Computer and Internet Interventions for Loneliness and Depression in Older Adults: A Meta-Analysis.

Computer and internet interventions for loneliness and depression in older adults: a meta-analysis.

Filed under: Depression Treatment

Healthc Inform Res. 2012 Sep; 18(3): 191-8
Choi M, Kong S, Jung D

This study conducted a meta-analysis to examine the effectiveness of computer and Internet training interventions intended to reduce loneliness and depression in older adults.Searches were performed to retrieve studies that had been published in peer-reviewed journals from January 2001 to July 2012 and written in English or Korean from PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, KoreaMed, KMbase, KISS, MEDLIS, and RISS. We used combinations of the keywords for population, intervention, and psychosocial problems. A meta-analysis was employed to summarize the findings of studies on computer and Internet interventions for older adults. An overall mean weighted effect size for each outcome was calculated, and Q statistics were used to test the heterogeneity of variance in the effect sizes of the selected studies.As the Q statistics revealed heterogeneity, random effects models were chosen for the meta-analysis. The overall mean weighted effect size for loneliness from five studies was statistically significant for decreased loneliness (Z = 2.085, p = 0.037). However, the overall mean weighted effect size for depression from five studies was not statistically significant (Z = 1.528, p = 0.126).These results suggest that computer and Internet programs were effective in managing loneliness among older adults. Therefore, further computer-mediated social support should be considered to help manage loneliness in this population.
HubMed – depression

Decreased serum level of soluble-leptin-receptor in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Filed under: Depression Treatment

Iran Red Crescent Med J. 2012 Sep; 14(9): 587-93
Bagheri K, Ebadi P, Naeimi S

There is some evidence suggesting that leptin and its negative regulator, soluble-leptinreceptor (SLR) may be able to influence inflammatory and autoimmune processes.In this study, several variables including socio-demographics, health-related habits, depression score, serum molecules and blood parameters besides the SLR level were evaluated in patients with SLE (SLE-patients) and healthy controls.The patients had significantly lower SLR level and higher depression score than the controls and both of these variables have a significant association with the occurrence of disease in logistic regression model. Moreover, the results of Pearson correlation analysis showed that patients’ SLR level was negatively correlated with their weights and BDI scores.For the first time, this study indicated a lower level of SLR in SLE-patients and suggested that lower concentrations of SLR in these patients may be implicated in the pathogenesis of SLE.
HubMed – depression

Inbreeding Depression under Drought Stress in the Rare Endemic Echium wildpretii (Boraginaceae) on Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Filed under: Depression Treatment

PLoS One. 2012; 7(10): e47415
Sedlacek J, Schmid B, Matthies D, Albrecht M

How climate-change induced environmental stress may alter the effects of inbreeding in patchy populations of rare species is poorly understood. We investigated the fitness of progeny from experimental self- and cross-pollinations in eight populations of different size of Echium wildpretii, a rare endemic plant of the arid subalpine zone of the Canarian island of Tenerife. As control treatments we used open pollination and autonomous selfing. The seed set of open-pollinated flowers was 55% higher than that of autonomously selfed flowers, showing the importance of animal pollination for reproductive success. The seed set, seed mass and germination rate of seedlings of hand-selfed flowers was similar to that of hand-crossed flowers, indicating weak inbreeding depression (seed set -4.4%, seed mass -4.1%, germination -7.3%). Similarly, under normal watering there were no significant effects of inbreeding on seedling survival (-3.0%). However, under low watering of seedlings inbreeding depression was high (survival -50.2%). Seed set of open- and hand-outcrossed-pollinated flowers was higher in large than in small populations, possibly due to more frequent biparental inbreeding in the latter. However, later measures of progeny fitness were not significantly influenced by population size. We predict that increasing drought duration and frequency due to climate change and reductions of population sizes may increase inbreeding depression in this charismatic plant species and thus threaten its future survival in the longer term.
HubMed – depression

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