Aaron A. Lee

Depression Treatment Among Rural Older Adults: Preferences and Factors Influencing Future Service Use

The purpose of this study was to investigate depression treatment preferences and anticipated service use in a sample of adults aged 55 years or older who reside in rural Wyoming. Sixteen participants (mean age = 59) completed 30- to 60-minute, semi-structured interviews. Qualitative methods were used to characterize common themes. Social/provider support and community gatekeepers were perceived by participants as important potential facilitators for seeking depression treatment. In contrast, perceived stigma and the value placed on self-sufficiency emerged as key barriers to seeking treatment for depression in this rural, young-old sample. Participants anticipated presenting for treatment in the primary care sector and preferred a combination of medication and psychotherapy for treatment. Participants were, however, more willing to see mental health professionals if they were first referred by a clergy member or primary care physician.

Barriers and Facilitators of a Healthy Lifestyle Among Persons with Serious and Persistent Mental Illness: Perspectives of Community Mental Health Providers

The investigators used qualitative methods to examine perspectives of community mental health professionals on obesity management in adults with serious mental illness (SMI). Data from 5 focus groups were subjected to constant comparison analysis and grounded theory. Results showed that influences at individual, social, community, and societal levels impact development and maintenance of obesity. Mental health providers desired a collaborative relationship with health promotion program staff. They also believed that frequent, group-based health promotion should include participation incentives for adults with SMI and should occur over durations of at least 6-months to achieve improved health outcomes for this population.

Oral Health in Adults with Serious Mental Illness: Needs for and Perspectives on Care

This study used qualitative methods to investigate barriers to and facilitators of oral health care among 25 adult community mental health outpatients with serious mental illness (SMI). Participants completed 30- to 60-min, semi-structured interviews that were recorded and transcribed. Qualitative analysis was used to characterize common themes. Results showed that lack of awareness of dental problems, poverty, and dental care access were key barriers to oral health care. When oral health care was accessed, fear of stigma was associated with missed opportunities to educate about the intersection of mental and oral health. Community mental health providers were viewed as trusted and important sources of advocacy and support for obtaining oral health care when needed. Oral health may be improved for persons with SMI by implementing education in points of frequent service contact, such as community mental health.

Anxiety Sensitivity in Dermatological Patients

BACKGROUND Anxiety symptoms commonly occur in dermatological patients and can affect the severity of dermatological symptoms. Anxiety sensitivity (AS), defined as the fear of anxiety symptoms, is a well-supported cognitive vulnerability factor that may be particularly significant in these patients. OBJECTIVE This study compared the severity of AS between patients with psychodermatological (e.g., psoriasis) and nonpsychodermatological disorders (e.g., skin cancer). It was predicted that individuals with psychodermatological disorders would evidence significantly greater AS compared to individuals with nonpsychodermatological disorders. METHOD Adults presenting to outpatient dermatology clinics with psychodermatological (n = 63) and nonpsychodermatological (n = 52) conditions completed self-report questionnaires assessing sociodemographic characteristics, general anxiety, and AS. RESULTS Individuals with psychodermatological conditions reported significantly greater AS compared to individuals with nonpsychodermatological conditions (p < 0.05). Social concerns of AS emerged as the only significant factor that differentiated these categories of dermatological diseases, odds ratio = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.02-1.24, after adjusting for general anxiety. CONCLUSIONS These findings contribute to an advancing area of research linking AS and physical health problems. The results suggest that adjunctive cognitive-behavioral treatments targeting AS reductions could help patients with psychodermatological conditions.

Depression, Diabetic Complications and Disability Among Persons With Comorbid Schizophrenia and Type 2 Diabetes

BACKGROUND People with schizophrenia are at increased risk for type 2 diabetes, its complications, depression, and disability. However, little is known about the interrelationships of these 3 factors in adults with schizophrenia and type 2 diabetes. OBJECTIVE We sought to assess the number of diabetic complications and depressive symptom severity as predictors of disability and evaluate depressive symptom severity as a mediator of the relationship between diabetic complications and disability in a sample of 62 adults with schizophrenia and type 2 diabetes. METHODS Two- and 3-step sequential regression models were used to evaluate the relationship of depression and number of diabetic complications with disability. Path analysis with bootstrapping was used to evaluate depressive symptom severity as a mediator of the relationship between complications and disability. RESULTS Diabetic complications significantly predicted disability scores when controlling for age, gender, socioeconomic status, hemoglobin A1C, positive symptom severity, and negative symptom severity. The addition of depression severity scores resulted in a significant increase in explained variance in disability scores. In the final model, only depression severity scores were significantly associated with disability scores. The full model accounted for 56.2% of the variance in disability scores. Path analysis revealed a significant indirect association of diabetic complications to disability through depression severity scores while controlling for all covariates. The association between complications and disability was nonsignificant when depressive symptom severity was included in the model. CONCLUSIONS Depressive symptoms may present an important and tractable target for interventions aimed at reducing disability in people with schizophrenia and type 2 diabetes.

Anxiety sensitivity and sleep disturbance: Investigating associations among patients with co-occurring anxiety and substance use disorders

Sleep disturbance is a common problem among individuals with anxiety and substance use disorders (SUD). Anxiety sensitivity (AS) is elevated in patients with anxiety disorders and SUD and has been linked to sleep-related problems, including insomnia and somnolence (i.e., daytime sleepiness). We examined the unique roles of AS cognitive, physical, and social concerns in sleep disturbance among a sample of 99 residential SUD patients with anxiety disorders. Clinical levels of insomnia or somnolence were evidenced by 53.5% of the sample. Consistent with predictions, AS physical concerns was significantly associated with insomnia, and AS cognitive concerns was significantly related to insomnia and somnolence. Hierarchical linear regression models were conducted to test the association of AS cognitive and physical concerns with insomnia and somnolence symptoms while controlling for relevant factors. AS cognitive concerns accounted for unique variance, above and beyond withdrawal symptoms, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, in the model examining insomnia symptoms (B=0.30, SE=0.13, p=0.023). Results suggest that AS cognitive concerns may represent an important transdiagnostic mechanism underlying sleep disturbance among individuals with dual diagnosis.

Barriers and facilitators of obesity management in families of youth with emotional and behavioral disorders

While youth with emotional and behavioral disorders experience increased rates of obesity, few obesity interventions exist that are tailored to their needs. Qualitative methods were employed to elucidate obesity management practices in this population. In all, 56 participants (i.e. 21 youths with emotional and behavioral disorders, 20 caregivers of youth with emotional and behavioral disorders, and 15 mental health providers) were recruited from community mental health centers. Participants completed a demographic form and semi-structured interview regarding obesity-related behaviors. Barriers (e.g. psychiatric symptoms) and facilitators (e.g. social support) to obesity management were identified. These results highlight preferred intervention components for this unique population.

Diabetes Knowledge Among Adults with Serious Mental Illness and Comorbid Diabetes Mellitus

ABSTRACT This study examined the association between psychiatric symptoms and diabetes knowledge (DK) among 90 adults with serious mental illness (SMI) and type 2 diabetes. The relationship between DK and glucose control (i.e., A1C) was also examined. In a hierarchical linear regression, greater negative symptom severity and lower cognitive functioning both predicted lower DK, though cognitive functioning superseded negative symptom severity when analyzed simultaneously. A Pearson correlation showed no significant relationship between DK and A1C. Although symptom severity and cognitive functioning are both related to DK among this population, cognitive functioning maybe particularly important.

Self-Efficacy and Hemoglobin A1C Among Adults With Serious Mental Illness and Type 2 Diabetes: The Roles of Cognitive Functioning and Psychiatric Symptom Severity.

Background Self-efficacy is a core element of diabetes self-care and a primary target of diabetes interventions. Adults with serious mental illness (SMI) are twice as likely as adults among the general population to have Type 2 diabetes. This population faces substantial barriers (i.e., cognitive impairment, psychiatric symptoms) to optimal diabetes self-care, but the relationship of these barriers to both self-efficacy and glycemic control (hemoglobin A1C [A1C]) is not clearly understood. Methods Data collected from adult participants with SMI (i.e., schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder) and Type 2 diabetes (n = 92) were used to examine the moderating effects of cognitive functioning and psychiatric symptoms (i.e., positive and negative symptoms) on the association between self-efficacy and A1C. Results The relationship between self-efficacy and A1C was moderated by cognitive functioning (B = −4.03, standard error = 1.54, p = .011). Greater self-efficacy was associated with better glycemic control when cognitive functioning was high, but worse control when functioning was low. The relationship between self-efficacy and A1C was moderated by negative symptom severity (B = 6.88, standard error = 3.34, p = .043). Higher self-efficacy was associated with poorer glycemic control only when negative symptom severity was high. Positive symptoms did not interact with self-efficacy to predict A1C. Conclusions These results suggest that adults with SMI and low cognitive function or high negative symptom severity may misperceive their ability to manage their diabetes. They may benefit from efforts, including care management and monitoring, cognitive remediation, and skill training, to identify and correct inaccurate diabetes self-efficacy.

Exploring the role of sedentary behavior and physical activity in depression and anxiety symptom severity among patients with substance use disorders

Research has consistently shown that regular physical activity may protect against the development and maintenance of depression and anxiety, whereas sedentary behavior may exacerbate depression and anxiety. However, much of the past research in this area has focused on non-clinical populations. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the relations of physical activity and sedentary behavior to depression and anxiety symptom severity among an understudied patient population, patients in residential substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. This study also sought to determine the extent to which physical activity and sedentary behavior relate to depression and anxiety symptom severity above and beyond an established transdiagnostic risk factor for depression and anxiety, emotion dysregulation. A sample of 41 patients from a residential SUD treatment facility completed a variety of self-report measures focused on physical activity, sedentary behavior, emotion dysregulation, and depression and anxiety symptom severity. Physical activity, but not sedentary behavior, was found to significantly predict depression symptom severity above and beyond emotion dysregulation. Physical activity and sedentary behavior did not significantly predict anxiety symptom severity above and beyond emotion dysregulation. In addition to providing additional support for the relevance of emotion dysregulation to depression and anxiety symptom severity, results suggest that physical activity may be another factor to consider in evaluating risk for depression among patients with SUDs. Although additional research in this area is warranted, results also suggest the potential utility of targeting physical activity in reducing risk for depression among patients with SUDs.