[Transcultural aspects of depression]

Depression in middle-aged and older first generation migrants in Europe: Results from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE)

Objective

To determine the prevalence of depression in migrants aged 50 years or older in comparison to residents without a history of migration in 11 European countries.

Methods and subjects

The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), a cross-national, multidisciplinary, household-based panel survey using nationally representative probability samples (n = 28,517) of 11 European countries of the non-institutionalized population aged 50 years and older. Depression was measured using the EURO-D scale, and odds ratios (OR) were estimated for migration status. Effects of sociodemographic variables, somatic comorbidities, functional impairment, cognitive function, geographic region, and time lived in current country of residence were assessed in multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results

Adjusting for confounds, the OR for depression in migrants was 1.42 (95% CI, 1.28–1.59). The influence of migration status on the prevalence of depression was significantly greater in Northern (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.39–2.46) and Western Europe (OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.22–1.57), compared to Southern Europe (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.79–1.70) (p < 0.05 for the interaction).

Conclusion

We found a higher prevalence of depression in first-generation migrants aged 50 years or older, together with relevant geographical variation. This difference was not due to other known predictors of depression in older age.

Conference proceedings of the 4th Masterclass Psychiatry: Transcultural Psychiatry - Diagnostics and Treatment, Luleå, Sweden, 22-23 February 2018 (Region Norrbotten in collaboration with the Maudsley Hospital and Tavistock Clinic London)

BACKGROUND

According to estimates from the European Commission, Europe has experienced the greatest mass movement of people since the Second World War. More than one million refugees and migrants have arrived in the European Union in the past few years. Mental health and primary care professionals are more likely than ever to meet patients from different cultures and backgrounds.

AIMS

To equip mental health and primary care professionals with transcultural skills to deal with patients from unfamiliar backgrounds.

METHOD

Lectures and case discussions to explore the latest advances in the diagnosis and treatment of serious mental health problems in a transcultural context.

RESULTS

Lectures covered transcultural aspects of mental health problems, treatment in different cultural and ethnic contexts, and assessment of risk factors for self-harm and harm in migrant populations.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinicians require a sound grounding in transcultural skills to confidently and empathically deal with patients from unfamiliar backgrounds.

Acculturation and other risk factors of depressive disorders in individuals with Turkish migration backgrounds

BACKGROUND

Acculturation is a long-term, multi-dimensional process occurring when subjects of different cultures stay in continuous contact. Previous studies have suggested that elevated rates of depression among different migrant groups might be due to patterns of acculturation and migration related risk factors. This paper focused on prevalence rates of depressive disorders and related risk factors among individuals with Turkish migration backgrounds.

METHODS

A population-based sample of 662 individuals with Turkish migration backgrounds were interviewed by bilingual interviewers using a standardised diagnostic interview for DSM-IV-TR and ICD-10 diagnoses (CIDI DIA-X Version 2.8). Associations between 12-month prevalence rates of depressive disorders with potential risk factors were assessed, including gender, age, socioeconomic status, acculturation status and migration status.

RESULTS

12-month prevalence rates of any depressive disorder were 29.0%, 14.4% of major depressive disorder (MDD) and 14.7% of dysthymia. Older age and low socioeconomic status were most consistently related to higher risks of depressive disorders. Acculturation status showed associations with subtypes of depressive disorder. Associations differed between men and women. Symptom severity of MDD was linked to gender, with females being more affected by severe symptoms.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of depressive disorders is high in individuals with Turkish migration backgrounds, which can be partly explained by older age, low socioeconomic status and acculturation pressures. Only a limited number of risk factors were assessed. Acculturation in particular is a complex process which might not be sufficiently represented by the applied measures. Further risk factors have to be identified in representative samples of this migrant group.

Effectiveness of a brief psychoeducational group intervention for relatives on the course of disease in patients after inpatient depression treatment compared with treatment as usual--study protocol of a multisite randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Relapses and rehospitalisations are common after acute inpatient treatment in depressive disorders. Interventions for stabilising treatment outcomes are urgently needed. Psychoeducational group interventions for relatives were shown to be suitable for improving the course of disease in schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. A small Japanese monocentre randomised controlled trial also showed promising results for depressive disorders. However, the evidence regarding psychoeducation for relatives of patients with depressive disorders is unclear.

METHODS/DESIGN

The study is conducted as a two-arm multisite randomised controlled trial to evaluate the incremental effect of a brief psychoeducational group intervention for relatives as a maintenance treatment on the course of disease compared to treatment as usual. Primary outcome is the estimated number of depression-free-days in patients within one year after discharge from inpatient treatment. 180 patients diagnosed with unipolar depressive disorders as well as one key relative per patient will be included during inpatient treatment and randomly allocated to the conditions at discharge. In the intervention group, relatives will participate in a brief psychoeducational group intervention following the patient's discharge. The intervention consists of four group sessions lasting 90 to 120 min each. Every group session contains informational parts as well as structured training in problem-solving. In both study conditions, patients will receive treatment as usual. Patients as well as relatives will be surveyed by means of questionnaires at discharge and three, six, nine and twelve months after discharge. In addition to the primary outcome, several patient-related and relative-related secondary outcomes will be considered and health economics will be investigated.

DISCUSSION

Our study will provide evidence on the incremental effect of a brief psychoeducational intervention for relatives as a maintenance treatment after inpatient depression treatment. Positive results may have a major impact on health care for depression.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS): DRKS00006819; Trial registration date: 2014 Oktober 31; Universal Trial Number (UTN): U1111-1163-5391.

Cultural aspects of major mental disorders: a critical review from an Indian perspective

Major mental disorders such as schizophrenia and affective disorders are highly disabling illnesses. The cultural factors that influence the diagnosis and treatment of these disorders are of paramount clinical significance. We attempted to critically review the cultural factors in relation to the epidemiology, phenomenology, treatment, and outcome of major mental disorders from an Indian perspective, and tried to compare these with the cultural factors identified in major international studies. The clinical expression of major mental disorders was noted to vary across cultures in the review. In addition, the outcome of major mental disorders is reported to be better in developing nations than in the developed countries. Transcultural variations are also noted to exist in pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, traditional healing practices, and psychotherapeutic approaches. The role of cultural factors in severe mental illnesses needs adequate attention from mental health professionals. Continued research on the cultural aspects is required to understand the interplay of all social, cultural, and biological factors. It is important to consider other cultural, traditional, and folk methods for understanding and management of mental illnesses.

Cross-cultural opening in German outpatient mental healthcare service: an exploratory study of structural and procedural aspects

Mental healthcare services need to be sensitive towards the cultural needs of patients. Cross-cultural opening is an organizational process to fulfil these needs. This study aims to provide representative structural and procedural data regarding the use of German outpatient mental healthcare services by allochthonous patients, the diversity of psychotherapists in outpatient mental healthcare service, the cross-cultural encounters of therapists and the cross-cultural sensitivity of psychotherapists working in this healthcare area. Of all public outpatient psychotherapists in Hamburg, 81% (n = 485) participated in this survey. Regarding the distribution of the population in this metropolis, allochthonous therapists were underrepresented. Unlike the overall distribution of foreign inhabitants, the largest groups of immigrant therapists came from England, German-speaking countries and other countries within the European Union. The proportion of allochthonous patients in outpatient mental healthcare service was almost half of the proportion of the allochthonous in the general population. Psychotherapists with a migration background regarded themselves as having a higher level of cross-cultural sensitivity than their native colleagues, especially those who have had fewer cross-cultural encounters. Overall, psychotherapists named different challenges in providing cross-cultural treatment. For the German outpatient mental healthcare service to be more accessible to immigrants and their descendants, a greater number of bilingual psychotherapists must gain access to the mental healthcare service, and more advanced cross-cultural sensitivity training and supervision should be provided.

KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGE

German outpatient psychotherapists are culturally and linguistically diverse. Nevertheless, psychotherapists with a migration background are underrepresented in outpatient mental healthcare services. Patients with a migration background are also underrepresented in the German outpatient mental healthcare system. Because mental healthcare services must be sensitive and respectful towards patients' cultural and linguistic needs, the mental healthcare outpatient service must be more accessible to therapists who speak languages other than German and English. Psychotherapeutic treatment of patients with a migration background can be tremendously challenging because of other cultures' differing value systems. Prospective, advanced training in cross-cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural supervision should be provided.

Sind Vergleiche im Depressions- und Somatisierungsausmaß zwischen Migranten und Deutschen möglich?

Zusammenfassung. Zur Erfassung der psychischen Gesundheit von Migranten im Vergleich zu Deutschen sind Untersuchungen in der Allgemeinbevölkerung zentral. Für diesen Ansatz hat sich die Verwendung des Depressivitäts- und des Somatisierungsmoduls des Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9, PHQ-15) bewährt. Es ist jedoch unklar, ob diese Module bei Migranten das Gleiche messen wie bei Deutschen (Messäquivalenz). Dadurch bleibt es fraglich, ob die Ergebnisse vergleichender Studien richtig interpretierbar sind. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden PHQ-9 und PHQ-15 anhand einer großen Stichprobe (je N=271) von Migranten und Deutschen auf Messäquivalenz überprüft. Sowohl für den PHQ-9 als auch für den PHQ-15 wurde Messäquivalenz gefunden. Mittelwertsvergleiche zwischen Migranten und Deutschen sind unter Verwendung dieser Instrumente möglich. Die Voraussetzung für die Interpretation vergleichender Daten in Bezug auf Migranten und Deutsche mit dem PHQ-9 und PHQ-15 ist gegeben. Dies ist eine gute Basis für weitergehende Studien im Bereich der Migrationsforschung.

Somatoforme Symptome, Angst und Depression bei Migranten aus der Türkei, aus Osteuropa und aus der ehemaligen Sowjetunion

Hintergrund: Gegenüberstellende epidemiologische Studien zur psychischen Gesundheit bei verschiedenen Migrantengruppen in Deutschland fehlen weitgehend. Sie sind jedoch von großer Wichtigkeit, um den Therapiebedarf für diese Gruppen zu bestimmen und Angebote entsprechend auszurichten. Die vorliegende Studie möchte die Ausprägung einer depressiven, somatoformen und angstbezogenen Symptomatik bei osteuropäischen, türkischen und Migranten aus der ehemaligen Sowjetunion in der Allgemeinbevölkerung miteinander vergleichen und untersuchen, ob es Unterschiede in der Bereitschaft gibt, für verschiedene Beschwerden einen Arzt aufzusuchen. Methode: 43 osteuropäische Migranten (beide Eltern in Polen, Rumänien, Slowakischer Republik, Tschechischer Republik oder Ungarn geboren), 49 Migranten aus der ehemaligen Sowjetunion (beide Eltern in Russland, Ukraine, Weißrussland oder Kasachstan geboren; Russlanddeutsche Personen fallen auch in diese Gruppe) und 42 Personen mit türkischem Migrationshintergrund wurden mit dem Patient-Health-Questionnaire auf depressive, somatoforme und angstbezogene Symptome untersucht und mit einem Fragebogen zu ihrer Bereitschaft befragt, für verschiedene Beschwerden einen Arzt aufzusuchen. Die Gruppen wurden mit Varianzanalysen unter Kontrolle möglicher konfundierender Variablen miteinander verglichen. Ergebnisse: Unter Kontrolle von Geschlecht, Alter, Partnerschaft und Erwerbstätigkeit zeigten sich keine signifikanten Unterschiede in depressiver, somatoformer und ängstlicher Symptomatik zwischen den drei Gruppen. Unter Kontrolle für Alter und Geschlecht zeigten sich ebenfalls keine Unterschiede in der Bereitschaft, für verschiedene Beschwerden einen Arzt aufzusuchen. Frauen berichteten mehr somatoforme Beschwerden als Männer und zeigten eine höhere Bereitschaft, einen Arzt zu konsultieren. Diskussion: Es lassen sich keine kulturellen Einflüsse in Bezug auf die psychische Gesundheit und den Umgang mit verschiedenen Beschwerden bei diesen eher gut integrierten Migranten feststellen. Weitere Studien zu dieser Fragestellung mit größeren Stichproben und unter Einbezug schlechter Deutsch sprechender Migranten wären wünschenswert.

Depressive symptoms of children and adolescents in a German representative sample: results of the BELLA study

BACKGROUND

In Europe, a considerable proportion of children and adolescents is affected by depressive symptoms, impairing their everyday life and social functioning.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the depressive symptoms in children and adolescents in Germany, addressing risk factors, comorbidity, and impact of depressive symptoms on everyday life.

METHODS

In the BELLA study, the mental health module of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS), a representative sample of young people aged 7-17 years was enrolled. Depressiveness, assessed by the CES-DC, as well as other mental health problems were examined in the context of risk and protective factors.

RESULTS

Depressive symptoms showed high prevalence in parent- and self-reports. Higher depression scores were found in those with a high number of psychosocial risks existing in the family, and they decreased as the number of protective factors the children and adolescents had at their disposal increased. Although only half of the boys and girls with high depression scores were regarded as significantly impaired, all of them had a much higher risk for additional mental health problems. Furthermore, their health-related quality of life was limited compared to their peers who had low depression scores.

CONCLUSIONS

To differentiate between clinically significant depression and milder forms, it is necessary to take into account the different perspectives of children and their parents. Prevention and intervention should acknowledge the widespread distribution of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents, the high comorbidity of depressive and other mental health problems and the impact of depression on the aspects of everyday life.