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Biomedical subjects

G D Schrader

Publications and source records attributed to G D Schrader.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Subjective and objective assessments of medical comorbidity in chronic depression.

BACKGROUND: While the extent of medical comorbidity in depressive illness is widely recognised, there have been few studies where objective and subjective assessment of comorbidity in chronic depression have been made. The aim of this study was to determine the extent and nature of medical comorbidity, in terms of both physician and patient assessments, in a group of outpatients with chronic depressive symptoms. METHODS: Eighty-seven outpatients with a history of depressed mood for at least 2 years were assessed using the SCID and the Hamilton Depression scale. Physician and patient assessment of any medical comorbidity were completed. RESULTS: Sixty percent of patients, and significantly more public general hospital outpatients than private outpatients, viewed themselves as suffering from a serious medical illness in addition to their depression. Only 8% were viewed objectively as having a serious medical condition. CONCLUSIONS: The discrepancy between patient and physician assessments of medical comorbidity in chronic depression is of note and may relate to depressed mood. Careful evaluation of chronically depressed patients' perceptions of physical illness may help achieve a positive treatment outcome.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1995

Medical student attitudes to psychiatry: lack of effect of psychiatric hospital experience.

Medical students' attitudes toward psychiatry before and after their final (sixth) year psychiatric clerkship at a large psychiatric hospital were measured. We anticipated that exposure to severe, chronic psychiatric illness would affect student attitudes, and we undertook this study to investigate the direction and parameters of attitude change. However, no significant change in attitude was found. Variables considered included the students' interest in a career in psychiatry, their perception of the adequacy of their psychiatric training, their final examination results, and the gender of students and preceptors, none of which were found to correlate with attitudes.

Attitude↗
PubMed1986

An outpatient survey of antidepressant prescription habits.

A review of case notes of patients attending a general hospital psychiatric outpatient clinic revealed that 75% of patients with depressive disorders and 38% of patients with neurotic disorders were prescribed antidepressants. Antidepressants were often prescribed for long periods in low doses and in combination with benzodiazepines. There was less polypharmacy, however, with more sedating antidepressants. The results indicate that clinical prescription habits for antidepressants may still be at some variance with recommendations from the literature.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Effects of the introduction of the dexamethasone suppression test on diagnosis and treatment of depression by psychiatrists.

A review of case notes before and after the introduction of the DST into clinical psychiatric practice revealed considerable changes in diagnosis and management. Specifically there were increases in the diagnosis of biological depression and treatment with somatic antidepressant therapy. There was no association between DST results and particular management plans. There was a strong association between requesting the DST and management with antidepressants. It is suggested that the introduction of laboratory tests for psychiatric disorders may firm the belief of psychiatrists in the biological basis of some forms of depression and thus alter their diagnostic and treatment practice.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An attempt to validate Akiskal's classification of chronic depression using cluster analysis.

A numerical taxonomy program that overcomes several problems often associated with cluster analysis was used in an attempt to validate Akiskal's classification of chronic depression. Whereas two of the four groups produced by this technique demonstrated features of either Akiskal's character spectrum disorder or chronic secondary depression, one group appeared to subsume both Akiskal's chronic primary depression and subaffective dysthymia. Within this group, early-onset patients exhibited characteristics of subaffective dysthymia and late-onset patients demonstrated features of chronic primary depression. Family history of depression and family history of alcohol dependence were potent discriminators between groups. There were points of similarity between the typology and several classifications of episodic depression, for example, Winokur's classification of unipolar depression and other typologies derived from multivariate analysis.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Does anhedonia correlate with depression severity in chronic depression?

Anhedonia has been proposed as a psychological marker for biological depression. In this study, anhedonia was measured in a cohort of chronically depressed outpatients. Levels of anhedonia were similar to those reported in acutely depressed patients. Anhedonia was significantly correlated with morbid risk of depression in first-degree family members, neuroticism, introversion, and dysfunctional attitudes, but not with depression severity or hopelessness scores. In a naturalistic follow-up study over a 1-year period, while depression severity was significantly reduced, anhedonia scores remained constant. The study provides support for the view that in chronic depression anhedonia may have trait-like properties, and that the propensity toward anhedonic responses may occur irrespective of depressive severity.

Adult↗