News Release
American Psychiatric Association
1400 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Release No. 97-20
April 25, 1997
Contact: Gus Cervini
Telephone: (202) 682-6142
E-mail: [email protected]
"ARE YOU DEPRESSED?"
Simply asking terminally ill patients if they are depressed most of the day, nearly every day, is the best predictor whether they'll be diagnosed with major or minor depression. (Terminal illness is, in some cases, accompanied by clinical depression.) One hundred percent of patients who answered "Yes" to this question later met the diagnostic criteria for a depressive illness. Investigators in the University of Manitoba Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine and other Canadian researchers found that none of three other commonly used depression screening tools performed as well as that easy-to-ask single question. Untreated depression deeply affects patients' quality of life, the risk of other illnesses, and end-of-life decisionmaking. ("Are You Depressed?: Screening for Depression in the Terminally Ill," American Journal of Psychiatry, May 1997)
"COMPLICATED GRIEF" PREDICTS CANCER, HEART TROUBLE, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Extended complicated grieving over the death of a spouse increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, or high blood pressure. While most widows and widowers experience a lifting of the most severe feelings of depression and anxiety within six months, some continue to feel stunned and disbelieving. They may avoid reminders of the spouse, have auditory and visual hallucinations of their deceased wife or husband, feel bitterness and "survivor guilt" over the death, and identify with the loved one in ways like feeling pain in the area of the body affected by the deceased spouse's final illness.
Investigators at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and other researchers found that patients still experiencing such "complicated grief" at six months are at higher risk than other grieving patients of having a first diagnosis of cancer, heart disease, or high blood pressure within 25 months of their loss. ("Traumatic Grief as a Risk Factor for Mental and Physical Morbidity," American Journal of Psychiatry, May 1997)
PHONE SYSTEMS CAN AID IN DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
Today, information about your bank balance or airline schedule is no further away than the buttons on your touch-tone phone. Now the same automated telephone technology is being used to help individuals with problems ranging from quitting smoking to dealing with mild to moderate depression. A third of nearly 600 smokers quit, and 14 percent of the 600 still were smoke-free six months later. Three-quarters of callers with mild to moderate depression were helped to decrease their symptoms.
The author, James C. Mundt, Ph.D., of the Dean Foundation for Health, Research, and Education, in Middleton, Wisconsin, says phone applications can't replace traditional treatments, but can enhance their effectiveness. ("Interactive Voice Responses Can Enhance Diagnosis and Treatment," Psychiatric Services, May 1997)
SEVERE LIFE STRESS SPEEDS PROGRESS RATE OF HIV DISEASE
Death of a mate, trouble with a boss, and chronic financial problems can speed the progress of early HIV disease. Specifically, experiencing any one of these stressors in a six-month period doubles the risk of early disease progress. These findings by investigators at the University of Florida College of Medicine and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, help physicians understand the role of emotions in the course of AIDS and may be applicable to other immune-based diseases such as cancer. ("Severe Life Stress as a Predictor of Early Disease Progression in HIV Infection," American Journal of Psychiatry, May 1997)
News from the American Psychiatric Association
APA's 150 ANNUAL MEETING, MAY 17-22, 1997, IN SAN DIEGO, CA
The latest findings in psychiatric research into mental illnesses and substance use disorders will be presented by psychiatrists, mental health professionals, researchers and educators at the APA's 150th Annual Meeting May 17-22, 1997, in San Diego, CA. The meeting will include presentations in more than 60 topic areas. Media registration to the Annual Meeting is complimentary. Preliminary programs, housing forms, and registration materials are now available. Contact Gus Cervini, APA Media Coordinator, at (202) 682-6142.
MEDIA ALERT: MAY IS NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH MONTH
1997's National Mental Health Month organizers are encouraging activities that focus public attention on the all too common inequities between insurance coverage for mental illnesses and other medical conditions. National Mental Health Month is the creation of the National Mental Health Association (NMHA). NMHA President and CEO Michael M. Faenza says, "Mental illnesses are real, common, diagnosable, and treatable; yet insurance discrimination against people with mental illnesses is common. Individuals can help educate policymakers about this inequity." Mr. Faenza noted that, "Most Americans do not have adequate coverage in the event of a mental health problem, let alone a serious mental illness. Annual out-of-pocket expenses for a serious mental disorder can cost tens of thousands of dollars under most current healthcare plans."
The American Psychiatric Association supports National Mental Health Month and offers free informational pamphlets to help the public understand these disorders and their treatments. For more information on specific National Mental Health Month activities in your area, contact the National Mental Health Association at (703) 684-7722.
Note to Media: For information on informing your readers about the free APA Let's Talk Facts About Mental Illnesses series, contact Gus Cervini, APA Media Coordinator, at (202) 682-6142.
FREE SCREENING FOR ANXIETY DISORDERS
Free public screenings for anxiety disorders will be offered across the nation on National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day, Wednesday, May 7, 1997. The program, a National Mental Health Month event, is co-sponsored by the American Psychiatric Association and other mental health organizations. It is conducted by the National Mental Illness Screening Project, the psychiatrist-led organization responsible for the highly successful National Depression Screening Day held
each October during Mental Illness Awareness Week. "Anxiety disorders" refer to generalized anxiety disorder, phobias, panic disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Media interested in National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day should call Mary Guardino, program director, at (718) 351-1717.
DEADLINE FOR 1998 MEDIA AWARDS ENTRIES
The deadline for the 1998 media awards entries is July 31, 1997. Entries for the 1998 media awards must have first appeared in print or first aired between August 1, 1996, and July 31, 1997. For more information about the awards and an entry form, contact Erin Murphy, APA Media Assistant, at (202) 682-6324, e-mail:
MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
-- Unless otherwise noted, contact Gus Cervini, APA Media
Coordinator, for more information, (202) 682-6142,
e-mail:
--April 24-30, 1997 -- National TV-Turnoff Week, A project of TV-Free America, recognized by the APA and 44 other organizations. Expected number of participants in 1997's Turnoff: 5 million. For more information, contact TV-Free America at (202) 887-0436, e-mail:
--May 1997 -- National Mental Health Month. Contact Patrick Cody, Director of Media Relations of the National Mental Health Association (NMHA), at (703) 838-7528.
--May 7, 1997 -- National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day, a National Mental Health Month event. Contact Mary Guardino, Director, at (718) 351-1717.
--May 17-22, 1997, San Diego, CA -- Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association
--July 31, 1997 -- Deadline for APA 1998 Media Awards entries. Contact Erin Murphy, APA Media Assistant, (202) 682-6324, e-mail:
# # #
For more information on these topics or other areas of interest, or for interviews with sources cited in News Briefs, contact Gus Cervini, APA's Media Coordinator, at (202) 682-6142; e-mail
# # #
The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical speciality society whose 42,000 physician members specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional illnesses and substance use disorders.
RSS