Paul Kurdyak

Evaluation of 2 Measures of Psychological Distress as Screeners for Depression in the General Population

Objective: Structured diagnostic interviews are very time-consuming and therefore increase both the expense and the respondent burden in epidemiologic surveys. A 2-staged interview that screens potential cases before the full diagnostic instrument is administered has the potential to greatly reduce the average interview length. In this paper, we evaluate 2 measures of psychological distress (the Kessler 6- and 10-Item Psychological Distress Scales [K6 and K10]) as potential screening instruments for depression. Methods: We use data from Cycle 1.2 of the Canadian Community Health Survey and receiver operator characteristic analysis to examine the agreement between the K6 and K10 and the World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview module for major depression (1-month and 12-month estimates). Results: Of the respondents, 823 were positive for 1-month depression (2.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.8% to 2.2%), and 1930 were positive for 12-month depression (4.8%; 95%CI, 4.5% to 5.1%). Both the K6 and K10 performed very well as predictors of 1-month depression, with areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.929 (95%CI, 0.908 to 0.949) for the K10 and 0.926 (95%CI, 0.905 to 0.947) for the K6. For 12-month depression, the AUCs remained good at 0.866 (95%CI, 0.848 to 0.883) for the K10 and 0.858 (95%CI, 0.840 to 0.876) for the K6. Conclusions: Both the K6 and the K10 appear to be excellent screening instruments, especially for current depression. Although performance of the 2 instruments is similar, the K6 is more attractive for use as a screening instrument because of the lower response burden.

Transitional interventions to reduce early psychiatric readmissions in adults: systematic review

BACKGROUND Up to 13% of psychiatric patients are readmitted shortly after discharge. Interventions that ensure successful transitions to community care may play a key role in preventing early readmission. AIMS To describe and evaluate interventions applied during the transition from in-patient to out-patient care in preventing early psychiatric readmission. METHOD Systematic review of transitional interventions among adults admitted to hospital with mental illness where the study outcome was psychiatric readmission. RESULTS The review included 15 studies with 15 non-overlapping intervention components. Absolute risk reductions of 13.6 to 37.0% were observed in statistically significant studies. Effective intervention components were: pre- and post-discharge patient psychoeducation, structured needs assessments, medication reconciliation/education, transition managers and in-patient/out-patient provider communication. Key limitations were small sample size and risk of bias. CONCLUSIONS Many effective transitional intervention components are feasible and likely to be cost-effective. Future research can provide direction about the specific components necessary and/or sufficient for preventing early psychiatric readmission.

Association between depression and mortality in patients receiving long-term dialysis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND We aimed to systematically review and analyze the association between depression and mortality risk in adults with kidney failure treated by long-term dialysis. STUDY DESIGN A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. SETTING & POPULATION Patients receiving long-term dialysis. SELECTION CRITERIA FOR STUDIES Searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO, we identified studies examining the relationship between depression, measured as depressive symptoms or clinical diagnosis, and mortality. PREDICTOR Depression status as determined by physician diagnosis or self-reported scales. OUTCOMES Pooled adjusted HR and OR of depression for all-cause mortality. RESULTS 15 of 31 included studies showed a significant association between depression and mortality, including 5 of 6 studies with more than 6,000 participants. A significant link was established between the presence of depressive symptoms and mortality (HR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.35-1.69; I(2)=40%) based on 12 studies reporting depressive symptoms using depression scales (N=21,055; mean age, 57.6 years). After adjusting for potential publication bias, the presence of depressive symptoms remained a significant predictor of mortality (HR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.27-1.65). In addition, combining across 6 studies reporting per-unit change in depression score (n=7,857) resulted in a significant effect (HR per unit change in score, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01-1.06; I(2)=74%). LIMITATIONS Depression or depressive symptoms were documented only from medical charts or a single self-report assessment. Included studies were heterogeneous because of variations in measurement methods, design, and analysis. CONCLUSIONS There is considerable between-study heterogeneity in reports of depressive symptoms in dialysis patients, likely caused by high variability in the way depressive symptoms are measured. However, the overall significant independent effect of depressive symptoms on survival of dialysis patients warrants studying the underlying mechanisms of this relationship and the potential benefits of interventions to improve depression on the outcomes.

Association between household food insecurity and annual health care costs

Background: Household food insecurity, a measure of income-related problems of food access, is growing in Canada and is tightly linked to poorer health status. We examined the association between household food insecurity status and annual health care costs. Methods: We obtained data for 67 033 people aged 18–64 years in Ontario who participated in the Canadian Community Health Survey in 2005, 2007/08 or 2009/10 to assess their household food insecurity status in the 12 months before the survey interview. We linked these data with administrative health care data to determine individuals’ direct health care costs during the same 12-month period. Results: Total health care costs and mean costs for inpatient hospital care, emergency department visits, physician services, same-day surgeries, home care services and prescription drugs covered by the Ontario Drug Benefit Program rose systematically with increasing severity of household food insecurity. Compared with total annual health care costs in food-secure households, adjusted annual costs were 16% (

Antidepressants, warfarin, and the risk of hemorrhage

235) higher in households with marginal food insecurity (95% confidence interval [CI] 10%–23% [

The relationship between depressive symptoms, health service consumption, and prognosis after acute myocardial infarction: a prospective cohort study.

141–

Emergency department visits and use of outpatient physician services by adults with developmental disability and psychiatric disorder.

334]), 32% (

Bipolar disorder among adolescents and young adults: Results from an epidemiological sample

455) higher in households with moderate food insecurity (95% CI 25%–39% [

Maternal and newborn outcomes among women with schizophrenia: a retrospective population‐based cohort study

361–

The sensitivity of the K6 as a screen for any disorder in community mental health surveys: a cautionary note.

553]) and 76% (