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F Engelsmann

Publications and source records attributed to F Engelsmann.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

An 11-year follow-up study of 110 depressed patients.

In 1972 the World Health Organization organized a cross-cultural five-centre study of depressive disorders. This report is concerned with data collected, after an 11-year follow-up period, in the sample of 110 depressed patients in Montreal, Canada. Eighty-five percent were traced and 59% were interviewed. Of 93 patients, 20 were dead at the follow-up date, 11 by suicide. Fifty-two percent of patients were receiving psychiatric treatment at follow-up, but there was no relation between psychiatric morbidity and treatment-seeking. Moderate or severe impairment of social functioning was present in 32%; in women, a trend linking the presence of social impairment and the time spent in episodes was observed. Of the episodes of psychiatric illness recorded after the index episode, 86% were diagnosed as depressive, 14% as unspecified affective disorder. The mean durations of the index and four subsequent episodes were 10, 11, 7, 11, and 2 months respectively. At least one recurrence after the index episode was reported by 78%, at least four recurrences by 19%. Episodes lasted at least one year in 5%, 4%, 6%, and 6% in the first, second, third and fourth episodes respectively. Sixteen percent were depressed for at least one year and 31% for at least 2 years. There was a marked trend from inpatient to outpatient treatment and from ECT to drug therapy over time. Twenty-two percent reported either moderate or severe problems with alcohol or substance abuse. There was a statistically significant association between the amount of time patients spent in depressive episodes and the number of life events they reported.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Lithium and memory: a long-term follow-up study.

This study examined the effects of long-term lithium therapy on memory functions in 18 patients suffering from bipolar affective disorder. Patients were retested on the Wechsler Memory Scale, Benton Visual Retention Test, and Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale 6 years after initial testing. Mean memory test scores remained remarkably stable over the 6-year interval with only one of the 10 memory subtests showing a statistically, but not clinically, significant decrease. The sample was split at the median duration of lithium therapy into a long- and shorter term group (with means of 12.9 and 5.2 years, respectively). There were no significant differences between these groups on any of the memory tests when controlled for age and initial memory scores. Negative correlations between several memory test scores and the duration of lithium treatment could in part be explained by the effects of age. Patients' subjective complaints of impaired memory functioning, rated on a visual analogue scale, correlated with the level of depression at the second testing as well as with three memory test scores measuring immediate and short-term visual recall. The results are discussed in view of the demographic and clinical characteristics of the sample and are compared with previous research findings.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Lithium and memory: a review.

This paper reviews systematic clinical studies suggesting memory and cognitive impairment in patients suffering from unipolar and bipolar affective disorders treated with lithium. A number of studies failed, however, to demonstrate lithium induced memory deficits. Thus, the results of studies were equivocal. This lack of empirical consensus was in part due to the heterogeneity of samples and a variety of methodological and design problems. The definition of short- and long-term memory was often arbitrary and lacked standard criteria. Some studies revealed a stability of the memory test scores over time and showed that subjective complaints of memory impairment were correlated with depression. The authors also reviewed studies examining the effects of lithium on cognition and memory of healthy control subjects. In animal research it was difficult at times to distinguish between toxic and pharmacologic effects of lithium. There is a need for prospective studies of the effect of lithium in large samples of patients using refined memory tests.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Children of parents with manic-depressive illness: a follow-up study.

Thirty-seven offspring from 21 families with a manic-depressive parent were studied 3 to 7 years following initial evaluation. The study examined both pedigree information and psychosocial variables including parental, marital and overall adjustment, measures of chronicity and severity of parental illness and family assessment measures in relationship to offspring functioning. Nine of the 37 offspring (24%) received a positive DSM-III diagnosis, which is a similar percentage of positive diagnosis of children as we found previously. The diagnoses clustered in the affective illness spectrum. When the presence of affective traits was considered, there was evidence for continuity of psychopathology in most cases. Associations between offspring psychopathology and both non-specific and specific parental risk factors are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Somatic illness in manic-depressive and schizophrenic patients.

The study compared the presence of somatic illnesses in manic-depressive (n = 100) and schizophrenic patients (n = 156) in the out-patient psychiatric clinics of three general hospitals. The average age of manic-depressive and schizophrenic patients was 40.7 yr and 39.8 yr respectively and did not differ significantly. The sample consisted of both sexes. Among the manic-depressive patients there were 46 males and 54 females. The schizophrenic sample consisted of 84 (54%) males and 72 (46%) females. The result showed that there was a greater rate of the occurrence of physical illnesses in manic-depressive patients as compared to the schizophrenic patients in respect to all the surveyed systemic disorders except for the gastrointestinal diseases. The cardiovascular, neurological and endocrinological diseases were more frequent in the manic-depressives than in the schizophrenic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Anxiety, fears and depression related to hysterectomy.

One-hundred and two women undergoing a hysterectomy for reasons other than cancer were interviewed pre-operatively. Fifty-three of them filled out the Spielberger State and Trait Anxiety Scale (STAI). Women who had high anxiety scores were more likely to be depressed, both before and after the operation. Depression occurred also more often in women who had emergency hysterectomies and in women who had expressed, pre-operatively, some fears of possible change in their sexual life after the operation.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Psychopathology in the offspring of parents with bipolar affective disorders.

Thirty-nine children from intact families with a manic-depressive parent were evaluated by a semi-structured clinical interview and a number of rating scales for the presence or absence of psychopathology. This sample represents a larger one than in an earlier study, which showed minimal offspring psychopathology compared with reports of other investigators. The current study also examines the inter-relationships between the presence or absence of offspring psychopathology with both genetic loading and a number of psychosocial variables including measures of parental marital adjustment, severity and chronicity of proband parent illness and early exposure of children to parental illness. Nine of the thirty-nine children, (23%) received a positive DSM-III diagnosis, with depression of the dysthymic type being the most common. There was no significant correlation between genetic loading and offspring psychopathology. However, there were significant associations between children with psychopathology and paternal marital dissatisfaction and the age and chronicity of illness of the proband parent as compared with the children with no psychopathology.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Relationship between schizophrenia and psychosomatic illness: a review.

For centuries, a relationship between physical illness and mental illness has been assumed. Following this lead, many reports of an inverse relationship between a number of physical disorders and schizophrenia have appeared. Particularly, the low rates of occurrence of certain psychosomatic illnesses in schizophrenic patients seem to indicate a certain biological and psychodynamic basis. These associations are important in that they may unravel important etiological relationships. Furthermore, they are amenable to testing by epidemiological investigations. Hence there is a need to pursue these studies. The current data no doubt provide impetus for further work and directions for future studies. Well controlled and methodologically sound studies in this area may be of immense value in our understanding of the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Grief reactions to perinatal death--a follow-up study.

Thirty mothers who experienced a perinatal death were offered crisis intervention aimed at facilitating their grief process at a few days, 3 weeks and 3 months after the loss. Evaluation of maternal grief reactions and their general psychological adjustment took place at these 3 early contacts and 1 to 2 years later. This last assessment included a semi-structured clinical interview and a number of self-rating scales (Life Events Schedule, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and a Mourning Scale). Six of the 30 mothers showed inappropriate grief reactions at the 3 week and 3 month assessment. By the long term follow up only 1 of these 6 displayed depression or other psychiatric disorder. Three other women not identified as high risk candidates by the 3 month evaluation developed high BDI scores and clinical depressions at the 1 to 2 year assessment. Variables associated with abnormal grief and depression such as social support systems, communication between the parents, maternal dreams, and hospital practices were examined and discussed indicating possibilities for future research.

Death↗
PubMed1983

Behavioural changes following gastric surgery for morbid obesity: a prospective, controlled study.

The authors present results of a prospective, controlled longterm follow-up study of patients undergoing a gastric procedure for morbid obesity. Pre-operatively the gastric surgery group (GS) was compared with a group of normal weighted (NC) and obese (OC) individuals participating in self-help weight reduction groups. The GS group was assessed at 3-months, 6-months and one year or more post-operatively. All groups were examined by a structured self-rating schedule reflecting personal characteristics and family history, current attitudes and experiences related to personal weight, and an extensive exploration of eating habits. Moreover, the groups completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Katz Adjustment Scale and the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale. The results demonstrated major differences between the GS and the NC and OC groups initially, and at follow-up; the GS demonstrated major weight loss without major psychopathologic reactions. The GS did not show, however, major alterations in eating habits, but clearly showed behavioural change subsequent to weight loss.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Correlates of cerebral event-related slow potentials and psychopathology.

The study explored associations between the cerebral event-related slow potentials (ERSP) and psychiatric symptoms and syndromes as reflected by the Present State Examination (PSE) in 36 randomly selected psychiatric in-patients. Independent raters measured the readiness potential (RP), contingent negative variation (CNV) and post-imperative negative variation (PINV) in terms of their amplitude and duration. The 360 individual PSE items were grouped into units of analysis (UA) and further collapsed into groups of units of analysis (GUA). Canonical correlations were computed between two sets of variables (psychological and electrophysiological). Kendall's rank-order correlation was used as the main statistical approach. Some psychotic signs were associated with increased PINV amplitude. Obsessive thoughts, ideas of reference and verbal hallucinations correlated with longer PINV duration. Hopelessness and suicidal thoughts (affect-laden thoughts) as well as first-rank Schneiderian symptoms (FRS) were negatively correlated with CNV amplitude. The results support the hypothesis that CNV and PINV, alone or in combination, can be used to indicate the presence or absence of identifiable psychiatric symptoms and syndromes. The implications of electrophysiological correlates of psychopathology for psychiatric nosology and for the validity of psychiatric symptoms and syndromes were discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Epidemiology of psychosomatic disorders in schizophrenic patients: methodological issues.

The value of an epidemiological study investigating the prevalence of certain somatoform diseases in schizophrenic patients can be strengthened by attention to the following methodological principles: (1) sufficient size of sample; (2) representativeness of sample, controlling if possible such variables as age range, inpatient or outpatient status, ward population or milieu and cultural aspects; (3) study of control groups in same milieu with other psychiatric diagnoses; (4) clear specification of diagnostic criteria employed; (5) establishment of interrater reliability concerning psychiatric diagnosis, patient historical data or medical record information.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1983

A symptom based approach to the diagnosis of schizophrenia.

This study reviews the attempts of Carpenter et al to develop valid diagnostic criteria of schizophrenia by means of a flexible 12 point system of signs and symptoms based on the IPSS. The authors applied the 12-point system to 67 inpatients and obtained different levels of certainty in identifying proportions of schizophrenic and non-schizophrenic patients: 80% of clinically diagnosed schizophrenic patients obtained 5 or more points. Kappa statistics revealed a 0.59 proportion of agreement in excess to chance between clinical and experimental diagnosis of schizophrenia, indicating the clinical usefulness of the 12 point system.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Schizophrenia and psychosomatic illness.

In order to explore the possibility of a mutually exclusive relationship between schizophrenia and certain psychosomatic disorders, 354 adult schizophrenic patients, both acute and chronic, were studied with regard to lifetime prevalence of peptic ulcer, bronchial asthma, neurodermatitis and rheumatoid arthritis. Significant evidence to support the hypothesis of mutual exclusivity was found only in the case of peptic ulcer in the overall sample. Prevalence was higher in younger, more acute patients than in older, chronic patients, but this finding was difficult to interpret. Parallel enquiry into the prevalence of schizophrenia and the same disorders among close family members of the patients yielded inconclusive results.

Adult↗