Psychiatric Consequences of Needlestick Injury.

Psychiatric consequences of needlestick injury.

Occup Med (Lond). 2013 Feb 21;
Green B, Griffiths EC

BackgroundNeedlestick injuries (NSIs) are a common occupational hazard with potential physical health effects, including viral infections such as hepatitis and HIV. Less appreciated are the psychiatric consequences of NSIs, potentially including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adjustment disorder (AD).AimsTo study psychiatric consequences of NSIs by diagnosis, duration and severity of depressive symptoms.MethodsCase control study from patients referred to a psychiatric trauma clinic diagnosed according to ICD-10 diagnostic research criteria guidelines. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered to measure depressive symptomatology and assess differences in depression severity between psychiatric trauma patients who had or had not experienced an NSI, and for relationships between the severity of depression and time since NSI using linear models.ResultsThere were 17 NSI cases and 125 controls. NSI patients had moderately severe depressive symptoms (mean BDI score 22.7 15), which was similar to 125 non-NSI trauma patients. 13 of these 17 cases had AD and four had PTSD. None contracted infections from their NSI, but most described secondary effects of psychiatric illness on occupational, family and sexual functioning. Severity of depressive symptoms declined with time after NSI, but psychiatric illness lasted 1.78 months longer for every month a NSI patient waited for seronegative test results (P < 0.05).ConclusionsEnduring psychiatric illness can result from NSIs with a severity similar to other psychiatric trauma. Swift delivery of test results may reduce the duration of depression associated with NSI. Occupational health professionals need to be aware of the psychiatric and physical effects of NSIs. HubMed – depression

The Acid Sphingomyelinase Sequence Variant p.A487V Is Not Associated With Decreased Levels of Enzymatic Activity.

JIMD Rep. 2013; 8: 1-6
Rhein C, Naumann J, Mühle C, Zill P, Adli M, Hegerl U, Hiemke C, Mergl R, Möller HJ, Reichel M, Kornhuber J

Rare loss-of-function mutations in the sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 1 (SMPD1) gene are known to dramatically decrease the catalytic activity of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), resulting in an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder known as Niemann-Pick disease (NPD) type A and B. In contrast to the general low frequency of those deleterious mutations, we found a relatively high frequency for the proposed type B NPD variant c.1460C>T (p.A487V) in our sample of 58 patients suffering from Major Depressive Disorder. We therefore investigated the biochemical consequences of this variant more closely. Our in vivo data derived from blood cell analyses indicated cellular ASM activity levels in the normal range. The secreted ASM activity levels in blood plasma were slightly lower, but still above those levels reported for type B NPD patients. In vitro expression studies of this ASM variant in different cell lines confirmed these results, showing cellular and secreted enzymatic activities equivalent to those of wild-type ASM and similar expression levels. Thus, we conclude that the ASM variant c.1460C>T (p.A487V) is not a rare missense mutation but an SMPD1 sequence variant that yields a protein with functional catalytic characteristics. HubMed – depression

Disordered gambling and co-morbidity of psychiatric disorders among college students: An examination of problem drinking, anxiety and depression.

J Gambl Stud. 2013 Feb 21;
Martin RJ, Usdan S, Cremeens J, Vail-Smith K

We assessed the occurrence of co-morbid psychiatric disorders (i.e., problem drinking, anxiety, and depression) among college students who met the threshold for disordered gambling. The participants included a large sample of undergraduate students (n = 1,430) who were enrolled in an introductory health course at a large, southeastern university in Spring 2011 and completed an online assessment that included scales to assess disordered gambling, problem drinking, anxiety, and depression. We calculated screening scores, computed prevalence rates for each disorder, and calculated Pearson correlations and Chi square tests to examine correlations and co-morbid relationships between the four disorders. Analyses indicated that all disorders were significantly associated (p < .01) except for disordered gambling and anxiety. Because college students who experience disordered gambling (and other psychiatric disorders) are at increased risk of experiencing co-occurring disorders, it might be useful for college health professionals to concurrently screen and intervene for co-occurring disorders. HubMed – depression