ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the perception of speech in adverse acoustic conditions during manic and depressive episodes of mood disorders. METHODS: Forty-three patients with bipolar disorder (mania, N=20; depression, N=23) and 32 patients with unipolar depression were included for analyses. Thirty-five participants served as the control group. The study of speech understanding was carried out using the Polish Sentence Matrix Test, allowing for the determination of the speech reception threshold (SRT). The test was performed in the clinical groups both during an acute episode and remission; during remission, patients underwent audiometric evaluation. RESULTS: Compared with control subjects, patients with mood disorders had worse speech understanding (higher SRT), regardless of the episode or remission. A manic episode in the course of bipolar disorder was not associated with worse speech understanding compared with remission of mania. However, an episode of depression in the course of both bipolar disorder and unipolar depression was associated with worse speech understanding compared with remission of depression. In bipolar depression, this correlated with age, duration of the disorder, number of episodes, and number of hospitalizations, as well as in remission with age and duration of illness. In unipolar depression, poor speech understanding was more severe in individuals with hearing impairment. CONCLUSIONS: These findings revealed that patients with mood disorders had impaired speech understanding, even while in remission, and manic episodes in the course of bipolar disorder were not associated with impaired speech understanding compared with mania remission.
Subject(s)
Bipolar Disorder , Depressive Disorder , Bipolar Disorder/complications , Humans , Mania , Mood Disorders/etiology , SpeechABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic and measures implemented to decelerate its spread have consequences for mental health of societies. The aim of our review was to analyze depressive and anxiety symptoms in perinatal women. The search used PubMed and Web of Science databases. Most studies showed an increase in the prevalence of depression and/or anxiety symptoms. Risk factors identified in our study were mainly related to the possibility of COVID-19 infection, changes in the organization of perinatal care, social isolation and financial problems. Protective factors included social support, the woman's own activity and knowledge about COVID-19. The results of our study point to the importance of the mental health screening including suicide risk assessment in perinatal women. Much of the mental health needs of perinatal women can be met in primary or perinatal care services; however, women with mental health issues should be offered psychiatric consultations and psychological support, and sometimes urgent psychiatric hospitalization is necessary. Healthcare professionals should provide information addressing uncertainty about COVID-19, organization of midwifery and medical care as well as mental health problems and how to get help. Mental health interventions in pregnant women may involve planning physical activity and encouraging to engage in online social activities.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for drugresistant depression. In most studies, cognitive functions including working and semantic memory showed only transient impairment after ECT. However, the deficits of episodic (autobiographical) memory were demonstrated to be long-lasting. METHODS: We investigated autobiographical memory in 20 patients (8 male, 12 female), aged 21-64 years, with drug-resistant depression, treated with ECT, using the Polish adaptation of the Autobiographical Memory Interview-Short Form (AMI-SF). The assessments were performed before, immediately after 10-12 ECT sessions, and 3 months thereafter. RESULTS: Before the ECT, the mean severity of depression was 30 ± 6 points on the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the treatment produced a significant clinical improvement in all patients. The indices of autobiographical memory, as assessed by the AMI-SF, were significantly lower immediately after ECT and 3 months thereafter. The impairment in autobiographical memory did not show correlation with clinical improvement and with any other clinical factors. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in patients with drug-resistant depression confirm that ECT treatment produces a significant impairment of autobiographical memory persisting also three months after the procedure, suggesting that it may be the most important adverse cognitive effect of the ECT.
