Rustem Askin

Weight gain and associated factors in patients using newer antidepressant drugs

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to examine weight gain and its association with clinical and sociodemographic characteristics in patients using newer antidepressants. METHODS The study had a cross-sectional design. A total of 362 consecutive psychiatric patients taking antidepressant drugs for 6 to 36 months were included in the study. RESULTS The prevalence rate of weight gain was 55.2%; 40.6% of the patients had a weight gain of 7% or more compared to the baseline. Overall, antidepressant use was significantly related to increased body weight. Specifically, citalopram, escitalopram, sertraline, paroxetine, venlafaxine, duloxetine and mirtazapine, but not fluoxetine, were associated with significant weight gain. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that lower education status, lower body mass index at the onset of antidepressant use and family history of obesity were independent predictors of weight gain ≥7% compared to the baseline. CONCLUSIONS The study results suggest that patients who take newer antidepressants might have significant problems related to body weight.

The prevalence of depression and anxiety disorders in patients with euthyroid Hashimoto's thyroiditis: a comparative study.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the current prevalence of major depression and anxiety disorders in patients with euthyroid Hashimotos thyroiditis (HT) and euthyroid goiter. METHOD The study sample was formed by consecutive 51 and 45 patients who were admitted to the endocrinology outpatient clinic and diagnosed with euthyroid HT and endemic/nonendemic goiter, respectively, and 68 healthy controls. Current diagnoses of psychiatric disorders were determined using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory were applied to the participants. RESULTS There was a statistically significant difference among the three groups in terms of major depression (P=.001), any mood or anxiety disorder (P=.000), any depressive disorder (P=.020), any anxiety disorder (P=.016) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (P=.013). In the HT group, the prevalence of depression (P=.000), OCD (P=.005) and panic disorder (P=.041) was significantly higher than that in the control group. In the goiter group, depression (P=.006), any depressive disorder (P=.03), and any mood or anxiety disorder (P=.000) were significantly common in comparison to the control group. No significant difference was found between the HT and goiter groups. CONCLUSIONS Euthyroid HT and euthyroid goiter increase predisposition to major depression and anxiety disorders, and thyroid autoimmunity and other thyroid pathologies should be investigated in euthyroid patients with chronic and treatment-resistant complaints.

Antidepressants and menstruation disorders in women: a cross-sectional study in three centers

OBJECTIVE The relationship between menstruation disorders and antidepressant drugs usage in women remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the incidence rate of antidepressant-related menstruation disorders and to examine whether or not antidepressant use is associated with menstrual disorders in women. METHODS The study sample was gathered from three centers and four hospitals. A total of 1432 women who met the criteria of inclusion were included in the study. The sample was divided into two groups: the antidepressant group (n=793) and the control group (n=639). The menstruation disorders were established with reports from the study participants on the basis of related gynecological descriptions. RESULTS The prevalence of menstrual disorders was significantly higher in the antidepressant group (24.6%) than the control group (12.2%). The incidence of antidepressant-induced menstruation disorder was 14.5%. The antidepressants most associated with menstrual disorders were paroxetine, venlafaxine, sertraline and their combination with mirtazapine. Overall, the incidence rate was similar in women receiving selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and serotonin noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS The results of the present study suggest that menstruation disorders are frequently observed in women taking antidepressants and that it appears to be associated with antidepressant use at least in some women.

Comparison of treatment responses and clinical characteristics of early-onset and late-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder

Objective. The clinical characteristics and response to pharmacotherapy of adult patients with early-onset and late-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) were compared in this study. Methods. A total of 50 outpatients with OCD diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria (early-onset: 20; late-onset: 30) were included in the study. After initial clinical evaluation with The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV/Clinical Version (SCID-I/CV), The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SCID-II) and Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), all patients were treated with fluvoxamine, sertraline or paroxetine for 12 weeks. Treatment response was defined as a ≥35% reduction in the Y-BOCS-total scores from baseline in a 12-week follow-up period. Results. Forty-three patients (early-onset: 16; late-onset: 27) completed the study. The early-onset group had higher frequencies of symmetry/exactness obsessions and ordering/arranging compulsions, and the late-onset group had higher mean age at assessment. Nine (56.3%) patients with early-onset and 18 (66.7%) with late-onset responded to pharmacotherapy. The difference between response rates was not statistically significant. Conclusions. Our study suggests that although there are some phenomenological differences between patients with early-onset OCD and late-onset OCD, these patients have similar responses to pharmacotherapy.

Low-dose imipramine for treatment of panic disorder during pregnancy: a retrospective chart review.

Abstract Although imipramine is one of the antidepressants that could be effective in the treatment of panic disorder, data on its usage for this diagnosis in the pregnancy period are limited. This report presents the results of 16 pregnant women with panic disorder without comorbid diagnosis who underwent low-dose imipramine (10–40 mg/d) treatment. According to the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement Scale, 12 (75%) of 16 women responded to the treatment. The results suggest that low-dose imipramine may be useful for the treatment of panic disorder during pregnancy.

A case with late onset stealing and hoarding

A late-onset of stealing and hoarding behaviors with initial diagnoses of kleptomania and hoarding, was diagnosed as behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia based on International Frontotemporal Dementia Consensus Criteria, discussed in the frame of this case.