The mediator role of psychological morbidity in patients with chronic low back pain in differentiated treatments

This study analyzed the mediating role of psychological morbidity and the variables that discriminated low versus high disability, in patients receiving physiotherapy and acupuncture. A total of 203 patients answered measures of illness and medication representations, coping, depression, anxiety, quality of life, and functional disability. Morbidity was a mediator between functional disability and quality of life. Treatment consequences and quality of life, in the acupuncture group, and emotional representations, quality of life, depression, anxiety, and active strategies for pain relief, in the physiotherapy group, discriminated patients with low versus high disability. These results have important implications for identifying high-risk patients.

Sleep during the third trimester of pregnancy: the role of depression and anxiety

Depression has been associated with sleep disturbances in pregnancy; however, no previous research has controlled the possible confounding effect of anxiety on this association. This study aims to analyze the effect of depression on sleep during the third trimester of pregnancy controlling for anxiety. The sample was composed by 143 depressed (n = 77) and non-depressed (n = 66) pregnant women who completed measures of depression, anxiety, and sleep. Differences between groups in sleep controlling for anxiety were found. Depressed pregnant women present higher number of nocturnal awakenings and spent more hours trying falling asleep during the night and the entire 24 h period. Present findings point out the effect of depression on sleep in late pregnancy, after controlling for anxiety.