Sense of coherence and depression

Sense of coherence (SOC) is a positive way of looking at life and an ability to successfully manage stressful situations. People with a strong SOC are thought to cope better with stress because they consider stressors to be more predictable, have confidence in their own ability to deal with them and view pressures as meaningful challenges. A strong SOC has been associated with good subjective health, a lower frequency of sickness absence in women and a reduced risk of heart disease in male, white-collar workers. Researchers from the University of Turku in Finland looked into the links between SOC and depression in a study of 1,645 people. They found that people who had a strong SOC at the start of the study were less likely to suffer from depression, both a year and nine years later.

Luutonen, Sinikka ... [et al] - Weak sense of coherence predicts depression: 1-year and 9-year follow-ups of the Finnish Outcomes of Depression International Network (ODIN) sample Journal of Mental Health,
February 2011; 20(1): 43–51

Internet use and depression

Teenagers who are obsessed with the internet could be more likely to suffer from depression. Researchers from the University of Notre Dame in Australia and Sun-Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China looked at the mental health and internet use of 1,041 students in Guangzhou. The students were asked about their internet use including questions such as "How often do your grades or school work suffer because of the amount of time you spend on-line?" and "How often do you fear that life without the internet would be boring, empty and joyless?" and about their mental health. 8% of the teenagers developed symptoms of depression over the course of the study while 6% of them were classified as having 'pathological' internet use. Those teenagers who had an unhealthy relationship with the internet were two-and-a-half times more likely to have developed depression by the end of the study. But it is still not clear whether heavy internet use makes people feel depressed or whether teenagers who feel depressed are more likely to be heavier internet users.

Why people think they are depressed and what do they want to do about it

Over the years researchers have devoted a lot of time to working out the causes of depression. However, there has been a lot less research into what sufferers themselves think causes their depression and whether this influences what kind of treatment they choose. Researchers from Maastricht University in the Netherlands studied 221 people seeking treatment for depression. The participants were divided into three groups those who thought their depression was due to something within themselves (intraindividual), those who thought it was due to their relationship with others (interpersonal), and those who thought it was due to their brain chemistry (biological). The intraindividual group were more likely to choose cognitive behaviour therapy while the biological group were more likely to opt for drug therapy. Those who thought their depression was due to their relationships with other people had no clear preference about their treatment.

Schweizer, Susanne ... [et al] - Does illness attribution affect treatment assignment in depression Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy September-October 2010, 17(5), 418-426

Dyadic discord and depression

Psychologists rarely use a simple word where a complicated one will do and dyadic discord is their term for not getting on with your spouse or partner. A team of researchers, led by Wayne Denton from the University of Texas, looked at 171 people with partners who were being treated for long-term depression. The participants were treated with nefazodone, the Cognitive Behavioural Analysis system of psychotherapy or a combination of both. The happiness of the participants' relationships and their levels of depression were measured before, during and after treatment. Participants with dyadic discord at the start of the study had much lower remission rates (34.1%) than those with happier relationships (61.2%).

Denton, W.H. ... [et al] - Dyadic discord at baseline is associated with lack of remission in the acute treatment of chronic depression Psychological Medicine March 2010, 40(3), 415-424

Feeling down, how we cope with it and how it all links to depression

Everyone feels down from time to time. Most people try and get over it in a process that psychologists call 'mood repair.' Psychologists have identified over a 100 strategies for mood repair (adaptive strategies) but also a number of responses that actually end up making things worse (maladaptive strategies). It is thought that people with depression are worse at mood repair than other people and use less productive strategies to get over feeling down. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh looked into this issue in a study of 337 people, 215 of whom had suffered from childhood-onset depressive disorder. Participants were asked which strategies they used to deal with low mood and were followed over time to see how they got on. The study found that people who had previously been depressed or who were depressed at the time of the study both reported a greater number of maladaptive responses and less adaptive ones, although they did use some adaptive strategies. Using maladaptive responses predicted future increases in depression symptoms and an increased probability of a recurrence of depression and this was true of both maladaptive thoughts and actions.

Kovacs, M., Rottenberg, J. and George, C. - Maladaptive mood repair responses distinguish young adults with early-onset depressive disorders and predict future depression outcomes Psychological Medicine November 2009, 39(11), 1841-1854

Depression, anxiety and obesity

A 19-year survey of 4,363 British civil servants by researchers at University College London has found that those who suffered from anxiety and depression were more likely to become obese. The participants were screeened four times over the course of the study with each screening assessing them for common mental disorders and measuring their height and weight. Weight gain was more common in people with mental disorders at the start of the study. Those participants who showed signs of mental disorder in the first three screenings were twice as likely as symptom-free people to be obese by the end of the study. Those who experienced more incidences of common mental disorders had a greater risk of weight gain and obesity but there was no evidence of a relationship in the other direction i.e. people who were obese at the earlier checks were no more likely to develop depression and anxiety later than slimmer people.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/166566.php

Mediterranean diet cuts depression risk

People who follow a Mediterranean diet high in vegetables, fruit, nuts, whole grains and fish could be less likely to develop depression. Over the course of their lives people in Mediterranean countries are less likely to develop mental-health problems than people from Northern Europe and previous research has suggested that olive oil may play a part in this. Researchers from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria studied 10,094 people from Spain who filled out food questionnaires. After about 4 years the participants were followed up to see whether they developed depression. People who stuck most closely to the Mediterranean diet had a 30% lower risk of depression and this remained true even when other factors involved in a healthy lifestyle were taken into account. A Mediterranean diet is known to improve blood-vessel function, fight inflammation and reduce the risk of heart disease - all factors that have been linked to depression.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005181623.htm

Drinking and depression - does abstinence make the heart grow stronger?

Heavy drinking can lead to poorer physical and mental health but there is increasing evidence to suggest that low levels of alcohol consumption might also be associated with psychological problems. This could be because teetotallers were heavy drinkers at one point and have now had to give up, or because they have other - non-alcohol-related health problems - that stop them from drinking and might also lead to depression. Researchers used information from the Nord-Troendelag Health Study covering over 38,000 Norwegians and found that those people who said that they had drunk no alcohol over the last two weeks were more likely to report symptoms of depression. Those people who referred to themselves as 'abstainers' were at the highest risk of depression. 14% of those who were currently teetotal had previously been heavy drinkers but this did not explain all the increased risk of depression in this group and neither did age or physical health problems. The authors thought that abstinence could either be caused by, or result in, social marginalisation in societies where alcohol use is the norm or that teetotallers might have other personality traits in common that predisposed them towards depression.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162350.php

Depression, genes and childhood trauma

Many mental-health problems have their origins in interactions between people's genes and their environment and depression is no exception. Researchers from Spain and the Netherlands looked into the inter-relationship between adverse childhood events, variations in genes called 5-HTT and Val66Met and depression. 5-HTT governs the level of a substance called serotonin which has been associated with mood and Val66Met regulates brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) a substance which plays an important part in supporting brain cells and the connections between them. 534 healthy people filled out a questionnaire about their depression symptoms, were asked about their childhood experiences and were tested for the two gene variations. Total childhood adversity, childhood sexual abuse, childhood emotional abuse and childhood emotional neglect were all linked to higher depression scores. The effect of childhood abuse was particularly strong on depression symptoms in people with variations in their 5-HTT and Val66Met genes.

Aguilera, M ... [et al] - Early adversity and 5-HTT/BDNF genes: new evidence of gene-environment interactions on depressive symptoms in a general population Psychological Medicine September 2009, 39(9), 1425-1432

Childhood adversity and depression

Adversity in childhood plays an important role in the development and course of depression and a number of studies have shown links between depression and people's memories of parental indifference, overcontrol and physical and sexual abuse. A team of American researchers led by Daniel N. Klein from Stony Brook University in New York looked into the links between childhood adversity, people's depression symptoms and how well they responded to treatment in a sample of 808 people with chronic major depression. They found that childhood adversity was associated with a longer-lasting illness, an earlier onset of depression, more incidents of depression, more severe symptoms, functional impairment, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, dysfunctional attitudes and a tendency to be self-critical. A history of maternal overcontrol, paternal abuse, paternal indifference and sexual abuse each predicted a lower probability of remission. In a 12-week trial of antidepressant treatment 44% of people without a history of childhood abuse got better compared to 32% of people with a history of childhood adversity.

Klein, Daniel N. ... [et al] - Early adversity in chronic depression: clinical correlates and response to pharmacotherapy Depression and Anxiety August 2009, 26(8), 701-710

In another study on the same theme researchers from the universities of Otago and Canterbury in New Zealand studied 195 people taking part in a clinical trial of the antidepressants fluoxetine and nortriptyline. They found that participants who reported low paternal care were less likely to finish the six-week trial of the drugs. Participants who said that they had had overprotective mothers had a worse response to treatment after six weeks and were less likely to show two-months of sustained recovery after the end of the trial. However, sexual, physical or psychological abuse did not seem to affect people's response to the treatment.

Johnstone, Jeannette M. ... [et al] - Childhood neglect and abuse as predictors of antidepressant response in adult depression Depression and Anxiety August 2009, 26(8), 711-717

Measuring the burden on caregivers

Around 8% of adults with a mental-health problem have a serious mental illness, defined as a diagnosable mental disorder that is so long-lasting and severe that it seriously interferes with a person's ability to take part in important life activities. Many people with a severe mental illness live with their families and two-thirds of family caregivers are women. Studies have shown that these family members are at a high-risk of developing depression themselves and researchers from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio looked at 60 women care-givers of people with severe mental illness. Some of the participants were Caucasian and others were African-Americans. The Caucasians reported higher stress than the African-Americans although both groups were similar in depressive cognitions, resourcefulness and quality of life. In both groups stress was linked to depressive cognitions and both together were linked with poorer mental health. In African-Americans stress was also linked to lower personal resourcefulness and both together were linked to poorer mental health.

Zauszniewski, Jaclene A., Bekhet, Abir K. and Suresky, M. Jane - Relationships among perceived burden, depressive cognitions, resourcefulness, and quality of life in female relatives of seriously mentally-ill adults Issues in Mental Health Nursing 30(3), 142-150

Work stress and depression

In any given month 4.4% of U.S. workers have major depression. Stress at work has been linked to an increased risk of depression and researchers at the University of Calgary in Canada have been looking into this link. They measured people's job stress in 1994-5 and again in 2000-1 and asked them about their levels of depression at the end of the study. They found that those who were under stress at both the start and the end of the study were twice as likely (8%) to be depressed as those who were under little stress at both times (4%). For people whose jobs got less stressful over the period of the study the depression rate was 4.4% while for those whose jobs got more stressful it was 6.9%.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE53Q5IA20090427?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Personality and depression

The relationship between personality and depression is complicated. Certain personality traits could cause someone to be more at risk of depression, be a consequence of being depressed or be a psychological 'scar' from a previous episode of depression. Neuroticism - a proneness to anxiety, emotional instability and self-consciousness - and introversion have both been linked to depression but it is still unclear how much they are causes, and how much symptoms of it. Researchers in Finland compared 193 people with major depression to 388 people from the general population. They compared the participants' scores for neuroticism and depression at the start of the study and again after six and 18 months. They found that among the depressed participants neuroticism and introversion decreased as they recovered from their depression. Those people suffering from depression were more neurotic and introverted than the rest of the participants. The study also found that depressive episodes were unlikely to result in a personality 'scar' over the medium term.

Jylha, Pekka ... [et al] - Neuroticism, introversion, and major depressive disorder - traits, states or scars? Depression and Anxiety April 2009, 26(4), 325-334

Depression and brain structure

Researchers often use brain scans to look into the links between brain structure and mental-health problems. One problem with this is that it is hard to tell what brain changes or differences give rise to mental-health problems and what changes in brain structure are caused, either by psychological troubles or by the drug treatments for them. Researchers from Columbia University scanned 131 people between the ages of six and 54. Some people had had no family history of depression and were unaffected by the condition; some people had a family history of depression but had not developed it themselves and were deemed to be 'at risk,' and other people were suffering from it. Those participants who were at risk of developing depression had a 28% thinning in the right cortex compared to those not at risk of depression, and those participants with depression had a thinning on both left and right cortices. The thinning was on a par with that of people suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Dr Bradley Peterson, the author of the study, thought that having a thinner right cortex might lead to a greater risk of depression by disrupting people's ability to decode and remember social and emotional cues from other people. The researchers also carried out memory and attention tasks on the participants and found that the less brain material a person had in their right cortex the worse their memory and attention was.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE52M7OV20090323?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&sp=true

Alcohol and depression

Longitudinal studies are studies in which large groups of people are tracked over a long period of time. One such study in New Zealand followed 1,055 children over 25 years and looked into the links between heavy drinking and depression. By the time the children had got to 17-18 19.4% of them were either abusing or dependent on alcohol and 18.2% were diagnosed with depression. People who fulfilled the criteria for alcohol abuse or dependency were nearly twice as likely to have depression as well, a relationship that held true even when other risk factors such as the use of cannabis and other illegal drugs, falling in with a bad lot (or 'affiliation with deviant peers,' in psychology-speak), unemployment and having a criminal partner were taken into account. The researchers thought the link could either be because alcohol triggers off a genetic weakness for depression or because alcohol itself is a depressant.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE52166U20090302?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Sleep and mental health

A study of 18,631 twins in Finland, carried out between 1975 and 1981 looked at the relationship between people's quality of sleep and their satisfaction with life. In 1975 about 9% of the participants said they were dissatisfied with life and the same people were likely to be just as unhappy in 1981. However, the quality of these people's sleep did not get any worse between the two years. On the other hand, people who said they slept badly at the start of the study were 2.4 times more likely to be dissatisfied after six years and this relationship held true even after a number of other factors were taken into account. So, while unhappiness did not cause bad sleep, bad sleep did lead to an increase in unhappiness.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE51850C20090209?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

TV, teenagers and depression

Watching a lot of television as a teenager could lead to an increased risk of depression in young adulthood according to a study of 4,100 adolescents by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. At the start of the study the teenagers were asked how many hours they had spent during the last week watching TV or videos, playing computer games or listening to the radio. Seven years later they were screened for symptoms of depression. For each hour of TV viewed per day the youngsters had a statistically-significant higher risk of developing depression in young adulthood. Given the same amount of media exposure young women were less likely to develop symptoms of depression than young men. The researchers thought that the harmful effects of TV could be due to it taking the place of other more beneficial activities, it reducing the youngster's levels of sleep and the content of the programmes themselves.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE5137GX20090204?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&sp=true

Problem children, troubled adults

A study of more than 3, 500 British people born in the 1940s asked their teachers to rate their behaviour as severe, mild or no problems at the start of the study when the participants were aged between 13 and 15. They were then followed up between the ages of 36 and 53 when researchers asked them about their mental health and social and economic status. The researchers - from the University of Alberta - found that badly-behaved children were twice as likely to suffer from anxiety and depression, to become pregnant as teenagers or to experience divorce (as adults) as their classmates although they were no more likely to develop alcohol problems.

You can find out more about this research by clicking on the link in the title of this post.

Infertility and mental health

A study comparing the mental health of fertile and infertile couples has found that couples who are infertile are more at risk of mental-health problems. The study, by researchers at the University of Siena, compared 81 infertile couples with 70 fertile ones. The infertile women were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety and also from binge-eating disorder. Infertile men were more likely to show minor symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia.

You can read more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE5013FX20090102?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

Depression, motherhood and body clocks

Major depression during pregnancy or shortly after birth can be a devastating illness for mothers, impair the neurocognitive and socio-emotional development of the child and increase the risk of mental and medical disorders in the offspring later in life. Many people with mood disorders have disturbed body clocks. Oestrogen and progesterone are known to affect people's body clocks and it could be that changes in the levels of these substances in and around pregnancy disrupt people's body clocks and contribute towards depression. A substance called melatonin, which is secreted at night time, plays an important role in governing people's body clocks. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, measured melatonin levels in pregnant women and new mothers with and without major depression. They found that melatonin levels were significantly lower in pregnant women with major depression but significantly higher in new mothers with major depression.

Parry, Barbara L. ... [et al] - Plasma melatonin circadian rhythym disturbances during pregnancy and postpartum in depressed women and women with personal or family histories of depression American Journal of Psychiatry 165(12), 1551-1558