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Biomedical subjects

S Torgersen

Publications and source records attributed to S Torgersen.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Parental representation in patients with major depression, anxiety disorder and mixed conditions.

Differences in parental bonding between patients with pure major depression, mixed anxiety-depression and pure anxiety disorders were investigated in 272 consecutive outpatients. A low parental care score seemed to be the best discriminating variable between the mixed group and the 3 other groups. This study supports previous family and twin studies as well as clinical studies emphasizing the mixed group as a special disorder group, possibly with a different etiology. The role of the father in child development seems to be particularly important.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Comorbidity of major depression and anxiety disorders in twin pairs.

The relationship among major depression only, major depression with anxiety disorders, and anxiety disorders only was investigated in a twin sample (N = 177 pairs). The results suggest that there is an etiological relationship between mixed major depression-anxiety disorders and major depression only but no relationship between these two conditions and anxiety disorders only. When anxiety disorders with panic attacks were analyzed, the relationship between mixed cases and major depression only and the lack of a relationship between mixed cases, major depression only, and anxiety disorders only became even clearer. Furthermore, mixed cases seemed to be more strongly influence by genetic factors than was major depression only.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Tumors of the posterior hard palate].

The palatal mucosa is a representative area when reviewing etiology of the wide variety of oral tumours. The most important are of cystic, neoplastic or inflammatory nature. A case of malignant lymphoma occurred as a firm, painless swelling in the lateral posterior hard palate in a 69 year old woman. The tumour was initially diagnosed and treated as an abscess. Weeks later the swelling persisted and the patient was referred to the Department of oral surgery and oral medicine. University of Bergen. Incisional biopsy revealed the true nature of the process. Following cytostatic and radiation therapy, total regression of the tumour took place. The prognosis is considered favourable. The paper surveys the etiology of tumours of the posterior hard palate.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Personality changes after gastric banding surgery for morbid obesity. A prospective study.

89 morbidly obese patients completed the Basic Character Inventory before and 1 and 3 years after horizontal gastric banding surgery. The aim of the study was to compare preoperative scores of personality traits with those of a normal population, and to examine any change in scores on the different personality traits at the follow-up tests. There was a uniform tendency to higher scores on the Oral cluster traits (Self-doubt, Insecurity, Sensitivity, Dependence, Compliance and Emotional instability) among the patients compared to normals. There was a general significant decrease in the post-operative scores on the Oral cluster traits present already at the 1 year follow-up, most pronounced for Self-doubt, Insecurity and Sensitivity. On the other hand there was a significant increase in the postoperative scores on the Obsessive traits: Parsimony and Orderliness. As a group these patients did not show any adverse changes in their personality traits, on the contrary they seemed less neurotic and possibly exerted more control of their situation after the operation and weight loss.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Characteristics of patients with major depression in combination with dysthymic or cyclothymic disorders. Childhood and precipitating events.

The relationship between patients with acute major depression and chronic affective disorders was investigated in 298 nonpsychotic outpatients. The patients were categorized into 4 groups: major depression only, major depression with dysthymic or cyclothymic disorders, dysthymic or cyclothymic disorder without major depression and one group of other psychiatric disorders. The patients were interviewed about childhood losses, relationship to parents and siblings and family atmosphere, their personality characteristics as children, as well as precipitating events. The reports in the various diagnostic groups were compared. Patients in the mixed group reported somewhat more traumatic childhood experiences compared with patients in the pure major depression group and pure dysthymic-cyclothymic group, and much more traumatic childhood experiences compared with patients in the group of other disorders. Precipitating events among patients in the acute major depression group consisted of more acute external stressors compared with the events of the patients in the group of chronic affective disorders. Patients with major depression in combination with pure dysthymic-cyclothymic disorder generally remembered their childhood as having been more traumatic, with a less satisfying relationship to their parents.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1989

Clinical differentiation between major depression only, major depression with panic disorder and panic disorder only. Childhood, personality and personality disorder.

A consecutive sample of 298 nonpsychotic psychiatric outpatients was classified according to DSM-III and divided into 4 diagnostic groups: pure major depression, mixed major depression/panic disorder, pure panic disorder and a remaining group of other disorders. The patients' report of childhood relationship to parents and siblings, family atmosphere, their own personality characteristics as children and precipitating events were compared in the various groups. In addition, differences in personality and frequencies of personality disorders were investigated by means of various instruments. Our results show that the type of relationship to parents in childhood differed in the various groups. The mother seems to be the most crucial person for the development of depression, the father for the development of panic disorder. Patients with major depression are more obsessive and patients with panic disorder more infantile and avoidant with less control of their personality. Finally, patients with mixed conditions are more in accordance with the DSM-III anxious personality disorder cluster.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

DSM-III symptom disorders (Axis I) and personality disorders (Axis II) in an outpatient population.

Type and prevalence of Axis I and Axis II disorders (DSM-III) were assessed in a sample of 298 consecutive psychiatric outpatients. The instruments used were SCID and SIDP. About half of the Axis I diagnoses consisted of different subgroups of depression. Most patients had more than one diagnosis, anxiety being the second most common disorder. Eighty one percent of the subjects met the criteria for a personality disorder diagnosis; half of them obtained more than one Axis II diagnosis. Personality disorder was more common among men than among women. Avoidant and dependent personality disorders constituted the most frequent diagnoses.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The relationship between DSM-III symptom disorders (Axis I) and personality disorders (Axis II) in an outpatient population.

The relationship between symptom disorder and personality disorder according to DSM-III was studied in 289 consecutive outpatients. It was observed that personality disorders occurred frequently among the chronic affective and anxiety disorders. The "dramatic" personality disorders were observed especially frequently among patients with cyclothymic disorder, and the "eccentric" personality disorders among patients with a diagnosis of dysthymic disorder, social phobia and agoraphobia. Dramatic personality disorder was also common among patients with simple phobia. As expected, a close correspondence was observed between social phobia, agoraphobia and avoidant personality disorder, between substance use disorder and borderline personality disorder, and between obsessive-compulsive disorder and compulsive personality disorder. Even if a relationship was observed, it was not strong enough to warrant a combination of chronic symptom disorder diagnoses and personality disorder diagnoses.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Major depression, anxiety disorders and mixed conditions. Childhood and precipitating events.

A consecutive sample of non-psychotic outpatients was divided into 4 groups: pure major depression, mixed major depression-anxiety disorder, pure anxiety disorder and a remaining group of other disorders. The patient reports of childhood losses, relation to parents, siblings and family climate, their own personality characteristics as children and precipitating events were compared in the various groups. On childhood experiences and precipitating events, it appears that the mixed group reported somewhat differently from the pure anxiety and the pure depression group, and very often differently from the group of other disorder. Patients with mixed major depression-anxiety disorder generally remembered their childhood as being more traumatic with a less satisfactory relationship to their parents. Prior to the onset of the disorder, they had more often experienced conflicts with partner, spouse or fiancé.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Sampling problems in twin research.

Sampling problems related to twin problems may be of at least three kinds: small samples, self-selection and unrepresentative ascertainment. The article mostly discusses the third type of sample problem. Data from a nationwide Norwegian twin study show that the results of twin studies will be quite different depending upon the ascertainment procedure. According to both the ICD-9 as well as the DSM-III classification system, only samples ascertained from mental hospitals treating severe cases are able to demonstrate hereditary factors of any strength.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMed1986

Genetic factors in moderately severe and mild affective disorders.

The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of hereditary factors in the development of affective and depressive adjustment disorders. I interviewed 151 index twins with moderately severe and mild affective illness, as well as their co-twins. The analysis of concordance rates indicates that hereditary factors may be important in the development of bipolar disorder and in major depression, except in non-psychotic, hysterical individuals. Furthermore, hereditary factors may not play any role in dysthymic disorder and depressive adjustment disorder. These findings are tentative and should be viewed against the methodologic limitations of this study, which include small sample size of the subgroups and the use of the Present State Examination as the basis for the DSM-III diagnoses.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1986

Genetics of somatoform disorders.

I investigated the contribution of hereditary factors in somatoform disorders. Fourteen monozygotic and 21 dizygotic index twins and their co-twins were personally interviewed. The results showed a concordance of 29% in monozygotic and 10% in dizygotic pairs. However, similarity in childhood experience seemed to influence the concordance rates. Thus, even if somatoform disorders appear familial, the transmission may be environmental. Furthermore, the study showed a high frequency of anxiety disorders, especially generalized anxiety disorders, in the co-twins of somatoform-disordered twins.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Neurotic depression and DSM-III.

The background for the removing of the concept of neurosis from the American diagnosing system is discussed. Results are presented showing how cases diagnosed as neurotic depression according to ICD-9, are distributed on various DSM-III diagnoses. It appears that half of the sample is diagnosed as major depression, one-fifth as dysthymic disorder and one-fifth as depressive adjustment disorder. Concerning the delineation between different unipolar depressive diagnoses in DSM-III, results from a twin study are presented showing that many cotwins have a different depressive diagnosis than their index twin partner. It is concluded that the heterogeneous ICD-9 diagnosis of neurotic depression seems in DSM-III to have been replaced by an equal heterogeneous diagnosis major depression.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1986

Anxiety neuroses and DSM-III.

The relationship between ICD-9 anxiety states, phobic states, obsessive-compulsive disorder and DSM-III anxiety disorders is discussed. Data are presented which show that one third of ICD-9 anxiety states are diagnosed as affective disorders by DSM-III. Research concerning cases with a concurrent affective and anxiety disorder is discussed. It is finally concluded that while DSM-III has unsolved hierarchial problems, the identification of the two disorders, panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, seems advantageous and the inclusion of obsessive compulsive disorder, among the anxiety disorders, reasonable.

Agoraphobia↗
PubMed1986

Childhood and family characteristics in panic and generalized anxiety disorders.

The author compared 32 patients who had generalized anxiety disorders with 29 patients who had panic disorder and agoraphobia with panic attacks. He observed that patients with generalized anxiety disorder more often had lost their fathers and/or mothers before the age of 16 years, whereas patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia with panic attacks had more often experienced chronic anxiety in childhood. More parents and siblings of patients with panic disorder had affective disorders and alcohol abuse than did parents and siblings of patients with anxiety disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Relationship of schizotypal personality disorder to schizophrenia: genetics.

The adoptive, family, and twin studies show that schizotypal personality features are found among the relatives of schizophrenics. However, it has not been shown that there is a higher risk of schizophrenia among the relatives of schizotypals. An explanation may be that the current DSM-III criteria of schizotypal personality disorder do not adequately define schizotypals genetically related to schizophrenia. While some of the cases that meet DSM-III criteria are within the schizophrenia spectrum, others are unrelated to schizophrenia. There is reason to believe that schizotypals characterized by distant relationship to others, suspiciousness, eccentricity, peculiar communication, and dysfunctional school and work performance are within the schizophrenic sphere, while individuals with psychotic-like symptoms phenomenologically similar to schizophrenia and diagnosed as schizotypal personality disorders in DSM-III represent decompensation of other personality disorders.

Adoption↗
PubMed1985

Developmental differentiation of anxiety and affective neuroses.

One hundred and fifty anxiety neurotic and neurotic depressive twin probands were differentiated into three groups by means of discriminant analysis, 50 in each group. The groups were named pure anxiety neurosis, mixed anxiety-depression and pure neurotic depression. Childhood environmental factors seemed important in the development of pure neurotic depression, while mixed anxiety-depression seemed to be determined by environmental factors in adult life. Further investigation showed that loss of a parent before the age of 16, and moving before the age of 14 seemed important in the development of pure neurotic depression. Loss, or threat of loss, of love objects appeared to be the most common precipitating event for the neurotic depression and mixed anxiety-depression groups, while pregnancy and childbirth seemed to be of great significance in the development of pure anxiety neuroses. Furthermore, unmarried status was most frequent in the mixed anxiety-depressive group of probands.

Adult↗