The use of information and communication technologies in perinatal depression screening: A systematic review

Perinatal mental illness refers to psychiatric disorders that exist during pregnancy and up to 1 year after childbirth. The aim of this systematic review was to discuss the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on perinatal depression (PeD) screening in the past three decades. Published articles were searched between 1990 and 2018, both in English and Spanish. In the search, we used different keywords, such as "pregnancy, " "depression, " or "technology" in ScienceDirect, PubMed-NCBI, and Web of Science. We found 10 articles that combined the use of ICTs and a focus on PeD screening. Studied periods included pregnancy (n = 2) and postpartum (n = 8). The telephone was the most commonly used communication method (n = 5), followed by the Internet (n = 4). One investigation used both, the telephone and the Internet. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was the most frequently used screening measure (n = 8). The proportion of depressed perinatal women varied across studies depending on the pregnancy status and the cutoff values used, showing a very broad range between 5.8 and 51.9 percent. Despite the increasing popularity of ICTs in health settings, their use in perinatal mental health screening is still rare. Overall, encouraging findings have been reported when using ICTs for screening of PeD, such as eliminating the need to travel to the health center to conduct the screening and allowing for a wider dissemination. However, more research is needed to support their inclusion in perinatal care

Can we predict the evolution of depressive symptoms, adjustment, and perceived social support of pregnant women from their personality characteristics? A technology-supported longitudinal study

Background: Research exploring the relationship between personality and important pregnancy outcomes (i.e., depressive symptoms, adjustment, and perceived social support) tends to be cross-sectional, arguably due to the difficulties of conducting longitudinal and mental health research in this population. The objective of this study is to use a web-based solution to longitudinally explore how personality traits are associated, not only with the co-occurrence of these outcomes but also with their evolution during pregnancy. Stability and change of these outcomes will also be investigated. Methods: The sample included 85 pregnant women attending several medical centers in Spain. The web-based assessment included sociodemographic and obstetric variables (ad hoc) and personality (at the second trimester only), and outcomes at both the second and the third trimester (i.e., depressive symptoms, adjustment, and perceived social support). Results: The results showed that adjustment worsened from the second to the third trimester of pregnancy. Neuroticism (N), low extraversion (E), and psychoticism (P) were cross-sectionally and longitudinally associated with outcomes. In addition, N and, to a lesser extent P, uniquely contributed to the evolution of these outcomes in the multivariate analyses, including autoregressions. Conclusion: Personality and especially N and P should be evaluated early during pregnancy mental health screening. The use of a web page appears to be a useful tool for that purpose. Technologies might also help disseminate mental health prevention programs for these women, which would be especially recommended for those with a personality profile characterized by high N and P and, to a lesser extent, low E

Predicting postpartum depressive symptoms from pregnancy biopsychosocial factors: A longitudinal investigation using structural equation modeling

The prediction of postpartum depression (PPD) should be conceptualized from a biopsychosocial perspective. This study aims at exploring the longitudinal contribution of a set of biopsychosocial factors for PPD in perinatal women. A longitudinal study was conducted, assessment was made with a website and included biopsychosocial factors that were measured during pregnancy (n = 266, weeks 16–36), including age, affective ambivalence, personality characteristics, social support and depression. Depression was measured again at postpartum (n = 101, weeks 2–4). The analyses included bivariate associations and structural equation modeling (SEM). Age, affective ambivalence, neuroticism, positive, and negative affect at pregnancy were associated with concurrent depression during pregnancy (all p < 0.01). Age, affective ambivalence, positive affect, and depression at pregnancy correlated with PPD (all p < 0.05). Affective ambivalence (ß = 1.97; p = 0.003) and positive (ß = -0.29; p < 0.001) and negative affect (ß = 0.22; p = 0.024) at pregnancy remained significant predictors of concurrent depression in the SEM, whereas only age (ß = 0.27; p = 0.010) and depression (ß = 0.37; p = 0.002) at pregnancy predicted PPD. Biopsychosocial factors are clearly associated with concurrent depression at pregnancy, but the stability of depression across time limits the prospective contribution of biopsychosocial factors. Depression should be screened early during pregnancy, as this is likely to persist after birth. The use of technology, as in the present investigation, might be a cost-effective option for this purpose

Hepatitis B testing and treatment in HIV patients in The Gambia - compliance with international guidelines and clinical outcomes

Background Compliance with WHO guidelines on HBV screening and treatment in HIV-coinfected patients is often challenging in resource limited countries and has been poorly assessed in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Between 2015 and 2016, we assessed physician’s compliance with WHO guidelines on HIV-HBV coinfection in the largest HIV clinic in The Gambia, and the hepatic outcomes in HIV-HBV coinfected patients as compared to randomly selected HIV-monoinfected controls. Results 870 HIV-infected patients regularly seen in this clinic agreed to participate in our study. Only 187 (21.5%, 95% CI 18.8–24.3) had previously been screened for HBsAg, 23 (12.3%, 95% CI 8.0–17.9) were positive of whom none had liver assessment and only 6 (26.1%) had received Tenofovir. Our HBV testing intervention was accepted by all participants and found 94/870 (10.8%, 95% CI 8.8–13.1) positive, 78 of whom underwent full liver assessment along with 40 HBsAg-negative controls. At the time of liver assessment, 61/78 (78.2%) HIV-HBV coinfected patients received ART with 7 (11.5%) on Tenofovir and 54 (88.5%) on Lamivudine alone. HIV-HBV coinfected patients had higher APRI score compared to controls (0.58 vs 0.42, p = 0.002). HBV DNA was detectable in 52/53 (98.1%) coinfected patients with 14/53 (26.4%) having HBV DNA >20,000 IU/L. 10/12 (83.3%) had at least one detectable 3TC-associated HBV resistance, which tended to be associated with increase in liver fibrosis after adjusting for age and sex (p = 0.05). Conclusions Compliance with HBV testing and treatment guidelines is poor in this Gambian HIV programme putting coinfected patients at risk of liver complications. However, the excellent uptake of HBV screening and linkage to care in our study suggests feasible improvements

Validity evidence of the multidimensional emotional disorders inventory among non-clinical spanish university students

The current diagnostic systems for mental health disorders are categorical, which, it has been argued, poorly reflect the reality of mental health problems. This is especially relevant in emotional disorders (EDs), especially due to the existing comorbidity between supposedly different disorders. To address this, Brown and Barlow developed a hybrid dimensional−categorical approach to EDs that can be evaluated with the Multidimensional Emotional Disorder Inventory (MEDI), a transdiagnostic self-report questionnaire. This study aims to adapt and explore the sources of validity evidence of the MEDI in a non-clinical sample of Spanish university students (n = 455). Two confirmatory analyses were performed: one with a four-dimensional structure obtained with an exploratory analysis and another with the original nine-dimensional structure of the MEDI. The latter obtained a better fit. The descriptive data, including percentiles, T-scores, and sex differences in total scores are also provided, together with sources of validity evidence. These revealed significant moderate interrelations between factors and with related measures (e.g., personality, depression, and anxiety). This study adapted the MEDI for use in Spanish, provides further support about its factor structure, and offers novel data about its validity sources. The MEDI makes the evaluation of dimensional and transdiagnostic models easier, which might be fundamental in present and future research and clinical practice

A 0535+26: an X-ray/Optical Tour

We compiled X-ray and Optical observations of the accreting X-ray binary system A 0535+262 since its discovery in 1975, that will allow us to shed light on the unpredictable behavior of this binary system. We present the data in terms of the Be-disk interaction with the neutron star companion. In addition, we show recent results from the continuous monitoring of this source by the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor(GBM), on board the Fermi observatory, since its launch in 2008 June 11.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, Conference proceeding of "Astrophysics of Neutron Stars 2010 - a conference in honor of M. Ali Alpar", 2-6 August 2010, Cesme, Izmir, Turke

The Role of Pain Catastrophizing and Pain Acceptance in Performance-Based and Self-Reported Physical Functioning in Individuals with Fibromyalgia and Obesity

Impaired physical functioning is one of the most critical consequences associated with fibromyalgia, especially when there is comorbid obesity. Psychological factors are known to contribute to perceived (i.e., subjective) physical functioning. However, physical function is a multidimensional concept encompassing both subjective and objective functioning. The contribution of psychological factors to performance-based (i.e., objective) functioning is unclear. This study aims to investigate the contribution of pain catastrophizing and pain acceptance to both self-reported and performance-based physical functioning. In this cross-sectional study, 160 participants completed self-report measures of pain catastrophizing, pain acceptance, and pain severity. A self-report measure and a performance-based test were used to assess physical functioning. Higher pain catastrophizing and lower pain acceptance were associated with poorer physical functioning at both self-reported and performance-based levels. Our results are consistent with previous evidence on the association between pain catastrophizing and pain acceptance with self-reported physical functioning. This study contributes to the current literature by providing novel insights into the role of psychological factors in performance-based physical functioning. Multidisciplinary interventions that address pain catastrophizing and pain acceptance are recommended and might be effective to improve both perceived and performance-based functioning in women with FM and obesity

Psychometric properties and validation of the Spanish versions of the overall anxiety and depression severity and impairment scales

Background: Anxiety and depressive disorders are the most frequent disorders for which patients seek care in public health settings in Spain. This study aimed at validating the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale (OASIS) and the Overall Depression Severity and Impairment Scale (ODSIS), which are brief screening scales for anxiety and depression consisting of only five items each. Methods: The study was conducted in a Spanish clinical sample receiving outpatient mental health treatment (N = 339). A subsample of participants (n = 219) was assessed before and after receiving a course of cognitive-behavioral treatment. Results: The results revealed excellent internal consistency estimates (Cronbach's alpha for the OASIS and the ODSIS was 0.87 and 0.94, respectively), along with promising convergent and discriminant validity and test-criterion relationships (i.e., moderate correlation with other measures of depression and anxiety, as well as with neuroticism, quality of life, adjustment, and negative affect). A one-dimensional structure was obtained for the OASIS and the ODSIS. The ROC analyses indicated an area under the curve of 0.83 for the OASIS and the ODSIS when predicting moderate-to-severe anxiety and depression, respectively. Good sensitivity to therapeutic change was also evidence and the analysis of the sensitivity as a function of 1-specificity area suggested a cutoff value of 10 for both scales. Limitations: Inter-rater reliability of diagnoses with the ADIS-IV interview could not be investigated and the results obtained may not be generalizable to other samples and health settings. Conclusions: The availability of these two short and psychometrically sound measures should make screening of anxiety and depressive symptoms in routine care more feasible