Association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and depression: a meta-analysis in the Chinese population

Depression is a worldwide public health issue, and its prevalence increases each year. Although a number of studies have been conducted on the association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and depression in China, this association remains elusive and controversial. To clarify the impact of MTHFR C677T polymorphism on the risk of depression, a meta-analysis was performed in the Chinese population. Relevant studies were identified using PubMed, Springer Link, Ovid, Chinese Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and Chinese Biology Medicine through May 5, 2015. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the strength of the associations. A total of 13 case–control studies including 1895 patients and 1913 controls were involved in this meta-analysis. Overall, T variant of MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased risk of depression in the Chinese population (T vs. C: OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 1.24–1.85; TT + CT vs. CC: OR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.16–2.30; TT vs. CC: OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.49–3.24; TT vs. CC + CT: OR = 1.80, 95% CI = 1.31–2.46). In subgroup analyses stratified by geographic area and source of controls, the significant results were found in population-based studies, in hospital-based studies, in North and South China. The risk conferred by MTHFR C677T polymorphism is higher in North China than in South China. In conclusion, this meta-analysis suggests that MTHFR C677T polymorphism is associated with depression in the Chinese population, but these associations vary in different geographic locations.     

Depression and anxiety symptoms following cancer diagnosis: a cross-sectional study

Introduction: The aims of the present study were to assess demographic and clinical characteristics of patients after receiving a cancer diagnosis, and to determine possible risk factors for anxiety and depression. Methods: All consecutive patients aged 18 or above, were assessed before starting intravenous chemotherapy for the first time with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Distress Thermometer, and a Visual Analog Scale for pain. Demographic and clinical data were also collected. Results: The patients assessed (n = 270) had a mean age of 59.4 (SD = 11.8) years, and 50.7% were women. Tumours were more frequently colorectal (27.2%), lung (18.8%) and breast (17.6%), and 68.9% were stages 3 or 4. A HADS Anxiety score ≥8 was present in 30% of the patients, a Depression score ≥8 in 24.1%, and a Distress score ≥4 in 44.4%. Independent risk factors for HADS Depression score ≥8 were being a woman (OR = 2.45; p = 0.004), being older (OR = 1.04; p = 0.005), and cancer stage 3–4 (OR = 2.24; p = 0.023) in the multivariable analysis; for Anxiety ≥8 they were being a woman (OR = 2.47; p = 0.002), having a past psychiatric consultation (OR = 2.83; p = 0.029), and cancer stage 3–4 (OR = 1.90; p = 0.047). Conclusion: These results suggest the need for greater awareness and a differentiated approach to patients at increased risk of anxiety and depression in the early stages of treatment and before starting chemotherapy.     

Depression and its relation to loneliness and religiosity in Indonesian Muslim adolescents

This study was initiated to assess the relations between religiosity, depressive symptoms, and loneliness in a sample of 452 Indonesian Muslim 13- and 16-year-old adolescents. Religiosity was operationally defined as participation in required and optional religious activities; Depression was assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale; and Loneliness was assessed using the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Religiosity was negatively associated with depression despite controlling for loneliness, gender, and grade. Religiosity was not associated with loneliness, suggesting discriminant validity in the relation between religiously and depression. It is important in future research to examine the mechanisms by which religiosity serves as a protective factor for Indonesian Muslim adolescents.     

Quadratic Associations Between Empathy and Depression as Moderated by Emotion Dysregulation

Empathic tendencies have been associated with interpersonal and psychological benefits, but empathy at extreme levels or in combination with certain personal characteristics may contribute to risk for depression. This study tested the moderating role of cognitive emotion regulation in depression's association with empathy using nonlinear models. Young adults (N = 304; 77% female; M = 19 years) completed measures of cognitive emotion regulation strategies, depression, and affective and cognitive empathy. Individuals with good regulation had low levels of depression overall and their depression symptoms were lowest when levels of affective empathy were average. Individuals with poor regulation had high levels of depression overall, particularly when levels of empathy were moderate to high. Extremely high and low levels of cognitive empathy were associated with elevated depression, and this association was not moderated by regulation. These findings suggest tendencies to respond empathically to others’ needs is neither an adaptive nor maladaptive characteristic but rather moderate empathy, particularly in the context of good regulation, may offer the greatest protection against depression.     

Body Dysmorphic Symptoms,Functional Impairment,and Depression: The Role of Appearance-Based Teasing

Body dysmorphic disorder is associated with elevated social and occupational impairment and comorbid depression, but research on risk factors for body dysmorphic symptoms and associated outcomes is limited. Appearance-based teasing may be a potential risk factor. To examine the specificity of this factor, the authors assessed self-reported appearance-based teasing, body dysmorphic, and obsessive-compulsive symptom severity, functional impairment (i.e., social, occupational, family impairment), and depression in a nonclinical sample of undergraduates. As hypothesized, appearance-based teasing was positively correlated with body dysmorphic symptoms. The correlation between teasing and body dysmorphic symptoms was stronger than that between teasing and obsessive-compulsive symptom severity. Last, body dysmorphic symptom severity and appearance-based teasing interacted in predicting functional impairment and depression. Specifically, appearance-based teasing was positively associated with depression and functional impairment only in those with elevated body dysmorphic symptoms. When a similar moderation was tested with obsessive-compulsive, in place of body dysmorphic, symptom severity, the interaction was nonsignificant. Findings support theory that appearance-based teasing is a specific risk factor for body dysmorphic symptoms and associated functional impairment.     

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Interactive Test of Interpersonal Behavior (ITIB): a pilot study examining interpersonal deficits in chronic depression

Chronic depression is assumed to be caused and maintained by interpersonal deficits. We describe the development and psychometric evaluation of the Interactive Test of Interpersonal Behavior (ITIB) that we developed for self‐assessment of these deficits. Participants with chronic depression (CD, N = 15), episodic depression (ED, N = 15) and healthy controls (HC, N = 15) participated in this pilot study. They completed the ITIB and a number of pen and paper questionnaires including the Lübeck Questionnaire of Preoperational Thinking (LQPT) and the inventory of interpersonal problems (IIP). The ITIB was highly acceptable for use in these participants. Internal consistency for the ITIB was adequate for group comparisons (Cronbach's alpha = 0.649). Item‐total correlations indicated adequate discriminatory power of five of the six items. The ITIB correlated moderately with the LQPT (r = 0.524) and the IIP (r = –0.568). The ITIB score differed significantly between the diagnostic groups (ANOVA F(2,42) = 6.22, p = 0.004). It was the only measure that – albeit at a trend level – was associated with diagnostic group (CD vs. ED) on multinomial logistic regression analysis (B = 0.049 ± 0.029; OR 1.051; p = 0.088). We found preliminary evidence that the ITIB is an acceptable and psychometrically adequate measure of interpersonal behavior that distinguishes between patients with CD and patients with ED. If replicated with an improved version of the test, our results could support the hypothesis that having interpersonal problems is a core deficit in patients with CD.     

Personality traits,gender differences and symptoms of anhedonia: What does the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) measure in nonclinical settings?

In healthy populations men report more depressive symptoms than women when depression is measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). This study aims to investigate the role of neuroticism and extroversion in symptom reporting by men and women and whether anhedonia can explain these reversed gender differences in depression observed when using HADS. HADS, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO FFI) were administered twice to a sample of university students. Number of subjects at T1 was 372 and 160 at T2, measured two months apart. Men had a higher average score on depressive symptoms measured by HADS‐D compared to women (p = 0.029). Women scored higher than men on HADS‐A (p = 0.012), neuroticism (p < 0.001) and PANAS‐negative affect (p < 0.029). No significant gender differences were observed in extroversion and positive affect. Test‐retest stabilities on HADS‐A and HADS‐D were high. Neuroticism predicted HADS‐A at Time 2. Gender, extroversion, and neuroticism predicted HADS‐D at Time 2. The anhedonic content in HADS may be a plausible explanation of reversed gender differences in the HADS depression scale. HADS‐D represents a specific anhedonic subtype of depression where symptom reporting reflects dispositional tendencies related specifically to extroversion.     

Effects of maternal postpartum depression in a well‐resourced sample: Early concurrent and long‐term effects on infant cognitive,language, and motor development

This study examined early and long‐term effects of maternal postpartum depression on cognitive, language, and motor development in infants of clinically depressed mothers. Participants were 83 mothers and their full‐term born children from the urban region of Copenhagen, Denmark. Of this group, 28 mothers were diagnosed with postnatal depression three to four months postpartum in a diagnostic interview. Cognitive, language, and motor development was assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development third edition, when the infants were 4 and 13 months of age. We found that maternal postpartum depression was associated with poorer cognitive development at infant age four months, the effect size being large (Cohen's d = 0.8) and with similar effects for boys and girls. At 13 months of age infants of clinical mothers did not differ from infants of non‐clinical mothers. At this time most (79%) of the clinical mothers were no longer, or not again, depressed. These results may indicate that maternal depression can have an acute, concurrent effect on infant cognitive development as early as at four months postpartum. At the same time, in the absence of other risk factors, this effect may not be enduring. The main weaknesses of the study include the relatively small sample size and that depression scores were only available for 35 of the non‐clinical mothers at 13 months.     

The effects of mindfulness interventions on prenatal well-being: A systematic review

Objective: Low well-being during pregnancy can have significant adverse outcomes for mother and child. The effects of mindfulness interventions on prenatal maternal well-being are increasingly examined but outcomes have yet to be systematically evaluated. The aims of the current paper are to systematically evaluate intervention effects and current research approaches with pregnant groups.

Design: A systematic review of eight studies examining mindfulness intervention effects on prenatal well-being.

Results: Findings indicate potential benefits of mindfulness interventions for reducing levels of depression, anxiety and negative affect during pregnancy. There is also evidence for improved self-compassion and perceived childbirth self-efficacy. Further, these effects may be more pronounced for vulnerable groups, such as women currently experiencing low prenatal well-being. Less consistent findings were observed for stress, and positive affect. Variations in research design, gestational characteristics, timing of assessments and outcome measurement may explain some inconsistencies in the extant literature.

Conclusion: Mindfulness interventions present a potentially useful means to improve prenatal well-being but improved methodological quality is essential to rigorously examine intervention effects.     

The relation of illness perceptions to stress,depression, and fatigue in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

Objective: Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is the most prevalent adult leukaemia and is incurable. The course and treatment of CLL is unique and characterised by repeated cycles of treatment, stable disease and relapse. Utilising a Self-Regulatory Model framework, we examined the relationship between patients’ illness perceptions and cancer-specific stress, depressive symptoms and fatigue. Our aim was to test illness perceptions as predictors of these outcomes when variance due to disease and treatment variables was controlled.

Design: Data were collected on 147 patients with relapsed/refractory CLL as they entered a phase II clinical trial of an investigational medication at a university affiliated, National Cancer Institute designated comprehensive cancer center.

Main outcome measures: Cancer-specific stress, depressive symptoms and fatigue interference.

Result:. Hierarchical multiple regression was used. Consequences and emotional representation were related to all outcomes (ps?p?p?Conclusion: Illness perceptions are related to cancer-specific stress, depressive symptoms and fatigue interference in relapsed/refractory CLL. Interventions targeted at restructuring maladaptive illness perceptions may have clinical benefit in this population.