Depression Research and Treatment

Background. Swearing is an increasing trend among men and women worldwide. Earlier studies on the positive aspects of profanity mostly relate to pain management and the release of negative emotions. The uniqueness of the current study is its analysis for a possible constructive role of profanity in stress, anxiety, and depression. Method. The current survey involved 253 conveniently selected participants from Pakistan. The study analyzed the role of profanity in connection to stress, anxiety, and depression. Profanity Scale and the Urdu version of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale were used along with a structured interview schedule. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and -test were implied to obtain results. Results. The study revealed that the usage of profane language had significantly inverse correlations with stress (; ), anxiety (; ), and depression (; ). Higher profaners also revealed significantly lower levels of depression (, vs. , ; ; Cohen’s ) and stress (, vs. , ; ; Cohen’s ) as compared to lower profaners. Profanity had no significant correlations with age (; ) and education (; ). Men projected significantly higher levels of profanity as compared to women. Conclusion. The current study viewed profanity similar to the self-defense mechanisms and emphasized on its cathartic role in stress, anxiety, and depression.

Social media use has been linked to adverse health outcomes such as depression. To facilitate interventions, understanding the varied causes of depression is necessary. The authors developed a social media-induced depression tendency (SMIDT) scale for use with young people and aimed to validate it for young people in Nigeria. The study was conducted in three parts using an online survey (Google Forms) with purposive sampling targeting young people. Study 1 was an exploratory study that developed the SMIDT scale with 361 young people aged 16 to 26 years (). A concise measure of SMIDT was obtained. In study 2, confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the SMIDT with young people aged 17 to 25 years (). Construct, discriminant, and concurrent validities were established, and three factors were identified (sensitivity/attention seeking, worthlessness, and escapism/reality avoidance), which explained 55.87% of the variance. Study 3 tested the predictive validity of the scale. The results showed that the 15-item SMIDT scale had high internal consistency and satisfactory validity. The SMIDT scale can enable the assessment of factors associated with social media-induced depression tendency. The three factors identified in the scale provide insight into the factors contributing to depression associated with social media use. The SMIDT scale has the potential to help identify at-risk individuals and in-developing interventions to prevent or reduce social media-induced depression tendencies. However, this study only focused on young people in Nigeria. Additional studies using the SMIDT scale are required to assess its generalizability and applicability in evaluating other factors, such as quality of life among young people. Moreover, while social media use has been associated with adverse health outcomes, it is crucial to recognize that it can also positively affect mental health. Further research is necessary to explore the complex relationships between social media use and mental health outcomes.

Background. People with depression are at increased risk for comorbidities; however, the clustering of comorbidity patterns in these patients is still unclear. Objective. The aim of the study was to identify latent comorbidity patterns and explore the comorbidity network structure that included 12 chronic conditions in adults diagnosed with depressive disorder. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted based on secondary data from the 2017 behavioral risk factor surveillance system (BRFSS) covering all 50 American states. A sample of 89,209 U.S. participants, 29,079 men and 60,063 women aged 18 years or older, was considered using exploratory graphical analysis (EGA), a statistical graphical model that includes algorithms for grouping and factoring variables in a multivariate system of network relationships. Results. The EGA findings show that the network presents 3 latent comorbidity patterns, i.e., that comorbidities are grouped into 3 factors. The first group was composed of 7 comorbidities (obesity, cancer, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, arthritis, kidney disease, and diabetes). The second pattern of latent comorbidity included the diagnosis of asthma and respiratory diseases. The last factor grouped 3 conditions (heart attack, coronary heart disease, and stroke). Hypertension reported higher measures of network centrality. Conclusion. Associations between chronic conditions were reported; furthermore, they were grouped into 3 latent dimensions of comorbidity and reported network factor loadings. The implementation of care and treatment guidelines and protocols for patients with depressive symptomatology and multimorbidity is suggested.

Background. COVID-19 causes many physical and mental complications. The elderly, as one of the vulnerable groups, were more exposed to the problems caused by this pandemic. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of life and depression in the elderly with and without a history of COVID-19 infection. Method. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted on 404 elderly people (202 from the affected group and 202 from the nonaffected group) aged over 60 years old in Shiraz city. The elderly participants were selected based on simple random sampling from the elderly list. In order to collect information, the quality of life questionnaire of the World Health Organization and Beck’s depression questionnaire were used. Data analysis was done through SPSS software version 22 using statistical tests of chi-square, -test, analysis of variance, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. An alpha level under 0.05 was considered the significant level. Results. The average score of depression in the elderly with a history of COVID-19 () was significantly higher than that of the elderly without a history of COVID-19 () (). The average score of the quality of life in the elderly with a history of COVID-19 () was significantly lower than that of the elderly without a history of COVID-19 () (). Conclusion. Elderly people with a history of COVID-19 had more depression and lower quality of life compared to people without a history of COVID-19. It is suggested that planners and health policymakers should pay special attention to the use of effective psychological interventions in order to reduce the problems of the elderly.

Background. Given the high prevalence of depressive disorders in the present world and the lack of adequate awareness about prevention and appropriate interventions, increasing mental health literacy is vital for promoting mental health to reduce depression and its consequences. Methods. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, participants were recruited among the second high school students in the 2018-2019 academic year. The sample size was 2038, and samples were selected by multistage cluster sampling from different areas of Tehran. Demographic variables like age, gender, level of education, and parents’ characteristics and mental health literacy questions in treatment and prevention areas were evaluated. Results. Analyses showed that of high school students, 83% considered getting help from psychiatrists and 80% considered learning stress management as the best preventive measures, while as the best treatment measures, 79.5% considered counseling the best place to refer for visiting a professional and 45% selected general counseling centers. Conclusion. The study results showed that high school students have a positive attitude toward preventing and treating depressive disorders, getting help from specialists, and useful measures for depressed people. But they did not know enough about preventive measures, including learning effective coping skills, reading self-help books, and continuing to take psychiatric medications. Planning and providing the necessary training are important, especially for high school students.

Background. Antenatal depression (AND) is a common mood disorder that affects both the mother and the child. Objective. The current study is aimed at identifying the prevalence of antenatal depression and the risk factors associated with it in South Indian pregnant women. Materials and Methods. The current study was carried out in a tertiary care teaching hospital where pregnancy and postnatal care are offered. In the study, 314 pregnant women who visited the antenatal clinic for their prenatal checkups were included. To diagnose possible depression, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used. The chi-square test was applied to determine the association between antenatal depression and various socioeconomic, obstetric, and medical factors. A logistic regression analysis was performed to identify significant confounding variables. Results. Of the total 314 women, 69 (21.98%) were suffering from possible depression with the mean EPDS score being . Women of younger age had greater risks for depression than older women (; 95% CI: 0.56-7.20). Maternal age (, ) and the presence of health issues during the current pregnancy (, ) were the factors significantly associated with antenatal depression. Conclusions. Clinical efforts should focus on screening antenatal depression, early identification, and effective care, thus preventing progression to postpartum depression and its detrimental effects.