Biomedical subjects

D O Nutzinger

Publications and source records attributed to D O Nutzinger.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1979

[Significance of the depressed state in obese people: definition of a risk group].

This study concerns frequency and meaning of depressive conditions in obese patients. The examination was carried out with two groups of 39 obese subjects, 30 women and 9 men. The patients with depressive symptoms differed highly significantly from those without depressive symptoms in relation to the age of the beginning of their overweight. They became overweight preponderantly as adults, striking frequently in correlation with the situations of emotional stress. This would support the hypothesis of this study, that depressive states as an organism variable in this group of patients has essential influence as well for the onset as for the maintenance of the overweight.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Binge eating in overweight women.

Data on the prevalence and characteristics of binge eating in a series of 64 obese women participating in a controlled weight-reduction program are presented. Twenty-two (34.4%) reported recurrent binge eating episodes defined as overeating plus loss of control as assessed by patients' self-report and confirmed by a clinical interview. Six of those indicated that they engaged in either self-induced vomiting or laxative use to control their weight, but only two met full criteria for current bulimia nervosa according to DSM-III-R. A detailed description of the binge eating behavior revealed similarities to the eating pattern described in patients with bulimia nervosa: obese binge eaters tended to overeat in the evening, when they were alone and at home. Compared with their non-binge eating counterparts, binge eaters were significantly younger when they presented for treatment. The prevalence of childhood obesity was higher, and they were significantly younger when they first started on a diet than the non-binge eaters. Binge eaters reported more psychological problems such as body image distortion, and there was a slight tendency for binge eaters to exhibit more depressive symptomatology at baseline. No association between binge eating and weight at baseline, or weight loss during therapy or at follow-up could be found. Fluvoxamine (100 mg) did not seem to be of specific benefit in this subgroup of the obese with regard to weight loss.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Alexithymia: relationship to personality disorders.

Previous studies suggested an association of alexithymia with other personality models, as well as with various psychiatric syndromes. However, with regard to current diagnostic systems, the clinical validity of alexithymia remains to be established. In a sample of 182 psychiatric outpatients, the lifetime prevalence of DSM-III-R axis I disorders was determined by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R (SCID) interviews. In addition, DSM-III-R personality disorders were assessed using the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-Revised (PDQ-R). On the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), 17% of the sample scored in the alexithymic range. A series of stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed, exhibiting no relationship between alexithymia and any of the DSM-III-R axis I lifetime diagnoses. In contrast, schizotypal, dependent, and avoidant personality dimensions, as well as a lack of histrionic features, emerged as significant predictors of alexithymia, which further supports the conceptualization of alexithymia as a personality dimension.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Comorbidity of anxiety disorders and hypochondriasis considering different diagnostic systems.

The influence of different hierarchical guidelines in various classification systems on the diagnosis of anxiety disorders and hypochondriasis was investigated. Using a semistructured polydiagnostic interview (including DSM-III, DSM-III-R, and the 1987 draft version of ICD-10), lifetime diagnoses were determined in B2 outpatients with a DSM-III-R anxiety disorder. In all diagnostic systems, half of our patients exhibited the descriptive features of hypochondriasis. As demonstrated, the formulation of restrictive hierarchical rules--as in DSM-III--contributes to the concept of "primary" hypochondriasis, while secondary hypochondriasis remains underdiagnosed. Concordance rates for hypochondriasis were high between DSM-III-R and ICD-10, but not with DSM-III. Although hypochondriasis showed a strong association with the clinical course of panic disorder (PD), it could not be explained as a consequence of greater illness severity of PD with agoraphobia (AP). Our data underline the conceptualization of hypochondriasis as a phenomenologically homogeneous diagnostic category that may be differentiated from comorbid psychiatric conditions.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[A German version of the Eating Disorder Inventory EDI-2].

The paper presents a German version of the second revised edition of the Eating Disorder Inventory EDI-2 (Garner 1991). The EDI-2 is a self-rating inventory (self-report measure) with 91 items and 11 subscales designed for the assessment of attitudinal and behavioural dimensions relevant to anorexia and bulimia nervosa. It consists of the eight original subscales: drive for thinness, bulimia, body dissatisfaction, ineffectiveness, perfectionism, interpersonal distrust, interoception and maturity fears, and the three new subscales: asceticism, impulse regulation and social insecurity. The German EDI-2 was given to 71 patients with anorexia or bulimia nervosa, 30 patients with binge eating disorder, a control group of 186 women and a further control group of 102 men. In comparison to the female control group, patient groups showed significantly elevated means on all subscales. Item analysis revealed sufficient internal consistencies for all subscales except subscale 9 (asceticism) with Cronbachs alpha ranging from 0.58 to 0.90. Twelve of the 91 items showed poor item total scale correlations below 0.40. Factor analysis supported a six-factor-structure. Hence, the reliability and validity of the three new subscales was confirmed only partially. The use of the EDI-2 in therapy research and clinical practice is critically discussed.

Adult↗