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Biomedical subjects

M Olfson

Publications and source records attributed to M Olfson.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Practices related to HIV risk assessment in general hospital psychiatric units in New York State.

Semistructured interviews including (questions about practices related to HIV risk assessment were conducted on 53 psychiatric units of general hospitals in New York State in 1992 and 1993. Few units have adopted practices across the board. Assessment of risk for many or almost all patients was reported by 25 units (47 percent). On three units (6 percent) all patients received information about HIV, and on 13 (25 percent) many patients did. Twenty units (38 percent) reported counseling only a few patients about risk, and eight (15 percent) counseled almost none. Twenty-eight (53 percent) urged only a few patients to get an HIV test, and nine (17 percent) urged almost none.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1998

Linking inpatients with schizophrenia to outpatient care.

OBJECTIVE: This study focused on inpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who were scheduled to begin outpatient care with clinicians who had not previously treated them. The authors evaluated the effects of communication between the patients and their outpatient clinicians before discharge on patients' referral compliance, psychiatric symptoms, and community function at follow-up three months after discharge. METHODS: A total of 104 adult inpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who were scheduled to receive outpatient care from clinicians who had not previously treated them were evaluated at hospital discharge and again three months later. Comparisons were made between patients who had telephone or face-to-face contact with an outpatient clinician before hospital discharge and patients who did not have such contact. RESULTS: About half (51 percent) of the inpatient sample communicated with an outpatient clinician before leaving the hospital. Compared with patients who had no communication, those who spoke with an outpatient clinician were significantly more likely to complete the outpatient referral. After baseline scores and other covariates were controlled for, predischarge contact with an outpatient clinician was associated with a significantly lower total Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale score at follow-up and less self-assessed difficulty controlling symptoms. Nonsignificant trends toward improved medication compliance and a lower rate of homelessness were also found. The two patients groups did not significantly differ in the proportion who were readmitted to the hospital or who made a psychiatric emergency room visit during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Direct communication between inpatients and new outpatient clinicians may help smooth the transition to outpatient care and thereby contribute to improved control of clinical symptoms.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Offspring of depressed parents. 10 Years later.

BACKGROUND: There have been numerous studies that have shown that offspring of depressed parents are at a high risk for major depressive disorder (MDD) and impairment. None have followed up the offspring into adulthood to obtain more precise estimates of risk. METHOD: One hundred eighty-two offspring from 91 families, in which 1 or more parents had MDD (high risk) or in which neither parent was depressed (low risk), were blindly reassessed in the third follow-up, using a structured diagnostic instrument 10 years after their initial identification. RESULTS: Compared with the offspring for whom neither parent was depressed, the offspring of depressed parents had increased rates of MDD, particularly before puberty, and phobias (both at approximately a 3-fold risk), panic disorder, alcohol dependence (at a 5-fold risk), and greater social impairment. The peak age at onset for MDD in both high- and low-risk offspring ranged from 15 to 20 years. The peak age at onset for anxiety disorder was considerably earlier, especially in female offspring in the high-risk group. The onset of alcohol dependence in the offspring in the high-risk group peaked in adolescence and then after the age of 25 years. The depressed offspring of depressed parents, compared with nondepressed parents, had more serious and impairing depressions during the follow-up period but were less likely to go for treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The offspring of depressed parents are a high-risk group for onset of anxiety disorder and MDD in childhood, MDD in adolescence, and alcohol dependence in adolescence and early adulthood. The findings support the potential value of early detection in the offspring of depressed parents.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1997

Service utilization and expenditures for the treatment of panic disorder.

The outpatient service utilization and estimated expenditures for the treatment of panic disorder for patients prior to their enrollment in a large clinical trial were examined. Data were drawn from the Cross-National Collaborative Panic Study. The sample consists of 391 patients who met DSM-III criteria for panic disorder and were enrolled at one of the US sites of the trial. The rate and frequency of outpatient mental health visits to primary care and specially mental health providers for the current episode of panic disorder are examined. Estimates of direct expenditures for these services are presented (in 1993 US dollars). Over 70% of the patients used primary care for mental health services whereas about 47% of the patients used specialty mental health services. Nearly half of the patients (46.8%) saw a nonpsychiatrist medical specialist, most often a cardiologist (20.6%). Among all patients, those with more frequent panic attacks were more likely to use some form of outpatient mental health services for panic disorder. Among users of any services, those with more severe impairment were more likely to use specialized mental health services. The mean estimated expenditure for the panic episode was $3339, about half of which was accounted for by specialty mental health expenditures. Among users, the median estimated expenditures was $518 for primary care physicians and $2122 for specialty mental health services. In conclusion, the service utilization in this sample of patients with panic disorder is highly varied. Both the primary care and specialty mental health sectors play prominent roles in the community treatment of panic disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

False positive results: a challenge for psychiatric screening in primary care.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to characterize primary care patients with false positive results on screens for mental disorders. METHOD: A sample of 1,001 primary care patients completed self-administered screens and structured interviews for DSM-IV diagnoses. RESULTS: A substantial proportion of the patients with false positive screen results for at least one diagnosis met the diagnostic criteria for other psychiatric disorders. They also had significantly greater functional impairment and higher rates of recent use of mental health services than the subjects with true negative results on the screens. CONCLUSIONS: Although the positive predictive values of screens for specific mental disorders are in line with those of other medical screens, false positive results are not uncommon. This may be due in part to the sensitivity of brief screening instruments to nonspecific symptoms. The results suggest that as with other screens used in primary care, patients with false positive results on screens for mental disorders should receive clinical attention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Mental disorders and disability among patients in a primary care group practice.

OBJECTIVE: This article examines social and occupational disability associated with several DSM-IV mental disorders in a group of adult primary care outpatients. METHOD: The subjects were 1,001 primary care patients (aged 18-70 years) in a large health maintenance organization. Data on each patient's sociodemographic characteristics and functional disability, including scores on the Sheehan Disability Scale, were collected at the time of a medical visit. A structured diagnostic interview for current DSM-IV disorders was then completed by a mental health professional over the telephone within 4 days of the visit. RESULTS: The most prevalent disorders were phobias (7.7%), major depressive disorder (7.3%), alcohol use disorders (5.2%), generalized anxiety disorder (3.7%), and panic disorder (3.0%). A total of 8.3% of the patients met the criteria for more than one mental disorder. The proportion of patients with co-occurring mental disorders varied by index disorder from 50.0% (alcohol use disorder) to 89.2% (generalized anxiety disorder). Compared with patients who had a single mental disorder, patients with co-occurring disorders reported significantly more disability in social and occupational functioning. After adjustment for other mental disorders and demographic and general health factors, compared with patients with no mental disorder, only patients with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, phobias, and substance use disorders had significantly increased disability, as measured by the Sheehan Disability Scale. CONCLUSIONS: Primary care patients with more than one mental disorder are common and highly disabled. Individual mental disorders have distinct patterns of psychiatric comorbidity and disability.

Persons with Disabilities↗
PubMed1997

Self-reported anxiety, general medical conditions, and disability bed days.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effect of self-reported anxiety on the number of days persons with various general medical conditions spend in bed owing to disability. METHOD: Self-reported medical illness and disability data from a nationally representative household survey sample (N = 20,884) were analyzed. RESULTS: Among respondents with general medical conditions, those with self-reported anxiety had a nearly fourfold greater length of disability (mean = 18.0 bed days) than the nonanxious respondents (mean = 4.8 bed days). After adjustment for differences in demographic characteristics and burden of general medical illness, anxiety was associated with an additional 3.8 bed days. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported anxiety in combination with general medical conditions may be associated with extensive functional impairment.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Assessing psychiatric impairment in primary care with the Sheehan Disability Scale.

OBJECTIVE: Several recent studies have documented that substantial functional impairment is associated with many of the mental disorders seen in primary care. However, brief measures of mental health-related functional impairment are not commonly applied in primary care settings. The Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), a three-item instrument for assessing such impairment, is evaluated in this study. METHOD: A psychometric analysis of the SDS was conducted with a sample of 1001 primary care patients at Kaiser Permanente In Oakland, California. The SDS and the Symptom Driven Diagnostic System for Primary Care assessments were completed. RESULTS: The internal consistency reliability of the SDS is high, with coefficient alpha of 0.89. The construct validity was substantiated in two ways. A one-factor model fit the data quite well. Furthermore, patients with each of six psychiatric disorders had significantly higher impairment scores than those who did not. Finally, over 80 percent of the patients with mental disorder diagnoses had an elevated SDS score and nearly 50 percent of those with elevated SDS scores had at least one disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The psychometric properties of the SDS were evaluated in primary care. The internal consistency reliability was high. The analyses also lend empirical support for the construct validity. The scale is a sensitive tool for identifying primary care patients with mental health-related functional impairment, who would warrant a diagnostically-oriented mental health assessment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Subthreshold psychiatric symptoms in a primary care group practice.

BACKGROUND: The authors define 6 groups of subthreshold psychiatric symptoms that do not meet the full criteria for a DSM-IV Axis I disorder and examine the clinical significance of these symptoms in an outpatient primary care sample. METHODS: The subjects were 1001 adult primary care patients in a large health maintenance organization. Data on sociodemographic characteristics and functional impairment, including scores on the Sheehan Disability Scale, were collected at the time of the medical visit, and a structured diagnostic interview for DSM-IV disorders was completed by telephone within 4 days of the visit. Subthreshold symptoms were defined for depressive, anxiety, panic, obsessive-compulsive, drug, and alcohol symptoms. RESULTS: Subthreshold symptoms were as or more common than their respective Axis I disorders: panic (10.5% vs 4.8%), depression (9.1% vs 7.3%), anxiety (6.6% vs 3.7%), obsessive-compulsive (5.8% vs 1.4%), and alcohol (5.3% vs 5.2%) and other drug (3.7% vs 2.4%) cases. Patients with each of the subthreshold symptoms had significantly higher Sheehan Disability Scale scores (greater impairment) than did patients with no psychiatric symptoms. Many patients (22.6%-53.4%) with subthreshold symptoms also met the full criteria for other Axis I disorders. After adjusting for the confounding effects of other Axis I disorders, other subthreshold symptoms, age, sex, race, marital status, and perceived physical health status, only depressive symptoms, major depressive disorder, and, to a lesser extent, panic symptoms were significantly correlated with the impairment measures. CONCLUSIONS: In these primary care patients, the morbidity of subthreshold symptoms was often explained by confounding mental, physical, or demographic factors. However, depressive symptoms and, to a lesser extent, panic symptoms were disabling even after controlling for these factors. Primary care clinicians who detect subthreshold psychiatric symptoms should consider a broad psychiatric assessment.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Suicidal ideation in primary care.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence and clinical characteristics of primary care patients who report suicidal ideation during the month before their medical visit. DESIGN: Analysis of a self-administered suicidal ideation screening item using sociodemographic data, treatment history, and clinical data from structured interviews. SETTING: Three Rhode Island private family practices, a South Carolina family medicine residency, and a California prepaid internal medicine group practice. PATIENTS: Adult primary care patients (N = 2,749), 18 to 70 years old, who are able to read and write English, able to complete study forms, and willing to provide informed consent. RESULTS: Sixty-seven (2.44%) of the patients reported suicidal ideation ("feeling suicidal") during the past month, and most of those patients (58.2%) received no mental health care during that time. The adjusted risk of suicidal ideation was significantly elevated for patients with self-reported fair or poor physical health (odds ratio [OR] 2.5; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5, 4.1), fair to poor emotional health (OR 18.0; 95% CI 8.8, 37.0), marital distress (OR 4.4; 95% CI 2.2, 8.8), and recent mental health-related work loss (OR 6.3; 95% CI 3.7, 10.5). In the California sample, patients with major depression (R 31.2; 95% CI 12.8, 76.1). generalized anxiety disorder (OR 23.4; 95% CI 8.1, 67.1), and drug abuse or dependence (OR 9.6; 95% CI 2.9, 31.6) were at increased risk of suicidal ideation. The "feeling suicidal" item identified 10 of 12 patients who acknowledged a recent plan to kill themselves. CONCLUSIONS: In these primary care patients, suicidal ideation is strongly associated with mental disorder and mental health-related functional impairment, and can be detected with a single self-report "feeling suicidal" item.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Brief screens for mental disorders in primary care.

We evaluated a set of diagnostic screens for mental disorders in primary care. A self-administered screening questionnaire containing 26 items testing for multiple mental disorders was completed by 1,001 patients. Brief diagnostic modules, structured for psychiatric diagnoses, were subsequently administered to each patient by a research nurse. Operating characteristics of the screens were as follows: alcohol dependence (sensitivity [SE] 0.75; positive predictive value [PPV] 0.58; [kappa] 0.63), drug dependence (SE 0.50; PPV 0.50; kappa 0.50), generalized anxiety disorder (SE 0.74; PPV 0.44; kappa 0.44), major depressive disorder (SE 0.71; PPV 0.52; kappa 0.50), obsessive compulsive disorder (SE 0.71; PPV 0.15; kappa 0.21), and panic disorder (SE 0.71; PPV 0.43; kappa 0.48). Other chance-corrected measures of agreement are also reported, and criterion validity of the screens is examined. The results provide evidence that the screens discriminate between patients with symptomatology meeting established diagnostic criteria and those without. They detected previously unrecognized cases in this study and may prove to be valuable tools for psychiatric diagnosis in primary care.

Adolescent↗