Clinically depressed patients and control subjects were examined by means of different tests to assess executive functions (the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Stroop Color Word Test and a test of verbal fluency). The results indicate that the depressed patients were generally slower than the controls, as reflected by longer retrieval times for both words and colours. Furthermore, the depressed patients showed impairment with regard to altering behaviour appropriately in response to feedback. However, there were no depression-related increases in perseverative responses, and the ability to inhibit irrelevant information was unaffected by depression. No relationship was found between specific depressive symptoms or the severity of depression and cognitive performance. The overall pattern of results suggests that depression may affect various executive functions in a differentiated manner.
BackgroundReliable and easy to administer screening instruments focusing on neurodevelopmental disorders and associated conditions are scarce. The Autism–Tics, AD/HD and other Comorbidities inventory (A-TAC) has previously been validated and reporting good– excellent validity for several disorders. This article aims to expand these findings by including more conditions in a substantially larger sample augmented with the Swedish National Patient Register (NPR).MethodsSince 2004 parents of all 9-year-old Swedish twins have been invited to participate in a telephone interview in the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden, CATSS. The CATSS is linked to the NPR which includes data from in- and outpatient care. Data on neurodevelopmental disorders (A-TAC) collected in CATSS were compared with diagnoses from the NPR. We investigated diagnoses that had been made both before (previous validity) and after (predictive validity) the interview.ResultsSensitivity and specificity of A-TAC scores for predicting earlier or later clinical diagnoses were mostly good–excellent, with values of the area under the curve for a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) of .98, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) .93, learning disorder (LD) .92, and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) .99, with small differences in terms of previous and predictive analyses. A-TAC provided little validity for eating disorders.ConclusionThe result support previous claims: A-TAC is a broad screening instrument with a particular strength in assessing ASD, ADHD, LD, and ODD at ages 9 and 12, and also provides phenotypic information about other child psychiatric disorders.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12888-017-1563-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
The administration of marker states improved the responsiveness and validity of the FT but not of the SG. Decisions about administering marker states should depend on whether the FT and SG is of primary interest and the importance of optimal validity and responsiveness relative to competing objectives such as efficiency.
Background. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on workload, mental health, and well-being of healthcare workers, and particularly those on the front-line, has received considerable attention.Design and methods. We surveyed hospital employees about their working environment during the pandemic and identified departments which were negatively affected in comparison to the pre-pandemic situation, as well as factors contributing to this.Setting and participants We surveyed all hospital employees at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden in September 2020 and compared results across departments and to the results of a large employee survey from October 2019.Results. The overall impact of the pandemic on perceived working conditions and possibility for recovery differed among departments. During the pandemic, healthcare workers working with COVID-19 patients reported poorer working environments than other employees. Factors significantly related to perception of work environment and recovery during the pandemic included worries of being infected, departmental transfer, and having insufficient access to personal protective equipment. Men reported better working conditions than women in all, but one item and higher age was related to better perceived working environment.Conclusions. Our results indicate that the pandemic differentially affects hospital departments and underscores the multifactorial nature of this topic. Contributing factors to poor perceived working environment could be addressed at times of high workload, such as during the pandemic, including providing appropriate support to managers, ensuring possibility for recovery during working hours, and acknowledging worries about infection. Young healthcare workers and staff who are relocated due to the pandemic warrant special attention.
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