Little is known about the association between depression and the buffering effects of social support in mid-life crisis. The aim of this study is to determine the buffering effects of social support on depression concerning middle-aged individuals, while also taking reciprocity and gender differences into careful consideration. A cross-sectional survey of all middle-aged individuals (40-69 years of age) using a large sample (n = 4558) from a community-living population, who resided in Rokunohe town, Aomori prefecture in northern Japan (response rate = 69.8%), was undertaken. This town recently had a lot of suicides. Two-way anova was used to analyze the effects of stressor and social support on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale scores. The authors found a stress buffering effect of social support on the depressive symptoms occurring in middle age, however, a significant difference in the stress buffer effect was only observed in male subjects. Moreover, when the authors take reciprocity into account, the effect of the buffer on depression was found not only in males receiving support but in males providing support as well.In conclusion, pertaining to males, social support reduces depressive symptoms under stressful circumstances in middle age, not only when they receive such support but also when they provide it. Therefore, these findings suggest that reciprocal social support is important for males in relation to community mental health.
BackgroundThe present study aims to examine if autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a risk factor for suicide attempts among adult depressed patients and to elucidate the characteristics of suicide attempts in adult depressed patients with ASD.MethodsWe conducted a case–control study. Subjects consisted of 336 retrospectively recruited first-time visit patients to our outpatient clinic with a current major depressive episode; 31 of the 336 patients had attempted suicide. The demographic backgrounds (i.e., age, gender, personal/family history of suicidality); specific psychopathology like bipolarity, agitation, and psychotic features; and comorbidity such as physical diseases, alcohol abuse, cluster B personality disorder, and ASD including pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) were examined as potential risk factors for suicide attempts. We compared these variables between the suicide attempters and non-attempters. In addition, we compared suicide attempters to non-attempters within the ASD group and non-ASD group. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed using the significant independent variables from the comparisons between the suicide attempters and non-attempters, and the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated.ResultsLogistic regression analysis demonstrated that agitation during a depressive episode (OR = 7.15, 95% CI = 2.88–17.74), past suicidal behaviors (OR = 4.32, 95% CI =1.70–10.98), and comorbid PDD-NOS (OR = 4.04, 95% CI = 1.20–13.54) were significantly associated with suicide attempts. The most prevalent suicidal method was drug overdose (59.1%) among non-ASD attempters while hanging was the most prevalent (44.4%) in ASD attempters.ConclusionsDepressed adults with comorbid atypical autistic traits are at higher risk for suicide attempts and may engage in methods that are more lethal.
Previous studies have demonstrated that subjects with one or two A1 alleles of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) polymorphism at the Taq1 A locus have lower DRD2 density than those with no A1 allele. The present study aimed to examine whether the Taq1 A DRD2 genotypes are related to therapeutic response to nemonapride, a selective dopamine antagonist, in schizophrenic patients. The subjects were 25 acutely exacerbated schizophrenic inpatients who had received no medication for at least 1 month before the study. The fixed dose (18 mg/day) of nemonapride was administered to each patient for 3 weeks. The clinical status was prospectively monitored by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) before, and 3 weeks after, the treatment. The Taq1 A genotypes (A1 and A2 alleles) were determined by the polymerase chain reaction method. Three patients were homozygous for the A1 allele, 11 were heterozygous for the A1 and A2 alleles, and 11 were homozygous for the A2 allele. The patients with one or two A1 alleles (n = 14) showed significantly higher percentage improvement in total BPRS and positive symptoms than those with no A1 allele (n = 11) after 3-week treatment while the percentage improvement in other subgrouped symptoms (negative, anxiety-depression, excitement and cognitive symptoms) was similar between the two genotype groups. The present results suggest that the Taq1 A DRD2 polymorphism is related to early therapeutic response to nemonapride in schizophrenic patients, possibly by modifying the efficiency of DRD2 antagonism of the drug in the central nervous system.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.