The effect of leaving employment on mental health: testing ‘adaptation’ versus ‘sensitisation’ in a cohort of working-age Australians

Objectives To investigate the ‘adaptation’ versus ‘sensitisation’ hypotheses in relation to mental health and labour market transitions out of employment to determine whether mental health stabilised (adaptation) or worsened (sensitisation) as people experienced one or more periods without work. Methods The Household Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia (HILDA) longitudinal survey was used to investigate the relationship between the number of times a person had been unemployed or had periods out of the labour force (ie, spells without work) and the Mental Component Summary (MCS) of the Short Form 36 (SF-36). Demographic, health and employment related confounders were included in a series of multilevel regression models. Results During 2001–2010, 3362 people shifted into unemployment and 1105 shifted from employment to not in the labour force. Compared with participants who did not shift, there was a 1.64-point decline (95% CI −2.05 to −1.23, p<0.001) in scores of the MCS SF-36 among those who had one spell of unemployment (excluding not in the labour force), and a 2.56-point decline (95% CI −3.93 to −1.19, p<0.001) among those who had two or more spells of unemployment after adjusting for other variables. Findings for shifts from employment to ‘not in the labour force’ were in the same direction; however, effect sizes were smaller. Conclusions These results indicate that multiple spells of unemployment are associated with continued, though small, declines in mental health. Those who leave employment for reasons other than unemployment experience a smaller reduction in mental health.

The effect of gender and age on the association between weight status and health-related quality of life in Australian adolescents

Evidence suggests an inverse relationship between excess weight and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children and adolescents, however little is known about whether this association is moderated by variables such as gender and age. This study aimed to investigate these relationships.

Effect of mood, social connectivity and age in online depression community via topic and linguistic analysis

Depression afflicts one in four people during their lives. Several studies have shown that for the isolated and mentally ill, the Web and social media provide effective platforms for supports and treatments as well as to acquire scientific, clinical understanding of this mental condition. More and more individuals affected by depression join online communities to seek for information, express themselves, share their concerns and look for supports [12]. For the first time, we collect and study a large online depression community of more than 12,000 active members from Live Journal. We examine the effect of mood, social connectivity and age on the online messages authored by members in an online depression community. The posts are considered in two aspects: what is written (topic) and how it is written (language style). We use statistical and machine learning methods to discriminate the posts made by bloggers in low versus high valence mood, in different age categories and in different degrees of social connectivity. Using statistical tests, language styles are found to be significantly different between low and high valence cohorts, whilst topics are significantly different between people whose different degrees of social connectivity. High performance is achieved for low versus high valence post classification using writing style as features. The finding suggests the potential of using social media in depression screening, especially in online setting.

The effect of victim age on police authorisation of charges in cases of child sexual abuse

In the study, a cohort of 440 child sexual abuse cases were used to model the effect of victim age on police authorisation of charges. Linear and quadratic effects of age were modelled in a logistic regression that controlled for case characteristics and evidence. The quadratic effect of victim age was strengthened when control variables were included in the model and the linear effect of age was not significant in the final model. The results indicated that cases involving victims in middle childhood had a higher proportion of suspects charged than cases involving victims in early childhood and adolescence. Possible mediators of the relationship between victim age and charges were explored and it was found that cases with older victims had a higher prevalence of extra-familial abuse and suspect confessions, and these factors had a positive effect on the proportion of suspects charged. Possible explanations for the quadratic effect of victim age and mediation are discussed.

Antidepressant medication may moderate the effect of depression duration on hippocampus volume

Abstract.
Hippocampus volume has been frequently, but not universally reported to be reduced in people with major depression relative to age-matched healthy controls. Among the potential reasons for this discrepancy in finding across studies is the effect of antidepressant medication. Hippocampus volume was determined by MRI (1.5 Tesla) for 10 people diagnosed with major depression for who detailed history of depression and antidepressant treatment history were known, and 10 age-matched healthy controls with no history of depression. Left, but not right, hippocampus volumes were significantly smaller in the patient group compared to the controls. Furthermore, there was a significant correlation such that left hippocampus volume was smaller with increasing lifetime duration of depression. However, this relationship was moderated by a significant correlation such that greater lifetime duration of antidepressant medication was associated with larger left hippocampus volume.
The findings support the contention that antidepressant medication may act to normalize hippocampus volume.

The effect of complainant age on outcomes in the criminal justice system: case tracking from report to conviction

 The thesis explored child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system and how victim age predicted case outcomes, including disclosures, charges and convictions. The findings highlighted that adolescent victims may experience unique challenges. Further, the relationships between victim age, case characteristics and evidence are crucial to explaining case outcomes.

Exploring the effect of gender and age on stress and emotional distress in adults with autism spectrum disorder

One hundred nine people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS), andStress Survey Schedule (SSS). Compared with Australian norms for DASS depression, anxiety, and stress, both males andfemales with ASD showed elevated scores. Females aged 25 to 44 years scored significantly higher on the DASS depressionsubscale than same aged males and younger males and females. Significant gender and age differences were evident onSSS subscales. In comparison with males, females were more stressed on Pleasant Events, Sensory/Personal Contact, andSocial and Environmental subscales, and adult females in particular were more stressed on items around Change and SocialThreats and Anticipation/Uncertainty. Young people were less stressed on seven of the eight SSS subscales than olderpeople. It appears that emotional vulnerability in people with ASD varies according to gender and age, with adult femalesat particular risk.

Effect of adjunctive raloxifene therapy on severity of refractory schizophrenia in women: a randomized clinical trial

IMPORTANCE: A substantial proportion of women with schizophrenia experience debilitating treatment-refractory symptoms. The efficacy of estrogen in modulating brain function in schizophrenia has to be balanced against excess exposure of peripheral tissue. Raloxifene hydrochloride is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (mixed estrogen agonist/antagonist) with potential psychoprotective effects and fewer estrogenic adverse effects. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether adjunctive raloxifene therapy reduces illness severity in women with refractory schizophrenia. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial with fortnightly assessments was performed at an urban tertiary referral center and a regional center from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2014. Participants included 56 women with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and marked symptom severity despite substantial and stable antipsychotic doses. Data were analyzed using intention to treat as the basis. INTERVENTIONS: Adjunctive raloxifene hydrochloride, 120 mg/d, or placebo for 12 weeks. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the change in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score. Clinical response (defined as a ≥20% decrease in PANSS total score from baseline) and change in PANSS subscale scores, mood, cognition, reproductive hormone levels, and adverse events were also assessed. RESULTS: Of the 56 participants (mean [SD] age, 53 [7.7] years; age range, 40-70 years; mean [SD] duration of psychotic illness, 24 [11] years), 26 were randomized to raloxifene and 30 were randomized to placebo. Raloxifene produced a greater reduction in the PANSS total score relative to placebo (β = -6.37; 95% CI, -11.64 to -1.10; P = .02) and resulted in an increased probability of a clinical response (hazard ratio, 5.79; 95% CI, 1.46 to 22.97; P = .01). A significant reduction was found in the PANSS general symptom scores for the raloxifene compared with the placebo (β = -3.72; 95% CI, -6.83 to -0.61; P = .02) groups. For patients who completed the full 12-week trial, there was not a statistically significant treatment effect on PANSS positive symptom scores (β for change in raloxifene vs placebo, -1.92; 95% CI, -3.83 to 0.00; P = .05). Change in mood, cognition, and reproductive hormone levels and the rate of adverse events did not differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Raloxifene hydrochloride, 120 mg/d, reduces illness severity and increases the probability of a clinical response in women with refractory schizophrenia. This large trial of raloxifene in this patient population offers a promising, well-tolerated agent that has potential application in clinical practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00361543.