About Depression

Early Abuse Linked to Depression in Kids

2010-02-10T00:00:01Z

Depressed children who were abused before the age of five have physiological differences created by that abuse, says a new article appearing in the journal Child Development.

According to the article, children who experience mistreatment - whether it is physical, sexual or emotional - grow up under a great deal of stress. Cortisol is a hormone which the body produces to help regulate stress, but, when stress is chronic and overloads the system, cortisol can reach either very high or very low levels, damaging health.

The researchers studied more than 500 low-income children between the ages of 7 and 13, about half of whom had been abused or neglected in some way. They found that high levels of depression occurred more frequently in those children who had been abused early in life, compared to those who were not.

In addition, those who were abused prior to the age of five and depressed had an abnormal flattening of cortisol production during the day, where the other children, depressed or not, had a daily decline in cortisol from morning to afternoon. This finding implies, say the authors, that the extreme stress of early abuse compromises the stress-regulation ability of these children, leaving them prone to depression.

"The results of this study have significant implications for children in the child welfare population and underscore the importance of providing early preventative interventions to children who have been abused," the authors conclude.

Early Abuse Linked to Depression in Kids originally appeared on About.com Depression on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 00:00:01.

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Family Therapy Helps Suicidal Teens

2010-02-09T03:11:36Z

Teens with suicidal thoughts and elevated depression had a stronger and faster reduction in their symptoms when treated using family therapy as opposed to standard treatment in the community, according to a new report in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

The researchers studied 66 children between the ages of 12 to 17 who sought treatment in primary care settings or emergency rooms with severe suicidal thinking and depression symptoms.

Parental participation in the study was required, with parents being viewed "not as the problem, but as the curative medicine," according to study author Guy S. Diamond, Ph.D., director of the Center for Family Intervention Science of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Most treatment models mainly work with the adolescents alone, helping them learn new coping and problem solving strategies," said Diamond, "but adolescents are highly influenced by their parents. Family conflict, chaos and strife can contribute to youth suicide, while at the same time family love, trust and communication can buffer against it."

In the study, those teens who had severe suicidal thinking and received Attachment-based Family Therapy (ABFT) were at least four times more likely to have no suicidal thinking at the end of treatment or three months of treatment compared to those patients who received treatment in the community. Those who received ABFT also showed a more rapid decrease in depression symptoms.

In the future, Diamond's team will focus on a broader population of patients, comparing ABFT with other treatments and looking at long-term outcomes.

Family Therapy Helps Suicidal Teens originally appeared on About.com Depression on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 03:11:36.

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Mothers' Depression During Pregnancy Linked to Antisocial Teens

2010-02-08T00:00:41Z

According to a newly published study, mothers who were depressed during pregnancy were four times more likely to have children who exhibited antisocial behavior during their teen years.

The study included 120 inner-city teens and their mothers. The mothers were interviewed while pregnant, following giving birth and when the children were 4, 11 and 16 years old.

In addition to the link between maternal depression and antisocial teens, the researchers found that women who were prone to aggressive and disruptive behavior during their teens were more likely to become depressed during their pregnancies, which shows, say the researchers, that a mother's history predicts her children's behavior.

"Although it's not yet clear exactly how depression in pregnancy might set infants on a pathway toward increased antisocial behavior, our findings suggest that women with a history of conduct problems who become depressed in pregnancy may be in special need of support," wrote study author Dale F. Hay, in a press release.

The study appears in the January/February issue of Child Development.

Mothers' Depression During Pregnancy Linked to Antisocial Teens originally appeared on About.com Depression on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 00:00:41.

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Antidepressants Linked to Lactation Problems

2010-02-03T00:00:59Z

According to a new study scheduled to appear in the February issue of Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, women who take SSRI antidepressants may experience delayed lactation after giving birth and may need additional support if they chose to breastfeed.

"The breasts are serotonin-regulated glands," said study co-author Dr. Nelson Horseman of the University of Cincinnati, which means that "the breasts' ability to secrete milk at the right time is closely related to the body's production and regulation of the hormone serotonin." Commonly used antidepressants such as Prozac, Zoloft and Paxil all belong to a class of drugs called SSRIs, which affect serotonin re-uptake, and might also affect serotonin regulation in the breast.

The study looked at the effects of SSRI antidepressants on lactation in the lab by using human and animal cell lines as well as genetically modified mice. In addition, an observational study was carried out which examined 431 mothers who had just given birth.

In the observational study, the median onset of lactation for mothers who had been taking SSRIs was 85.8 hours after childbirth, compared to 69.1 hours in women who had not taken SSRIs. Anything past 72 hours is commonly considered to be delayed lactation by researchers.

"SSRI drugs are very helpful medications for many moms, so understanding and ameliorating difficulties moms experience can help them achieve their goals for breastfeeding their babies," noted Horseman. "More human research is needed before we can make specific recommendations regarding SSRI use during breastfeeding."

Antidepressants Linked to Lactation Problems originally appeared on About.com Depression on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 00:00:59.

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Antidepressant May Improve Cogitive Function After Stroke

2010-02-02T00:00:03Z

Patients who receive the antidepressant escitalopram (Lexapro) appeared to do better in recovering their thinking, learning and memory skills than those who took a placebo or who participated in problem-solving therapy, according to an article published in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

According to background information in the article, there is growing interest in therapies which can be administered in the first few months after a stroke, which is the time period when there is the most spontaneous recovery of lost motor and cognitive skills. Antidepressants are believed to be potentially helpful to stroke patients in their recovery because they stimulate production of substances essential for nerve cell growth.

Dr. Ricardo E. Jorge and his associates at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, studied one particular antidepressant, escitalopram, by randomly assigning a group of 129 stroke patients to receive either the drug or a placebo or to participate in problem-solving therapy.

Following 12 weeks of treatment, the patients taking the antidepressant had higher scores in neuropsychological tests assessing their thinking, learning and memory than the other two patient groups. More importantly, the authors noted, the changes resulted in an improvement in related activities of daily living.

According to the article, there is increasing evidence that antidepressants causes changes in brain structure, which may be responsible for the improvements seen in this study. Jorge noted, however, that "whatever may be the mechanism of improved cognitive recovery...the utility of antidepressants in the process of post-stroke recovery deserves to be further investigated."

Antidepressant May Improve Cogitive Function After Stroke originally appeared on About.com Depression on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 00:00:03.

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Workers Afraid to Seek Depression Help Due to Workplace Stigma

2010-02-01T05:08:44Z

In an online survey conducted by the American Psychiatric Association of 1,129 workers, more than 40% said their employer was either supportive or very supportive of workers who sought out care for health concerns. Of these same employees, however, a high percentage believed that seeking help for particular psychological problems - such as drug addiction (76%), alcoholism (73%) and depression (62%) - would not be as accepted.

"It is important to support an environment that encourages employees taking care of their physical and mental health," said Dr. Alan Axelson, chairman of the association's Partnership for Workplace Health Advisory Council, in a press release. "Research supports the fact that when people receive needed care, they are healthier and more productive - and employers realize the return on their health care investment."

The partnership offers the following suggestions for employers:

Supervisors and managers should set a good example by taking care of their own physical and mental health.
Workplaces should promote prevention, early intervention and wellness programs.
Employees should be discouraged from coming to work when they are not well.
Employees should be reminded of health benefits and programs available to them and shown how to access care.
Employees should be reassured about confidentiality, especially in the area of mental health care.

Workers Afraid to Seek Depression Help Due to Workplace Stigma originally appeared on About.com Depression on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 05:08:44.

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3 Key Factors Help Kids Avoid Social Rejection

2010-01-27T00:00:07Z

Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have identified three key factors in children's behavior which can lead to social rejection, and, in turn, make children more prone to academic failure, dropping out of school, depression or anxiety and experimentation with drugs.

Dr. Clark McKown and his colleagues at the Rush Neurobehavioral Center observed two groups of children. One was a random sample of 158 children in the Chicago school system. The other was a random sample of 126 clinic-referred children.

They found in their study that some children have a difficult time picking up on non-verbal or social cues. For example, they may not notice when someone's shoulders slump in disappointment or hear the change in pitch in their voice when they are excited.

Secondly, they found that some children may have the ability to pick up on these cues, but may not have the ability to process them and attach meaning to them.

And, finally, some children may be able to observe social cues and attach meaning to them, but not have the social problem solving skills to behave appropriately in response to them.

Children who are able to put these three steps together - taking in social cues, recognizing their meaning and responding appropriately - and who are capable of "self-regulating" their own behavior, are the most likely to have successful relationships, said the authors. Children who struggle with any of these steps are, conversely, more prone to social rejection.

Now that these critical factors have been identified, said McKown, it will be possible to pinpoint what areas a child needs help in and to offer help. In addition, it may be possible to develop tests to assess for these social difficulties that are easy to use and scientifically valid.

The study appears in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.

3 Key Factors Help Kids Avoid Social Rejection originally appeared on About.com Depression on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 00:00:07.

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School Support Lacking for Emotional and Behavioral Issues, Say Some Parents

2010-01-26T05:31:26Z

According to a press release from the University of Michigan Health System, the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health recently asked almost 1,100 parents across the U.S. to rate their children's schools on how well they support children with emotional, behavioral or family problems.

According to the survey, 37% of parents gave their primary schools an A grade for their support of children with behavioral issues, while 34% gave them an A for their support of kids with emotional or family issues. In addition, 22% of parents gave their secondary schools an A grade for their support of children with behavioral, emotional or family problems.

In overall education, 52% of parents gave primary schools an A and 38% gave secondary schools an A.

According to Matthew Davis, the director of the poll of the poll and associate professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, it is estimated that about 20% of school-age children require mental health services to deal with conditions like depression, autism and eating disorders, while as many as 50% of children will need emotional support to deal with family, peer or other relationship problems. "Our findings," said Davis, "indicate that parents think schools are doing better with educational goals than with emotional and behavioral support."

While some would argue that school funds should be limited to instructional services, said Davis, drastic cuts may work against these goals if behavioral or emotional problems interfere with the students' ability to learn.

Davis suggests that parents dealing with declining support from their schools should start with their primary care providers, who can direct them to appropriate services in their community.

School Support Lacking for Emotional and Behavioral Issues, Say Some Parents originally appeared on About.com Depression on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 05:31:26.

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Depressed Workers Less Productive, Even With Antidepressant Treatment

2010-01-25T00:00:10Z

Even after receiving treatment with antidepressants, depressed workers costs employers more in short-term disability and absenteeism, says a report in the February Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Suellen Curkendall of Thomson Reuters Healthcare and her team of researchers used insurance claims and employee health and productivity databases to examine the relationship between antidepressant treatment and productivity costs.

What they found in their study was that depressed employees are about twice as likely to use short-term disability leave, compared to workers who were not depressed. Those workers with severe depression were three times as likely.

Deficits in productivity were significant, according to the report, with short-term disability costs of about $1,000 for each depressed worker and $1,700 for each severely depressed worker. These costs were, in fact, much higher than for other common illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.

Curkendall's team also found that workers with depression missed more work days, even after treatment with antidepressants.

The authors conclude their report by stating that these productivity losses probably occur due depression symptoms that persist despite treatment and suggest that "therapies that can better manage depression may provide opportunities for savings to employers."

Depressed Workers Less Productive, Even With Antidepressant Treatment originally appeared on About.com Depression on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 00:00:10.

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Google Trends Indicate Rising Suicidal Thoughts in Americans

2010-01-20T00:00:28Z

A recent look at Google search trends indicates that more and more Americans may be having suicidal thoughts.

Kelly Bush, director of the Lee Drake Foundation, found a troubling trend when doing online research for their upcoming Records for Awareness program. When searching various terms related to suicide, Bush found that the phrase "suicidal thoughts" was searched about 5500 times per day. "It wasn't the number of searchers that caught my eye," said Bush, "It was the increase over time that bothered me." Bush found that there was a 488% growth in searches for this keyword phrase between January 2004 and January 2010. Bush further noted that the rise seemed to coincide with America's growing economic woes, with a increase of a 323% occurring during the last six months alone.

The Lee Drake Foundation is a suicide prevention organization created in honor of Lee Eric Drake, a young man who suffered from depression and committed suicide in 2005. One of the foundation's primary goals is to provide scholarship money for graduate students who are pursing degrees in the mental health field.

Google Trends Indicate Rising Suicidal Thoughts in Americans originally appeared on About.com Depression on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 00:00:28.

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