comparison of life events in depressive illness and dissociative [conversion] disorders

To compare the nature, number and timings of the stressful life events prior to dissociative [conversion] disorders and depressive illness. Comparative study. Place and duration of the study: Psychiatry Unit, Government Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar from December 2003 to December 2004. We recruited dissociative [conversion], depressed and normal control subjects [N=225] divided into three groups, details regarding life events over one year period by using Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale was obtained. Statistical analyses yielded support for the hypotheses that stressful life events are associated with dissociative [conversion] disorders and depressive illness. No significant difference was found in scores on PSLES for dissociative [conversion] [n=75, M=114.51+28.67] and depressive groups [n=75, M=113.75+30.09] [t [148] =-.158, p< .874]. The nature and number of life events reported by dissociative [conversion] [n=75 M=2.09] and depression groups [n=75; M=2.21] and the time that preceded the onset of illness also did not differ significantly. It was accomplished by the findings of the current research that stressful life events preceding depressive illness and dissociative [conversion] disorders were almost of similar nature, type and intensity and temporal relationship was also alike

Cognitive behavior therapy in depression

To demonstrate the effectiveness of addition of cognitive behavior therapy to pharmacotherapy in treatment of depression. Randomized Control Trial. This Study was conducted at the Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya Medical Center, University Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from January 2010 to August 2010. It was a randomized control trial conducted on patients with depressive disorder. Experimental group was treated with cognitive behavior therapy plus pharmacotherapy while control group treated with pharmacotherapy only. Twelve sessions of cognitive behavior therapy were administered to experimental group in addition to [pharmacotherapy] while control group was given pharmacotherapy only. Significant difference was found between the mean scores of two groups on HAM-D on the last follow up session experimental group [M= 3.2 +/- 4.0] at the same time the Control Group mean score was documented as [M = 7.15 +/- 4.3], t [37] = 3.4296, p < 0.001. Mean follow up sessions for Experimental Group were 11.2 +/- 1.94 and for Control Group was 9.2 +/- 3.9 . Cognitive behavior therapy in combination with pharmacotherapy can be used as first line treatment for depression to get full remission and reduce default rate among patients

Co-morbid anxiety and depression among pulmonary tuberculosis patients

The need to recognize and manage psychiatric co-morbidity in tuberculosis [TB] patients in primary care settings in order to improve adherence to the treatment is now well documented. Pulmonary TB patients at the District TB Control Office and TB Centre in Haripur from December 2007 to March 2008 were evalute in order to assess the frequency of anxiety and depression and continuation of treatment. Forty seven out of 65 [72%] TB patients had severe/moderate level of anxiety and depression according to Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]. Fourteen [22%] TB patients with co-morbid anxiety and depression showed multi drug-resistance [MDR-TB]

Family functioning among depressive and dissociative [conversion] patients

To campare the family functioning, level of depression, anxiety and histrionic personality traits among depressive and dissociative [conversion] patients. A cross-sectional study. The Psychiatry Unit of Government Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, on depressive anddissociative [conversion] patients admitted from January to May 2004. Purposive sampling technique was used for the assignment of 75 patients [n=75] with depressive illness and 75 patients [n=75] with dissociative [conversion] disorders groups who fulfilled International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision [ICD 10], criteria. Test package was administered individually to all the patients and scores compared for the groups. On family APGAR scale, no significant difference [t=-2.472, p=0.16] was found between the scores of the two groups. Patients with depressive illness scored high on Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression with mean score of 26.92 and on Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety with mean score of 23.45, while dissociative group scored high on Hysteria [Hy] sub-scale of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [MMPI] with mean score of 13.17. Dysfunctional family pattern is one of the contributing factor in developing and maintaining mental illnesses like depression and dissociative [conversion] disorders