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Nancy Frasure-Smith

Publications and source records attributed to Nancy Frasure-Smith.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Nursing approaches to reducing psychological distress in men and women recovering from myocardial infarction.

This paper examines the types of nursing approaches associated with reductions in psychological distress in post-myocardial infarction patients (n=275 men; 156 women) who took part in a home-based psychosocial nursing Intervention program (Montreal Heart Attack Readjustment Trial). We found that three types of emotionally supportive approaches including reassurance/encouragement, listening and the provision of advice varied in their links to reduction in distress depending on patients' types of concerns. There were also gender differences in the way directive and collaborative intervention approaches were related to changes in distress.

Female↗

Long-term survival differences among low-anxious, high-anxious and repressive copers enrolled in the Montreal heart attack readjustment trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study reports 5-year outcomes from the Montreal Heart Attack Readjustment Trial, a randomized, controlled trial of monthly telephone monitoring of psychological distress and home nursing visits in a sample of 1376 patients. It focuses on differences in long-term program impact associated with patients' sex and baseline anxiety/repressor coping styles. The potential mediating roles of medications, medical care utilization, and changes in negative emotions over the program are also explored. METHODS: Three subgroups were defined using median splits on the State Anxiety Inventory and Marlowe-Crowne Scale administered at baseline: truly low anxious, repressors, and high anxious. Quebec medicare data were used to track survival through 5 years. RESULTS: The trend toward worse prognosis in women in the treatment group and no evidence of treatment impact in men that were seen during the program year were maintained during the follow-up. Analysis of results in terms of coping styles showed a significant long-term survival benefit of treatment in highly anxious men, for whom reductions in somatic symptoms of depression mediated program impact. However, the program was also associated with significantly worse survival in repressors of both sexes. By the end of the program, repressors in the treatment group were more likely to be prescribed benzodiazepines and to have visited emergency rooms without being readmitted than those in the control group, suggesting that the program may have increased distress in repressors. CONCLUSIONS: Patients' coping style is important in determining outcomes of psychosocial treatments and should be taken into account when tailoring interventions.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Reflections on depression as a cardiac risk factor.

OBJECTIVE: Major North American cardiology organizations do not currently list depression among the officially recognized cardiac risk factors, yet many behavioral medicine specialists believe depression to be an important risk. We wondered what was missing from the available data. METHODS: The Medline, Current Contents, and PsychInfo databases were used to perform a systematic review of the literature linking depression and depressive symptoms with cardiac disease outcomes. Because of previous reviews, we paid particular attention to publications from 2001 to 2003. RESULTS: We identified 21 etiologic and 43 prognostic publications that had prospective designs, used recognized measures of depression, and included objective outcome measures. We also identified 79 review articles. In addition to issues of sample size, sample characteristics, and timing of measures, we noted heterogeneity in the definitions of depression, frequent repeat publications from the same data sets, heterogeneity of outcome measures, a variety of approaches for covariate selection, and a preponderance of review articles, all factors that cannot help to convince skeptics. CONCLUSIONS: Despite these issues, the bulk of the data from prospective studies with recognized indices of depression and objective outcome measures is supportive of depression as a cardiac risk factor.

Adult↗

Design and rationale for a randomized, controlled trial of interpersonal psychotherapy and citalopram for depression in coronary artery disease (CREATE).

OBJECTIVE: Recognition that depression is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients has augmented the need for evidence-based treatment guidelines. This article presents the design of a multisite, Canadian trial of the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT), an empirically supported, depression-focused therapy, and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor citalopram, alone or in combination, in the treatment of major depression in CAD patients. METHODS: Two hundred eighty stable CAD patients with a current major depressive episode of at least 4 weeks' duration, based on the Structured Clinical Interview for Depression (SCID), and who have a baseline score >19 on a centralized, telephone-administered, 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) will be randomly assigned to receive 12 weekly IPT sessions or 12 weekly sessions of standardized clinical management (CM). Patients are also randomly assigned to receive 20 to 40 mg per day of citalopram or pill-placebo. This results in a 2-by-2 factorial design with four groups: IPT plus pill-placebo, IPT plus citalopram, CM plus pill-placebo, and CM plus citalopram. This permits the evaluation of both IPT and citalopram. Blinded, centralized, 24-item, HAM-D telephone ratings constitute the primary outcome variable. The self-report Beck Depression Inventory-II is the secondary outcome. Analyses will involve the intent-to-treat principle with last observation carried forward for incomplete assessments. RESULTS: Not applicable. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this trial will contribute to the development of evidence-based clinical guidelines for managing depression in the context of CAD.

Citalopram↗

Common genetic vulnerability to depressive symptoms and coronary artery disease: a review and development of candidate genes related to inflammation and serotonin.

OBJECTIVE: Although it is well established that depressive symptoms are associated with recurrent cardiac events among cardiac patients and novel cardiac events among participants with no known coronary artery disease (CAD), the nature of this association remains unclear. In this regard, little attention has been paid to the possibility that common genetic vulnerability contributes to both depressive symptoms and CAD. In this paper, we review the existing evidence for common genetic contributions to depression and CAD, primarily using evidence from twin and family studies, followed by a review of two major pathophysiological mechanisms thought to underlie covariation between depressive symptoms and CAD: inflammation and serotonin. We conclude with an overview of select candidate genes within these pathways. METHODS: Literature review. RESULTS: In twin studies, both depression and CAD appear heritable. In the only twin study to consider depression and CAD jointly, the correlation across heritabilities was 0.42, suggesting that nearly 20% of variability in depressive symptoms and CAD was attributable to common genetic factors. In addition, although it is plausible that genetic variation related to inflammation and serotonin may be associated with both depression and CAD, genetic variation related to inflammation has been primary examined in relation to CAD, whereas genetic variation in the serotonin system has been primarily examined in relation to depression. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that the covariation of depressive symptoms and CAD may be attributable, in part, to a common genetic vulnerability. Although several pathways may be involved, genes within the inflammation and serotonin pathways may serve as good candidates for the first steps in identifying genetic variation important for depression, CAD or both.

Coronary Artery Disease↗

Assessment and treatment of depression in patients with cardiovascular disease: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group Report.

OBJECTIVE: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute convened an interdisciplinary working group of experts to develop recommendations for the assessment and treatment of depression in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). METHOD: Consensus of experts. RESULTS: Our current recommendations are that the Beck Depression Inventory-I be employed for epidemiological studies of depression and CHD, that the Patient Health Questionnaire 2-item version be employed for screening for trial eligibility, that the Depression Interview and Structured Hamilton (DISH) be employed for diagnostic ascertainment for trial inclusion, and that the Hamilton rating scale, which is part of the DISH, be employed for both depression symptom reduction and the remission criterion in any trial. We further recommend that a randomized controlled trial be undertaken to determine whether selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, psychotherapy, or combined treatment can reduce the risk of CHD events and mortality associated with depression in CHD patients. CONCLUSIONS: This report summarizes the recommendations made by the working group and discusses the rationale for each recommendation, the strengths and weaknesses of alternative approaches to assessment and treatment, and the implications for future research in this area.

Antidepressive Agents↗

An open-label trial of interpersonal psychotherapy in depressed patients with coronary disease.

High rates of depression have been reported in patients with coronary artery disease, and depression has been repeatedly shown to adversely affect cardiac morbidity and mortality. Despite these findings, little work has been devoted to evaluating effective antidepressant treatments for this subpopulation. This open-label trial assessed the efficacy and acceptability of interpersonal psychotherapy in depressed patients with stable coronary artery disease. Seventeen patients with coronary artery disease who met DSM-IV criteria for major depression received 12 weekly sessions of interpersonal psychotherapy. Outcome was assessed with the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Beck Depression Inventory II. Ten patients received medication during the trial, and seven patients received interpersonal psychotherapy alone. The patients showed a significant reduction in scores on both the Hamilton depression scale and the Beck Depression Inventory II from baseline, with 53% of the patients meeting criteria for remission, as defined by scores of < or =7 and < or =14 on the Hamilton depression scale and the Beck Depression Inventory II, respectively. Medicated and unmedicated patients responded similarly to interpersonal psychotherapy. These data provide support for the potential use of interpersonal psychotherapy in depressed patients with coronary artery disease. The therapy was well tolerated and accepted by patients, with a high proportion achieving remission. Future randomized clinical trials are needed to establish its efficacy.

Adult↗