Factors that contribute to trait mindfulness level among hospitalized patients with major depressive disorder.

Mindfulness training among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) reduces symptoms, prevents relapse, improves prognosis, and is more efficient for those with a high level of trait mindfulness. Upon hospital admission, 126 MDD patients completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief, Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and the Rumination Response Scale (RRS). The 65 patients that scored less than the median of all subjects on the FFMQ were placed into the low mindfulness level (LML) group. The other 61 patients were placed in the high mindfulness level (HML) group. All facet scores were statistically different between the mental health assessment scores of the HML and LML groups except for RRS brooding and FFMQ nonjudgement. Trait mindfulness level exhibited a negative and bidirectional association with MDD severity primarily through the facets of description and aware actions. Trait mindfulness was also related positively with age primarily through the facets of nonreactivity and nonjudgement. Being married is positively associated with trait mindfulness levels primarily through the facet of observation and by an associated increase in perceived quality of life. Mindfulness training prior to MDD diagnosis also associates positively with trait mindfulness level. Hospitalized MDD patients should have their trait mindfulness levels characterized to predict treatment efficiency, help establish a prognosis, and identify mindfulness-related therapeutic targets.

Associations of decreased serum total protein, albumin, and globulin with depressive severity of schizophrenia.

Objective: Depression and schizophrenia (SCH) were accompanied by an acute phase response (APR) that was implicated in the alterations in total protein (TP), albumin, and globulin levels. The aims of this study are to examine serum TP, albumin, globulin levels, depressive symptoms, and their associations in patients with SCH. Methods: We recruited 34 patients with SCH and 136 healthy controls (HCs) according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). Psychiatric symptoms and biomarkers were assessed using the Chinese version of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) as well as the bromocresol green and biuret methods. Results: Serum TP (F = 46.11, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.19), albumin (F = 31.69, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.14), and globulin (F = 12.48, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.06) levels were lower in patients than those in HCs after adjusting for covariates. Serum TP (r = -0.37, p = 0.03) and albumin (r = -0.37, p = 0.03) levels were negatively correlated with depressive score in patients. Stepwise multivariate regression analysis showed the negative associations of depressive score with serum TP (ß = -0.13, t = -2.92, p = 0.007), albumin (ß = -0.23, t = -2.36, p = 0.03), and globulin (ß = -0.16, t = -2.40, p = 0.02) levels in patients. Serum TP, albumin, and globulin levels exhibited the accuracies of 87.1, 70.0, and 69.4% in discriminating between patients and HCs (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.78, 0.68, and 0.77; sensitivity/specificity: 52.9%/95.6%, 55.9%/73.5%, and 76.5%/67.6%). Conclusion: Our data suggested that decreased serum TP, albumin, and globulin should be regarded as the SCH risk factors and were implicated in the depressive severity of SCH, which further provided the support for the hypothesis that SCH and depression were accompanied by the abnormal inflammatory cytokines with the APR.

Comparisons of Serum Interleukin-8 Levels in Major Depressive Patients With Drug-Free Versus SSRIs Versus Healthy Controls.

Objective: The interleukin-8 (IL-8) has been reported to play an important role in depression, which might be modulated by the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate serum IL-8 levels, depressive symptom, and their associations in drug-free MDD patients, MDD patients with SSRIs, and healthy controls (HCs). Methods: Fifty-seven drug-free MDD patients (male/female = 35/22, mean age: 39.24 years), 30 MDD patients with SSRIs (male/female = 11/19, mean age: 39.73 years), and 101 HCs (male/female = 52/49, mean age: 37.38 years) were recruited in this cross-sectional study. Serum IL-8 levels and depressive symptom were assessed using the Flow Cytometer and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD). The analysis of variance was used for the comparison between groups. The relationship between serum log10 IL-8 levels and HAMD score was analyzed by Pearson correlation. Results: Serum log10IL-8 levels were lower in all patients than HCs after controlling for covariates (F = 4.86, p = 0.03). There was significant difference in serum Log10IL-8 levels among three groups after controlling for covariates (F = 14.63, p < 0.001). Serum Log10IL-8 levels in drug-free patients were lower compared to HCs (F = 19.38, p < 0.001) or patients with SSRIs (F = 21.89, p < 0.001) after controlling for covariates. However, there was not difference in serum log10IL-8 levels between patients with SSRIs and HCs after controlling for covariates. Moreover, serum Log10IL-8 levels were negatively correlated with HAMD score in all patients (r = -0.37, p = 0.02). Also, serum Log10IL-8 levels were negatively correlated with HAMD score in drug-free patients (r = -0.74, p = 0.01), but not in patients with SSRIs. Conclusion: Our data supported that the decline in serum IL-8 levels was association with depression. Moreover, the SSRIs might modulate increased serum IL-8 levels of depression.

Baseline beliefs about medication are associated with outcomes of antidepressants in inpatients with first-diagnosed depression under supervised therapeutic compliance.

The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of baseline beliefs about medication on therapeutic outcomes of antidepressants in inpatients with first-diagnosed depression under supervised therapeutic compliance. Ninety-seven inpatients with first-diagnosed depression were included to collect their baseline demographic data to evaluate the Hamilton depression rating scale (HAMD) scores and the beliefs about medicine questionnaire-specific (BMQ-S) scores at baseline and the end of the eight-week treatment. Additionally, we explored the relationship between inpatients' medication beliefs and therapeutic effect of antidepressants. The inpatients were divided into remitted depression and unremitted depression groups according to outcomes at the end of the eight-week treatment. There was no significant difference in the baseline HAMD between the two groups (P > 0.050). The scores on the BMQ-S of the unremitted group were significantly lower than those of the remitted group (P < 0.001). The HAMD scores were significantly reduced in both groups after the eight-week treatment (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the BMQ-S scores before and after the treatment (P > 0.050). The medication beliefs of the unremitted inpatients after the treatment were still lower than those of the remitted inpatients (P < 0.001). Logistic-regression analysis showed that low BMQ-S scores at the baseline were an independent risk factor for antidepressant efficacy. Beliefs about medication at baseline may be correlated with the therapeutic efficacy in inpatients with first-diagnosed depression under supervised therapeutic compliance.