Biomedical subjects

Julio Vallejo

Publications and source records attributed to Julio Vallejo.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Marital status and eating disorders: an analysis of its relevance.

OBJECTIVES: This study attempts to understand the clinical impact of marital status on the psychopathology and symptomatology of anorexia (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) patients. METHOD: Eating disorder (ED) patients (n=332, 198 BN and 134 AN) consecutively admitted to our unit participated in the study. All subjects met DSM-IV criteria for those pathologies and were female. Our sample was divided retrospectively into three subgroups based on their marital status. For the assessment, commonly applied questionnaires in the field of ED were used [Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-40), Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), Bulimic Investigatory Test Edinburgh (BITE), Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SAD)]. RESULTS: 2 x 3 (Diagnostic x Marital status) ANOVA and ANCOVA (with age as covariance) designs were applied in the current study. Our results suggested that ED patients who lived with a partner were significantly different with respect to the other ED patients in the following variables: higher age (P<.0001), higher motivation for change (P<.004), perfectionism (P<.03) and purging behavior (P<.04). DISCUSSION: The main finding in this study is that ED patients who live with a partner are those who presented greater eating symptomatology and psychopathology but even higher motivation for change. Interpersonal functionality has to be considered in the development and maintenance of ED.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Residual symptoms and comorbidity in panic disorder.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the outcome of the comorbid conditions of panic disorder after 1 year of treatment, emphasizing the detection of residual symptoms and their relationship to other clinical variables. METHODS: Subjects (N = 64) were assessed by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Comorbidity with other disorders, scores on Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale were assessed at baseline and after 12 months. Criteria for residual anxiety/somatic symptoms were defined. RESULTS: Reduction in generalized anxiety disorder rates accounted for a significant decrease in comorbidity at 1-year follow-up, with regard to baseline assessment. When the more severe symptoms of the disorder had remitted, a third of the patients referred physical symptoms with some concern over a fluctuating state of anxiety. The said symptoms were neither a recurrence of panic disorder nor did they account for other anxiety or somatoform disorders. Lower scores on extraversion predict higher risk of residual symptoms. DISCUSSION: The persistence of residual anxiety/somatic symptoms in a third of the patients who apparently achieved a good response to treatment of panic disorder might characterize a minor form of chronic persistence of this condition. CONCLUSIONS: The subgroup of patients with residual symptoms would not be detectable by follow-up studies, which focus on the assessment of relapse of panic disorder by means of strictly defined diagnostic criteria.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Convergent and discriminant validity of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Symptom Checklist.

BACKGROUND: The factor structure of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Symptom Checklist (Y-BOCS-SC) has been well established, but its convergent and divergent reliability have yet to be studied. METHODS: Fifty-six obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients were administered the clinician-administered Y-BOCS-SC and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), together with the self-administered Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (MOCI), Padua Inventory (PI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). RESULTS: Overall, the correspondence between the Y-BOCS-SC and self-administered measures of OCD symptoms was poor to moderate. Its convergent validity was adequate for its washing dimension but poor for its other dimensions. The discriminant validity of the Y-BOCS-SC was adequate, showing little overlap with overall illness severity (total Y-BOCS) and state measures (BDI, STAI, HRSD). In contrast, self-administered OCD measures were significantly correlated with overall illness severity and state measures. CONCLUSIONS: The convergent validity of the Y-BOCS-SC was generally poor and this could only be partially explained by the incomplete coverage of some OCD symptoms in the self-administered scales. Its discriminant validity was good. Both self- and clinician-administered measures should be used in OCD research, as they seem to measure relatively non-overlapping constructs. Further research on the psychometric properties of the Y-BOCS-SC is needed.

Adult↗