Vassiliki Paika

Lower PHQ-9 cutpoint accurately diagnosed depression in people with long-term conditions attending the Accident and Emergency Department

BACKGROUND Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is frequent in the Accident and Emergency Department (AED) but is often unrecognized. We aimed to assess the prevalence of MDD and determine the psychometric properties of the PHQ-9 in diagnosing MDD in patients with long-term medical conditions attending an AED. METHODS The PHQ-9 was administered to 349 patients with diabetes, COPD and chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases, mainly rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthropathies, visiting an AED. The MINI interview was used as the criterion standard for MDD. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine the optimal PHQ-9 cutpoint for MDD. Construct validators included psychological distress (SCL-90-R), illness perceptions (B-IPQ) and Health-Related Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF). RESULTS The prevalence of MDD was 27.2%. At an optimal cutpoint of 8, PHQ-9 had a sensitivity of 90.5% and specificity of 89.4%. The area under the curve (0.96) was excellent. Convergent validity was established by the strong associations between PHQ-9 scores and functional status, SCL-90-R depression, illness perceptions and AED visits during the previous year. LIMITATIONS The sample consisted of multiple rather a single disease group, preventing us from accounting for illness severity using specific disease severity indices. CONCLUSION MDD is frequent in patients with long-term medical conditions attending the AED and the PHQ-9, at a cutpoint of 8, is an accurate, reliable and valid measure for MDD screening in this patient population.

Illness perceptions of people with long-term conditions are associated with frequent use of the emergency department independent of mental illness and somatic symptom burden

OBJECTIVE To determine whether illness perceptions of patients with long-term conditions (LTCs) are associated with urgent healthcare use and whether this association is independent from mental illness and somatic symptom burden. METHODS Illness perceptions (B-IPQ) and somatic symptom severity (PHQ-15) were assessed in 304 patients with diabetes, rheumatological disorders and COPD attending an Accident and Emergency Department (AED) in Greece over a one year period. The presence of mental illness was determined by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. A Generalized Linear Model (Negative Binomial) regression was used to determine the associations of illness perceptions with AED use after adjusting for mental illness, somatic symptom severity, disease parameters and demographics. RESULTS Eighty-six patients (28.3%) reported at least one visit to the AED during the previous year and 75 (24.7%) twice or more. 124 patients (40.8%) had some form of mental disorder with 85 (28.0%) meeting criteria for major depressive disorder. The degree to which the patients had an understanding of their illness (illness comprehensibility) (p<0.01) along with younger age (p<0.05), additional comorbidities (p<0.05) and greater somatic symptom burden (p<0.001) was strongly associated with AED use; AED visits were expected to be reduced by 9.1% for each unit increase in illness comprehensibility. CONCLUSIONS The way people perceive their illness influences urgent healthcare seeking behavior independent of somatic symptom burden. This finding indicates that information provision may prove effective in reducing urgent healthcare use and encourage the design of psycho-educational interventions targeting disease-related cognitions in an attempt to prevent unnecessary healthcare utilization.

Narcissistic rage: The Achilles’ heel of the patient with chronic physical illness

Based on the psychoanalytic reading of Homer’s Iliad whose principal theme is “Achilles’ rage” (the semi-mortal hero invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel, hence “Achilles’ heel” has come to mean a person’s principal weakness), we aimed to assess whether “narcissistic rage” has an impact on several psychosocial variables in patients with severe physical illness across time. In 878 patients with cancer, rheumatological diseases, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and glaucoma, we assessed psychological distress (SCL-90 and GHQ-28), quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF), interpersonal difficulties (IIP-40), hostility (HDHQ), and defense styles (DSQ). Narcissistic rage comprised DSQ “omnipotence” and HDHQ “extraverted hostility”. Hierarchical multiple regressions analyses were performed. We showed that, in patients with disease duration less than one year, narcissistic rage had a minor impact on psychosocial variables studied, indicating that the rage was rather part of a “normal” mourning process. On the contrary, in patients with longer disease duration, increased rates of narcissistic rage had a great impact on all outcome variables, and the opposite was true for patients with low rates of narcissistic rage, indicating that narcissistic rage constitutes actually an “Achilles’ Heel” for patients with long-term physical illness. These findings may have important clinical implications.

The relationship of the perceived impact of the current Greek recession with increased suicide risk is moderated by mental illness in patients with long-term conditions

OBJECTIVE Adverse life events may contribute to the emergence of suicidality. We aimed to test the relationship between the impact of the Greek recession and suicidal risk in people with long-term conditions (LTCs) and to determine whether this relationship is moderated by the presence of a mental disorder. METHODS Suicidal risk (RASS) and crisis parameters were assessed in a cross-sectional survey including 376 patients with LTCs (type-II diabetes mellitus, rheumatological disorders and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) attending the Emergency Department or specialty clinics. A diagnosis of mental disorder was confirmed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) interview. Hierarchical regression models were used to quantify moderator effects. RESULTS Suicidal risk was significantly associated with the perceived impact of the recession (p=0.028). However, moderation analysis showed that this relationship was significant only in those diagnosed with either major depressive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that the perceived impact of the current Greek recession is not correlated with suicidal risk per se, but the recession may act as precipitator in combination with other risk factors, such as the presence of a mental illness, thus supporting the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders in vulnerable groups.

Double RASS cutpoint accurately diagnosed suicidal risk in females with long-term conditions attending the emergency department compared to their male counterparts.

BACKGROUND Suicidal risk is often unrecognized in emergency department (ED). We aimed to assess its prevalence in patients with long-term conditions (LTCs) attending an ED and to test whether gender differences influence suicidal risk assessment, using the diagnostic accuracy properties of the Risk Assessment Suicidality Scale (RASS). METHODS The RASS was administered to 349 patients with diabetes, COPD and rheumatic diseases visiting an ED. The MINI interview was used as the criterion standard. ROC curve analysis was performed to determine the optimal RASS cutpoint for suicidal risk separately for males and females. Somatic (PHQ-15) and depressive (PHQ-9) symptoms were also assessed and factors associated with suicidal risk across gender were determined in hierarchical regression models. RESULTS The prevalence of suicidal risk according to the MINI was 22.9%; 16.6% of patients were at low, 5.1% at moderate, and 0.9% at high risk. At an optimal cutpoint of 270, RASS had 81.3% sensitivity and 81.8% specificity. The optimal RASS cutpoint for females (340) was double the cutpoint for males (175). Somatic symptom burden was associated with suicidal risk in both sexes but it became non-significant after depressive symptoms were taken into account; suicidal risk was also associated with history of depression in females and lower income in males. CONCLUSION There is a high prevalence of suicidal risk in patients with LTCs attending the ED. As the optimal RASS cutpoint for females was double the cutpoint for males, clinicians should bear in mind gender differences when assessing for suicidal risk in the ED.

The Greek Version of the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29): Psychometric Properties and Associations with Mental Illness, Suicidal Risk and Quality of Life

Background: Sense of coherence (SOC) is defined as a global orientation based on a person’s confidence that stimuli are structured and predictable, the resources needed to meet these demands are available, and these demands are seen as challenges, worthy of investment, and engagement. The SOC scale is an instrument measuring how people manage stressful situations and stay well. We aimed to assess the psychometric properties of its Greek version in two samples, people with and without long-term conditions (LTCs). Associations between sense of coherence and mental illness, suicidality, and quality of life were also investigated.