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P Burvill

Publications and source records attributed to P Burvill.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Risk factors for post-stroke depression.

OBJECTIVE: To examine possible risk factors in post-stroke depression (PSD) other than site of lesion in the brain DATA SOURCES: 191 first-ever stroke patients were examined physically shortly after their stroke and examined psychiatrically and physically 4 months post-stroke. SETTING: A geographically defined segment of the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia, from which all strokes over a course of 18 months were examined (the Perth Community Stroke Study). MEASURES: Psychiatric Assessment Schedule, Mini Mental State Examination, Barthel Index, Frenchay Activities Index, physical illness and sociodemographic data were collected. Post-stroke depression (PSD) included both major depression and minor depression (dysthymia without the 2-year time stipulation) according to DSM-III (American Psychiatric Association) criteria. Patients depressed at the time of the stroke were excluded. PATIENTS: 191 first-ever stroke patients, 111 M, 80 F, 28% had PSD, 17% major and 11% minor depression. RESULTS: Significant associations with PSD at 4 months were major functional impairment, living in a nursing home, being divorced and having a high pre-stroke alcohol intake (M only). There was no significant association with age, sex, social class, cognitive impairment or pre-stroke physical illness. CONCLUSION: Results favoured the hypothesis that depression in an unselected group of stroke patients is no more common, and of no more specific aetiology, than it is among elderly patients with other physical illness.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Aspects of psychiatric admissions of migrants to hospitals in Perth, Western Australia.

OBJECTIVE: Recent Australian Government initiatives have emphasised problems with service provision to the ethnic mentally ill. This study aims to address the paucity of contemporary data describing the disposition of the ethnic mentally ill in hospital settings. METHOD: Patterns of admissions for psychiatric disorders to all hospitals in Perth, Western Australia, for the 3 years from 1990 to 1992, of migrants and the Australian born were compared using data from the Western Australian Mental Health Information System. RESULTS: The overall rates for European migrants showed a 'normalisation' towards those of the Australian-born. There were high rates for the schizophrenic spectrum disorders in Polish and Yugoslavian (old terminology) migrants. There were low admission rates for South-East Asian migrants, predominantly those from Vietnam and Malaysia. Rates for alcoholism were low in Italian and all Asian migrants. There were high rates of organic psychosis, especially in those older than 75 years, among the Italian and Dutch migrants. The relative risk of a first admission in the 3 years being an involuntary admission to a mental hospital was almost twice that of the Australian-born for migrants from Poland, Yugoslavia, Malaysia and Vietnam. CONCLUSIONS: The results imply the possibility of significant untreated and/or undiagnosed psychiatric morbidity in the South-East Asian-born. They also indicate a need for further exploration of the unexpectedly high levels of psychiatric morbidity among some ethnic elderly groups, specifically the Dutch- and Italian-born. The findings demonstrate the persistence of high rates of presentation for psychotic disorders among Eastern European-born populations, many years post migration.

Adolescent↗

Perth Community Stroke Study: design and preliminary results.

The first aim of the study, to see every case of stroke and TIA which has occurred in a representative population, unbiased by hospital admission and with high pathological documentation, is being achieved. To date, the incidence rates for stroke in Perth are strikingly similar to those in other major population-based studies in the Western world. Further data on risk factors are likely to contribute greatly to our understanding of the aetiology of stroke. The data on stroke outcome should be of international significance.

Cerebrovascular Disorders↗