Biomedical subjects

Francis Creed

Publications and source records attributed to Francis Creed.

44 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Do childhood adversity and recent social stress predict health care use in patients presenting with upper abdominal or chest pain?

OBJECTIVE: A comprehensive model of health care use by patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders has not been fully tested. This study aimed to establish whether reported childhood and/or recent adversity are independent predictors of health care use when all other relevant factors are also included in the model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive new patients with upper abdominal or chest pain presenting to a secondary/tertiary clinic were assessed using the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse and Life Events and Difficulties Schedules. They completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression and Health Anxiety Questionnaires. Outcome was total number of health care visits recorded in hospital and general practice (GP) records over 18 months. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-one patients were included (65% response rate). Health care visits were most frequent in unmarried (p < 0.0005), females (p < 0.0005), and those lacking social support (p = 0.012). In multiple regression analysis to predict number of health care visits, reported sexual abuse (p = 0.042) and death of a sibling during childhood (p = 0.026) were also independent predictors, together with SF36 subscale scores for physical function, health perception, and mental health (35% of variance explained). Childhood adversity predicted health care use in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders and recent social stress did so in patients with demonstrated pathological findings. CONCLUSION: After adjustment for demographic, physical, and psychological factors, childhood adversity, especially in severe form, is an independent predictor of health care use in patients with upper functional gastrointestinal disorders. The same was not true for patients consulting for demonstrable pathological abnormalities, for whom ongoing social stress was an independent predictor.

Abdominal Pain↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Changes in tolerance to rectal distension correlate with changes in psychological state in patients with severe irritable bowel syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Reduced tolerance to rectal distension has been regarded as a biological marker for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but longitudinal studies are few. This study determined whether change in tolerance to rectal distension after psychological treatments was associated with: 1) change in abdominal pain; 2) change in psychological symptoms; 3) a reported history of sexual abuse. METHODS: Participants completed a visual analogue scale of abdominal pain, SCL-90 and Hamilton rating scale of depression; discomfort threshold to rectal distension was determined using a double random staircase protocol. These were measured at entry to a trial of psychotherapy or paroxetine (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant) and 3 months later (N = 52). Analysis of change scores were adjusted for treatment group and baseline values. RESULTS: Increased tolerance to distension after treatment was associated with reduction in depression (r = -0.37, p =.008) but not abdominal pain. Patients who reported prior sexual abuse showed greater increase in tolerance than the remainder (changes in volume threshold: -24.7 ml [SEM = 12.1] vs. 3.6 ml [SEM = 6.2], adjusted p =.045; changes in pressure threshold: -4.7 [SEM = 1.7] mm Hg vs. 0.96 [SEM=0.9], adjusted p =.005). Multiple regression indicated that reduction in depression score and a reported history of sexual abuse were independently associated with improved tolerance to distension. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with severe IBS, increased tolerance to rectal distension after psychological treatment is significantly associated with improved depression and reported sexual abuse. These results suggest that in some patients with severe IBS psychological rather than biological processes are primarily responsible for reduced tolerance to rectal distension.

Abdominal Pain↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Chest pain in patients with cardiac and noncardiac disease.

OBJECTIVE: To describe factors influencing chest pain expression in patients with cardiac or noncardiac disease. METHODS: The authors conducted a case presentation and review of literature. RESULTS: Causes of chest pain are diverse. Psychologic factors influence chest pain expression commonly in patients with or without cardiac disease. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians and other therapists must be aware of psychologic influences on chest pain expression to provide optimal treatment to their patients.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Reported sexual abuse predicts impaired functioning but a good response to psychological treatments in patients with severe irritable bowel syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: We assessed the effect of reported sexual abuse on symptom severity and health-related quality of life in patients with severe irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) undergoing psychological treatments. METHODS: IBS patients entering a treatment trial who reported prior sexual abuse were compared with the remainder in terms of symptom severity and health-related quality of life (SF-36) at trial entry and 15 months later. Analyses used ANCOVA with age, sex, marital status, and treatment group as covariates. We assessed possible mediators using multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Of 257 patients with severe IBS, 31 (12.1%) reported a history of rape and 28 (10.9%) reported forced, unwanted touching. People who reported abuse were more impaired than the remainder on the SF-36 scales for pain (adjusted p = .023) and physical function (p = .029); these relationships followed a "dose-response" relationship and were mediated by SCL-90 somatization score. At 15 months follow-up, the associations between reported abuse and SF-36 scores were lost because people with reported abuse, especially rape, improved more than the remainder when treated with psychotherapy or paroxetine (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant); this improvement was mediated by change in SCL-90 somatization score. CONCLUSIONS: In severe IBS, the association between self-reported sexual abuse and impaired functioning is mediated by a general tendency to report numerous bodily symptoms. A reported history of abuse is associated with a marked improvement following psychological treatment.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Psychological correlates of pain behavior in patients with chronic low back pain.

Pain behaviors that are excessive for the degree of known physical disease are common in patients with chronic low back pain and are frequently assumed to arise from a comorbid depressive illness. Although some studies have confirmed an association between depression and excessive pain behavior, methodologic problems (such as the use of depression ratings that also recorded symptoms attributable to physical disease) make interpretation of this finding difficult. We recruited 54 consecutive patients with chronic (>6 months) low back pain from a hospital clinic. Subjects completed self-rated assessments of anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) designed to be minimally affected by physical symptoms, along with assessments of disability (ODQ), pain (visual analogue scale), pain behavior (Waddell checklist), and physical impairment. Seventeen subjects (31%) exhibited excessive pain behavior. Overall, they were no more depressed or anxious than the remainder, although men with excessive pain behavior showed a trend toward being more depressed. Patients with excessive pain behavior were more disabled (self-rated and observer-rated), reported greater pain, and were more likely to be female and to have pain of shorter duration. Pain behavior did not correlate with anxiety or depression, but correlated with measures of disability and pain intensity. Factor analysis revealed that physical disability, pain intensity, and pain behavior loaded heavily on the first factor. Anxiety and depression loaded together on a separate factor. We conclude that pain behaviors were not related to anxiety or depression in our group, although gender differences between groups could have contributed to our negative findings. Pain behaviors may influence other physical measures. Further studies are required to investigate the relation between depression and pain behavior while controlling for gender differences.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Depression and anxiety impair health-related quality of life and are associated with increased costs in general medical inpatients.

Two hundred sixty-three consecutive medical inpatients were studied to assess whether depression and anxiety are associated with increased costs and reduced health-related quality of life. Seventy-three (27.8%) had depressive/anxiety disorders, 107 were "subthreshold" cases, and 83 were controls. After adjustment for severity of physical illness, using the Duke Severity of Illness Scale, cases and subthreshold cases incurred greater mean health care costs than controls over the follow-up period: $8,541 (SE = $605) versus $5,857 (SE = $859), P = 0.012. There was significant impairment of health-related quality of life (SF36 scores) in cases and, to a lesser extent, in subthreshold cases compared to controls. This impairment persisted at follow-up, as did anxiety and depression, indicating the need for future intervention studies.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Association of depression and rheumatoid arthritis.

This study assessed the relative strength of the association of physical characteristics and social stresses with a diagnosis of depression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Depression and social difficulties were assessed in 74 patients with rheumatoid arthritis by using standardized research interviews. Rheumatoid arthritis activity, damage related to rheumatoid arthritis, and subjective functional disability were assessed with well-validated methods. Twenty-nine patients (39.2%) were depressed. Compared to nondepressed patients, depressed patients had more marked social difficulties related to rheumatoid arthritis (72.4% versus 46.7%, respectively) and more marked social difficulties independent of rheumatoid arthritis (55.2% versus 31.1%, respectively). With logistic regression, social difficulties, independent of rheumatoid arthritis, was the only variable significantly associated with depression. Demographic characteristics and rheumatoid arthritis were not associated with a diagnosis of depression. Recognition by clinicians of the importance of social stresses, independent of disease state, should lead to more appropriate and specific psychological and social treatment of depression in rheumatoid arthritis.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Association between depressive episode before first myocardial infarction and worse cardiac failure following infarction.

Depression following myocardial infarction is associated with a higher mortality rate. The authors studied 314 patients admitted to the hospital with a first myocardial infarction to assess whether cardiac failure after the infarction, which is also linked to a higher mortality rate, was predicted by psychosocial characteristics present before the myocardial infarction. One-fifth (20.7%) of the subjects met the ICD-10 criteria for depressive episode in the 1 month before the attack. Variables independently associated with worse cardiac failure after the myocardial infarction were greater age, a history of angina preceding the infarction, and a previous depressive episode. The impact of depression on postinfarction outcome may result from the influence of preinfarction depression on the degree of cardiac failure.

Depression↗