an unfolding pandemic.MethodsData was collected from English-speaking adults from early April to early June 2020 using an online survey. The final convenience sample included 1083 US residents. The 71-item survey consisted of demographic questions, mental health and well-being measures, a coping mechanisms checklist, and questions about COVID-19–specific concerns. Hierarchical multivariable logistic regression was used to explore associations among demographic variables and mental health outcomes. Hierarchical linear regression was conducted to examine associations among demographic variables, COVID-19–specific concerns, and mental health and well-being outcomes.ResultsApproximately 50% (536/1076) of the US sample was aged ≥45 years. Most of the sample was White (1013/1054, 96%), non-Hispanic (985/1058, 93%), and female (884/1073, 82%). Participants reported high rates of depression (295/1034, 29%), anxiety (342/1007, 34%), and stress (773/1058, 73%). Older individuals were less likely to report depressive symptomology (OR 0.78, P<.001) and anxiety symptomology (OR 0.72, P<.001); in addition, they had lower stress scores (–0.15 points, SE 0.01, P<.001) and increased well-being scores (1.86 points, SE 0.22, P<.001). Individuals who were no longer working due to COVID-19 were 2.25 times more likely to report symptoms of depression (P=.02), had a 0.51-point increase in stress (SE 0.17, P=.02), and a 3.9-point decrease in well-being scores (SE 1.49, P=.009) compared to individuals who were working remotely before and after COVID-19. Individuals who had partial or no insurance coverage were 2-3 times more likely to report depressive symptomology compared to individuals with full coverage (P=.02 and P=.01, respectively). Individuals who were on Medicare/Medicaid and individuals with no coverage were 1.97 and 4.48 times more likely to report moderate or severe anxiety, respectively (P=.03 and P=.01, respectively). Financial and food access concerns were significantly and positively related to depression, anxiety, and stress (all P<.05), and significantly negatively related to well-being (both P<.001). Economy, illness, and death concerns were significantly positively related to overall stress scores (all P<.05).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that many US residents are experiencing high stress, depressive, and anxiety symptomatology, especially those who are underinsured, uninsured, or unemployed. Longitudinal investigation of these variables is recommended. Health practitioners may provide opportunities to allay concerns or offer coping techniques to individuals in need of mental health care. These messages should be shared in person and through practice websites and social media.

Medical falls among older adults in Latin American cities.

To estimate the prevalence and risk factors for falls requiring medical attention, referred as medical falls, in community-dwelling persons aged >60 years. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using information from the Health, Well-Being, and Aging ("SABE") Study in Latin America and the Caribbean (7 cities), as well as from the SABE Bogota study (pooled sample of 8 cities n=12,487). Falls that occurred during a past 12-month period were considered and then noted if required medical treatment because of the fall. The weighted prevalence of medical falls across the eight surveys ranged from 6.0% to 11.3%. In weighted multivariate logistic regression analyses, potentially modifiable risk factors for medical falls include urinary incontinence (OR=1.51 95% CI 1.18-1.92), high depressive symptomatology (OR=1.53 95% CI 1.24-1.91), poor self-rated health (OR=1.35 95% CI 1.10-1.66) and activities of daily living limitations (OR=1.48 95% CI 1.16-1.87). Based on our results, preventive measures targeting these risk factors may help to decrease the risk for medical falls among older adults in Latin America.

The relationship between adult attachment and coping with brain tumour: the mediating role of social support.

A primary brain tumour diagnosis is known to elicit higher distress than other forms of cancer and is related to high depressive symptomatology. Using a cross-sectional design, the present study explored how individuals cope with this diagnosis using an attachment theory framework. Attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were hypothesised to be positively related to helplessness/hopelessness, anxious preoccupation, and cognitive avoidance; and negatively related to fighting spirit and fatalism coping. We proposed perceived social support to play a mediating role in those associations. Four hundred and eighty participants diagnosed with primary brain tumours completed the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (Mini-MAC), the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire-Revised (ECR-R), and the modified Medical Outcomes Study-Social Support Scale (mMOS-SSS) online. Lower perceived social support mediated the positive associations between both higher attachment anxiety and avoidance and higher helpless/hopeless coping. Attachment anxiety was also positively associated with anxious preoccupation. This relationship was not mediated by perceived social support. Cognitive avoidance was unrelated to both attachment dimensions and social support. The findings highlight that the differences in coping repertoire are associated with social relatedness factors, specifically attachment security and its relationship to perceived social support. Implications of the findings are discussed.

A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study of Perinatal Risk and Resilience During COVID-19.

Introduction/Objectives: National guidelines underscore the need for improvement in the detection and treatment of mood disorders in the perinatal period. Exposure to disasters can amplify perinatal mood disorders and even have intergenerational impacts. The primary aim of this pilot study was to use mixed-methods to better understand the mental health and well-being effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as sources of resilience, among women during the perinatal period. Methods: The study team used a simultaneous exploratory mixed-methods design to investigate the primary objective. Thirty-one pregnant and postpartum women participated in phone interviews and were invited to complete an online survey which included validated mental health and well-being measures. Results: Approximately 12% of the sample reported high depressive symptomatology and 60% reported moderate or severe anxiety. Forty percent of the sample reported being lonely. The primary themes related to stress were uncertainty surrounding perinatal care, exposure risk for both mother and baby, inconsistent messaging from information sources and lack of support networks. Participants identified various sources of resilience, including the use of virtual communication platforms, engaging in self-care behaviors (eg, adequate sleep, physical activity, and healthy eating), partner emotional support, being outdoors, gratitude, and adhering to structures and routines. Conclusions: Since the onset of COVID-19, many pregnant and postpartum women report struggling with stress, depression, and anxiety symptomatology. Findings from this pilot study begin to inform future intervention work to best support this highly vulnerable population.

Social reinforcement learning as a predictor of real-life experiences in individuals with high and low depressive symptomatology.

Several studies have reported diminished learning from non-social outcomes in depressed individuals. However, it is not clear how depression impacts learning from social feedback. Notably, mood disorders are commonly associated with deficits in social functioning, which raises the possibility that potential impairments in social learning may negatively affect real-life social experiences in depressed subjects. Ninety-two participants with high (HD; N = 40) and low (LD; N = 52) depression scores were recruited. Subjects performed a learning task, during which they received monetary outcomes or social feedback which they were told came from other people. Additionally, participants answered questions about their everyday social experiences. Computational models were fit to the data and model parameters were related to social experience measures. HD subjects reported a reduced quality and quantity of social experiences compared to LD controls, including an increase in the amount of time spent in negative social situations. Moreover, HD participants showed lower learning rates than LD subjects in the social condition of the task. Interestingly, across all participants, reduced social learning rates predicted higher amounts of time spent in negative social situations, even when depression scores were controlled for. These findings indicate that deficits in social learning may affect the quality of everyday social experiences. Specifically, the impaired ability to use social feedback to appropriately update future actions, which was observed in HD subjects, may lead to suboptimal interpersonal behavior in real life. This, in turn, may evoke negative feedback from others, thus bringing about more unpleasant social encounters.

Stress-related suppression of peripheral cytokines predicts future relapse in alcohol-dependent individuals with and without subclinical depression.

Chronic alcohol abuse and depressive symptoms are both associated with peripheral cytokine changes. Despite this, cytokine adaptations have not been assessed in co-morbid populations or prospectively as predictors of relapse. We examine cytokine responses to stress in alcohol-dependent individuals and social drinkers, both with and without subclinical depression. We also examine the potential link between cytokine adaptations in response to stress and prospective alcohol relapse risk. Thirty-three, alcohol-dependent individuals (21 with and 12 without high depressive symptoms) and 37 controls (16 with and 21 without high depressive symptoms) were exposed to two 5-minute personalized guided imagery conditions (stress and neutral) across consecutive days in a randomized and counterbalanced order. Alcohol craving and serum measures of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) were collected prior to and following imagery exposure. Following treatment discharge, follow-up interviews were conducted over 90 days to assess relapse. Dampened IL-1ra and IL-6 in response to stress was observed as a function of alcohol dependence and not moderated by depressive symptoms. Lower levels of IL-6 following stress also predicted greater drinking days following treatment. Conversely, high depressive symptomatology was associated solely with pro-inflammatory adaptations. Stress-related suppression of TNFα predicted drinking severity only in alcohol-dependent individuals with subclinical depression, and suppressed TNFR1 following stress was only seen in individuals with subclinical depression. Stress-induced suppression of pro-inflammatory TNF markers may indicate a risk factor for alcohol-dependent individuals with co-occurring depressive symptoms.

Corticostriatal Hyperactivation to Reward Presentation in Individuals With TBI With High Depressive Symptomatology: A Pilot Study.

To examine the impact of depression on neural mechanisms associated with outcome processing (rewarding and punishing outcomes) in persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Kessler Foundation's Rocco Ortenzio Neuroimaging Center. A total of 16 adults with moderate to severe TBI. Chicago Multiscale Depression Inventory (CMDI); Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Activation Scale (BIS/BAS); functional MRI of the head while performing a gambling task, with a reward (+$1.00) and punishment (-$0.50). Individuals with TBI reporting high depressive symptomatology exhibited increased activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) and striatum during presentation of rewarding outcomes compared with individuals with TBI reporting low depressive symptomatology. Punishing outcome presentation was not associated with any change in brain activation. No differences in volume of the striatum and VMPFC were observed between groups. Current findings provide the first evidence of differences in neural mechanisms underlying outcome processing between individuals with TBI with and without depression. The results suggest that depressive symptomatology might have a different effect on individuals with TBI than what is typically observed in individuals without TBI reporting with depression, with the possibility of rewards becoming more reinforcing as depressive symptomatology increases. Future studies should explore the potential implications of behavioral responses to rewards and punishments in TBI and how they can affect rehabilitation approaches and activities of daily living.

Relationship between perceived stigma and depressive symptomatology in women who legally interrupt pregnancy in Mexico City

Introduction. Although the international literature suggests that women who interrupt a pregnancy in safe conditions do not develop mental health problems, it continues to be a highly stigmatized issue by broad social sectors. It is therefore not surprising that abortion stigma is one of the main factors associated with the presence of mental health problems in women who abort voluntarily. This study explores the association between perceived abortion stigma and depressive symptomatology. Method. In a non-probabilistic convenience sample, 114 users of a Legal Interruption of Pregnancy Clinic in Mexico City were interviewed with a structured instrument. Results. Respondents obtained low scores of internalized stigma and reported feeling confident that they had made the right decision to terminate their pregnancies, and at peace with themselves. The highest scores for abortion stigma were reported in the group with high depressive symptomatology, with no statistically significant differences being observed due to the sociodemographic characteristics explored. The participants in this study were more concerned about what others might think about their decision to terminate a pregnancy and about how their abortion might affect their relationship with them. Discussion and conclusion. These concerns highlight the need to reduce the negative social stigma surrounding abortion and to provide interventions in the same direction among women who interrupt a pregnancy legally in order to reduce the risk of mental health problems such as depression.

Religiosity prevalence and its association with depression and anxiety symptoms among Hispanic/Latino adults.

ObjectivesReligion plays an important role in the lives of people in the United States. We examined the prevalence of religiosity among Hispanic/Latinos in four regions of the United States and looked at its correlation to depression and anxiety symptoms.DesignThe population-based Hispanic Community Health Study/ Study of Latinos enrolled a cohort of Hispanic/Latino adults (N = 16,415) ages 18–74 in four US cities from June 2008 to June 2011. Participants with complete data on religiosity (i.e., religious affiliation, frequency of attending religious activities and importance of religion), depression (assessed with the CESD-10), and trait anxiety (assessed with the STAI-10) were included in the present study. Distribution of religiosity is described by sociodemographic characteristics. Associations between religiosity with depression and anxiety were examined with logistic regression models controlling for sex, age group, education, Hispanic/Latino background, clinical center, and nativity.ResultsThe majority of the population (89.5%) reported having a religious affiliation. Weekly attendance at religious activities was reported by 41.6% of participants, while 20.6% did not attend any religious activities. Religion was very important to 63.9% and not at all important to 6.7% of the population. The CES-D scores and trait anxiety scores were not significantly related in the overall group to frequency of attending religious activity or perceived importance of religion. However, in age-stratified analyses, among older individuals (65+ years old) reporting “never” participating in religious activities compared to more than once per week was associated with an 80% higher likelihood of having high depressive symptomatology. Similarly, in the older age group, no religious affiliation or reporting that religion is “not at all important” was associated with greater anxiety symptomatology.ConclusionReligiosity varied by Hispanic/Latino background. Lack of religiosity was associated with elevated depressive or anxiety symptomology in older adults but not in young or middle-aged adults.