The aim of this review was to survey the literature on depression in patients with myocardial infarction to assess the methodological quality and to test whether depression leads to an increased postmyocardial infarction mortality. Medline, Psycinfo, and www.UMI.com were searched, and researchers were contacted in the autumn of 2003. Thirty-one articles were reviewed. Only seven articles scored above a predefined level of 75% for acceptable quality. The articles lack description of non-responders, recall period for depressive symptoms, validation of applied instrument on target population, and sample size large enough to show differences between groups. The prevalence rates of depression ranged from 1.6 to 50%. In eight articles, a diagnostic test was applied, in the rest of the studies, questionnaires were used. The prevalence of depression was highest in those using patient-completed questionnaires. A significant positive association was shown between depression and postmyocardial infarction mortality in 15 studies, a non-significant association in 14, and in two articles, this was not reported. In articles with data collection starting after 1994, a non-significant relation tended to be reported. The studies were generally not of acceptable quality. They lacked sufficient power to show differences in stated end points between groups. Application of non-validated instruments caused large differences in prevalence rates of depression. Future studies should include a minimum of 1,000 patients, use a validated instrument, re-examine the patients, and describe participants and non-participants in detail.

Somatic symptoms of depression are prevalent in patients with acute coronary syndrome. The use of self-completed non-diagnostic questionnaires assessing symptoms of depression therefore is cautioned as patients may wrongly be identified as depressed. In patients with acute coronary syndrome depression is predicted by well-known psychosocial risk factors.

Aim: To examine the association between psychosocial exposures during pregnancy and the risk of infantile colic. Methods: The study included 378 infants and was conducted as a substudy of the Danish National Birth Cohort from 1997 to 1999, with prenatal data collected twice during pregnancy. A diary with a record for postpartum weeks 4–8 was used to quantify the amount of the infants' crying and fussing. Results: The cumulative incidence proportion of infantile colic was 8.2%. A threefold increased risk of infantile colic (OR = 3.7; 95% CI: 1.1–13.2) was found for mothers who reported distress during pregnancy. Close to a twofold increased risk of IC was found for the women who scored higher than 8 on the psychological distress scale (adjusted OR = 1.9; 95% CI: 0.5–7.2). Conclusion: The results indicate that general distress during pregnancy influences the risk of infantile colic. Whether or not this relationship is causal requires further investigations.

The purpose of the present study was to analyse the epidemiologic relationship between dental health behaviors and periodontal disease. Indicators of periodontal disease in terms of bleeding and calculus were measured dichotomously (absence/presence). Periodontal pockets were as follows: normal pockets (0-3 mm), shallow pockets (4-5 mm), and deep pockets (6+ mm). The indicators were measured on 4 surfaces on 6 index teeth (16, 11, 26, 36, 31, 46) in 1984-85. The highest value for each tooth of bleeding (0/1), calculus (0/1) and pockets (0/1/2) was used for calculation of the bleeding index, the calculus index and the pocket index. The participation rate in 1984-85 was 86%, and the study population involved 368 males and 388 females. Information concerning dental health behavior was obtained both in childhood (1974) when the individuals were 9-10 years of age, and in adulthood (1984-85) when the individuals were 20-21 years of age. Information concerning dental health behaviors in adulthood, i.e., regularity of dental visits, frequency of tooth brushing, and regular use of interdental aids, was obtained through a self-administered questionnaire (1984-85). Dental health behaviors in childhood (1974) was operationalized as level of plaque, gingivitis, and dmfs. The results showed that dental health behaviors in childhood and in adulthood were together responsible for 9.4-13.8% of the variance in level of periodontal disease indicators. Determinants of early dental health behaviors in terms of plaque and dmfs at age 9-10 years were significant predictors in pocket index at age 20-21.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The results indicate that general distress during pregnancy influences the risk of infantile colic. Whether or not this relationship is causal requires further investigations.