A meta-analysis of the relationship between antidepressant use in pregnancy and the risk of preterm birth and low birth weight

OBJECTIVES

To examine the relationship between antidepressant use in pregnancy and low birth weight (LBW) and preterm birth (PTB).

DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION

We searched English and non-English language articles via PubMed, CINAHL and PsychINFO (from their start dates through December 1st, 2012). We used the following keywords and their combinations: antidepressant, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), pregnancy, antenatal, prenatal, birthweight, birth weight, preterm, prematurity, gestational age, fetal growth restriction, intrauterine growth restriction, and small-for-gestational age. Published studies were considered eligible if they examined exposure to antidepressant medication use during pregnancy and reported data on at least one birth outcome of interest: PTB (<37 weeks gestation) or LBW (<2500 g). Of the 222 reviewed studies, 28 published studies met the selection criteria.

DATA EXTRACTION

Two authors independently extracted study characteristics from eligible studies.

RESULTS

Using random-effects models, antidepressant use in pregnancy was significantly associated with LBW (RR: 1.44, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.21-1.70) and PTB (RR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.52-1.88). Studies varied widely in design, populations, control groups and methods. There was a high level of heterogeneity as measured by I2 statistics for both outcomes examined. The relationship between antidepressant exposure in pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes did not differ significantly when taking into account drug type (SSRI vs. other or mixed) or study design (prospective vs. retrospective). There was a significant association between antidepressant exposure and PTB for different types of control status used (depressed, mixed or nondepressed).

CONCLUSIONS

Antidepressant use during pregnancy significantly increases the risk for LBW and PTB.

Integrated medical care management and behavioral risk factor reduction for multicondition patients: behavioral outcomes of the TEAMcare trial

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study was to compare behavioral outcomes (physical activity, sedentary behavior, smoking cessation, diet) between the intervention and usual care conditions from the TEAMcare trial.

METHODS

TEAMcare was a randomized trial among 214 adults with depression and poorly controlled diabetes and/or coronary heart disease that promoted health behavior change and pharmacotherapy to improve health. Behavioral outcomes were measured with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (physical activity, sitting time) and the Summary of Diabetes Self-Care Activities Measure (smoking, diet, exercise). Poisson regression models among completers (N=185) were conducted adjusting for age, education, smoking status and depression.

RESULTS

Intervention participants had more days/week following a healthy eating plan [relative rate=1.2, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.1-1.4] and more days of participation in 30 min of physical activity (relative rate=1.2, 95% CI=1.1-2.0) compared to usual care. Intervention participants were more likely to meet physical activity guidelines (7.5% increase) compared to usual care (12% decrease; P=.053).

CONCLUSION

Diet and activity generally improved for those receiving the intervention, while there were no differences in some aspects of diet (fruit and vegetable and high-fat food intake), smoking status and sitting time between conditions in the TEAMcare trial.

Population targeting and durability of multimorbidity collaborative care management

OBJECTIVES

A patient-centered collaborative care program for depression and uncontrolled diabetes and/or coronary heart disease (CHD) demonstrated improved clinical outcomes relative to usual care. We report clinically stratified analyses of patient outcomes to inform the duration and targeting of care management services for complex patients with multimorbidity.

METHODS

A 12-month randomized controlled trial of a multimorbidity collaborative care program followed patients at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months for diabetes (glycated hemoglobin [A1C]), blood pressure (systolic; SBP), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and depression (Symptoms Check List-20 score). Depressed patients with less favorable medical control (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score > 10, A1C > 8.0 %, SBP > 140 mm Hg, and LDL cholesterol > 120 mg/dL) were compared with depressed patients with more favorable medical control to describe differential intervention benefits over time.

RESULTS

In contrast to patients with more favorable baseline control, patients with depression and unfavorable control of A1C, SBP, and LDL at baseline showed improved outcomes as early as the 6-month follow-up assessment. Clinical benefits in the intervention group were largely sustained over the 24-month follow-up, except for some deterioration of glycemic control in intervention patients and trends toward improvement among controls over time. Among patients with depression and more favorable medical control at baseline, there were minimal between-group differences in medical disease outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinical benefits of a multimorbidity collaborative care management program occurred early, and were only found among patients with poor control of baseline diabetes and CHD risk factors. Targeting may maximize reach and improve affordability of complex care management.

Diabetes self-care, major depression, and chronic kidney disease in an outpatient diabetic population

BACKGROUND/AIMS

The associations between major depression and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients with diabetes are incompletely characterized. Depressed patients with diabetes are known to have worse diabetes self-care, but it is not known whether this mediates the association between depression and CKD in this population.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study of the associations between major depressive symptoms and CKD in the Pathways Study (n = 4,082), an observational cohort of ambulatory diabetic patients from a managed care setting. Depression status was ascertained using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Stepwise logistic regression models examined the associations between depression and impaired estimated glomerular filtration rate (<60 ml/min/1.73 m(2)) or microalbuminuria, after adjustment for demographics, CKD risk factors, and diabetes self-care variables.

RESULTS

Clinically significant depression symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥10) were associated with a greater risk of microalbuminuria after adjustment for demographic variables (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.21-1.95) and traditional CKD risk factors (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.04-1.77); this association persisted after additional adjustment for diabetes self-care (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.02-1.75). Depression was not associated with impaired estimated glomerular filtration rate in any of the models.

CONCLUSION

In this cohort of diabetic subjects, clinically significant depression symptoms were associated with microalbuminuria, which could not be entirely explained by differences in diabetes self-care.

Views and experiences of suicidal ideation during pregnancy and the postpartum: findings from interviews with maternal care clinic patients

INTRODUCTION

Perinatal suicidality (i.e., thoughts of death, suicide attempts, or self-harm during the period immediately before and up to 12 months after the birth of a child) is a significant public health concern. Few investigations have examined the patients' own views and experiences of maternal suicidal ideation.

METHODS

Between April and October 2010, researchers identified 14 patient participants at a single university-based medical center for a follow-up, semi-structured interview if they screened positive for suicidal ideation on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) short form. In-depth interviews followed a semi-structured interview guide. Researchers transcribed all interviews verbatim and analyzed transcripts using thematic network analysis.

RESULTS

Participants described the experience of suicidality during pregnancy as related to somatic symptoms, past diagnoses, infanticide, family psychiatric history (e.g., completed suicides and family member attempts), and pregnancy complications. The network of themes included the perinatal experience, patient descriptions of changes in mood symptoms, illustrations of situational coping, and reported mental health service use.

IMPLICATIONS

The interview themes suggested that in this small sample, pregnancy represented a critical time period to screen for suicide and to establish treatment for the mothers in the study. These findings may assist health care professionals in the development of interventions designed to identify, assess, and prevent suicidality among perinatal women.

Health literacy and antidepressant medication adherence among adults with diabetes: the diabetes study of Northern California (DISTANCE)

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have reported that health literacy limitations are associated with poorer disease control for chronic conditions, but have not evaluated potential associations with medication adherence.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether health literacy limitations are associated with poorer antidepressant medication adherence.

DESIGN

Observational new prescription cohort follow-up study.

PARTICIPANTS

Adults with type 2 diabetes who completed a survey in 2006 and received a new antidepressant prescription during 2006-2010 (N = 1,366) at Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

MAIN MEASURES

Validated three-item self-report scale measured health literacy. Discrete indices of adherence based on pharmacy dispensing data according to validated methods: primary non-adherence (medication never dispensed); early non-persistence (dispensed once, never refilled); non-persistence at 180 and 365 days; and new prescription medication gap (NPMG; proportion of time that the person is without medication during 12 months after the prescription date).

KEY RESULTS

Seventy-two percent of patients were classified as having health literacy limitations. After adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical covariates, patients with health literacy limitations had significantly poorer adherence compared to patients with no limitations, whether measured as early non-persistence (46 % versus 38 %, p < 0.05), non-persistence at 180 days (55 % versus 46 %, p < 0.05), or NPMG (41 % versus 36%, p < 0.01). There were no significant associations with primary adherence or non-persistence at 365 days.

CONCLUSIONS

Poorer antidepressant adherence among adults with diabetes and health literacy limitations may jeopardize the continuation and maintenance phases of depression pharmacotherapy. Findings underscore the importance of national efforts to address health literacy, simplify health communications regarding treatment options, improve public understanding of depression treatment, and monitor antidepressant adherence.

The development of a population-based automated screening procedure for PTSD in acutely injured hospitalized trauma survivors

OBJECTIVE

This investigation aimed to advance posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) risk prediction among hospitalized injury survivors by developing a population-based automated screening tool derived from data elements available in the electronic medical record (EMR).

METHOD

Potential EMR-derived PTSD risk factors with the greatest predictive utilities were identified for 878 randomly selected injured trauma survivors. Risk factors were assessed using logistic regression, sensitivity, specificity, predictive values and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analyses.

RESULTS

Ten EMR data elements contributed to the optimal PTSD risk prediction model including International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) PTSD diagnosis, other ICD-9-CM psychiatric diagnosis, other ICD-9-CM substance use diagnosis or positive blood alcohol on admission, tobacco use, female gender, non-White ethnicity, uninsured, public or veteran insurance status, E-code identified intentional injury, intensive care unit admission and EMR documentation of any prior trauma center visits. The 10-item automated screen demonstrated good area under the ROC curve (0.72), sensitivity (0.71) and specificity (0.66).

CONCLUSIONS

Automated EMR screening can be used to efficiently and accurately triage injury survivors at risk for the development of PTSD. Automated EMR procedures could be combined with stepped care protocols to optimize the sustainable implementation of PTSD screening and intervention at trauma centers nationwide.

Improving depression treatment for women: integrating a collaborative care depression intervention into OB-GYN care

BACKGROUND

Women have higher rates of depression and often experience depression symptoms during critical reproductive periods, including adolescence, pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause. Collaborative care intervention models for mood disorders in patients receiving care in an OB-GYN clinic setting have not been evaluated. Study design and methodology for a randomized controlled trial of collaborative care depression management versus usual care in OB-GYN clinics and the details of the adapted collaborative care intervention and model implementation are described in this paper.

METHODS

Women over age 18 years with clinically significant symptoms of depression, as measured by a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score ≥10 and a clinical diagnosis of major depression or dysthymia, were randomized to the study intervention or to usual care and were followed for 18 months. The primary outcome assessed was change over time in the SCL-20 depression scale between baseline and 12 months.

BASELINE RESULTS

Two hundred five women were randomized: 57% white, 20% African American, 9% Asian or Pacific Islander, 7% Hispanic, and 6% Native American. Mean age was 39 years. 4.6% were pregnant and 7.5% were within 12 months postpartum. The majority were single (52%), and 95% had at least the equivalent of a high school diploma. Almost all patients met DSM IV criteria for major depression (99%) and approximately 33% met criteria for dysthymia.

CONCLUSIONS

An OB-GYN collaborative care team, including a social worker, a psychiatrist, and an OB-GYN physician, who met weekly and used an electronic tracking system for patients was the essential element of the proposed depression care treatment model described here. Further study of models that improve quality of depression care that are adapted to the unique OB-GYN setting is needed.

Specialty behavioral health service use among chronically ill medicare advantage patients with substance use problems

OBJECTIVE

This study examines the use of substance abuse and mental health services among older adults with substance use disorders.

METHODS

Participants were members of Humana Cares, a subsidiary of Humana, Inc., a care management program for chronically ill Medicare Advantage members, between 2008 and 2010. All adults aged 65 and older with a substance use disorder identified with International Classification of Diseases-9 codes were included. We compared utilization of substance abuse and mental health services among participants with no psychiatric comorbidity (n = 585), with comorbid depression (n = 605), and with comorbid severe and persistent mental illness (severe and persistent mental illness, n = 95).

RESULTS

Twenty-eight percent utilized substance abuse services and 36% utilized mental health services. After adjusting for covariates, comorbid depression (odds ratio = 4.27, 95% confidence interval: 3.22-5.65) and severe and persistent mental illness (odds ratio = 10.75, 95% confidence interval: 5.22-20.13) were independently associated with specialty service use (either substance abuse or mental health services).

CONCLUSION

Although few chronically ill older adults with substance use disorders in this Medicare Advantage program received any specialty substance abuse or mental health services, utilization was higher among those who had concurrent psychiatric disorders.

Composite International Diagnostic Interview screening scales for DSM-IV anxiety and mood disorders

BACKGROUND

Lack of coordination between screening studies for common mental disorders in primary care and community epidemiological samples impedes progress in clinical epidemiology. Short screening scales based on the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), the diagnostic interview used in community epidemiological surveys throughout the world, were developed to address this problem.

METHOD

Expert reviews and cognitive interviews generated CIDI screening scale (CIDI-SC) item pools for 30-day DSM-IV-TR major depressive episode (MDE), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD) and bipolar disorder (BPD). These items were administered to 3058 unselected patients in 29 US primary care offices. Blinded SCID clinical reinterviews were administered to 206 of these patients, oversampling screened positives.

RESULTS

Stepwise regression selected optimal screening items to predict clinical diagnoses. Excellent concordance [area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)] was found between continuous CIDI-SC and DSM-IV/SCID diagnoses of 30-day MDE (0.93), GAD (0.88), PD (0.90) and BPD (0.97), with only 9-38 questions needed to administer all scales. CIDI-SC versus SCID prevalence differences are insignificant at the optimal CIDI-SC diagnostic thresholds (χ2 1 = 0.0-2.9, p = 0.09-0.94). Individual-level diagnostic concordance at these thresholds is substantial (AUC 0.81-0.86, sensitivity 68.0-80.2%, specificity 90.1-98.8%). Likelihood ratio positive (LR+) exceeds 10 and LR- is 0.1 or less at informative thresholds for all diagnoses.

CONCLUSIONS

CIDI-SC operating characteristics are equivalent (MDE, GAD) or superior (PD, BPD) to those of the best alternative screening scales. CIDI-SC results can be compared directly to general population CIDI survey results or used to target and streamline second-stage CIDIs.

What clinical differences distinguish depressed teens with and without comorbid externalizing problems?

OBJECTIVE

This study examined differences in co-occurring symptoms, psychosocial correlates, health care utilization and functional impairment in youth who screened positive for depression, stratified by whether or not they also self-reported externalizing problems.

METHODS

The AdoleSCent Health Study examined a random sample of youth ages 13-17 enrolled in a health care system. A total of 2291 youth (60.7% of the eligible sample) completed a brief depression screen: the two-item Patient Health Questionnaire. The current analyses focus on a subset of youth (n=113) who had a follow-up interview and screened positive for possible depression on the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 using a cutoff score of 11 or higher [1]. Youth were categorized as having externalizing behavior if their score was ≥ 7 on the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) externalizing scale [2,3]. χ(2) tests and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to compare groups.

RESULTS

Differences between groups included that youth with depression and externalizing symptoms had a higher rate of obesity and had higher self-reported functional impairment than youth with depression symptoms alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Adding screening for externalizing problems to existing recommendations for depression screening may help primary care providers to identify a high-risk depressed group of youth for referral to mental health services.

Complex interventions that reduce urgent care use in COPD: a systematic review with meta-regression

CONTEXT

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is common and accounts for considerable healthcare expenditure. A large proportion of this healthcare expenditure is attributable to the use of expensive urgent healthcare. The characteristics of interventions that reduce the use of urgent healthcare remain unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the characteristics of complex interventions intended to reduce the use of urgent and unscheduled healthcare among people with COPD.

DATA SOURCES

Electronic searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, CINAHL, the British Nursing Library and the Cochrane library, from inception to 25th January 2013 were conducted. These were supplemented by hand-searching bibliographies and citation tracing identified reviews and eligible studies.

STUDY SELECTION

Studies were eligible for inclusion if they: i) included adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ii) assessed the efficacy of a complex intervention using randomised controlled trial design, and iii) included a measure of urgent healthcare utilisation at follow-up.

DATA EXTRACTION

Data on the subjects recruited, trial methods used, the characteristics of complex interventions and the effects of the intervention on urgent healthcare utilisation were extracted from eligible studies.

RESULTS

32 independent studies were identified. Pooled effects indicated that interventions were associated with a 32% reduction in the use of urgent healthcare (OR = 0.68, 95% CI = 0.57, 0.80). When study effects were grouped according to the components of the interventions used, significant effects were seen for interventions that included general education (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.55, 0.81), Exercise (OR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.48, 0.76) and relaxation therapy (OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.33, 0.70).

CONCLUSIONS

Use of urgent healthcare in patients with COPD was significantly reduced by complex interventions. Complex interventions among people with COPD may reduce the use of urgent care, particularly those including education, exercise and relaxation.

Depression and death in diabetes; 10-year follow-up of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a diabetic cohort

BACKGROUND

When depression co-occurs with type 2 diabetes, adverse bidirectional interactions increase the burden of both illnesses. In addition to affecting patient's health, functioning, and quality of life, this relationship also results in increased mortality compared with those with depression or diabetes alone.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between depression and all-cause as well as cause-specific mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes by extending findings from our 5-year mortality study. Specifically, we re-examined the risk of depression and all-cause, cardiovascular, cancer, and non-cardiovascular, non-cancer related deaths.

METHOD

We used an ICD-10 algorithm combined with death certificate data to classify mortality types among type 2 diabetic patients who participated in the Pathways Epidemiologic Study. Cox proportional hazard modeling was used to examine the relationships between depression status and mortality over a 10-year period.

RESULTS

We found a significant positive relationship between depression and all-cause as well as non-cardiovascular, non-cancer mortality in this sample (n = 4128). Cardiovascular mortality failed to reach significance in fully adjusted models and, in contrast to the 5-year data, no trend or significant relationship was observed between depression status and cancer related deaths.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study confirmed a significant positive relationship between depression and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. Major depression demonstrated a stronger relationship than did minor depression, and among cause-specific groups, non-cardiovascular, non-cancer death types demonstrated the largest magnitude of association with depression status.

Depression persistence and serotonin transporter genotype in adolescents under usual care conditions

OBJECTIVES

Polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter (SERT) gene have been shown to influence the risk for depression. The goal of this study was to investigate a possible effect of SERT polymorphisms on severity and course of depression symptoms in a community sample of adolescents.

METHODS

Community-dwelling adolescents (n=192) ages 13-17 years, who were at risk for depression, were followed for a period of 6 months. Subjects donated a saliva sample for genotyping of the 5-HTTLPR and STin2 VNTR polymorphisms of SERT.

RESULTS

We found no associations between SERT genotype and severity of depressive symptoms at baseline. Depression symptom severity markedly decreased over time. For 5-HTTLPR, we observed a significant interaction between time and genotype, indicating the possibility that heterozygote genotype carriers (s/l) might experience a greater reduction in depression symptoms over time compared with adolescents with the 5-HTTLPR l/l genotype.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows that for most community-dwelling adolescents, depressive symptoms decrease over time. A possible interaction effect of time and SERT genotype will require confirmation in larger studies.

Depression care and treatment in a chronically ill Medicare population

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to examine depression care among chronically ill Medicare Advantage beneficiaries.

METHODS

This study includes 5898 Medicare Advantage members with a depression diagnosis enrolled between 2008 and 2010 in a care management program. Two depression care indicators were created: (a) any depression care (≥ 1 antidepressant prescription or ≥ 1 specialty mental health visit) and (b) among those receiving any depression care, those receiving an antidepressant prescription for ≥ 90 days or ≥ 2 specialty visits. Multivariable analysis using logistic regression was used to examine correlates of depression care.

RESULTS

Among those <65 years old, 72% received any depression care with 75% receiving ≥ 90 days of an antidepressant and/or ≥ 2 specialty visits. Among ≥ 65 years old, 65% received any depression care with 67% receiving ≥ 90 days of an antidepressant and/or ≥ 2 specialty visits. For both age groups, female gender, medical comorbidities and dual eligibility were positively associated with an antidepressant prescription. In the older group, female gender was positively associated with at least a 90-day supply of an antidepressant prescription, while substance use disorders were negatively associated with receiving a minimum of 90 days of an antidepressant. Regional differences and certain psychiatric comorbidities were also associated with receiving depression care.

CONCLUSION

Two thirds of the depressed patients in this Medicare Advantage population received depression care. Further studies are needed to examine the effects of quality improvement efforts in the context of care management programs for chronically ill older adults.

Predictors of persistence after a positive depression screen among adolescents

OBJECTIVE

To examine predictors of depression persistence after a positive screening test to inform management protocols for screened youth.

METHODS

We conducted a cohort study of 444 youth (aged 13-17 years) from a large health care delivery system. Youth with depressive symptoms, based on a 2-item depression screen, were oversampled for the baseline interview. Baseline assessments included the Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9) depression screen as well as clinical factors that were hypothesized to influence depression persistence (family history of depression, functional impairment, perceived social support, anxiety symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and medical comorbidity). Logistic regression analysis was used to examine factors associated with the persistence of depression at 6 months postbaseline.

RESULTS

Of 113 youth with a positive baseline screen (PHQ-9 ≥11), 47% and 35% continued to be positive at 6-week and 6-month follow-up, respectively. After controlling for treatment status, only 2 factors were significantly associated with depression persistence at 6 months: baseline depressive symptom score and continuing to have a positive screen at 6 weeks. For each 1-point increase on the PHQ-9 score at baseline, youth had a 16% increased odds of continuing to be depressed at 6 months (odds ratio: 1.16, 95% confidence interval: 1.01-1.34). Youth who continued to screen positive 6 weeks later had almost 3 times the odds of being depressed at 6 months (odds ratio: 2.89, 95% confidence interval: 1.09-7.61).

CONCLUSIONS

Depressive symptom severity at presentation and continued symptoms at 6 weeks postscreening are the strongest predictors of depression persistence. Patients with high depressive symptom scores and continued symptoms at 6 weeks should receive active treatment.

Does depression predict the use of urgent and unscheduled care by people with long term conditions? A systematic review with meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Factors that drive the use of urgent healthcare among people with chronic physical illness (i.e. long term conditions-LTCs) are poorly understood. We conducted a systematic review with meta analysis to examine the strength of association between depression and subsequent use of urgent healthcare among people with LTCs.

METHODS

Electronic searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, CINAHL, the British Nursing Library and the Cochrane Library 2011 were conducted, supplemented by hand-searching bibliographies, citation tracing eligible studies and asking experts about relevant studies. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they: i)used prospective cohort design, ii)included patients with diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or coronary heart disease, iii)used a standardised measure of depression, and iv)assessed urgent healthcare utilisation prospectively. Data on the subjects recruited, methods used and the association between depression and subsequent urgent healthcare utilisation were extracted from eligible studies. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for each study and pooled using random effects models.

RESULTS

16 independent studies were identified. Pooled effects indicated that depression was associated with a 49% increase in the odds of urgent healthcare utilisation (OR=1.49, p<.0005). This effect was not significantly affected by publication bias or inclusion of studies of low quality. Effects were much smaller and non-significant among the 3 studies that controlled for other covariates, including severity of illness (OR=1.13, p=.31).

CONCLUSIONS

Depression was associated with increased urgent healthcare use, but not in the minority of studies that controlled for other covariates. This possibly suggests confounding, but the severity measures may themselves have been influenced by depression.

Improving quality of depression care using organized systems of care: a review of the literature

OBJECTIVE

To establish the need for a chronic disease management strategy for major depressive disorder (MDD), discuss the challenges involved in implementing guideline-level treatment for MDD, and provide examples of successful implementation of collaborative care programs.

DATA SOURCES

A systematic literature search of MEDLINE and the US National Library of Medicine was performed.

STUDY SELECTION

We reviewed clinical studies evaluating the effectiveness of collaborative care interventions for the treatment of depression in the primary care setting using the keywords collaborative care, depression, and MDD. This review includes 45 articles relevant to MDD and collaborative care published through May 2010 and excludes all non-English-language articles.

RESULTS

Collaborative care interventions include a greater role for nonmedical specialists and a supervising psychiatrist with the major goal of improving quality of depression care in primary care systems. Collaborative care programs restructure clinical practice to include a patient care strategy with specific goals and an implementation plan, support for self-management training, sustained patient follow-up, and decision support for medication changes. Key components associated with the most effective collaborative care programs were improvement in antidepressant adherence, use of depression case managers, and regular case load supervision by a psychiatrist. Across studies, primary care patients randomized to collaborative care interventions experienced enhanced treatment outcomes compared with those randomized to usual care, with overall outcome differences approaching 30%.

CONCLUSIONS

Collaborative care interventions may help to achieve successful, guideline-level treatment outcomes for primary care patients with MDD. Potential benefits of collaborative care strategies include reduced financial burden of illness, increased treatment adherence, and long-term improvement in depression symptoms and functional outcomes.

Variations in depression care and outcomes among high-risk mothers from different racial/ethnic groups

PURPOSE. To examine variations in depression care and outcomes among high-risk pregnant and parenting women from different racial/ethnic groups served in community health centres.

METHODS

As part of a collaborative care programme that provides depression treatment in primary care clinics for high-risk mothers, 661 women with probable depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 ≥ 10), who self-reported race/ethnicity as Latina (n = 393), White (n = 126), Black (n = 75) or Asian (n = 67), were included in the study. Primary outcomes include quality of depression care and improvement in depression. A Cox proportional hazard model adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics was used to examine time to treatment response.

RESULTS

We observed significant differences in both depression processes and outcomes across ethnic groups. After adjusting for other variables, Blacks were found to be significantly less likely to improve than Latinas [hazard ratio (HR): 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44-0.65]. Other factors significantly associated with depression improvement were pregnancy (HR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.27-1.82), number of clinic visits (HR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.17-1.36) and phone contacts (HR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.32-1.60) by the care manager in the first month of treatment. After controlling for depression severity, having suicidal thoughts at baseline was significantly associated with a decreased likelihood of depression improvement (HR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.67-0.83).

CONCLUSIONS

In this racially and ethnically diverse sample of pregnant and parenting women treated for depression in primary care, the intensity of care management was positively associated with improved depression. There was also appreciable variation in depression outcomes between Latina and Black patients.

Impact of childhood trauma on the outcomes of a perinatal depression trial

BACKGROUND

Childhood abuse and neglect have been linked with increased risks of adverse mental health outcomes in adulthood and may moderate or predict response to depression treatment. In a small randomized controlled trial treating depression in a diverse sample of nontreatment-seeking, pregnant, low-income women, we hypothesized that childhood trauma exposure would moderate changes in symptoms and functioning over time for women assigned to usual care (UC), but not to brief interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT-B) followed by maintenance IPT. Second, we predicted that trauma exposure would be negatively associated with treatment response over time and at the two follow-up time points for women within UC, but not for those within IPT-B who were expected to show remission in depression severity and other outcomes, regardless of trauma exposure.

METHODS

Fifty-three pregnant low-income women were randomly assigned to IPT-B (n = 25) or UC (n = 28). Inclusion criteria included ≥ 18 years, >12 on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, 10-32 weeks gestation, English speaking, and access to a phone. Participants were evaluated for childhood trauma, depressive symptoms/diagnoses, anxiety symptoms, social functioning, and interpersonal problems.

RESULTS

Regression and mixed effects repeated measures analyses revealed that trauma exposure did not moderate changes in symptoms and functioning over time for women in UC versus IPT-B. Analyses of covariance showed that within the IPT-B group, women with more versus less trauma exposure had greater depression severity and poorer outcomes at 3-month postbaseline. At 6-month postpartum, they had outcomes indicating remission in depression and functioning, but also had more residual depressive symptoms than those with less trauma exposure.

CONCLUSIONS

Childhood trauma did not predict poorer outcomes in the IPT-B group at 6-month postpartum, as it did at 3-month postbaseline, suggesting that IPT including maintenance sessions is a reasonable approach to treating depression in this population. Since women with more trauma exposure had more residual depressive symptoms at 6-month postpartum, they might require longer maintenance treatment to prevent depressive relapse.

Cost-effectiveness of a multicondition collaborative care intervention: a randomized controlled trial

CONTEXT

Patients with depression and poorly controlled diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease (CHD), or both have higher medical complication rates and higher health care costs, suggesting that more effective care management of psychiatric and medical disease control might also reduce medical service use and enhance quality of life.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a multicondition collaborative treatment program (TEAMcare) compared with usual primary care (UC) in outpatients with depression and poorly controlled diabetes or CHD.

DESIGN

Randomized controlled trial of a systematic care management program aimed at improving depression scores and hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels.

SETTING

Fourteen primary care clinics of an integrated health care system.

PATIENTS

Population-based screening identified 214 adults with depressive disorder and poorly controlled diabetes or CHD.

INTERVENTION

Physician-supervised nurses collaborated with primary care physicians to provide treatment of multiple disease risk factors.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Blinded assessments evaluated depressive symptoms, SBP, and HbA(1c) at baseline and at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Fasting LDL-C concentration was assessed at baseline and at 12 and 24 months. Health plan accounting records were used to assess medical service costs. Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were assessed using a previously developed regression model based on intervention vs UC differences in HbA(1c), LDL-C, and SBP levels over 24 months.

RESULTS

Over 24 months, compared with UC controls, intervention patients had a mean of 114 (95% CI, 79 to 149) additional depression-free days and an estimated 0.335 (95% CI, -0.18 to 0.85) additional QALYs. Intervention patients also had lower mean outpatient health costs of $594 per patient (95% CI, -$3241 to $2053) relative to UC patients.

CONCLUSIONS

For adults with depression and poorly controlled diabetes, CHD, or both, a systematic intervention program aimed at improving depression scores and HbA(1c), SBP, and LDL-C levels seemed to be a high-value program that for no or modest additional cost markedly improved QALYs.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00468676

Mental health disorders and long-term opioid use among adolescents and young adults with chronic pain

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between mental health disorders and subsequent risk for long-term opioid use among adolescents and young adults presenting with common chronic pain complaints (back pain, neck pain, headache, and arthritis/joint pain).

METHODS

Using claims data from January 1, 2001 to June 30, 2008, we conducted a longitudinal analysis of opioid use patterns among 13-24-year-old subjects presenting with a new episode of chronic pain. Long-term opioid use was defined as receiving >90 days of opioids within a 6-month period with no gap of >30 days in use of opioids in the 18 months after the first qualifying pain diagnosis. Mental health disorders were identified from claims in the 6 months before the first qualifying pain diagnosis.

RESULTS

Fifty-nine thousand seventy-seven youth met criteria for a new episode of chronic pain. Among these youth, 321 (.5%) met criteria for long-term opioid use, and 16,172 (27.4%) had some opioid use. After controlling for demographic and clinical factors, youth with preexisting mental health diagnoses had a 2.4-fold increased risk of subsequently receiving long-term opioids versus no opioids (odds ratio = 2.36, 95% confidence interval = 1.73-3.23) and a 1.8-fold increased likelihood of receiving long-term opioids versus some opioids (odds ratio = 1.83, 95% confidence interval = 1.34-2.50).

CONCLUSIONS

Mental health disorders are associated with increased risk for long-term opioid use among adolescents and emerging young adults. Further study is warranted to examine risks and benefits of long-term opioid use in this population.