Biomedical subjects

M Eisemann

Publications and source records attributed to M Eisemann.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMed1985

Depressed patients and non-psychiatric controls: discriminant analysis on social environment variables.

A set of variables from the social environment (e.g. social contacts, confiding relationships, leisure activities, loneliness) was used to differentiate between a consecutive series of 111 patients diagnosed as having a depressive illness and a sample of 98 non-psychiatric controls. The function derived from the discriminant analysis correctly classified 83% of the subjects. The results indicate shortcomings in the social environment of depressives and point to the discriminating power of such variables.

Adjustment Disorders↗

PubMed1984

Discrimination of former depressed patients from healthy volunteers on the basis of stable personality traits assessed by means of KSP.

A total of 208 former depressed patients were investigated by means of the personality inventory KSP and compared to 75 healthy volunteers who had never had an affective episode. By means of discriminant analysis 81.3% of the subjects could be correctly classified as former depressed patients or healthy volunteers. When patients in the diagnostic subgroups, unipolars, bipolars, patients with neurotic-reactive depressions and patients with unspecified depressions were compared to healthy volunteers, 85.4%, 83.0%, 84.2% and 86.4% respectively could be correctly classified. The main personality traits differentiating former depressed patients from healthy volunteers were high scores on subscales measuring psychasthenia, impulsivity, guilt and inhibition of aggression and low scores on subscales measuring indirect aggression, hostility, socialization and verbal aggression.

Adjustment Disorders↗

PubMed1984

Pain as a symptom in depressive disorders and its relationship to platelet monoamine oxidase activity.

144 depressed in-patients were rated by means of the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) and platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) was determined. 49 per cent of the patients were found to have pain as a symptom, and 21 per cent were found to have more severe pain. The patients with more severe pain were found to have lower platelet MAO activity than the patients without pain or with slight pain. As platelet MAO activity may reflect the turn-over in the serotinergic systems in CNS it is hypothesized that patients with depressive disorders with pain as a symptom may have more pronounced disturbances in the serotinergic systems than patients without pain as a symptom.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Contact difficulties and experience of loneliness in depressed patients and non-psychiatric controls.

Contact difficulties and the experience of loneliness have been studied in a sample of 110 depressed patients and in non-psychiatric controls (n = 98). The results indicate significant differences between these groups. Furthermore, significant correlations between loneliness, contact difficulties and social network variables occurred. The patient sample showed relationships between loneliness and severity of the depressive syndrome.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

The availability of confiding persons for depressed patients.

The availability of confiding persons both within and outside the household has been investigated in a series of 110 depressed patients and of 98 non-psychiatric controls. The depressive sample has been classified into diagnostic subgroups of unipolar, bipolar, reactive-neurotic and unspecified type of depression. The depressives reported lack of confidants to a significantly higher degree. The only difference among the diagnostic subgroups emerged for the bipolar patients who had about the same availability of a confiding relationship outside the household as the controls.

Adjustment Disorders↗

PubMed1984

Presentation of a subscale for the rating of depression and some additional items to the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale.

From the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS) a subscale for depression has been derived in the course of a study of depression in which 209 patients took part. The subscale presented in this article comprises 28 items from the original pool and two additional items constructed later. The scale has a high degree of internal consistency and is satisfactorily reliable also among previously unskilled raters who have undergone a minimum of training. It is able to significantly differentiate between ill and recovered patients and among patients with syndromes of different severity according to various classification principles. Reported symptoms rated by the subscale correlated significantly with self-ratings of depression. Since the original CPRS pool also comprises items for the rating of manic manifestations, the scale is particularly suitable for the study of patients suffering from affective disorders, also when a switch from depression to mania could occur in the course of treatment.

Adjustment Disorders↗

PubMed1984

The relationship of personality to social network aspects and loneliness in depressed patients.

In a study of 110 depressed patients possible relationships between personality and social contact features, loneliness and contact difficulties, have been investigated. The results yielded numerous correlations between personality characteristics and different aspects of the social environment. Most pronounced were the relationships with loneliness and contact difficulties.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Perceived parental rearing practices in depressed patients in relation to social class.

The occurrence of possible differences in rearing practices related to social class has been investigated in a series of 125 depressed patients by means of a special inventory - the EMBU - constructed by our group. Three factors derived from the EMBU in the course of previous studies: "rejection", "emotional warmth", "overprotection" have been taken into account. The rearing practices experienced by subjects belonging to different social classes did not differ concerning "emotional warmth". On the other hand, subjects belonging to the higher social classes scored their parents higher on the variables "rejection" and "overprotection". Since "emotional warmth" proved in an earlier study to discriminate between depressives and healthy controls, it is concluded that the difference cannot have been biased by possible differences in social class.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Leisure activities of depressive patients.

The leisure activities of 110 depressed patients and of 98 non-psychiatric controls were studied. The following aspects of leisure behaviour were taken into account: quantity, type (active, passive), frequency, presence of other people, place and satisfaction. In addition, possible relationships between personality and leisure behaviour were explored. Depressives were found to engage in fewer activities and were involved with fewer people than controls. Numerous significant correlations between personality characteristics and leisure behaviour occurred in the patient sample.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Personality traits and monoamine oxidase activity in platelets in depressed patients.

Personality characteristics and platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity have been assessed in 143 depressed patients of both sexes (60 males and 83 females) in the age range 21-65 years (mean age 44.8 +/- 12.8, SD), the personality inventory being completed by the patients when recovered, or at least markedly improved from the depressive disorder. In line with previous studies, a significant negative correlation between MAO activity and the variables, impulsivity and monotony avoidance, was found in the whole series. A significant negative correlation between MAO activities and the traits reflecting verbal aggression and irritability was also found. A separate analysis showed that those correlations hold true for female but not for male patients.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Personality traits in former depressed patients and in healthy subjects without past history of depression.

208 patients (81 male and 127 female) in the age range 21-67 years completed a Swedish personality inventory (Karolinska Sjukhusets Personlighetsinventorium; KSP) aimed at measuring stable personality traits after recovering from the depressive syndrome. Diagnostically, the series comprised 62 unipolars, 31 bipolars, 58 neurotic-reactive depressives, and 57 patients with an 'unspecified' depressive disorder, i.e., those patients who did not meet the criteria for inclusion in any of the aforementioned groups. As a contrast group, a series of 75 mentally healthy individuals (27 men and 48 women with a mean age of 39.5 +/- 12.1 years) without any past history of depression was also investigated. The former patients scored differently from the healthy controls in almost all the personality variables covered by the KSP, with the exception of the variable 'social desirability', on which all groups scored alike. A factor analysis of the results yielded three principal factors: factor 1 covering such variables which reflect anxiety proneness, psychasthenia, suspicion, and guilt; factor 2 (bipolar) covering different aspects of aggression; and factor 3 comprising the variables 'impulsiveness' and 'monotony avoidance'. From the present study it is concluded that although inter-group differences do occur, the main characteristics of the personality of the depression-prone individual seem to be anxiety, psychasthenia (covering such traits as orderly, conscientious, bound to routine), suspicion, and guilt. Such characteristics are shared by all diagnostic subgroups. Depression-prone individuals also show a higher level of inhibited aggression and a lower level of manifest aggression than healthy controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adjustment Disorders↗

PubMed1983

Parental rearing behaviour and personality characteristics of depressed patients.

Within the framework of a large and ongoing study of depression in its biological, clinical, psychological and social aspects, 141 patients of both sexes in the age range 21 to 65 years participated in a study of parental rearing practices and personality characteristics. The perceived parental rearing behaviour was assessed by means of a specially constructed inventory (EMBU), and the personality characteristics by means of a Swedish personality inventory, the KSP, which had previously been shown to measure relatively stable personality characteristics. Several important correlations emerged between parental rearing practices and personality traits. In particular, power assertive practices and psychological types of discipline (shaming, guilt-engendering) showed significant correlations with aspects of aggression and significant negative correlations with socialization. There was a good agreement between male and female patients in the judgement of the rearing behaviour of their fathers. However, female patients scored their mother as more abusive, whereas male patients scored them as more over-protective. On the whole, the rearing practices of the mothers were judged more negatively than those of the fathers. The findings of this study appear to be consistent with earlier results reported by other authors.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Patterns of aggression in the personality structure of depressed patients.

The personality characteristics of 208 depressed patients of both sexes were studied by means of a Swedish personality inventory--the KSP--when the patients had recovered from the depressive syndrome. The patients in the study were divided into unipolars, bipolars, neurotic-reactive and "unspecified", i.e. those patients who did not meet the criteria for inclusion in any of the aforementioned groups. Female patients scored higher on variables of anxiety and psychasthenia and male patients scored higher on variables indicating distance preference and hostility. Several traits, in particular those reflecting aggression-out and hostility-out, appeared to be negatively correlated with age, whereas inhibition of aggression appeared to be positively related with age. Bipolar patients scored slightly differently from unipolars in many variables but none of the differences was significant. Neurotic-reactive patients distinguished themselves from the other in variables of aggression-out. Several interrelations between different personality characteristics and aspects of aggression have been investigated. Significant correlation could be shown between aspects of aggression and socialization, impulsiveness and aspects of anxiety. A positive correlation was shown between inhibition of aggression and social desirability, and both variables were shown to correlate with age. It is concluded that the difference in inhibition of aggression between "endogenous" and "non-endogenous" patients found in earlier studies might be due to a difference in age, and to the influence of social desirability.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Pain as a symptom in depressive disorders. II. Relationship to personality traits as assessed by means of KSP.

The series included 140 hospitalized patients with depressive disorders, who were rated by means of the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS). Furthermore, a personality inventory, KSP, was completed when the patients had improved markedly. Forty-six per cent of the patients were found to have pain as a symptom. The patients with pain were found to have more somatic anxiety, more muscular tension, more psychasthenia and more inhibition of aggression but no significant differences were found in guilt. Thus pain as a symptom in depressive disorders seems to be linked to muscular tension and the patients seem to have more introjected aggression while no evidence emerges indicating that pain could serve to relieve the feelings of guilt.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Personality characteristics of depressed patients classified according to family history.

Personality traits were assessed in a series of 148 patients classified according to Winokur into depression pure disease (DPD), depression spectrum disease (DSD) and sporadic depression (SD) with the addition of a fourth group: family history positive-others (FH + .O) comprised of patients with psychiatric disorders among first-degree relatives other than those taken into account by Winokur. Personality was assessed by means of a Swedish inventory, the KSP, comprised of 15 subscales assumed to measure relatively stable traits. DSD patients appeared to be most deviant from the other groups in most variables. Statistically significant differences were obtained for the variable socialization, which measures the internalization of social rules on which the DSD patients scored lowest, and variables of aggression on which the DSD patients scored higher than all the others.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Attempts to validate a classification of unipolar depression based on family data. Symptomatological aspects.

162 depressed patients, consecutively admitted to the Department of Psychiatry, Umeå University, were rated by means of the comprehensive psychopathological rating scale (CPRS) within a few days after their admission, and before any antidepressive treatment had been implemented. The same patients were later subdivided into groups according to the presence or absence of psychiatric illness among their first-degree relatives. Four groups were thus formed: depression pure disease (DPD), i.e., comprised of patients with only secondary cases of depression; depression spectrum disease (DSD), comprised of patients with secondary cases of both depression and alcoholism and antisocial personality among their first-degree relatives; positive family history-others (FH+.O), included those patients with first-degree relatives affected by other psychiatric disorders than those required for inclusion among the DSD; and finally, sporadic depression (SD), comprised of those patients who had no family loading at all. The results showed that the severity of illness was similar in all four groups. Only a few symptomatological differences emerged, and these related consistently to a higher frequency of symptoms of retardation (inability to feel, lassitude, and concentration difficulties) in the DSD group as compared to the SD group. No significant symptomatological differences occurred between patients in the DPD and DSD groups. It is concluded that a classification of unipolar patients based on family data does not predict the occurrence of various symptomatological patterns.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase in diagnostic subgroups of depressed patients and in relation to their personality characteristics.

Serum dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH) levels were assessed in 150 depressed patients of both sexes, with a mean age of 44.0 +/- 12.3 (SD) years. Patients were divided into unipolars (n = 46), bipolars (n = 25), neurotic-reactive (n = 46) and unspecified (n = 38) i.e., those who did not fit into any of the previous categories. According to their status 38 patients were psychotic and 104 clearly nonpsychotic at the time of the DBH assessment. Personality characteristics were assessed for the same patients when they had markedly improved from their depression. In line with previous findings bipolar patients were found to have slightly lower serum DBH values than unipolars, and psychotic patients slightly lower values than nonpsychotic. However, none of the differences among diagnostic groups or between psychotic and nonpsychotic patients was statistically significant. Weak negative correlations were found between serum DBH and the personality variables social desirability and indirect aggression, but an earlier finding of a positive correlation with the personality trait monotony avoidance, could not be confirmed. Owing to the large interindividual variations in serum DBH it is concluded that correlations between serum DBH and personality characteristics might be spurious and due to chance. This study does not support the assumption that significant differences in serum DBH might occur among subgroups of depressed patients.

Adjustment Disorders↗

PubMed1981

Transcultural aspects of depressive symptomatology.

The following is a presentation of the first results of a cross-cultural study of depressive symptomatology, within the framework of a larger research project which is still in progress. Southern Italian and northern Swedish depressed patients completed a self-rating scale for depression and were rated by the doctors using a subscale of the Comprehensive Psychological Rating Scale. In the doctors' ratings Italian patients scored higher for variables referring to motor retardation and hypochondriasis, and Swedish patients for variables referring to inability to feel and agitation. These findings were in line with expectations. In contrast, in the self-ratings Swedish patients scored higher for the variables weight loss, tachycardia and agitation and Italian patients for hopelessness and loss of interest and dissatisfaction. This discrepancy between results in self-ratings and doctors' ratings might reflect cultural differences either in the way patients in the two countries are able to express verbally their symptoms or in the way doctors from the two countries give weight to different symptoms. Taking the results of the two ratings together as a general measure of the severity of the depressive disorder, patients in the two places appeared to be quite alike. Since the two centers are engaged in comprehensive investigations of depressed patients, the last-mentioned finding suggests that the populations in the two centers are comparable as concerns severity.

Adult↗