Associations Among Plasma Stress Markers and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression in Patients with Breast Cancer Following Surgery

OBJECTIVE: The objective of present study is to analyze the prevalence of depression and anxiety following breast cancer surgery and to assess the factors that affect postoperative psychological symptoms. METHODS: The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Body Image Scale (BIS), and Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale (RSES) were used to assess the psychological states of patients who had been diagnosed with and had undergone surgery for breast cancer. Blood concentrations of the stress markers adrenocorticotropic hormone, cortisol, arginine-vasopressin, and angiotensin-converting enzyme were measured. Pearson’s correlation analysis and multilinear regression analysis were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: At least mild depressive symptoms were noted in 50.5% of patients, while 42.4% of patients exhibited at least mild anxiety symptoms. HAM-D score was positively correlated with HAM-A (r=0.83, p < 0.001) and BIS (r=0.29, p < 0.001) scores and negatively correlated with RSES score (r=-0.41, p < 0.001). HAM-A score was positively correlated with BIS score (r=0.32, p < 0.001) and negatively correlated with RSES score (r=-0.27, p < 0.001). There were no statistically significant associations between stress markers and depression/anxiety. CONCLUSION: Patients with breast cancer frequently exhibit postoperative depression and anxiety, which are related to low levels of self-esteem and distorted body image.

The Korean Version of the Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale: Reliability and Validity

OBJECTIVE: This study's aim was to develop and standardize a Korean version (SCoRS-K) of the Schizophrenia Cognition Rating Scale (SCoRS), which is used to evaluate the degree of cognitive dysfunction affecting the everyday functioning of people with schizophrenia. METHODS: Eighty-four schizophrenia patients with stable symptoms who were receiving outpatient treatment and rehabilitation therapy, and 29 demographically matched non-patient controls, participated in the study. Demographic data were collected, and clinical symptoms, cognitive function, and social function were evaluated to verify SCoRS-K's reliability and validity. Clinical symptoms were evaluated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and the Clinical Global Impression-Schizophrenia Scale. Cognitive function was evaluated using a short form of the Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Social function was evaluated using the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale, the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale, and the Social Functioning Scale. RESULTS: Data analysis demonstrated SCoRS-K's statistically significant reliability and validity. SCoRS-K has high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha; patient 0.941, informant 0.905, interviewer 0.964); test-retest reliability [patient 0.428 (p=0.003), informant 0.502 (p<0.001), interviewer 0.602 (p<0.001); and global rating 0.642 (p<0.001)]. The mean scores of subjects were significantly higher than those of the controls (p<0.001), demonstrating SCoRS-K's discriminant validity. Significant correlations between the total scores and global rating score of SCoRS-K and those of the scales and tests listed above (except WCST) support SCoRS-K's concurrent validity. CONCLUSION: SCoRS-K is a useful instrument for evaluating the degree of cognitive dysfunction in Korean schizophrenia patients.

Comparative Study of Adolescents' Mental Health between Multicultural Family and Monocultural Family in Korea

OBJECTIVES: With the observation of factors influencing depression, self-reported happiness, self-reported stress and suicidal attempt, this study compared and evaluated the mental health of adolescents from multicultural families and monocultural families in Korea. METHODS: This study compared the characteristics of adolescents from multicultural and monocultural families based on the analysis of data of The Tenth Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey and analyzed the factors influencing adolescent depression, self-reported happiness, self-reported stress and suicidal attempt. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the levels of depression, self-reported happiness, and self-reported stress between adolescents from multicultural and monocultural families. However, suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt were significantly higher in adolescents from multicultural families. CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference between the mental health of adolescents from multicultural and monocultural families. Because depression is the greatest factor for suicidal attempt, and violence has stronger relationship with depression of adolescents from multicultural families, further study is needed to prevent this trend.

The Relationship of Alcohol Withdrawal Delirium and Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms in Patients with Alcohol Dependence

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to analyze the clinical variables associated with occurrence of delirium tremens (DT) in inpatients with alcohol dependence initially admitted with diseases unrelated to alcohol. METHODS: This study included 132 inpatients seeking treatment for medical problem with acute alcohol withdrawal. The cases were divided into two groups : with DT group (n=44), without DT group (n=88). We compared the epidemiologic data, alcohol withdrawal symptoms and serum analysis data between two groups. We used the logistic regression to predict risk factors for DT. RESULTS: The DT group had more severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms, more amount of drinking alcohol, more number of drinking per month, higher blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, amylase, C-reactive protein and lower serum total protein than the without-DT group. According to the result of a logistic regression, occurrence of DT showed correlation with the following factors : sweating, hallucination, agitation, amount of alcohol consumption, number of drinking per month. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests development of DT was correlated with severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms, high BUN, creatinine and low total serum protein. Therefore, during assessment of alcohol dependent patients, clinicians should keep these parameters in mind in order to prevent DT.