Effect of treatments for depression on quality of life: a meta-analysis

Published in final edited form as: Cogn Behav Ther. 2017 June; 46(4): 265–286. doi:10.1080/16506073.2017.1304445.Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the two first-line treatments for depression, but little is known about their effects on quality of life (QOL). A meta-analysis was conducted to examine changes in QOL in adults with major depressive disorder who received CBT (24 studies examining 1969 patients) or SSRI treatment (13 studies examining 4286 patients) for their depression. Moderate improvements in QOL from pre to post-treatment were observed in both CBT (Hedges' g = .63) and SSRI (Hedges' g = .79) treatments. The effect size remained stable over the course of the follow-up period for CBT. No data were available to examine follow-ups in the SSRI group. QOL effect sizes decreased linearly with publication year, and greater improvements in depression were significantly associated with greater improvements in QOL for CBT, but not for SSRIs. CBT and SSRIs for depression were both associated with moderate improvements in QOL, but are possibly caused by different mechanisms.This work was supported in part from NIH/NCCIH [grant number R01AT007257], NIH/NIMH [grant numbers R01MH099021; R34MH099311; R34MH086668; R21MH102646; R21MH101567; K23MH100259]. (R01AT007257 - NIH/NCCIH; R01MH099021 - NIH/NIMH; R34MH099311 - NIH/NIMH; R34MH086668 - NIH/NIMH; R21MH102646 - NIH/NIMH; R21MH101567 - NIH/NIMH; K23MH100259 - NIH/NIMH

Applying economic evaluation to public health interventions: The case of interventions to promote physical activity

Copyright @ 2012 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.BACKGROUND: This paper explores the application of alternative approaches to economic evaluation of public health interventions, using a worked example of exercise referral schemes (ERSs). METHODS: Cost-utility (CUA) and cost-consequence analyses (CCA) were used to assess the cost-effectiveness of ERSs. For the CUA, evidence was synthesized using a decision analytic model that adopts a lifetime horizon and NHS/Personal Social Services perspective. Outcomes were expressed as incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). CCA was conducted from a partial-societal perspective, including health and non-healthcare costs and benefits. Outcomes were reported in natural units, such as cases of strokes or CHD avoided. RESULTS: Compared with usual care, the incremental cost per QALY of ERS is £20 876. Based on a cohort of 100 000 individuals, CCA estimates cost of ERS at £22 million to the healthcare provider and £12 million to participants. The benefits of ERS include additional 3900 people becoming physically active, 51 cases of CHD avoided, 16 cases of stroke avoided, 86 cases of diabetes avoided and a gain of ∼800 QALYs. CONCLUSIONS: CCA might provide greater transparency than CUA in reporting the outcomes of public health interventions and have greater resonance with stakeholders involved in commissioning these interventions.This work was supported by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme (project number 08/72/01). This article is made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund

A novel laser ranging system for measurement of ground-to-satellite distances

A technique was developed for improving the precision of laser ranging measurements of ground-to-satellite distances. The method employs a mode-locked laser transmitter and utilizes an image converter tube equipped with deflection plates in measuring the time of flight of the laser pulse to a distant retroreflector and back. Samples of the outgoing and returning light pulses are focussed on the photocathode of the image converter tube, whose deflection plates are driven by a high-voltage 120 MHz sine wave derived from a very stable oscillator. From the relative positions of the images produced at the output phosphor by the two light pulses, it is possible to make a precise determination of the fractional amount by which the time of flight exceeds some large integral multiple of the period of the deflection sinusoid

Examining Changing Attitudes in Secondary School Science

This study, carried out in England, examined the variation of attitudes towards science over the first three years of secondary schooling and with gender. The study in question was part of an evaluation of the "Lab in a Lorry" project, and involved 932 pupils completing a pre-measure questionnaire containing items looking at six separate attitude constructs. From these data, two main patterns emerged; pupils' attitudes towards science declined as they progressed through secondary school, and this decline was more pronounced for female pupils. These conclusions are largely in agreement with previous studies in this field. However, in examining separate attitude constructs, we were also able to identify that the sharpest decline occurred specifically for pupils' attitude towards learning science in school. Furthermore, using linear regression, we identified that, as pupils progress through school, this construct becomes a greater influence on attitudes towards future participation in science. Therefore, we also concluded that learning science in school is a partiuclar area that needs to be concentrated upon, if we are to improve children's attitudes towards science. In the final part of the paper, we drew on interview data obtained from 44 pupils involved in the Lab in a Lorry study. Pupils' comments in these interviews provided further insight into why pupils are "switched off" by school science. We drew out the most prevalent themes that emerged in the interviews, in order to provide further insight into why pupils do not enjoy science in school

Developing attitudes towards science measures

In this study, we describe the development of measures used to examine pupils' attitudes towards science. In particular, separate measures for attitudes towards the following areas were developed: learning science in school, practical work in science, science outside of school, importance of science, self-concept in science, and future participation in science. In developing these measures, criticisms of previous attitude studies in science education were noted. In particular, care was taken over the definition of each of the attitude constructs, and also ensuring that each of the constructs was unidimensional. Following an initial piloting process, pupils aged 11-14 from five secondary schools throughout England completed questionnaires containing the attitude measures. These questionnaires were completed twice by pupils in these schools, with a gap of four weeks between the first and second measurements. Altogether, 932 pupils completed the first questionnaire and 668 pupils completed the second one. Factor analysis carried out on the resulting data confirmed the unidimensionality of the separate attitude constructs. Also, it was found that three of the constructs - learning science in school, science outside of school, and future participation in science - loaded on one general attitude towards science factor. Further analysis showed that all the measures showed high internal reliability (Cronbach's a > 0.7). A particular strength of the approach used in this study was that it allowed for attitude measures to be built up step-by-step, therefore allowing for the future consideration of other relevant constructs

Probing the amalgam: the relationship between science teachers’ content, pedagogical and pedagogical content knowledge

This Special Issue aims to present evidence about the relationships between content knowledge (CK), pedagogical knowledge (PK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK); the development of these types of knowledge in novice and experienced secondary science teachers; and how CK, PK and/or PCK impact students’ learning. Since Shulman’s introduction of PCK as the feature that distinguishes the teacher from the content expert, researchers have attempted to understand, delineate, assess and/or develop the construct in pre- and in-service teachers. Accordingly, empirical findings are presented that permit further discussion. Outcomes permit post-hoc examination of a recent, collectively described, ‘consensus’ model of PCK, identifying strengths and potential issues. As we will illustrate, the relationship between CK, PK and PCK is central to this; that is, probing the hypothesis of pedagogical content knowledge as an ‘amalgam’ of content and pedagogical knowledge

HLA-G: expression in human keratinocytes in vitro and in human skin in vivo

Classical, polymorphic major histocompatibility complex class I molecules are expressed on most nucleated cells.They present peptides at the cell surface and, thus, enable the immune system to scan peptides for their antigenicity. The function of the other, nonclassical class I molecules in man is controversial. HLA-G which has been shown by transfection experiments to be expressed at the cell surface, is only transcribed in placental tissue and in the fetal eye.Therefore, a role of HLA-G in the control of rejection of the allogeneic fetus has been discussed. We found that HLA-G expression is induced in keratinocytes by culture in vitro. Three different alternative splicing products of HLA-G can be detected: a full length transcript, an mRNA lacking exon 3 and a transcript devoid of exon 3 and 4. Reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction also revealed the presence of HLA-G mRNA in vivo in biopsies of either diseased or healthy skin

Programming the brain: common outcomes and gaps in knowledge from animal studies of IUGR

Available online 7 June 2016Abstract not availableDamien S. Hunter, Susan J. Hazel, Karen L. Kinda, Julie A. Owens, Julia B. Pitcher, Kathryn L. Gatfor