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Biomedical subjects

D Firth

Publications and source records attributed to D Firth.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Somatization and illness behaviour in a neurology ward.

One hundred and thirty-three female patients admitted to a neurological ward were fully investigated for the presence of organic neurological disease, and assessed for psychiatric disorder and illness behaviour, using the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS) and the Illness Behaviour Questionnaire (IBQ). The likelihood of the presenting symptoms being due to organic disease was expressed by the neurologists on a visual analogue scale and the psychiatrists used a similar technique to describe whether the symptoms could be the result of psychiatric disorder. Many patients either had clear organic disease or somatic presentation of psychiatric disorder 'somatization', but one-third fell between these two extremes and either had a complex mixture of the two types of illness or could not be accurately diagnosed. The IBQ scores were raised in those with psychiatric disorder but did not help to explain why some patients present to the neurologists with symptoms that are unexplained by either organic disease or psychiatric disorder. Close liaison between neurologists and psychiatrists increases the detection of psychiatric disorder but some patients would require long-term follow-up to understand the true nature of the underlying disorder.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Psychiatric morbidity and illness behaviour in female neurological in-patients.

Ninety three female neurological in-patients were assessed in a collaborative neurological and psychiatric study. An overall prevalence of definite psychiatric disorder of 34% was found, depression being the most common diagnosis. Psychiatric morbidity was most common when the neurologist felt that the presentation could not be explained by a neurological disorder. The majority of such patients had symptoms which could be explained by the psychiatric disorder but a substantial number could not be given a definite diagnosis. The General Health Questionnaire was not found to be a useful screening instrument in this setting.

Cerebrovascular Disorders↗
PubMed1975

Electrodermal response to sexual materials.

Four groups of college students selected on the basis of high or low Eysenck Personality Inventory scores were asked to talk or simply think about a series of slides differing in overt sexual content. Data showed that for both conditions those high on Neuroticism (n = 8) showed more electrodermal activity than did those scoring low (n = 8), and over all subjects there was a significant correlation between Neuroticism scores and the physiological measure. High and low scorers on Extraversion scale (ns = 10) showed no analogous differences in electrodermal activity.

Erotica↗