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Biomedical subjects

R Kellner

Publications and source records attributed to R Kellner.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Nonpsychotic patients referred to a consultation service.

In order to examine characteristics of nondangerous and nonpsychotic patients referred to a consultation service, the authors administered self-rating scales and questionnaires to fifty referred medical patients and nonreferred controls. Recalled abuse in childhood appeared a stronger predictor for referral than some other commonly researched ones such as parental death, divorce or separation in childhood or recent losses. Anxiety, hostility and depression were significantly higher in referred patients, whereas hypochondriacal attitudes did not differ between the two groups. The findings appear to have implications for treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Upper respiratory tract infections increase self-rated hostility and distress.

The authors administered a personality inventory, the Eysenck Personality Inventory and a distress scale, the Symptom Questionnaire, to all patients in a walk-in clinic of a general hospital during an influenza epidemic. Hostility, depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms were significantly higher in patients with upper respiratory tract infections (p less than .005); the majority scored in the range of psychiatric patients, regardless of whether patients had clinically classical influenza or merely symptoms and signs of another respiratory tract infection. There were no differences in the personality traits of extraversion or neuroticism between any of the groups, suggesting that hostility and distress were consequences of the viral infections and were largely unaffected by preexisting personality traits.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

The value of self-report assessment in studies of anxiety disorders.

This review compares the sensitivities of a physician-rated scale, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS), and a patient-rated scale, the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL), in detecting the anti-anxiety effects of benzodiazepines in a large sample of placebo-controlled trials. Scales and subscales were compared within the same study, a methodologic feature unique to this review. The total score, psychic factor, and somatic factor of the HAS were equally sensitive to the effects of benzodiazepines. The total score, anxiety factor, and somatization factor of the HSCL also were equally sensitive. The HAS total score, however, was consistently more sensitive than any of the HSCL scores. There was no evidence that physicians used side effects to make their ratings more sensitive. Sedative side effects, however, adversely affected the sensitivity of patient ratings. The data suggest that patient ratings reflect a cost-benefit computation taking account of both antianxiety and sedative effects.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗
PubMed1987

A symptom questionnaire.

The Symptom Questionnaire (SQ) is a yes/no questionnaire with brief and simple items. It contains state scales of depression, anxiety, anger-hostility, and somatic symptoms. It was developed from earlier versions to make the scales more sensitive for clinical research. The scales have been extensively validated. The psychometric properties of the SQ are somewhat different from those of similar scales. In double-blind, crossover studies, they tended to be more sensitive than other scales in discriminating between the effects of a psychotropic drug and placebo and were found to be highly sensitive in discriminating between distress levels of groups. In studies with small or moderately sized samples in which the sensitivity of scales is important or in populations that include subjects with poor verbal skills, the SQ seems to have advantages. The SQ is suitable for the measurement of distress and hostility in research and as a checklist in clinical work.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1986

Hypochondriacal fears and beliefs in medical and law students.

We administered two validated scales of hypochondriacal concerns (the Illness Behavior Questionnaire and the Illness Attitude Scales) to 60 medical students and matched law students. Medical students took more precautions about their health and attended more to somatic symptoms, but the prevalence of hypochondriacal fears, beliefs, and attitudes did not differ significantly between the two groups. Five students (8.3%) in each group scored in the range of patients with hypochondriacal neurosis. Most of the students were free of these concerns. The prevalence of hypochondriacal concerns in medical students was substantially lower than the previously reported incidence over four years of study; this supports the previous observation that most of these reactions are short lived.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Hostility and recovery from melancholia.

Twenty inpatients suffering from major depressive illness with melancholia were administered the hostility subscale of the Kellner Symptom Questionnaire and Paykel's Clinical Interview for Depression before and after treatment with amitriptyline. A matched control group of normal subjects had the same assessments at two points in time. Hostility decreased and friendliness increased in depressives after amitriptyline; upon recovery, there were no significant differences in hostility between depressed patients and control subjects, whereas such differences were striking during the illness. Patients who had reported losses before onset of illness rated themselves as more friendly than the other depressives; their hostility did not significantly decrease with recovery. The results suggest that hostility improves with the treatment of depression; life events appear to influence the degree of hostility in depressive illness as well as the response to treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Personality disorders.

There is considerably less research on the treatment of personality disorders than most other disorders in psychiatry such as depression, anxiety or schizophrenia. There are several published review papers on research of the treatment of these disorders. The present brief survey will deal with the treatment of syndromes for which there is some research evidence of efficacy; for the most part, it deals with the treatment of unwanted emotions and behaviors that can occur in more than one diagnostic category.

Aggression↗
PubMed1985

Functional somatic symptoms and hypochondriasis. A survey of empirical studies.

Empirical studies suggest the following main conclusions: functional somatic symptoms are extremely common; a large proportion appear to be caused by physiologic activity and tend to be aggravated by emotion. Hypochondriacal patients misunderstand the nature and significance of these symptoms and believe that they are evidence of serious disease. Hypochondriasis can be a part of another syndrome, usually an affective one, or it can be a primary disorder. The prevalence differs between cultures and social classes. Constitutional factors, disease in the family in childhood, and previous disease predispose to hypochondriasis. Various stressors can be precipitating events. Selective perception of symptoms, motivated by fear of disease, and subsequent increase in anxiety with more somatic symptoms appear to be links in the vicious cycle of the hypochondriacal reaction. Psychotherapy as well as psychotropic drugs are effective in the treatment of functional somatic symptoms. There are no adequate controlled studies of psychotherapy in hypochondriasis, and the recommended treatments are based on studies with similar disorders. The prognosis of treated hypochondriasis is good in a substantial proportion of patients.

Anti-Anxiety Agents↗
PubMed1985

Hostility, somatic symptoms, and hypochondriacal fears and beliefs.

The authors administered self-rating scales of anger-hostility, somatic symptoms, and hypochondriacal fears and beliefs to seven groups of patients and nonpatients. Somatic symptoms were positively correlated with anger-hostility and were negatively correlated with feelings of friendliness; the correlation coefficients ranged from low to moderately high and were significant in most groups. Somatic symptoms tended to be associated more strongly with symptoms of anxiety and depression than with those of hostility. The associations of hypochondriacal fears and beliefs with hostility were inconsistent, varied between groups and with the concern measured. The findings do not support the view that anger or hostility are main or specific etiological factors either in somatization or in hypochondriacal fears or beliefs.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Reduction of distress in hyperprolactinemia with bromocriptine.

In a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study of bromocriptine in eight hyperprolactinemic patients, self-rated distress decreased and well-being increased parallel with the fall in prolactin levels; for the majority of measures the differences were significant.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Treatment responses in primary and secondary melancholia: a preliminary report.

Ten patients suffering from primary affective illness and melancholia were compared to 10 melancholic subjects whose depression was chronologically superimposed on a preexisting nonaffective psychiatric disturbance. Both groups displayed a satisfactory response to treatment with amitriptyline. Similar patterns of improvement were reported in the two groups, and there was a concordance of subjective and objective rating methods.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Prolactin, amitriptyline, and recovery from depression.

Spontaneous prolactin patterns were determined at 15-min intervals over 5 h in 13 patients, who were suffering from melancholia, during illness and after treatment with amitriptyline. Plasma prolactin levels were significantly greater at most sampling points after patients had recovered than during their illnesses. One patient, who did not recover, showed the opposite trend.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Hyperprolactinemia, distress, and hostility.

The scores of 14 women with hyperprolactinemia on the Symptom Rating Test and the Symptom Questionnaire were compared with those of nonpsychotic women attending a psychiatric clinic, women attending a family practice clinic, and female nonpatient employees. The scores of the hyperprolactinemic women were similar to those of the psychiatric patients. Hyperprolactinemic patients were significantly more hostile, depressed, and anxious and had more feelings of inadequacy than family practice patients and nonpatient employees. The authors recommend measuring the serum prolactin levels of women with depression, hostility, anxiety, and symptoms or signs suggestive of hyperprolactinemia.

Adult↗