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Biomedical subjects

J C Beckham

Publications and source records attributed to J C Beckham.

36 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Interpersonal and self-reported hostility among combat veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder.

The present study investigated self-reported and interpersonal hostility in 70 Vietnam combat veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 60 comparison community volunteer subjects. Veterans were 50 help-seeking, male Vietnam combat veterans with PTSD and 20 non-help-seeking male combat veterans without PTSD. Vietnam veterans with PTSD not only reported more hostility than non-PTSD veterans and healthy community volunteers, but also reacted behaviorally with more hostility during an interpersonal interaction. Compared to veterans without PTSD, veterans with PTSD reported significantly higher levels of hostility and demonstrated significantly greater non-verbal expressions of hostility during an interpersonal task. These results suggest that the level of hostility in PTSD combat veterans may be high as compared to comparison groups. The implications of these results and possible research directions are presented.

Case-Control Studies↗
PubMed1996

Caregiver burden in partners of Vietnam War veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Caregiver burden in 58 partners of Vietnam veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was examined. The relationship between patient PTSD severity and caregiver burden, as well as the effect of several caregiver and patient variables on caregiver psychological status, was evaluated twice, an average of 8 months apart. Patient symptom severity was positively correlated with caregiver burden. Time 1 cross-sectional analysis indicated that greater caregiver burden was associated with greater caregiver psychological distress, dysphoria, and anxiety. Patient symptom severity also contributed to caregiver psychological distress; financial stress contributed to caregiver dysphoria and trait anxiety. Time 2 cross-sectional analyses essentially replicated the Time 1 findings. A third set of analyses examining change scores indicated that changes in caregiver burden for individuals in the sample positively predicted individual changes in caregiver psychological distress, dysphoria, and state anxiety.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Trial of trazodone for posttraumatic stress disorder using a multiple baseline group design.

Six patients with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) entered a multiple-baseline trial of trazodone, beginning with 50 mg/day and increasing to 400 mg/day until response was maximal. Total Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale scores decreased from a mean of 92 at baseline to 79 at end point, and self-reported PTSD symptoms as measured by the Davidson Trauma Scale paralleled these results (mean of 102 at baseline to 88 at end point). Based on clinician global improvement scores, four patients were rated as much improved and two were rated to be minimally improved. Improvement in social and occupational functioning, and depression was minimal. Available follow-up scores for PTSD symptoms indicated that gains were maintained. Sleep was the first symptom to improve at 2 to 3 months. No dropouts during the treatment period occurred, and reported side effects were quite low. These preliminary data suggest that trazodone may be effective in reducing the three primary clusters of symptoms of PTSD. These findings should be confirmed by using a larger sample in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Smoking in Vietnam combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The present study investigated smoking prevalence, smoking motives, demographic variables and psychological symptoms in 124 help-seeking, male Vietnam combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A high percentage of these veterans smoked (60%). Vietnam veterans with PTSD who smoked were more likely than those who did not smoke to report higher levels of PTSD symptoms, depression and trait anxiety. Increased depression was associated with increased automatic smoking. Smokers reported a high frequency of smoking in response to military memories. Implications for smoking interventions, cessation, and relapse prevention efforts are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Patient predictors of caregiver burden, optimism, and pessimism in rheumatoid arthritis.

The authors of the present study investigated the relationship between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients' demographic, medical, and functional status and caregivers' burden, optimism, and pessimism. Subjects were 65 RA patients and their caregivers who were recruited from an outpatient rheumatology clinic. Each caregiver completed the Burden Interview to measure caregiver burden and the Life Orientation Test to measure optimism and pessimism. Each RA patient completed the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale to measure pain and physical disability as well as a number of cognitive measures to assess two summary psychological cognitive factors labeled self-efficacy expectations and distorted cognitions. These cognitive factors were based on the following commonly used measures in RA research: the Cognitive Errors Questionnaire, the Arthritis Self-Efficacy Scale, the Coping Strategies Questionnaire, and the Pain Beliefs and Perceptions Inventory. Correlational analyses indicated that patients' functional and psychological measures (including poor self-efficacy expectations regarding symptoms) were related to caregiver burden, that patient self-efficacy expectations were related to caregiver optimism, and that patient physical disability was related to caregiver pessimism. Regression analyses revealed that, when competing with other demographic and disease severity variables, the relationships between patient self-efficacy expectations and caregiver burden and caregiver optimism, and patient physical function and caregiver pessimism remained significant. Taken together, these findings suggest that patient expectancies about control over arthritis-related symptoms (including pain) are strongly related to caregiver burden and caregiver optimism and that patient physical status is strongly related to caregiver pessimism.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

Age differences in hostility among middle-aged and older adults.

Multiple measures of hostility were administered to middle-aged and older volunteers. There was a positive association between age and self-report measures reflecting hostile beliefs about others, including cynicism and suspiciousness. There was a weak inverse relationship between age and self-report measures of the overt expression of anger and aggression, but no association between age and measures of covert hostility was found. There was a positive relationship between age and an assessment of hostile behavior that was based on the respondent's interaction style during an interview. The magnitude of these age trends did not differ between men (n = 50) and women (n = 75). These findings illustrate the multidimensional nature of hostility. They also have practical implications for older people because hostility is associated with psychological well-being and has been shown to have consequences for health and longevity.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Disease severity in rheumatoid arthritis: relationships of plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha, soluble interleukin 2-receptor, soluble CD4/CD8 ratio, neopterin, and fibrin D-dimer to traditional severity and functional measures.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a complex inflammatory disease of unknown cause. Although various laboratory and clinical measurements are useful in managing these patients, there is a need for better tests to quantitatively assess disease activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of certain immune and inflammation (I-I) parameters with four traditional disease severity measures and a functional measure in rheumatoid arthritis patients. A single set of patient blood samples was analyzed, and four traditional disease severity measures and patient functional statuses were determined from 64 consecutive outpatients with rheumatoid arthritis. Plasma tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), sCD4 and sCD8 (and the sCD4/sCD8 ratio), neopterin, and fibrin D-dimer were analyzed in relationship to Westergren erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), physician assessment of disease activity, joint pain count, grip strength, and Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale (AIMS) scores. Rheumatoid arthritis patients had higher mean levels of all I-I measures (except sCD4) compared to healthy subjects. Initial significant correlations between TNF, sIL-2R, and D-dimer and several disease severity and functional measures were detected. When we controlled for the covariates age, gender, race, and medications, regression analyses indicated that, as a group, the I-I measures were significantly related to grip strength, physician disease severity rating, ESR, and total joint pain. When the predictive values of the I-I measures were tested controlling for the covariates and ESR, D-dimer was independently and significantly associated with variability in grip strength, physician disease severity, and AIMS physical disability, while TNF was associated with a significant amount of variability in total joint pain.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Antifibrinolytic Agents↗
PubMed1992

Measures of neuroticism and disease status in coronary angiography patients.

A high percentage of patients who undergo diagnostic angiography because they have chest pain are found to be free of significant coronary artery disease. To examine the psychological characteristics of these patients, we used several Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1943) measures to assess the relationships between different aspects of neuroticism and coronary artery disease severity (CADSEV) in a sample of 1,462 angiography patients. The Conversion V profile was inversely and most strongly related to CADSEV. Single high scores on hypochondriasis or hysteria were also inversely related to CADSEV, but psychasthenia and Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale (TMA; Taylor, 1953) scores were not. Using measures derived by a factor analysis of the MMPI, items relating somatic complaints were inversely related to CADSEV, but a measure of general neuroticism was not. These results support the hypothesis that the association between neuroticism and angiographic findings may be specific to a particular aspect of neuroticism, somatic preoccupation. The implications for neuroticism measurement and clinical practice are discussed.

Coronary Angiography↗
PubMed1992

The relationship of ovarian steroids, headache activity and menstrual distress: a pilot study with female migraineurs.

Fourteen female volunteers who met diagnostic criteria for migraine headache monitored their headache activity and menstrual distress symptoms for one menstrual cycle. Serum estradiol and progesterone levels, and menstrual distress measures were collected at four points of the menstrual cycle: menstrual, ovulatory, luteal and premenstrual. Results indicated that one patient (7.1%) had menstrual migraine, 10 patients (71.4%) had menstrually-related headache and 3 (21.4%) had migraine headache unrelated to their menstrual cycle: subsequent analyses were conducted with the first two groups. Headache activity for the sample was highest during the premenstrual phase. Headache activity during the luteal and premenstrual phases was related to luteal phase progesterone levels. Menstrual distress was highest during the menstrual and premenstrual phases of the cycle, and these symptoms were related to higher estradiol levels, higher estradiol/progesterone ratios, and increased headache activity. These results indicated that for women with menstrual migraine or menstrually-related migraine, luteal progesterone and estradiol and the estradiol/progesterone ratio may be significantly related to menstrual distress during the premenstrual phase of the cycle. The estradiol/progesterone ratio was not more related to headache or menstrual distress than either of these ovarian hormones alone. Suggestions for future research in this area are offered.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Depression and level of functioning in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

This study examined the degree to which depression is related to physical and psychosocial dysfunction. The Beck Depression Inventory and the Sickness Impact Profile were administered to 34 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Information on the demographic variables (age and employment status) and medical status variables (duration of disease and functional classification) were collected for each patient. Regression analyses revealed that depression was an important predictor of total, physical and psychosocial sickness-related behavioural dysfunction. The proportion of variance attributed to depression was moderate to large and was significant even after controlling for important demographic and medical status variables. These results suggest that depression is an important factor to be considered when evaluating the clinical significance of physical and psychosocial dysfunction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1991

Biofeedback as a means to alter electromyographic activity in a total knee replacement patient.

This paper presents a single case controlled study of a 75-year-old male having bilateral total knee replacement. Baseline EMG recordings demonstrated differential levels of vastus medialis and vastus lateralis muscle activity in both knees during exercise, with increased vastus lateralis activity compared to vastus medialis activity. The purpose of the study was to use electromyographic (EMG) biofeedback training to train the patient to equalize vastus medialis and vastus lateralis EMG activity during exercise. After 11 and 13 training sessions for the left and right knees, respectively, differences between vastus medialis and vastus lateralis activity had markedly decreased. Following the termination of biofeedback training, EMG activity during exercise showed a return toward baseline levels. Several concomitant changes in psychological and physical function were noted. These results suggested that EMG biofeedback can be used to train vastus medialis and vastus lateralis activity in total knee replacement patients, and that biofeedback training may produce positive benefits in other functional areas.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Emotional processing and fear measurement synchrony as indicators of treatment outcome in fear of flying.

Minimal-therapist-involvement stress inoculation training was used to treat flying phobics. Relative to no-treatment controls, treatment subjects reported more fear reduction, were more likely to participate in an exposure session, and flew more during a two-month follow-up period. Subjects who exhibited synchronous changes in heart rate and report of anxiety during exposure had greater fear reduction than subjects showing less synchrony. Subjects who voluntarily took plane flights in the two months following treatment showed greater indications of emotional processing during in vivo exposure. Relative to flight avoiders, fliers had higher mean heart rate in the plane, a greater reduction in heart rate from the beginning to the end of the flight, and greater reported fear reduction from pre- to post-flight.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Smoking withdrawal symptoms in response to a trauma-related stressor among Vietnam combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder.

This study investigated the relationship between a trauma-related stressor and smoking withdrawal symptoms in 25 male Vietnam combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using a within-subjects design. All subjects were smokers. The stressor involved a modified Stroop task, in which the veterans color-named either anxiety-related or neutral control words. Anxiety-related words produced more withdrawal symptoms than neutral control words, including increased craving, negative affect symptoms, somatic symptoms, and lack of alertness.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prevalence and correlates of heavy smoking in Vietnam veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder.

A study was conducted to investigate smoking patterns in 445 Vietnam veterans with and without posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Combat veterans with PTSD reported similar occurrence of smoking (53%) compared to combat veterans without PTSD (45%). For those who smoked, combat veterans with PTSD reported a significantly higher rate of heavy smoking (> or = 25 cigarettes daily): 28% of combat veterans without PTSD were heavy smokers and 48% of combat veterans with PTSD were heavy smokers. PTSD diagnosis and heavy smoking status were independently and differentially related to motives for smoking. In combat veterans with PTSD, heavy smoking status was positively related to total health complaints, lifetime health complaints, health complaints in the past year, negative health behaviors, total PTSD symptoms, DSM-IV C cluster (avoidance and numbing) and D cluster (hyperarousal) PTSD symptoms. Heavy smoking status was also associated with fewer positive health behaviors.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Smoking and anxiety in combat veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder: a review.

There is growing evidence that smoking, and in particular heavy smoking, is prevalent in Vietnam combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. However, the pathways responsible for development and perpetuation of smoking in this clinical population have not been identified. Relevant smoking, substance abuse, and anxiety disorder research is reviewed. Although an association between smoking and PTSD has not been directly tested, there is evidence that such research is warranted. Suggestions for future research are offered.

Anxiety↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Behavioral assessment of chronic orofacial pain.

Orofacial pain is usually evaluated and treated from a biomedical perspective. There is no question that the large majority of individuals having acute orofacial pain benefit from timely and appropriate medical intervention. When orofacial pain persists, however, the likelihood that this pain can influence and be influenced by behavioral factors increases. While some individuals are able to adapt and cope with chronic orofacial pain, others develop significant behavioral problems. These problems may include an overly sedentary lifestyle, dependence on habit-forming narcotic medications, or severe depression or anxiety. The hallmark of the behavioral perspective on chronic pain is the insistence that a careful assessment and treatment of such behavioral problems is just as important as appropriate biomedical intervention.(1)

Chronic Disease↗