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Biomedical subjects

M Abas

Publications and source records attributed to M Abas.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Social support and life events as risk factors for depression amongst women in an urban setting in Zimbabwe.

BACKGROUND: This paper explores the applicability of a psychosocial model of depression in an African setting. METHOD: Of a random sample of women (n = 172) from a Zimbabwean township, 79 had a severe life event in the year before interview. Twenty-nine who had an onset of depression were compared with 50 who did not. RESULTS: Having crisis support following a severe life event reduced the risk of onset of depression. The effect of crisis support was confounded by the number of severe events in the study year, but just persisted following adjustment for number of severe events and for socio-demographic factors. Women received crisis support more often from relatives than from partners or friends. The following variables were independently associated with onset of depression following a severe life event: number of life events in the previous 6 months, age, being in formal employment, having crisis support and separation from mother in childhood. CONCLUSION: This study supports the ubiquity of the social support construct. For Zimbabwe, the data suggest that crisis support from family members may be of particular importance in protecting against onset of depression.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Cognitive function in UK community-dwelling African Caribbean and white elders: a pilot study.

In recent years there has been interest in risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in populations of African origin. Little is known about this risk in older African Caribbean residents in the UK. One difficulty is lack of consensus over an adequate cognitive test battery for this community. Forty-five African Caribbean and 45 age and gender matched white community residents were recruited by household enumeration of an inner London electoral ward. These participants were administered the MMSE during a screening interview. Where possible, this was followed up by tests from the CERAD and CAMCOG neuropsychological batteries, a medical examination, and a structured interview with an informant. Based on these data, a psychiatrist blind to ethnicity independently rated 86 of these participants (41 of the African Caribbeans, all 45 of the whites) as cognitively normal, cognitively impaired, or demented. Of 41 African Caribbeans, 18 (44%) were rated as cognitively normal, 9 (22%) were rated as cognitively impaired, and 14 (34%) were rated as demented. Of the 45 whites, 39 (87%) were rated as cognitively normal, 4 (9%) were rated as cognitively impaired, and 2 (4%) were rated as demented. African Caribbeans scored significantly lower than whites in most cognitive test scores, which was not accounted for by their lower educational and occupational attainment, or their higher frequency of cardiovascular risk factors. African Caribbean elders in the UK appear to be at high risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. However, the influence of potential confounding factors such as socio-economic position and ill-health, and the effect of cultural test bias, cannot be ruled out.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE). Development, validity and reliability.

BACKGROUND: There exists no instrument specifically designed to measure comprehensively the needs of older people with mental disorders. AIM: To develop such an instrument which would take account of patients', staff and careers' views on needs. METHOD: Following an extensive development process, the assessment instrument was subjected to a test-retest and interrater reliability study, while aspects of validity were addressed both during development and with data provided by sites in the UK, Sweden and the USA. RESULTS: The Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly (CANE) comprises 24 items (plus two items for career needs), and records staff, career and patient views. It has good content, construct and consensual validity. It also demonstrates appropriate criterion validity. Reliability is generally very high: kappa > 0.85 for all staff ratings of interrater reliability. Correlations of interrater and test-retest reliability of total numbers of needs identified by staff were 0.99 and 0.93, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The psychometric properties of the CANE seem to be highly acceptable. It was easily used by a wide range of professionals without formal training.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1999

Screening for depression in African-Caribbean elders.

BACKGROUND: There are increasing numbers of older African-Caribbeans in the UK. Primary care staff often feel less confident about diagnosing depression in this group. Screening instruments may assist in making diagnoses in cross-cultural consultations. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of screening instruments for depression in older African-Caribbean people in Manchester, UK. METHODS: We carried out a two-stage study to compare three screening instruments for depression (Geriatric Depression Scale, Brief Assessment Schedule Depression Cards, Caribbean Culture Specific Screen), with a computerized diagnostic interview for mental health disorders in older adults (Geriatric Mental State). The study was set in inner-city Manchester. The subjects were community-resident African-Caribbeans aged 60 years and over; 227 subjects were approached. Of the 160 people screened, 130 agreed to diagnostic interview. The main outcome measures were Spearman correlation coefficients; these were calculated between each screening instrument and the diagnostic interview. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine appropriate sensitivity and specificity for each instrument. RESULTS: The results for the largest subgroup, the Jamaicans (n = 96/130), demonstrated highly significant correlations between screening instruments and diagnostic interview (P < 0.001). Each instrument had a high sensitivity: Brief Assessment Schedule depression cards (cut-off > or =6; sensitivity 90.9% (95% CI 58.8-99.8), specificity 82.1% (95% CI 74.0-90.3)), Caribbean Culture Specific Screen (cut-off > or =6; sensitivity 90.9% (95% CI 58.8-99.8), specificity 74.1% (95% CI 64.8-83.4)), and Geriatric Depression Scale (cut-off > or =4; sensitivity 100% (95% CI 97.1-100), specificity 69.1% (95% CI 59.6-79.2)). CONCLUSIONS: These screening instruments demonstrate high sensitivity levels, if an appropriate cut-off point is used. The culture-specific instrument did not perform better than the traditional instruments. Health professionals should approach the consultation in a culturally sensitive manner and use the validated instrument they are most familiar with.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed1994

Depressive illness--Zimbabwe.

Depression is common in the developing world and accounts for 10-20% of attendances at primary care clinics. It is a condition associated with considerable morbidity. This paper considers the characteristics of depressive illness in Zimbabwe and discusses ways to improve detection and management.

Depressive Disorder↗