Associations of anxiety disorders, depressive disorders and body weight with hypertension during pregnancy.

The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine the relationships between maternal DSM-IV-TR anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and body mass index (BMI) with arterial hypertension and blood pressure during pregnancy. In the Maternal Anxiety in Relation to Infant Development (MARI) study, N = 306 women were enrolled in early pregnancy and repeatedly assessed during peripartum period. DSM-IV-TR anxiety and depressive disorders prior to pregnancy, lifetime anxiety/depression liability, and BMI during early pregnancy were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview for Women (CIDI-V). Based on their prepregnancy status, all participants were assigned to one of the following initial diagnostic groups: no anxiety nor depressive disorder (no AD), pure depressive disorder (pure D), pure anxiety disorder (pure A), and comorbid anxiety and depressive disorder (comorbid AD). Blood pressure measurements were derived from medical records. Arterial hypertension during pregnancy was defined by at least two blood pressure values ≥140 mmHg systolic and/or ≥90 mmHg diastolic. N = 283 women with at least four documented blood pressure measurements during pregnancy were included in the analyses. In this sample, N = 47 women (16.6 %) were identified with arterial hypertension during pregnancy. Women with comorbid AD (reference group: no AD) had a significantly higher blood pressure after adjustment for age, parity, smoking, occupation, household income, and education (systolic: linear regression coefficient [ß] = 3.0, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 0.2-5.7; diastolic, ß = 2.3, 95 % CI = 0.1-4.4). Anxiety liability was associated with an increased risk of hypertension (odds ratio [OR] = 1.1, 95 % CI = 1.0-1.3) and a higher systolic blood pressure (ß = 0.4, 95 % CI = 0.0-0.7). The adjusted interaction model revealed a significant interaction between the diagnostic group pure A and BMI for hypertension (ORIT = 1.5, 95 % CI = 1.1-2.1). Especially, women with a lifetime history of comorbid anxiety and depression and obese pregnant women with a lifetime history of pure anxiety disorder should be informed about their heightened risk of hypertension, monitored with regular blood pressure measurements, and provided with strategies for prevention and early intervention such as changes in diet and physical activity.

Psychiatric consultations and therapy recommendations following a suicide attempt in a general hospital and their associations with selected parameters in a 1-year period.

OBJECTIVE: Our study aims to determine the frequency and distribution of suicide attempts according to the patients' characteristics and type of suicide attempt as well as the method of treatment proposed by the consultation-liaison service in a general hospital. METHODS: This retrospective naturalistic study covers a 1-year period (2012), during which 51 suicide attempters were hospitalised in the Charité Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Germany. The following data were analysed: method of suicide, account of prior psychiatric history and medication, as well as the acute psychiatric diagnosis and treatment - including pharmacotherapy. RESULTS: Most of the patients were diagnosed with a psychiatric illness. Major depressive disorder was the most frequent diagnosis in consultation. Treatment recommendations more often entailed further psychiatric treatment than medication. In the cases where medication was indeed given, benzodiazepines were the most frequently prescribed. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the suicide attempters needed further therapy in psychiatric hospitals. A specialised pharmacotherapy (antidepressants, mood stabilisers) was rarely recommended by the psychiatric consultation service. The psychiatric consultation and therapy recommendations are important in guiding future acute treatment procedures.

Premenstrual symptoms are associated with psychological and physical symptoms in early pregnancy.

The reproductive life of women is characterised by a number of distinct reproductive events and phases (e.g. premenstrual phase, peripartum, perimenopause). The hormonal transitions during these phases are often associated with both psychological and physical symptoms. Associations between these reproductive phases have been shown by numerous studies. However, the relationship between symptoms during the premenstrual phase and during early pregnancy has received little attention thus far, although early pregnancy is a time of dramatic hormonal as well as physical adaptation. Findings are based on a prospective longitudinal study with N = 306 pregnant women (MARI study). Three hundred five women that had menstrual bleeding in the year before pregnancy rated the severity of psychological and physical symptoms during premenstrual phases in the year preceding pregnancy. Besides this, they rated the severity of the same symptoms during early pregnancy (weeks 10 to 12 of gestation). The overall severity of premenstrual symptoms was significantly associated with the overall severity of early pregnancy symptoms (b = 0.4, 95% CI = 0.3-0.5; p < 0.001). The overall severity of early pregnancy symptoms was best predicted by the severity of premenstrual irritability. The best predictor for a particular symptom in early pregnancy mostly was the corresponding premenstrual symptom. The associations between premenstrual and early pregnancy symptoms support the reproductive hormone sensitivity hypothesis that some women are prone to repeatedly experience specific psychological and physical symptoms during different reproductive phases. The findings further imply that the nature of symptoms might be rather consistent between different reproductive phases.

Maternal anxiety disorders prior to conception, psychopathology during pregnancy and early infants' development: a prospective-longitudinal study.

Family-genetic studies suggest that anxiety disorders run in families and that mechanisms of familial transmission might act as early as during pregnancy. The aims of the Maternal Anxiety in Relation to Infant Development (MARI) Study are to prospectively investigate the course of pregnancy in women with and without anxiety disorders prior to conception from early pregnancy to postpartum focussing on (a) maternal psychopathology, (b) maternal perinatal health, and (c) offspring outcomes that are supposed to be early indicators/ antecendents for later anxiety disorders. The MARI Study is a prospective-longitudinal study program with seven waves of assessment: T1 (baseline: week 10 to 12 of gestation), T2 (week 22 to 24 of gestation), T3 (week 35 to 37 of gestation), T4 (10 days postpartum), T5 (2 months postpartum), T6 (4 months postpartum), and T7 (16 months postpartum). Overall, N = 306 pregnant women were enrolled during early pregnancy (T1) and allocated to one of the following initial diagnostic groups: no AD: no anxiety nor depressive disorder prior to pregnancy (N = 109), pure D: pure depressive disorder(s) prior to pregnancy (N = 48), pure A: pure anxiety disorder(s) prior to pregnancy (N = 84), and comorbid AD: comorbid anxiety and depressive disorders prior to pregnancy (N = 65). Overall, N = 284 mothers could be retained until T6 (retention rate: 92.8 %) and N = 274 until T7 (retention rate: 89.5 %). Clinical and psychosocial measures were used including a standardized diagnostic interview (CIDI-V) with dimensional scales and standardized observation paradigms (mother-infant-relationship, infant temperament and neuropsychological development). Dimensional anxiety and depression liability indices were developed to reflect the severity of anxiety and depressive disorders prior to pregnancy and to ease longitudinal modelling. Findings from this study will contribute to improved knowledge about the natural course of anxiety disorders during transition to parenthood and associated outcomes that are assumed to be early indicators of later psychopathology in the offspring. Results are expected to provide new insights into mechanisms of familial transmission and clues for targeted prevention and early intervention.

The diagnostic threshold of generalized anxiety disorder in the community: a developmental perspective.

Discussion surrounds the question as to whether criteria for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) should change, particularly in youth. This study examines the effects of possible criteria changes on GAD prevalence and clinical correlates. DSM-IV GAD was assessed using the M-CIDI in a community sample of adolescents and young adults. Diagnostic thresholds were modified in two age spans (9-20 and 21-34 years) using a person-by-year data file (N = 38,534 cases). Relaxing the duration or excessiveness criteria led to the most pronounced changes in GAD prevalence, while relaxing frequency, uncontrollability, or associated-symptom criteria had smaller effects. A lower duration requirement increased rates more in older than younger age spans. Opposite effects occurred for changes in associated-symptoms or clinical-significance criteria. Broader GAD definitions identified cases in both age spans that appeared mostly milder than DSM-IV cases but that still differed from non-GAD cases in various clinical factors and validators. Developmental aspects require stronger consideration in future diagnostic systems.