Friday November 13, 2009
Women are at somewhat greater risk of suffering from depression following a stroke than are men, according to a new review of the existing medical literature.
Brittany Poynter and colleagues from the University of Toronto examined 56 studies related to stroke and depression, consisting of more than 75,000 people, 12,000 of which were women. The time between the stroke and the onset of depression in these people ranged from between under two weeks to 15 years.
In women, rates of depression after stroke ranged from about 6% to 78%, while in men rates ranged from 4.7% to 65%.
This finding is significant, according to Poynter, because depression after a stroke is associated with greater disability, reduced quality of life and an increased risk of death.
The authors say these higher rates of depression in women might occur because there are higher rates of depression in women in general, not just in those with stroke. They might also occur because women have less access to care.
Regarding treatment, Poynter says that "A multimodal approach may be the most effective," with treatments like exercise, physical rehabilitation and support groups being utilized in addition to the standard treatments of medication and counseling.
Poynter also suggests that stroke patients should be routinely screened for depression, rather than taking a wait-and-see approach.
The review appears in the November issue of the journal Psychosomatics.
Thursday November 12, 2009
In a survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), respondents reported that they do not believe the know much about depression. They are, however, very aware of the risks of not getting treated.
The survey included responses from members of the general public who do not know anyone with depression, caregivers of adults with depression and adults living with the condition. It was conducted online between September 29 and October 7, 2009 and included 1,015 people who did not know anyone with depression, 263 caregivers and 513 with depression.
Some of the survey's other findings:
- Seventy-one percent of the survey takers believe they know some symptoms of depression, while 39% reported that they did not know many or any at all.
- Fifty percent of caretakers admitting to having had depression themselves, but only 25% were actually seeking treatment.
- Nearly 60% of people with depression reported that they depend upon their primary care physician for treatment rather than seeing a mental health professional.
- Among the reasons that people reported discontinuing treatment were: cost, a desire to "make it on my own", a belief that the treatment was not helping and medication side-effects.
The complete survey results can be found at: http://www.nami.org/depression.
Monday November 9, 2009
According to Ohio State researchers, pregnant women who are depressed may be more prone to severe flu symptoms if they catch the seasonal flu.
The researchers based their conclusions upon 22 pregnant women who had received a seasonal flu shot. Those with significant depression symptoms had a stronger inflammatory response to the flu shot than those who were not depressed. These findings suggest, say the researchers, that a depressed pregnant woman's immune system behaves differently, possibly causing them to have more serious symptoms if they do contract the flu.
"Inflammatory responses to vaccination do no harm, are mild, and typically go away within a few days. But an extended inflammatory response to vaccination, such as the one seen in women with the most depressive symptoms, isn't expected, and it serves as a way to estimate how somebody might respond to an actual infection or illness," said lead author Lisa Christian in a university press release.
The researchers suggest that, based upon these results, it would be wise for pregnant depressed women to get seasonal flu shots in order to avoid having a severe reaction if they do contract the flu.
Public health agencies advise that pregnant women get seasonal flu shots, but only 12-13% actually do, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"It will be interesting to see how that might change this year, in light of CDC recommendations that pregnant women receive seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccinations," said Christian.
The study was published online in advance of publication in the November issue of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
Sunday November 8, 2009
There are many products on the market that claim to help Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but not all meet the recommended requirements. These are the requirements recommended by the Center for Environmental Therapeutics (CET) for effective light box therapy. Make sure that any unit you purchase meets these specifications.
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