Erol Özmen

Anxiety, depression, and nature of acne vulgaris in adolescents

Background The reported prevalence of acne in adolescence is variable; improved treatment may have modified its prevalence and severity; acne has been related to psychiatric morbidity for many years.

The association of self-esteem, depression and body satisfaction with obesity among Turkish adolescents.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity and to examine the effects of actual weight status, perceived weight status and body satisfaction on self-esteem and depression in a high school population in Turkey.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of 2101 tenth-grade Turkish adolescents aged 15–18 was conducted. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using weight and height measures. The overweight and obesity were based on the age- and gender-spesific BMI cut-off points of the International Obesity Task Force values. Self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and depression was measured using Childrens Depression Inventory. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine relationships among the variables.ResultsBased on BMI cut-off points, 9.0% of the students were overweight and 1.1% were obese. Logistic regression analysis indicated that (1) being male and being from a higher socio-economical level were important in the prediction of overweight based on BMI; (2) being female and being from a higher socio-economical level were important in the prediction of perceived overweight; (3) being female was important in the prediction of body dissatisfaction; (4) body dissatisfaction was related to low self-esteem and depression, perceived overweight was related only to low self-esteem but actual overweight was not related to low self-esteem and depression in adolescents.ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that school-based adolescents in urban Turkey have a lower risk of overweight and obesity than adolescents in developed countries. The findings of this study suggest that psychological well-being of adolescents is more related to body satisfaction than actual and perceived weight status is.

Public attitudes to schizophrenia in rural Turkey

Abstract.Background:The aim of this study was to determine the public’s attitudes and their correlates towards patients with schizophrenia in rural areas.Methods:The study was carried out in a village near Manisa City, Turkey. Two hundred and eight subjects completed the public survey form which consists of ten items screening demographic and health status and 32 items rating attitudes towards schizophrenia.Results:Half of the subjects stated that persons with schizophrenia are aggressive and that they should not be free in the community. More than half of the subjects stated that they would be irritated about having a neighbour with schizophrenia (61.5 %), that they would not rent their home to a person with schizophrenia (58.2 %), that they do not want to work with a person with schizophrenia (61.1 %), and that they would not get married to a person with schizophrenia (85.6 %).Conclusions:The public in rural areas sufficiently recognises schizophrenia but has a tendency to stigmatise schizophrenic patients. Their attitudes are generally negative and rejective. They do not want close contact with schizophrenic patients. Interpretation of schizophrenia as a mental illness leads to more negative attitudes and increases the social distance.

Public attitudes to depression in urban Turkey - the influence of perceptions and causal attributions on social distance towards individuals suffering from depression.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to determine public attitudes towards patients with depression and the influence of perception and causal attributions on social distance towards individuals suffering from depression in urban areas.MethodsThis study was carried out with a representative sample in Istanbul which is the biggest metropolis in Turkey. Seven hundred and seven subjects completed the public survey form which consisted of ten items screening the demographic features and health status of the participants, and 32 items rating attitudes towards depression.ResultsThe respondents’ attitudes towards depression were very negative and nearly half of the subjects perceived people with depression as dangerous. More than half of the subjects stated that they would not marry a person with depression, and nearly half of the subjects stated that they would not rent their house to a person with depression. One-quarter of the subjects stated that depressive patients should not be free in the community. The subjects who considered depression as a disease and who believed that weakness of personality and social problems cause depression had negative attitudes towards depression.ConclusionsIn Istanbul, people recognise depression well, but their attitudes towards it are fairly negative. The urban public has unfavourable attitudes towards depression and a tendency to isolate patients from the society. Notwithstanding the high prevalence, there is still considerable stigmatisation associated with depression.

Public opinions and beliefs about the treatment of depression in urban Turkey

BackgroundAlthough attitudes towards psychiatric illness influence its presentation, detection, recognition, treatment adherence and rehabilitation, the lay publics opinions and beliefs about the treatment of depression have not been investigated sufficiently.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine public opinions and beliefs about the treatment of depression and the influence of perception and causal attributions on attitudes towards treatment of depression in urban areas.MethodsThis study was carried out with a representative sample in Istanbul, which is the biggest metropolis in Turkey. Seven hundred and seven subjects completed the public survey form which consisted of 32 items rating attitudes towards depression.ResultsThe public believes that psychological and social interventions are more effective than pharmacotherapy, and that the medicines used in treatment of depression are harmful and addictive. There was a general reluctance to consult a physician for depression, and psychiatrists were felt to be more helpful than general practitioners. The public viewed depression as treatable. A high educational level and perceiving depression as a disease is associated with positive beliefs and opinions about the treatment of depression; but the perception of depressive patients as aggressive is associated with negative beliefs and opinions about the treatment of depression.ConclusionThe beliefs that “psychological and social interventions are more effective than pharmacotherapy” and “antidepressants are harmful and addictive” must specifically be taken into account in clinical practice and in anti-stigma campaigns. Additional studies are needed to understand the publics tendency to conceptualise depression as a psychosocial problem. In clinical practice, depression should be introduced as a bio-psychosocial disease whatever its cause: biological, psychological or social. In addition, the differences between extreme worry and disease, and the lack of aggressiveness of depressive patients, must be emphasised.

Evaluation of serum MicroRNA expression profiles in patients with panic disorder

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Studies on the role of microRNAs (miRNA) in anxiety disorders are limited. We aimed to determine the availability of miRNAs as biomarkers in serum and to demonstrate the changes of miRNAs expression in patients with panic disorder (PD). METHODS: Thirty-five patients with PD and 35 healthy controls (HC) were evaluated with Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders-I (SCID-I) and Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS). In each group miRNA expression analysis was performed in venous blood by the Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT–PCR) method for genetic evaluation. RESULTS: Compared with the HC group, eight miRNA expression levels were found different in the PD group. Five of them were upregulated and three of them were downregulated. There was no correlation between the levels of miRNA expression with PDSS total score and PDSS sub-items. However, miR-1297 and miR-4465 expression levels were significantly different between the two groups. LIMITATIONS: There are some limitations in this research. Firstly the number of samples is small. Another limitation of our study is that the presence of medical illness and continuous drug use were not excluded when PD and HC groups were selected. CONCLUSIONS: Our research is the first miRNA expression study in patients with PD which excluded psychotropic use and additional psychiatric disorders. In the PD group, miR-1297 and miR-4465 expression was upregulated than compared to the HC group. miR-1297 and miR-4465 regulate the GABAA gene regions that affect GABAA receptor subtypes that thought to play a role in the aetiology of PD.