Depression and anxiety among medical students

Depressão e ansiedade são sintomas frequentemente observados entre estudantes da área da saúde, mais especificamente medicina. A presença destes sintomas, bem como a não identificação precoce dos mesmos pode levar a um impacto muito grande no desenvolver da carreira médica do aluno, com queda de rendimento, aumento do risco de abandono/desistência do curso e aumento do risco de suicídio. Esta revisão visa abordar esses aspectos e discutir possíveis abordagens.Depression and anxiety symptoms are often observed among students in the health care area, particularly in medical course. The presence of these symptoms can lead to an impact on the development of the medical student’s career, falling to perform in the course, increased risk of abandonment / discontinuance of the course and increased risk of suicide. This review aims to address these issues and discuss possible approaches

The role of stress and life events in the onset of depression in the elderly

The prevalence of major depressive episode in the elderly leads to impairment on several aspects of daily life, including life quality, morbid - mortality and increases rates of suicide risks. Stress and life events are frequent triggers of depressive episode in elderly. The present review aimed to explore the aspects related to the onset of depression in old age, focusing on psychosocial and stress. In order to achieve that, we systematically reviewed papers published in the Medline database from 2003-2013. From this study, we verify that depression in the elderly is a complex disorder, more often associated to psychosocial aspects and chronic stress than to genetic and biomarkers. Loneliness, daily and chronic stress, lack of social support, mourning and economical aspects such as retirement and job loss are major risk factors for depression. Generally, negative life events were noticed to cause poorer mental health in advanced age and cumulative stressful events or traumas untreated too. Furthermore, cognitive functions may be affected negatively by lifelong chronic stressors. These events can cause quite a few different impacts in distinct cultures and lifestyles. The consequences also depend on the duration, or on the life period that these episodes occur. The treatment of depression in the elderly should target both medication and psychotherapy in order to account for psychological aspects, especially treatments based on life review. These perspectives are important due to the possibility of development of specific target strategies in order to prevent those risk factors and improve quality of life in elderly. Many points were contradictorily related, overdue the papers had noticed different conclusions about the same studied points. Face of this, we grouped relevant articles with the same results. Notwithstanding, there were points that require more studies, considering the relevance of the theme.A prevalência de episódios de depressão em idosos leva a prejuízos em vários aspectos da vida diária, incluindo qualidade de vida, morbimortalidade e, também aumento da taxa de suicídio. O estresse e eventos cotidiano são, frequentemente, gatilhos para a depressão que se afloram na idade avançada. A revisão que se segue objetivou explorar os aspectos relacionados ao início da depressão na terceira idade, com foco psicossocial e no estresse. Para tanto, nós sistematicamente revisamos artigos publicados na base de dados Medline (2003-2013). A partir disso, verificou-se que a depressão nos idosos é um distúrbio complexo que está associado mais prevalentemente a aspectos psicossociais e ao estresse crônico do que a características genéticas e biomarcadores. Solidão, estresse diário e crônico ao longo da vida, falta de apoio social, luto e aspectos econômicos, tais como aposentadoria e perda de emprego, são os principais riscos para se desenvolver sintomas depressivos. Ademais, acontecimentos considerados negativos, eventos estressantes que se acumularam ou traumas não tratados durante a vida foram relacionados à piora da saúde mental na idade avançada. Tais eventos podem causar diferentes impactos em culturas e estilos de vida distintos. As consequências também dependem da duração ou do período da vida em que os episódios ocorreram. O tratamento da depressão no idoso deve ser baseado em medicações e psicoterapia, a fim de tratar aspectos psicológicos. Nesse sentido, destaca-se a terapia com base na revisão e análise de vida. Estas perspectivas de tratamento são importantes devido a possibilidade de desenvolver estratégias alvo específicas, a fim de prevenir esses fatores de risco e melhorar a qualidade de vida do idoso. Muitos pontos foram contraditoriamente relacionados, ou seja, artigos que estudaram os mesmos fatores divergiram nas conclusões. Diante disso, nós agrupamos os artigos mais relevantes com convergência de conclusões. Não obstante, há assuntos que necessitam de mais estudos, considerando a relevância do tema

Decision-making executive function profile and performance in older adults with major depression:a case-control study

OBJECTIVES: Decision making (DM) is a component of executive functioning, essential for choosing appropriate decisions. Executive dysfunctioning is particularly common in late-life depression, however the literature is scarce on DM. This case-control study aimed to evaluate the DM profile and performance in participants with and without unipolar major depression. METHOD: The DM profile and performance were assessed by the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), respectively, in three groups of older adults from a university-based geriatric psychiatry clinic, i.e. current depression (n = 30), remitted depression (n = 43) and healthy controls (n = 59). The Hamilton Depression scale (HAM-D) 21 items, the Hamilton Anxiety scale, and the Mini-Mental State Examination were used to access depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and cognitive impairment, respectively. Multinomial, nominal and binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the associations between depression, depressive symptomatology and DM. RESULTS: In comparison to the control group, patients with current depression presented higher scores in buck-passing and proscratination DM profiles. In the hypervigilance profile, there was a significant difference between current and remitted depression groups. A higher value ​in the HAM-D scale increased the probability of disadvantageous DM profiles. Depressive patients showed a tendency of a higher mean score in both disadvantageous decks (A and B) of IGT. Patients with current depression showed a worse performance compared to the remitted depression group in the IGT netscore. CONCLUSION: Older adults with current depression showed DM profiles considered maladaptive or disadvantageous compared to both remitted depression and healthy controls groups

Rationale, study design, and analysis plan of the Alveolar Recruitment for ARDS Trial (ART): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with high in-hospital mortality. Alveolar recruitment followed by ventilation at optimal titrated PEEP may reduce ventilator-induced lung injury and improve oxygenation in patients with ARDS, but the effects on mortality and other clinical outcomes remain unknown. This article reports the rationale, study design, and analysis plan of the Alveolar Recruitment for ARDS Trial (ART). Methods/Design: ART is a pragmatic, multicenter, randomized (concealed), controlled trial, which aims to determine if maximum stepwise alveolar recruitment associated with PEEP titration is able to increase 28-day survival in patients with ARDS compared to conventional treatment (ARDSNet strategy). We will enroll adult patients with ARDS of less than 72 h duration. The intervention group will receive an alveolar recruitment maneuver, with stepwise increases of PEEP achieving 45 cmH(2)O and peak pressure of 60 cmH2O, followed by ventilation with optimal PEEP titrated according to the static compliance of the respiratory system. In the control group, mechanical ventilation will follow a conventional protocol (ARDSNet). In both groups, we will use controlled volume mode with low tidal volumes (4 to 6 mL/kg of predicted body weight) and targeting plateau pressure <= 30 cmH2O. The primary outcome is 28-day survival, and the secondary outcomes are: length of ICU stay; length of hospital stay; pneumothorax requiring chest tube during first 7 days; barotrauma during first 7 days; mechanical ventilation-free days from days 1 to 28; ICU, in-hospital, and 6-month survival. ART is an event-guided trial planned to last until 520 events (deaths within 28 days) are observed. These events allow detection of a hazard ratio of 0.75, with 90% power and two-tailed type I error of 5%. All analysis will follow the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: If the ART strategy with maximum recruitment and PEEP titration improves 28-day survival, this will represent a notable advance to the care of ARDS patients. Conversely, if the ART strategy is similar or inferior to the current evidence-based strategy (ARDSNet), this should also change current practice as many institutions routinely employ recruitment maneuvers and set PEEP levels according to some titration method.Hospital do Coracao (HCor) as part of the Program 'Hospitais de Excelencia a Servico do SUS (PROADI-SUS)'Brazilian Ministry of Healt

Hypotension caused by therapeutic doses of venlafaxine: case report and proposed pathophysiological mechanisms

Although venlafaxine is usually associated with modest increases in blood pressure and not so often clinical hypertension, there are a few reported cases of hypotension related to overdoses of this specific antidepressant. The case study of a young female patient with a history of Major Depressive Disorder who initiated treatment with venlafaxine 75 mg/day and developed hypotension when the dosage was titrated up to 225 mg/day is described. The patient did not present comorbid diseases nor use other medication. A temporal association and a dose-dependent relationship between the hypotension and the use of venlafaxine is shown. To the best of the knowledge of the authors, this is the first case report that specifically associates regular doses of venlafaxine with the presence of hypotension. A pathophysiological mechanism is proposed, involving the participation of presynaptic alpha2-adrenergic receptors and the presence of a possible genetic polymorphism of cytochrome P4502D6, which is associated with lower drug metabolization, to explain the relationship between venlafaxine in regular dosage and development of hypotension

Increased rates of white matter hyperintensities in late-onset bipolar disorder

Objectives: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have reported an increased frequency of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in association with late-onset (LO) depression, and this has supported the notion that vascular-related mechanisms may be implicated in the pathophysiology of LO mood disorders. Recent clinical studies have also suggested a link between LO bipolar disorder (LO-BD) and cerebrovascular risk factors, but this has been little investigated with neuroimaging techniques. In order to ascertain whether there could be a specific association between WMH and LO-BD, we directly compared WMH rates between LO-BD subjects (illness onset 60 years), early-onset BD subjects (EO-BD, illness onset < 60 years), and elderly healthy volunteers. Methods: T2-weighted MRI data were acquired in LO-BD subjects (n = 10, age = 73.60 +/- 4.09), EO-BD patients (n = 49, age = 67.78 +/- 4.44), and healthy subjects (n = 24, age = 69.00 +/- 7.22). WMH rates were assessed using the Scheltens scale. Results: There was a greater prevalence of WMH in LO-BD patients relative to the two other groups in the deep parietal region (p = 0.018) and basal ganglia (p < 0.045). When between-group comparisons of mean WMH scores were conducted taking account of age differences (ANCOVA), there were more severe scores in LO-BD patients relative to the two other groups in deep frontal and parietal regions, as well as in the putamen (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Our results provide empirical support to the proposed link between vascular risk factors and LO-BD. If extended in future studies with larger samples, these. findings may help to clarify the pathophysiological distinctions between bipolar disorder emerging at early and late stages of life.FAPESP Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo[02/04847-3]FAPESP Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo[04/15336-5

Outcome predictors of smoking cessation treatment provided by an addiction care unit between 2007 and 2010

Objective: To analyze the predictors of smoking cessation treatment outcomes in a sample with a high rate of medical and psychiatric disorders and addictions. Methods: Analysis of predictors of success of a 6-week treatment provided by an addiction care unit (CAPS-AD) to 367 smokers in Brazil from 2007 to 2010. Forty variables were collected at baseline. Success was defined as abstinence from smoking for a period of at least 14 consecutive days, including the last day of treatment. Twenty variables were selected for the logistic regression model. Results: The only condition correlated with successful treatment after logistic regression was smoking one's first cigarette 5 minutes or more after waking (beta = 1.85, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] = 1.11-3.10, p = 0.018). Subjects with hypertension and alcohol use disorders and those who were undergoing psychiatric treatment showed success rates comparable to or greater than the average success rate of the sample (34.2-44.4%). Conclusions: These findings support the importance of the variable time to first cigarette in treatment outcomes for a sample with a high rate of clinical and psychiatric disorders. Good success rates were observed for pharmacological treatment, which was combined with group therapy based on cognitive-behavioral concepts and integrated into ongoing treatment of other addictions and psychiatric disorders

Does ragging play a role in medical student depression - Cause or effect?

Background: Medical students experience a lot of stress what may contribute to symptoms of depression. In this study we set out to look at the environmental factors which may be contributing in one medical school in Brazil. Methods: We assessed depressive symptoms using Beck's Depression Inventory in 465 and 267 medical students in 2001 and 2006 respectively. We explored possible social and environmental causes using qualitative data. Results: Nearly 15% scored above the cut off for depression in both the samples. Males in the pre-clinical stage in 2006 showed an increase in depressive symptoms than males in the same cycle in 2001 (aOR = 7.36 [95% CI = 0.85-63.5] p = 0.07). Qualitative data confirmed that factors such as ragging and low social involvement were correlated with depressive symptoms in pre-clinical stage males. Limitations: The sample size was small both for quantitative and qualitative aspects of the study. Conclusions: It appears that ragging plays an important role in the genesis of depressive symptoms in medical students. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) [DA020667, DA023434]National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)National Institute of Child and Human Development (NICHD) grant, USA [HD060072]National Institute of Child and Human Development (NICHD) grant, US