Leptin and Its Association With Somatic Depressive Symptoms in Patients With the Metabolic Syndrome.

Leptin and its Association with Somatic Depressive Symptoms in Patients with the Metabolic Syndrome.

Ann Behav Med. 2013 Feb 23;
Chirinos DA, Goldberg R, Gellman M, Mendez AJ, Gutt M, McCalla JR, Llabre MM, Schneiderman N

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the association between circulating leptin levels and total depressive symptoms as well as depressive symptom dimensions (cognitive and somatic) after controlling for important confounding factors. METHODS: The study sample was comprised of 135 participants with the metabolic syndrome. Depressive symptoms were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Leptin was measured using a leptin-specific enzyme immunoassay. Inflammation was assessed using C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 levels. RESULTS: Leptin was significantly associated with somatic depressive symptoms (??=?0.33, P?=?0.018), but not total depressive symptoms (??=?0.27, P?=?0.067) or cognitive depressive symptoms (??=?0.21, P?=?0.182), after controlling for age, gender, body mass index, and insulin resistance. Further adjustment for C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 levels did not alter the relationship (??=?0.32, P?=?0.023) between circulating leptin levels and somatic depressive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Leptin is independently associated with somatic depressive symptoms in patients with the metabolic syndrome. HubMed – depression

Association Between Smoking and Heart Rate Variability Among Individuals with Depression.

Ann Behav Med. 2013 Feb 23;
Harte CB, Liverant GI, Sloan DM, Kamholz BW, Rosebrock LE, Fava M, Kaplan GB

BACKGROUND: Both depression and smoking have been independently associated with lower heart rate variability (HRV), suggesting dysregulation of cardiac autonomic function. However, no studies have systematically explored the effects of smoking on HRV among depressed patients. PURPOSE: This study examined differences in HRV based on smoking status among depressed individuals. METHODS: Electrophysiological data were examined among 77 adult outpatients without a history of myocardial infarction, who met criteria for major depressive disorder or dysthymia. Frequency domain [low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), LF/HF ratio, respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)] parameters of HRV, and heart rate and inter-beat interval (IBI) data were compared between depressed smokers (n?=?34) and depressed nonsmokers (n?=?44). RESULTS: After controlling for covariates, depressed smokers, compared to depressed nonsmokers, displayed significantly lower LF, HF, and RSA. CONCLUSIONS: Among depressed patients, smoking is associated with significantly lower HRV, indicating dysregulated autonomic modulation of the heart. HubMed – depression

Health Anxiety, Cognitive Coping, and Emotion Regulation: A Latent Variable Approach.

Int J Behav Med. 2013 Feb 24;
Görgen SM, Hiller W, Witthöft M

BACKGROUND: Health anxiety, the fear or conviction of suffering from a severe disorder, represents a dimensional and multifactorial construct consisting of cognitive, behavioral, affective, and perceptual components. It has recently been proposed that dysfunctional emotion regulation strategies contribute to health anxiety, but the empirical evidence for this claim is sparse. PURPOSE: The current research was aimed at broadly exploring and clarifying possible relationships between dimensions of health anxiety and cognitive coping and emotion regulation strategies. METHOD: In two studies with non-clinical samples (n (study 1)?=?172; n (study 2)?=?242), health anxiety, cognitive coping, and emotion regulation strategies were assessed using multidimensional self-report measures. Functional (e.g., reappraisal) and dysfunctional (e.g., rumination) cognitive coping and emotion regulation strategies were differentiated. RESULTS: Using structural equation modeling, the results of Study 1 revealed significant and consistent associations between the dimensions of health anxiety and dysfunctional coping and emotion regulation strategies. Study 2 replicated and extended the main findings of Study 1 by demonstrating that the associations between health anxiety and strategies of coping and emotion regulation were independent of the current level of depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Health anxiety was found to be associated with dysfunctional coping and emotion regulation strategies (e.g., suppression). The positive associations between behavioral dimensions of health anxiety (e.g., seeking reassurance) and dysfunctional coping strategies may suggest that behavioral dimensions of health anxiety serve as a compensatory strategy to overcome difficulties in cognitive coping. HubMed – depression

The Association of Type 2 Diabetes Patient and Spouse Illness Representations with Their Well-being: A Dyadic Approach.

Int J Behav Med. 2013 Feb 24;
Dimitraki G, Karademas EC

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine the relation between certain illness representations and the physical and psychological well-being of persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus and their spouses. PURPOSE: In this study, we examined the relation of type 2 diabetes patients and their spouses’ representations of illness consequences and timeline (chronicity and cyclicality/predictability) to the physical and psychological well-being of both. The interaction between patient and spouse illness representations was also studied. METHODS: A dyadic analysis approach was employed, while the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was used to examine dyadic effects. One hundred and sixty-eight individuals nested in 84 couples participated. RESULTS: Regarding illness representations, both actor (i.e., the effects of a person’s own characteristics on own outcomes) and partner (i.e., the effects of the partner’s characteristics on a person’s outcomes) effects were identified but only for patients’ well-being. Certain significant interactions were also found: patients’ timeline-cyclical representations were weakly associated with their anxiety and depression symptoms when spouses perceived diabetes as less unpredictable. Also, spouses’ perceptions of consequences were more strongly related to their anxiety when patients perceived diabetes as less burdensome. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the findings indicate a type of synergy between patient and spouse illness representations. They also emphasize the interdependence between diabetes patients and their partners, and the need to examine adaptation to illness within a dyadic-regulation framework as well. HubMed – depression