Gamze Özçürümez

Predictors of psychological distress in survivors of the 1999 earthquakes in Turkey: effects of relocation after the disaster.

Objective:  Relocations after disasters are known to cause added distress in survivors. This study examined the effects of migration and other factors on psychological status of survivors 4 years after the two severe earthquakes in Turkey.

Musical hallucinations associated with abruptly developed bilateral loss of hearing

Objective: To present a depressive patient who developed abrupt hearing loss with musical hallucinations.

Psychosocial aspects of living-related donor renal transplantation: Quality of life and mood in recipients, donors and controls.

Due to the high frequency of living-related donor renal transplantation (LRDRT) in our country, we were concerned both about the recipient and the donor quality of life and psychological well-being. We investigated HRQL and mood in LRDRT recipients, donors, and controls using the Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and 36-item Short Form Health Survey. The recipient group consisted of 69 individuals who underwent renal transplantation between August 2002 and June 2004. The donor group consisted of 35 and the control group 45 healthy individuals. Multivariate analysis of variance and the post hoc (Tukey) test were used to assess and to analyze differences among and between the three groups. The depression scores of the recipients were higher than donors (P < 0.05) but were similar to controls. The recipient scores indicated poorer physical functioning (P < 0.001), greater physical limitation on roles (P < 0.001), and lower levels of general health (P < 0.01) compared to controls. The donor scores indicated higher vitality (P < 0.01), better social functioning (P < 0.05) and greater mental health (P < 0.01) than controls. Poorer health and mood status among the recipient group might reflect the various negative impacts of chronic debilitating disease. It is therefore recommended to screen recipients regularly for clinically relevant HRQL impairments after transplantation.

Factitious cheilitis: a case report

IntroductionFactitious cheilitis is a chronic condition characterized by crusting and ulceration that is probably secondary to chewing and sucking of the lips. Atopy, actinic damage, exfoliative cheilitis, cheilitis granulomatosa or glandularis, contact dermatitis, photosensitivity reactions and neoplasia should be considered in the differential diagnosis of crusted and ulcerated lesions of the lip.Case presentationWe present a 56 year-old female with an ulcerated and crusted lesion on her lower lip. The biopsy showed granulation tissue and associated inflammation but no malignancy. Based on the tissue examination and through clinical evaluation the diagnosis of factitious cheilitis was rendered.ConclusionThorough clinical history, utilization of basic laboratory tests and histopathologic evaluation are required to exclude other diseases and a thoruough psychiatric evaluation and treatment is vital for successful management of these patients.

Association of body mass index with depression and alexithymia

OBJECTIVE: Association between body mass index (BMI) and mental disorders had long been investigated. Recent researches declare a relation between obesity and depressed mood as well as clinical depression. On the other hand mental disorders such as alexithymia are also found to be correlated with an increased risk of obesity. Therefore we aimed to evaluate depression and alexithymia together among normal, overweight and obese adults in order to assess what kind of an association is there between BMI, depression and alexithymia. Additionally we investigated whether there was a relationship between psychosomatic disorders and alexithymia. METHOD: We enrolled 100 adults, aged between 18 to 67 from Department of Endocrinology out-patient clinic whom had normal levels of TSH, fT3 and fT4 thyroid hormones and formed 3 groups according to their Body Mass Index (BMI). Individuals who had had BMI between 18.5-24.99 formed the normal, BMI between 25-29.99 formed the overweight and BMI 30 and above formed the obese groups. All three groups were evaluated by Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) for clinical diagnosis and also given Toronto Alexithymia Scale 26 item (TAS-26) as well as Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). RESULTS: There was a positive relation between BMI and current depressive episode and this finding was stronger in women. There was no such relation with lifelong depression. TAS-26 total and subscale scores revealed no difference between three groups. As BDI total scores got higher TAS-26 scores were higher. Hence there was a strong positive relation between depression and alexithymia. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that higher BMI increases current depressive episode. No association is found between BMI and lifelong depression. Depression and depression severity are strongly associated with alexithymia. Contradictive with literature, alexithymia and its severity are not found to be related with BMI. Following overweight and obese indviduals is important to offset the adverse outcomes of depression.