Healthy and Unhealthy Dietary Patterns Are Related to Depression: A Case-Control Study

OBJECTIVE: Major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability around the world. The relationship between depression and dietary patterns has been reported in a few studies but with controversial results. This study aimed to investigate this relationship in an Iranian population. METHODS: In our study, 330 depressed patients (cases) and healthy people (controls) (1:2) were individually matched according to age, sex and area of residence. New cases of depression were recruited from two psychiatric clinics in Tehran. Interviewers went to each patient's residential area, and invited qualified individuals to participate in the study as controls. Food intake over the past year was collected using a validated semi quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Dietary patterns were determined by the principal components method. Binary logistic regression was used to test the effect of dietary patterns on depression. RESULTS: We identified two major dietary patterns by using factor analysis: the healthy and unhealthy dietary patterns. We categorized the scores of these patterns to quartiles. After adjusting for non-depression drug use, job, marital status, children number, and body mass index, the relations of depression and quartiles of two dietary patterns are significant (p=0.04 & p=0.01, respectively). Compared with participants in the lowest quartile, those in the highest quartile had significantly lower odds ratio (OR) for depression in healthy dietary pattern, and higher OR for depression in unhealthy dietary pattern. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that healthy and unhealthy dietary patterns may be associated with the risk of depression. The results can be used for developing interventions that aim to promote healthy eating for the prevention of depression.

Evaluation of depression and mental health status in women with poly cystic ovary syndrome

Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome [PCOS] is a common endocrine condition that affects up to one fifth of the women of reproductive age. The overall prevalence of the depressive disorders has been shown to be about 12% in a large multi-centric study of obstetric-gynecologic patients. This study was designed to evaluate the distribution of depression and mental health status in women with PCOS. This cross-sectional study was performed on 100 women with PCOS who were selected among patients attending the gynecologic and obstetric clinics of two referral centers. They completed Beck Depression Inventory [BDI] and General Health Questionnaire [GHQ-28]. The prevalence of depression in women with PCOS was 45% according to BDI. According to GHQ-28, 30% of our patients were considered as possible cases of mental disorder. We found that the prevalence of depression was significantly high in women with PCOS. We believe that the treatment of PCOS must include psychological treatment to improve mental health status as well

Effects of herbal vigRX on premature ejaculation: a randomized, double-blind study

We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled study to determine the efficacy of an herbal sexual supplement [vigRX] on premature ejaculation [PE]. A randomized double blind study was conducted on a fixed dose of herbal vigRX at Roozbeh Psychiatry Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The sample consisted of 85 married patients diagnosed with primary PE according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Each patient underwent diagnostic evaluation by one trained psychiatrist, using Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR. Each patient was evaluated by researchers to exclude the organic sexual dysfunctions. The patients were randomly assigned in to two groups: group 1 consisting of 42 patients receiving placebo, and group 2 consisting of 43 patients receiving 540 mg herbal vigRX for a 4-week treatment course. The effects of the drug on the ejaculatory function in each group were assessed by the intravaginal ejaculation latency time [IELT], and the Chinese Index of Premature Ejaculation [CIPE] before and at the end of the treatment course. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software [15th version]. The mean IELT increased 22.4 and 32.0 seconds in the placebo and the vigRX group respectively after the treatment course. The mean IELT differences between the two groups was not significant. The mean CIPE score increased 2.40 and 4.37 in the placebo and the vigRX group respectively .The mean CIPE score differences between the two groups was not significant.No side effect was reported by the subjects in neither groups during the treatment course. Although the improvement in IELT and CIPE scores in the herbal vigRX group was more than the placebo group, this difference was not statistically significant. The increasing of IELT and CIPE score in the placebo group may be due to the placebo effects. Further studies with higher vigRX doses, greater sample size and longer treatment courses are warranted

Combination of citalopram and nortriptyline in treatment of moderate to severe major depression: a double-blind, placebo- controlled trial

Depression is a major health problem, which is not only underrecognized and undertreated, but is also associated with significant morbidity and mortality. It has been suggested that combination therapy rapidly reduces depressive symptoms in patients with moderate to severe depression and is more effective than monotherapy; but this suggestion remains controversial. Serotonergic and noradrenergic enhancement may be synergistic and more effective than serotonergic enhancement alone in the management of depression. The objective of this double blind, placebo-controlled study was to investigate the efficacy and tolerability of the combination of citalopram and nortriptyline for the treatment of moderate to severe major depression. 45 patients, who met the DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder based on the clinical interview, were included in the study. Patients had a baseline Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score of at least 20. In this trial, patients were randomly assigned to receive nortriptyline 50 mg/day plus citalopram 40 mg/day [group 1] or placebo plus citalopram 40 mg/day [group 2], for an 8 week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Both protocols significantly decreased the score of Hamilton Depression Rating Scare over the trial period, but the combination of nortriptyline and citalopram showed a significant superiority over citalopram alone in the treatment of moderate to severe major depressive disorder [t = 3.34, d. f. = 36. p = 0.001]. The difference between the two groups in the frequency of side effects was not significant. The results of this study suggest that combination of nortriptyline and citalopram is more effective than citalopram alone in the treatment of depression. This advantage is probably the result of reuptake inhibition of both serotonin and norepinephrine

Combination of citalopram and nortriptyline in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder: a double - blind, placebo-controlled trial

The fact that some antidepressants with strong effects on serotonin reuptake blockade fail to relieve obsessive-compulsive symptoms has caused growing interest in investigating noradrenergic function in obsessive-compulsive disorder [COD]. In light of the above, we undertook a trial to investigate whether the combination of citalopram with nortriptyline is more effective in treating obsessive compulsive symptoms than citalopram alone. 40 patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for COD were included in the study. Patients were allocated in a random fashion: 20 patients to citalopram 40mg /day plus nortriptyline 50mg day, and 20 patients to citalopram 40mg /day plus placebo. Both protocols significantly decreased the scores of the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale [Y-BOCS] over the trial period, but the combination of citalopram and nortriptyline showed a significant superiority over citalopram alone in the treatment of COD. As this study indicates, nortriptyline improves the efficacy of citalopram. In addition, a rapid onset of action is one of the advantages of this combination. This study supports further investigation of the noradrenergic- serotonergic hypothesis in OCD