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Biomedical subjects

G Hasler

Publications and source records attributed to G Hasler.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Asthma and body weight change: a 20-year prospective community study of young adults.

OBJECTIVE: There is increasing evidence for an association between asthma and body weight change. The objectives of these analyses were to examine the temporal relationships of this association and to explore the role of childhood depression as an explanatory factor. METHODS: Data were derived from six subsequent semistructured interviews on health habits and health conditions from a single-age community study of 591 young adults followed up between ages 20 and 40 years. RESULTS: Cross-sectionally (over the whole study period), asthma was significantly associated with obesity (odds ratio=3.9 [95% confidence interval 1.2, 12.2]). Multivariate longitudinal analyses revealed that asthma was associated with increased later weight gain and later obesity among women after controlling for potentially confounding variables, whereas weight gain and obesity were not associated with later asthma. A secondary analysis showed that depressive symptoms during childhood were associated with adult obesity and asthma, partially explaining the asthma-obesity comorbidity. CONCLUSION: This study encourages further research on mechanisms underlying the asthma-obesity comorbidity, particularly on shared psychosocial factors operating during critical periods in childhood and adolescence that may influence the development and persistence of both obesity and asthma during adulthood.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Depressive symptoms during childhood and adult obesity: the Zurich Cohort Study.

Depression and obesity have become major health problems with increasing prevalence. Given the limited effectiveness of treatment for weight problems, the identification of novel, potentially modifiable risk factors may provide insights on new preventive approaches to obesity. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that depressive symptoms during childhood are associated with weight gain and obesity during young adulthood. Participants were from a prospective community-based cohort study of young adults (N=591) followed between ages 19 and 40 years. The sample was stratified to increase the probability of somatic and psychological syndromes. Information was derived from six subsequent semistructured diagnostic interviews conducted by professionals over 20 years. The outcome measures were body mass index (BMI) and obesity (BMI>30). Among women, depressive symptoms before age 17 years were associated with increased weight gain (4.8 vs 2.6% BMI increase per 10 years) representing greater risk for adult obesity (hazard ratio=11.52, P<0.05). Among men, only after controlling for confounders, depressive symptoms before age 17 years were associated with increased weight gain (6.6 vs 5.2% BMI increase per 10 years) in adulthood but not with occurrence of obesity. These associations between childhood depressive symptoms and adult body weight were adjusted for baseline body weight, a family history of weight problems, levels of physical activity, consumption of alcohol and nicotine, and demographic variables. As the magnitude of the associations was high, and depression during childhood is a prevalent and treatable condition, this finding may have important clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of obesity. Whether the results of this study are limited to populations with elevated levels of psychopathology remains to be tested.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

The associations between psychopathology and being overweight: a 20-year prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Psychiatric disorders and being overweight are major health problems with increasing prevalence. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that being overweight is associated with a range of psychiatric conditions including minor and atypical depressive disorders, binge eating, and aggression. METHOD: Prospective community-based cohort study of young adults (n = 591) followed between ages 19 and 40. Information derived from six subsequent semi-structured diagnostic interviews conducted by professionals over twenty years. Outcomes were being overweight [body-mass index (BMI)> 25] and average yearly weight change between ages 20 and 40 (BMI slope). RESULTS: 18.9 % of the participants were classified as being overweight. Being overweight turned out to be a stable trait: 77.7% of subjects were assigned to the same weight class at each interview. Atypical depression and binge eating were positively associated with both, increased weight gain and being overweight, while psychiatric conditions associated with aggressive behaviors (aggressive personality traits, sociopathy) were positively associated with being overweight, but were not related to the rate of weight change. Generalized anxiety disorder was negatively associated with overweight. These results persisted after controlling for substance use, levels of physical activity, demographic variables and family history of weight problems. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows relatively strong associations between eating-related and aggressive psychopathology and being overweight. Given the high prevalence rates of these conditions, this study encourages further research on the causality of psychopathology-overweight associations that might provide insight on novel preventive approaches for major health problems.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

[Establishing and changing therapeutic goals in psychiatric-psychotherapeutic treatment].

At the onset of psychotherapy, treatment goals are frequently not fully defined. They have to be set during treatment and can be changed in its course. An overview of the current literature on treatment goals from patients' and therapists' perspectives is given. Based on a case report of a patient suffering from panic disorder, the process of setting and changing goals and its influence on therapeutic technique and outcome are described. Finally, a case is made for the importance of "negotiations" between patient and therapist about treatment goals, which helps in building up a constructive therapeutic relationship and a helpful therapeutic process. The point in time of goal-setting, the achievability of treatment goals, and the patient's handling of unattained goals appear to be of particular significance.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Treatment of depressive disorders with and without medication - a naturalistic study.

OBJECTIVE: Although randomized clinical trials are the standard method for comparing the efficacy of various depression treatments, the external validity and generalizability of findings obtained by this approach can be questioned for several reasons. In this naturalistic study, we compared the effectiveness of treatments conducted by psychiatrists and clinical psychologists without prescription of drugs to treatments by psychiatrists and physicians using antidepressant agents in patients with depressive disorders in a representative sample of the normal population. Our assumption was that this sample is more representative for subjects treated for depressive disorders than subjects included in controlled trials. METHODS: In a post hoc analysis, the health status of depressed patients under treatment for major, minor or recurrent brief depression with medication (20 patients) and without medication (30 patients), and untreated depressed subjects were compared over a one-year period using SCL-90-R depression scale scores. RESULTS: At baseline, the two treatment groups were comparable in terms of diagnosis and severity of symptoms. Treatment effects were relatively small; patients treated with antidepressants tended to improve, whereas patients treated without drugs deteriorated slightly over one year. Seven years later, treated and untreated subjects no longer differed. CONCLUSION: The results are consistent with previous studies on usual care of depressed patients showing low response rates for non-standardized treatments outside of research settings. Despite a number of methodological shortcomings (small sample size, heterogeneity of subjects and treatments, unusual rating instruments), the results presented here are unique, and provide relevant insight into usual care of depressed patients. This study underlines the importance of standardized psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in routine practice, of studies investigating the transferability of results of outcome studies across clinical populations, and of quality assurance in primary care psychiatry.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Personality of patients with somatoform disorders].

36 patients of a medical outpatient clinic with cardiopulmonary and gastrointestinal somatoform complaints were interviewed two times at an interval of one year about physical symptoms, personal characteristics and need for professional assistance. The investigated patients felt more depressed than a normal cohort of comparable age. In 25% of the tests a disorder of personality according to ICD-10 was diagnosed. Anxious/depressive and obsessive/compulsive personality traits were predominant. Patients with suspected personality disorder felt more disturbed by a somatoform disorder, had more diffuse complaints and suffered more from symptoms of exhaustion. They were less satisfied with the obtained treatment but did on an average not demand more medical help than patients without personality disorders. The results are discussed with regard to the importance to treat patients with somatoform disorders and to the prognosis of the further course of disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

[Erysipelothrix endocarditis (author's transl)].

Following erysipeloid a 46-year-old man fell ill with septicaemia and endocarditis. Treatment with high doses of antibiotics could not prevent his death. Infection with Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae in man occurs through a skin lesion and only rarely leads to spreading of the agent in the body presenting as arthritis, meningitis, or endocarditis. Erysipelothrix endocarditis is a severe disease leading to widespread destruction of the involved cardiac valves. The aortic valve is most commonly involved. 16 out of 28 patients with erysipelothrix endocarditis reported in the literature died, eleven of them despite treatment with antibiotics.

Animals↗