Health-related quality of life in multiple sclerosis: temperament outweighs EDSS

Abstract Background The influence of personality on health-related quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis has been the focus of previous studies showing that introversion and neuroticism were related with reduced health related quality of life. However, no data exist on the impact of temperament on quality of life in this patient group. Methods Between April 2014 and March 2016 139 multiple sclerosis patients were recruited from a specialized outpatient clinic of the general hospital of Vienna. Health-related quality of life was measured by “The Multiple Sclerosis International Quality of Life Questionnaire (MusiQol)”, temperament by “Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris, and San Diego Questionnaire – Münster version” (briefTEMPS-M), and disability by the “Expanded disability status scale”. All patients underwent a diagnostic psychiatric semi-structured interview (MINI). Results Known predictors (like disease duration, EDSS, psychiatric co-morbidities, immunomodulatory treatments) explain the proportion of variation in the outcome of MusiQol global index score in 30.9% in multi-variable linear regression analysis. It increased respectively to 40.3, 42.5, and 45.8% if adding the depressive, cyclothymic, or hyperthymic temperament to the list of variables. An increase of depressive and cyclothymic temperament scores significantly reduced global index score of MusiQol (p = 0.005, p = 0.002, respectively), while the hyperthymic temperament significantly raised it (p < 0.001). Conclusion In MS patients, the depressive and cyclothymic temperament predict a lower and hyperthymic temperament an increased health-related quality of life, independent of current disability status, immunomodulatory treatments, and affective co-morbidities

Antidepressant sales and regional variations of suicide mortality in Germany

Suicides account for over one million deaths per year worldwide with depression among the most important risk factors. Epidemiological research into the relationship between antidepressant utilization and suicide mortality has shown heterogeneous and contradictory results. Different methodological approaches and limitations could at least partially explain varying results. This is the first study assessing the association of suicide mortality and antidepressant sales across Germany using complex statistical approaches in order to control for possible confounding factors including spatial dependency of data. German suicide counts were analyzed on a district level (n = 402) utilizing ecological Poisson regressions within a hierarchical Bayesian framework. Due to significant spatial effects between adjacent districts spatial models were calculated in addition to a baseline non-spatial model. Models were adjusted for several confounders including socioeconomic variables, quality of psychosocial care, and depression prevalence. Separate analyses were performed for Eastern and Western Germany and for different classes of antidepressants (SSRIs and TCAs). Overall antidepressant sales were significantly negatively associated with suicide mortality in the non-spatial baseline model, while after adjusting for spatially structured and unstructured effects the association turned out to be insignificant. In sub-analyses, analogue results were found for SSRIs and TCAs separately. Suicide risk shows a distinct heterogeneous pattern with a pronounced relative risk in Southeast Germany. In conclusion, the results reflect the heterogeneous findings of previous studies on the association between suicide mortality and antidepressant sales and point to the complexity of this hypothesized link. Furthermore, the findings support tailored suicide preventive efforts within high risk areas

Acute and subsequent continuation electroconvulsive therapy elevates serum BDNF levels in patients with major depression

202105 bchyAccepted ManuscriptOthersAustrian National Bank (P23021)Publishe

Repetitive enhancement of serum BDNF subsequent to continuation ECT

202002 bcrcVersion of RecordOthersAustrian National Bank (P23021)Publishe

Additional file 1: of Health-related quality of life in multiple sclerosis: temperament outweighs EDSS

Table S1. Linear regression analysis showing the effect of temperament types on MusiQol Global Index Score (sensitivity analysis, N = 132). (DOCX 100 kb

Additional file 2: of Health-related quality of life in multiple sclerosis: temperament outweighs EDSS

Table S2. Logistic regression analysis showing the effect of temperament types on MusiQol Dimensions 4–9; each dimension dichotomized to ‘full score’ versus ‘below full score’. (DOCX 15 kb