UNASSIGNED: To evaluate the incidence and severity of depression in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP).
UNASSIGNED: The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered to 74 patients with RP and 60 healthy controls. Biomicroscopic anterior segment and fundus examination, visual field, optical coherence tomography, and full-field electroretinography tests were performed in all cases. Variables were evaluated with bivariate, multiple linear, and ordinal logistic regression analyses.
UNASSIGNED: The RP group included 40 (54%) male and 34 (46%) female patients, while the control group included 23 (38%) male and 37 (62%) female subjects. The patient group had a mean age of 39.20±12.4 years, median best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 0.10 decimal (1.0 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution [logMAR]; range, 1.3-0.7 logMAR), and median visual field mean deviation (MD) score of -28.00 decibels (dB) (range, -1.00 to -34.00 dB). The median BDI score was statistically significantly higher in the patient group (19 points) than in the control group (12 points) (p<0.001). Moderate to severe depression (BDI ≥20) was detected in 61% of patients, while this rate was 25% in healthy controls. BCVA and visual field MD values were identified as predictors of depression score and severity level. The patients\' age and gender did not affect total depression score or severity.
UNASSIGNED: The prevalence and severity of depression were found to be higher in RP patients than in healthy controls. There was a significant relationship between the patient\'s functional vision tests and the frequency and severity of depression. Depression reduces the reliability of visual function tests and impairs patients\' quality of life. Therefore, assessing mental health as well as functional tests is important in patients with RP.

OBJECTIVE: Screening for depression in people with epilepsy (PWE) is highly recommended in order to avoid underdiagnosis, misdiagnosis, or delayed diagnosis of this highly impacting comorbidity. Here we evaluated the impact of reporting and suggesting depression via the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) on medical decision-making, and thereby the value of a depression screening for good medical practice.
METHODS: Of 445 BDI data sets, PWE with scores indicating moderate (BDI 19-29) to severe depressive disorder (BDI >29) were extracted and clinical reports were retrospectively reviewed regarding decisions on antidepressants, anti-seizure medications (ASMs), and non-pharmaceutical interventions.
RESULTS: Sixty-four PWE (14%; 56% female; mean age 39.7 years) showed elevated BDI scores, with 40 (63%) categorized as moderate depression and 24 (37%) as severe depression. Thirty-nine percent of PWE already had a pre-existing diagnosis of depression and 53% left the clinic with the diagnosis of depression, half of them with antidepressants. High depression scores were associated with any intervention in 53%, interventions with potentially mood affecting ASM in 19%, treatment with antidepressants in 11%, and non-pharmaceutical interventions in 41%. Non-pharmaceutical interventions were related to BDI scores. Changes of potentially mood-affecting ASMs were more frequent in PWE with moderate scores, and introduction of antidepressants appeared as a trend related to higher depression scores.
CONCLUSIONS: The finding of an only weak relation between high depression scores, diagnoses of depression, and treatment consequences questions the diagnosis and treatment pathway and the clinical value of the BDI screening in PWE. Prospective standard procedures need to be established for depression diagnosis and treatment including follow-up evaluations of the validity of the diagnosis and effectiveness of the decisions taken.

UNASSIGNED: Several studies revealed the therapeutic potential of vortioxetine (Vo) for pain. In this context, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Vo as a safe and tolerable novel pharmacologic agent in treating neuropathic pain (NP) in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).
UNASSIGNED: The population of this cross-sectional prospective study consisted of all consecutive patients who were newly diagnosed with MDD by a neurology doctor at a psychiatric clinic and had NP for at least 6 months. All patients included in the sample were started on Vo treatment at 10 mg/day. They were assessed with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Self-Reported Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (S-LANSS), Douleur Neuropathique 4 Questions (DN4), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and Neuropathic Pain Impact on Quality of Life (NePIQoL) at the beginning of treatment and during the follow visits conducted at the end of the first, second and third months of the treatment. During these follow-up visits, patients were also queried about any side effects of Vo.
UNASSIGNED: The mean age of 50 patients included in the sample, 76% of whom were female, was 45.8 ± 11.2 years. There was a significant reduction in patients\' NP complaints based on DN4 and S-LANNS, the subscales of NePIQoL, and significant improvement in MoCA. There was a significant reduction in patients\' NP complaints based on DN4 and S-LANNS scores and a significant improvement in scores of the subscales of NePIQoL and MoCA.
UNASSIGNED: The study\'s findings indicate that Vo, with its multiple mechanisms of action, can effectively treat NP independently of its mood-stabilizing effect. Future indication studies for Vo are needed to establish Vo\'s efficacy in treating NP.

Pedagogical work, especially with preschool children, is one of the most stressful professions, and the incidence of stress-related illnesses among preschool teachers is higher than in the general population. The aim of this cross-sectional study, conducted between October 2018 and April 2019, was to examine the prevalence of the burnout syndrome in a representative sample of 482 preschool teachers in Serbia and the factors associated with it. For this purpose, the participants completed a questionnaire composed of six sections: the socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics, health and lifestyle characteristics, workplace and employment characteristics; Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI); Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). The frequency of the total burnout was 27.1 %. The frequency of burnout on the CBI was 25.4 % for personal burnout, 27.0 % for work-related burnout, and 23.4 % for client-related burnout. Multivariate logistic regression analysis with total burnout as an outcome variable showed that being single (OR: 0.18; 95 % CI: 0.05-0.58), having poor (OR: 6.05; 95 % CI: 1.05-34.91), or average (OR: 3.60; 95 % CI: 1.57-8.25) self-rated health, not having didactic/play tools (OR: 2.71; 95 % CI: 1.21-6.04), having a higher score on the BDI (OR: 1.19; 95 % CI: 1.09-1.29) or SAS (OR: 1.10; 95 % CI: 1.03-1.18) was significantly associated with the total burnout among our participants. Our study shows the worryingly high prevalence of the burnout syndrome among preschool teachers in Serbia and points to its association with mental health issues, depression, and anxiety.
Pedagoški rad, posebice s djecom predškolske dobi, jedno je od najstresnijih zanimanja. Učestalost bolesti povezanih sa stresom veća je među odgajateljima nego u općoj populaciji. Cilj ovoga presječnog ispitivanja, provedenog od listopada 2018. do travnja 2019., bio je ispitati prevalenciju sindroma izgaranja na reprezentativnom uzorku od 482 odgajatelja u Srbiji i s tim povezane čimbenike. Sudionici su ispunjavali upitnik sastavljen od šest dijelova: sociodemografske i socioekonomske karakteristike, karakteristike zdravlja i stila života, karakteristike radnog mjesta i zaposlenja; Kopenhaški upitnik o izgaranju (Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, krat. CBI); Beckov upitnik o depresiji (Beck Depression Inventory, krat. BDI) i Zungova ljestvica za samoprocjenu anksioznosti (Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, krat. SAS). Učestalost ukupnog izgaranja bila je 27,1 %. Učestalost izgaranja na CBI-ju bila je 25,4% za osobno izgaranje, 27,0 % za izgaranje na poslu i 23,4 % za izgaranje povezano s klijentima. Multivarijatna logistička regresijska analiza s ukupnim izgaranjem kao ishodnom varijablom pokazala je da su biti samac/samica (OR: 0,18; 95 % CI: 0,05–0,58), loše ili prosječno zdravlje (OR: 6,05; 95 % CI: 1,05–34,91 odnosno OR: 3,60; 95 % CI: 1,57–8,25), neposjedovanje didaktičkih sredstava/sredstava za igru (OR: 2,71; 95 % CI: 1,21–6,04) te viša ocjena depresije (OR: 1,19; 95 % CI: 1,09–1,29) ili SAS (OR: 1,10; 95 % CI: 1,03–1,18) bili značajno povezani s ukupnim izgaranjem među našim sudionicima. Naše ispitivanje pokazuje zabrinjavajuće visoku prevalenciju sindroma izgaranja među odgajateljima u Srbiji i upozorava na njegovu povezanost s problemima mentalnog zdravlja, depresijom i anksioznošću.

BACKGROUND: To examine the prevalence of smoking among medical faculty students in Turkey, and to explore the associations between smoking, depression, and other factors.
METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out among medical students in Konya, Turkey, from November 2018 to February 2019. The first section included eight questions pertaining to sociodemographic details. The second comprised nine questions addressing smoking and other harmful habits. The third section involved the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence while the fourth was the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
RESULTS: The study was completed with a total of 1117 participants (90.2% of all students). In regard to smoking, 813 (72.78%) were non-smokers, 98 (8.77%) were ex-smokers, and 222 (19.87%) were active smokers. Notably, 16.29% of students (n = 182) had a high BDI score (≥17). Male sex, good economic status, depression diagnosis at any time in life, and alcohol use were independently associated with active smoking. Being a senior student and regular exercise were independently associated with a low (<17) BDI score, whereas depression diagnosis at any time in life and drug use were independently associated with high (≥17) BDI.
CONCLUSIONS: Almost 20% of medical school students were active smokers, with about a 2.5-fold higher prevalence among males compared to females. There is a significant association between smoking frequency and symptoms of depression. Policies targeting modifiable risk factors can reduce smoking and depression among future physicians, which can have a strong impact on population-wide smoking.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of depressive symptoms on the subjective perception of quality of life in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) after surgical treatment for seizures.  Methods: A case-control study with DRE patients who received surgical treatment (n=19) and matched non-operated patients (n=23). We assessed the quality of life using the Subjective Handicap of Epilepsy (SHE) scale, alongside measuring depressive symptoms using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI).
RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 45 years, with females constituting 52.4% of the patients. A majority (73.8%) had been diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy. Those who had undergone surgical intervention showed significantly enhanced performance across all quality-of-life domains on the SHE scale independently of depressive symptoms. The domains of \"Work and Activity,\" \"Physical Health,\" and \"Self-Perception\" displayed the greatest improvements, with the surgical group\'s averages outperforming the control group by factors of 1.87, 2.53, and 2.81, respectively. Influential differences impacting the quality-of-life scores included seizure frequency, the quantity of antiepileptic drugs utilized, and the incidence of convulsive seizures.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that surgical control of seizures in drug-resistant focal epilepsy is associated with improvement in quality of life across various domains, independently of the depressive symptoms of the patients.

UNASSIGNED: Periodic fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis and adenitis (PFAPA) syndrome and familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) are autoinflammatory disorders typically characterized by recurrent fever attacks. These recurrent fever attacks can lead to depression and anxiety in mothers of these patients. This study aimed to compare the depression and anxiety levels in mothers of PFAPA and FMF patients.
UNASSIGNED: This study is a cross-sectional observational study. 48 mothers of children with FMF and 70 mothers of children with PFAPA participated in the study. Mothers in these two groups were compared in terms of anxiety and depression by using the validated Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI).
UNASSIGNED: Depression and anxiety scores of mothers were found to be similar in FMF and PFAPA groups. Moderate or high level of anxiety was seen in 32% of mothers of patients with PFAPA and 27% of mothers of patients with FMF. 23% of mothers of patients with PFAPA were evaluated as having moderate or severe depression, and 18% of mothers of patients with FMF were evaluated as having moderate depression. There was no statistically significant difference between the duration, frequency of attacks, recurrent hospitalizations, sociodemographic characteristics, and inventory scores.
UNASSIGNED: Depression and anxiety scores of mothers with children diagnosed with FMF and PFAPA are similar. These two diseases affect families psychosocially at similar levels. It is important to provide psychosocial support to families.

BACKGROUND: Nonadherence to medication contributes substantially to worse health outcomes. Especially among older adults with chronic illness, multimorbidity leads to complex medication regimes and high nonadherence rates. In previous research, depressive symptomology has been identified as a major contributor to nonadherence, and some authors hypothesize a link via motivational deficits and low self-efficacy. However, the exact mechanisms linking depressive symptomology and nonadherence are not yet understood. This is in part because the often-employed sum scores cannot do justice to the complexity of depressive symptomology; instead, it is recommended to assess the influence of individual symptoms.
METHODS: Following this symptom-based approach, we performed correlation, network and regression analysis using depressive symptoms as depicted by the items of the revised Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI) to assess their influence with nonadherence in N = 731 older adults with chronic neurological diseases. Nonadherence was measured with the self-report Stendal Adherence to Medication Score (SAMS).
RESULTS: Even when controlling for sociodemographic and health-related covariates, the BDI remained the most influential contributor to nonadherence. Across different methods, Loss of Interest and Difficulty with Concentration were identified as particularly influential for nonadherence, linking nonadherence with other affective or somatic BDI items, respectively. Additionally, Fatigue, Problems with Decision Making, Suicidal Thoughts, and Worthlessness contribute to nonadherence.
CONCLUSIONS: Using a symptom-driven approach, we aimed to understand which depressive symptoms contribute to higher levels of nonadherence. Our results refine previous hypotheses about motivation and control beliefs by suggesting that it is not merely a lack of beliefs in the efficacy of medication that connects depressive symptoms and nonadherence, but rather an overall lack of interest in improving one\'s health due to feelings of worthlessness and suicidal tendencies. This lack of interest is further substantiated by already sparse resources caused by changes in concentration and fatigue. In order to improve health outcomes and reduce nonadherence, these associations between depressive symptoms must be further understood and targeted in tailored interventions.

The relationship between depression and subclinical coronary atherosclerosis in asymptomatic individuals is not clear. We evaluated this relationship in a Korean population.
We analyzed 3920 individuals (mean age 54.7±7.9 years and 2603 men [66.4%]) with no history of coronary artery disease who voluntarily underwent coronary computed tomographic angiography and screening for depression using the Beck Depression Inventory as part of a general health examination. The degree and extent of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis were evaluated by coronary computed tomographic angiography, and ≥50% diameter stenosis was defined as significant. Participants were categorized into groups of those with or without depression using the Beck Depression Inventory scores ≥16 as a cutoff value. Of the study participants, 272 (6.9%) had a Beck Depression Inventory score of 16 or higher. After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, depression was not significantly associated with any coronary plaque (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.05 [95% CI, 0.78-1.41]; P=0.746), calcified plaque (OR, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.71-1.29]; P=0.758), noncalcified plaque (OR, 1.31 [95% CI, 0.79-2.17]; P=0.305), mixed plaque (OR, 1.16 [95% CI, 0.60-2.23]; P=0.659), or significant coronary artery stenosis (OR, 1.22 [95% CI, 0.73-2.03]; P=0.450). In the propensity score-matched population (n=1318) as well, none of the coronary artery disease measures of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis were statistically significantly associated with depression (all P>0.05).
In this large cross-sectional study with asymptomatic individuals undergoing coronary computed tomographic angiography and Beck Depression Inventory evaluation, depression was not associated with an increased risk of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Medical school is known for its lengthy process, which is both physically and emotionally draining. Students\' mental balance would shrink as they progress in their medical training. A systematic review and meta-analysis reported that the prevalence of depressive symptoms among medical students remained relatively constant at 27.2%.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms among Tunisian medical students and evaluate its associated factors.
METHODS: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study that was carried out in the second semester of the academic year 2017/2018, between April 2018 and July 2018 among 1138 medical students. Data were collected using a socio-demographic questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II).
RESULTS: Sixty-four percent (n = 728) of the participants had depressive symptoms, of which 266 (23.4%) met the criteria for mild, 271 (23.8%) for moderate, and 191 (16.8%) for severe depressive symptoms. Female gender, low socio-economic level, smoking habits and history of mental disorder, performing leisure and physical activities, satisfaction toward a career choice, and happiness perception were the main prognostic factors for depression among medical students. Although academic grades may not be considered a prognostic factor, final-year students appeared to be less depressive than their colleagues.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings give insight into mental health issues and comorbidities among Tunisian medical students. It is a hopeful request for decision-makers and academic authorities to set serious measures and draw effective interventions to minimize the currency of psychological distress among this subpopulation.