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T Reichborn-Kjennerud

Publications and source records attributed to T Reichborn-Kjennerud.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Subjective well-being: genetic and environmental contributions to stability and change.

BACKGROUND: Previous cross-sectional studies have found substantial genetic influences on individual variation in subjective well-being (SWB), and evidence for sex-specific genetic effects has been reported. However, the genetic and environmental influences on stability and change in SWB over time are largely unexplored. METHOD: Questionnaire data on SWB from a population-based sample of Norwegian twins born 1967 to 1979, initially surveyed in 1992 (T1) and re-surveyed in 1998 (T2), were analysed using structural equation modelling to explore the relative effects of genetic and environmental influences on phenotypic stability and change. RESULTS: The phenotypic cross-time correlations for SWB were 0.51 and 0.49 for males and females respectively. The best-fitting longitudinal model specified only additive genetic and individual environmental effects with qualitative and quantitative sex-specific genetic influences. For both males and females, the additive genetic factors influencing SWB were largely stable, although some time-specific genetic contributions were indicated. Cross-time correlations for genetic effects were 0.85 and 0.78 for males and females respectively. The individual environmental influences were primarily time-specific. Additive genetic effects explained approximately 80% of the phenotypic cross-time correlation. For females, the magnitude of the additive genetic effects decreased significantly from T1 to T2, whereas for males, the estimates generally remained unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: For both males and females, long-term stability of SWB was mainly attributable to stable additive genetic factors, whereas susceptibility to change was mostly related to individual environmental factors. However, both stable environmental contributions and emerging genetic influences were indicated.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed2003

Gender differences in binge-eating: a population-based twin study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether genetic and environmental effects on liability to binge-eating (BE) are of equal importance for males and females and whether the same genetic risk factors predispose to BE in the two sexes. METHOD: Questionnaire data on 8045 same sex and opposite sex twins, aged 19-31 years, from a population-based Norwegian registry, was used to estimate the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to liability for BE utilizing structural equation modeling. RESULTS: In the best-fitting model, the magnitude of genetic and environmental effects on BE was the same for males and females. Heritability was 51%. The correlation between genetic risk factors in men and women was estimated to be +0.57. CONCLUSION: Binge-eating appears to be equally heritable in males and females. Although the majority of the genetic risk factors are shared between the sexes, there may exist gender-specific genetic effects on liability.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Back-neck pain and symptoms of anxiety and depression: a population-based twin study.

BACKGROUND: Clinical and epidemiological studies have shown an association between anxiety and depression and pain in the back and neck. The nature of this relationship is not clear. This study aimed to investigate the extent to which common genetic and environmental aetiological factors contribute to the covariance between symptoms of anxiety and depression and back-neck pain. METHODS: Measures of back-neck pain and symptoms of anxiety and depression were part of a self-report questionnaire sent in 1992 to twins born in Norway between 1967 and 1974 (3996 pairs). Structural equation modelling was applied to determine to what extent back-neck pain and symptoms of anxiety and depression share genetic and environmental liability factors. RESULTS: The phenotypic correlation between symptoms of anxiety and depression and back-neck pain was 0.31. Individual differences in both anxiety and depression and back-neck pain were best accounted for by additive genetic and individual environmental factors. Heritability estimates were 0.53 and 0.30 respectively. For back-neck pain, however, a model specifying only shared- and individual environmental effects could not be rejected. Bivariate analyses revealed that the correlation between back-neck pain and symptoms of anxiety and depression was best explained by additive genetic and individual environmental factors. Genetic factors affecting both phenotypes accounted for 60% of the covariation. There were no significant sex differences. CONCLUSION: The results support previous findings of a moderate association between back-neck pain and symptoms of anxiety and depression, and suggest that this association is primarily due to common genetic effects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

[The foundation for psychiatric treatment--from belief to science].

Like other clinical disciplines, psychiatry has been met with increasing demands to document the scientific foundations for its treatments. The introduction of evidence-based medicine has contributed to this. Psychiatry holds a unique position compared to other medical specialties because it deals not only with physical or biological matters, but also with questions of meaning and mental phenomena. The scientific and clinical approach to psychiatry must incorporate both these aspects. This cannot be accomplished through a purely hermeneutic or a purely relativistic position. In isolation, these approaches cannot contribute to bridging the gap between research and clinical practice. Evidence-based medicine, on the other hand, through a stronger emphasis on empirical scientific evidence as the basis of treatment methods, enables us to secure better and safer therapies for our patients and augment the professional status of psychiatry. A critical attitude towards established "truths" will prevent stagnation in static or dogmatic positions, and thereby promote continuous development. Quality assurance and scientific validation is basically a question of ethics, hence we cannot avoid attending to these issues.

Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed1996

Response to light therapy in seasonal affective disorder: personality disorders and temperament as predictors of outcome.

Outcome after 6 days of morning light therapy in subjects fulfilling criteria for winter seasonal affective disorder (SAD) was examined. Responders had significantly fewer previous episodes of SAD. Patients with a diagnosis of any DSM-III-R, axis II personality disorder, were significantly less likely to respond to light therapy than patients without axis II pathology. Poor treatment outcome was also significantly associated with: one or more personality disorders in cluster C, avoidant personality disorder, high number of positive criteria for self-defeating personality disorder and high score on the harm avoidance scale of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. Temperament accounted for 25% of the variance in treatment outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Platelet monoamine oxidase activity in patients with winter seasonal affective disorder.

The aim of the present study was to examine whether high or low levels of platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity were associated with an increased risk of winter seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or of developing characteristic vegetative symptoms during episodes of the disorder. We also investigated the relationship between MAO activity and the Global Seasonality Scale (GSS), a measure of seasonal variation in sleep length, social activity, mood, weight, appetite, and energy level. Patients with SAD (n = 49), patients with subsyndromal SAD (n = 11), and normal volunteers (n = 25) participated in the study. We found significantly higher levels of platelet MAO activity in females but did not observe significant differences across age groups or between groups of patients tested in different seasons or mood states. MAO activity (whether high or low) was not associated with a significant increase in risk of SAD or of developing hypersomnia, hyperphagia, or carbohydrate craving during episodes of winter depression. We found no significant relationship between GSS and MAO activity. Patients who had made suicide attempts during an episode of SAD had significantly lower mean levels of platelet MAO activity than other patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Thyroid function in seasonal affective disorder.

Morning serum levels of triiodothyronine (T3), free thyroxine (F-T4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were measured in Winter-Seasonal Affective Disorder patients in nondepressed state in summer and before and after light treatment in winter. Practically all patients had hormone levels well within the reference ranges. T3 and F-T4, but not TSH, were significantly higher in winter than in summer; this is considered a normal phenomenon. There was no significant correlation between hormone levels and severity of winter depression. Light treatment did not alter serum hormone levels.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Personality disorders in patients with winter depression.

Sixty-six patients satisfying the criteria for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) winter depression type (n = 57) or subsyndromal SAD (n = 9), were interviewed in a nondepressed state with the Structured Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SIDP-R). Twenty-three percent of the patients in the SAD sample met DSM-III-R criteria for one or more categorical diagnosis of personality disorder (PD). Disorders in cluster C occurred in 18% of the sample, while 12% had cluster B PDs and 5% a cluster A disorder. The relative number of positive criteria, as a dimensional measure of PD, were higher for all cluster C disorders than for any PD in the other clusters. Our data indicate that the pattern of personality disorders in patients with winter SAD are similar to that previously reported for outpatients with non-SAD major depression. We explored the relationship between lifetime severity and clinical manifestation of SAD and dimensional measures of PD with multiple regression analyses. No significant association was found. This is in accordance with the hypothesis that the two disorders are distinct conditions with independent causes.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Characteristics of winter depression in the Oslo area (60 degrees N).

This is the first comprehensive description of winter depression (WD), as part of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), from Norway, and one of the very few from so far north. A total of 128 media-recruited people had first been screened with the Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire and were thereafter personally interviewed. The criteria for DSM-III-R mood disorder, seasonal pattern, were satisfied by 85%, whereas 73% satisfied the criteria of Rosenthal et al. for SAD. Seven percent were diagnosed as subsyndromal SAD. The main characteristics of our patient group were in reasonable accordance with other clinical SAD materials: there were 81% women; the mean age was 44 years (range: 20 to 76); the mean age for SAD debut was 24 years (range: 4 to 71); and the duration of WD was most often from October to March or April. Only 12% had ever been manic or hypomanic in summer. During their WD, most patients suffered at least one of the symptoms hypersomnia, hyperphagia or carbohydrate craving; 16% also had a craving for fatty food in winter, but this may be considered "normal" at this northerly latitude.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Treatment of winter depression in Norway. I. Short- and long-term effects of 1500-lux white light for 6 days.

Patients with seasonal affective disorder (winter depression) from the Oslo area (at about 60 degrees N) recruited through mass media advertising were treated with 1500-lx white full-spectrum light for 2 h in the morning for 6 days. Their clinical state was assessed at baseline and 1, 3, 6, 10 and 14 weeks after commencement of treatment with an extended version of Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and Clinical Global Impression. Forty patients (35 women, 5 men, age range 24 to 64 years) completed 1 week of light treatment. A subgroup of 9 patients received light in addition to ongoing drug treatment. The mean reduction in total extended MADRS score at week 1 was 48% in patients receiving only light and 56% in patients receiving light in addition to drugs. In spite of the low dose of light given, this is comparable to other reported results using light treatment for winter depression. In contrast to most other studies, however, the improvement at week 1 was maintained for the rest of the season in most patients. Only 5 patients were given another light treatment course, and another 5 were switched to drug treatment due to their unsatisfactory response to light treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Treatment of winter depression in Norway. II. A comparison of the selective monoamine oxidase A inhibitor moclobemide and placebo.

Thirty-four patients with seasonal affective disorder, winter depression type (WD) were randomly distributed to receive the selective monoamine oxidase-A inhibitor moclobemide (400 mg daily) or placebo in a double-blind, parallel group study lasting for up to 14 weeks. Severity measures were the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) extended with characteristic symptoms of WD; summed score of the "atypical" symptoms hypersomnia, hyperphagia and carbohydrate craving; and Clinical Global Impressions (CGI). After 3 weeks, patients with unsatisfactory response were switched to open moclobemide. Three patients on placebo dropped out before 3 weeks. Extended MADRS and CGI showed no significant difference between the groups at 3 weeks, whereas the atypical score was reduced significantly more on moclobemide than on placebo already after one week. Nonresponders after 3 weeks (9 of 16 on moclobemide and 7 of 15 on placebo) improved rapidly after being given open moclobemide. Predictor analysis showed a remarkably high negative correlation between improvement at 3 weeks (extended MADRS) and age in the placebo group and a strong, nonsignificant trend in the same direction in the moclobemide group. Dichotomizing the patients according to the median age (45 years) resulted in a somewhat better effect of moclobemide than placebo in the older age group. There were no significant differences in side effects between moclobemide and placebo.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[Bereavement, depression and immunity].

Research on the relationship between bereavement, depression and immune function is reviewed with special regard to cellular immunity known to be important in the defence against virus infections and cancer. The results are ambiguous, but indicate reduced cellular immunity in connection with bereavement as well as serious depression. This reduced immunity is possibly more marked with increasing age. The author also discusses some methodological issues in psychoneuroimmunology.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

DSM-III-R personality disorders in seasonal affective disorder: change associated with depression.

Forty-five patients with winter Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) completed the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised (PDQ-R) in a depressed state before starting therapy (light or medication), and again 14 weeks later when the scores on the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) had been reduced by an average of 74%. Prevalence and pattern of personality disorders (PDs) before treatment were similar to that found in patients with nonseasonal major depressive disorder (MDD) during a depressive episode. Number of categorical diagnoses were lower at follow-up for most PDs, but differences were not statistically significant. However, for dimensional scores (number of positive DSM-III-R criteria) significant changes were found for schizotypal, histrionic, narcissistic, and obsessive-compulsive PD, and for total dimensional score in cluster B and total score for all PDs. These changes differ from findings in similar studies of outpatients with nonseasonal MDD. Whether this indicates a specific pattern of change for patients with SAD is discussed. Multiple regression analysis showed a significant association between changes in positive PD criteria between the depressed and nondepressed state and change in depression score. No significant relationship was found between changes in PD criteria and Global Seasonality Score (GSS), a measure reflecting the sum of ratings of seasonal variation in sleep length, social activity, mood, weight, appetite, and energy level.

Adult↗