Major Depressive Disorder

Research from Mills College in the area of anxiety disorders published

"Three hundred twenty-six white women with SLE completed the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and the Systemic Lupus Activity Questionnaire, a self-report measure of SLE disease activity. The binomial test was used to compare the prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses in patients with SLE with a population sample of white women. Sixty-five percent of the participants received a lifetime mood or anxiety diagnosis. MDD (47%), specific phobia (24%), panic disorder (16%), obsessive-compulsive disorder (9%), and bipolar I disorder (6%) were more common among patients with SLE than among other white women (P = 0.00009 for specific phobia; for all other values P = 0.00001). Although most patients with histories of mood disorders reported their psychiatric symptoms to a medical provider, a substantial number of patients with anxiety disorders did not. Self-reported disease activity was associated with a lifetime history of MDD (P = 0.001) and presence of a mood or anxiety disorder (P = 0.001), after controlling for demographic and clinical characteristics. Several mood and anxiety disorders were more common in women with SLE compared with the general population, and disease activity may contribute to this higher risk," wrote E.A. Bachen and colleagues, Mills College.

The researchers concluded: "Brief self-report questionnaires may help providers identify patients with these conditions, particularly when patients are reluctant to disclose their symptoms."

Bachen and colleagues published their study in Arthritis & Rheumatism - Arthritis Care & Research (Prevalence of Mood and Anxiety Disorders in Women With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Arthritis & Rheumatism - Arthritis Care & Research, 2009;61(6):822-829).

For additional information, contact E.A. Bachen, Mills College, Dept. of Psychology, Oakland, CA 94613, USA.

The publisher's contact information for the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism - Arthritis Care & Research is: Wiley-Liss, Division John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA.

Keywords: United States, Oakland, Anxiety Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, Arthritis, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Diagnostics, Major Depressive Disorder, Manic-Depressive Illness, Mental Health, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Phobic Disorder, Psychiatric, Psychiatry, Rheumatism, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Mills College.

This article was prepared by Pain & Central Nervous System Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Pain & Central Nervous System Week via NewsRx.com.