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ABSTRACT: Increasingly, emphasis is being placed on measurement-based care to improve the quality of treatment. Although much of the focus has been on depression, measurement-based care may be particularly applicable to social anxiety disorder (SAD) given its high prevalence, high comorbidity with other disorders, and association with significant functional impairment. Many self-report scales for SAD currently exist, but these scales possess limitations related to length and/or accessibility that may serve as barriers to their use in monitoring outcome in routine clinical practice. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to develop and validate the Clinically Useful Social Anxiety Disorder Outcome Scale (CUSADOS), a self-report measure of SAD. The CUSADOS was designed to be reliable, valid, sensitive to change, brief, easy to score, and easily accessible, to facilitate its use in routine clinical settings. The psychometric properties of the CUSADOS were examined in 2415 psychiatric outpatients who were presenting for treatment and had completed a semi-structured diagnostic interview. The CUSADOS demonstrated excellent internal consistency, and high item-total correlations and test-retest reliability. Within a sub-sample of 381 patients, the CUSADOS possessed good discriminant and convergent validity as it was more highly correlated with other measures of SAD than with other psychiatric disorders. Furthermore, scores were higher in outpatients with a current diagnosis of SAD compared to those without a SAD diagnosis. Preliminary support also was obtained for the sensitivity to change of the CUSADOS in a sample of 15 outpatients receiving treatment for comorbid SAD and depression. Results from this validation study in a large psychiatric sample show that the CUSADOS possesses good psychometric properties. Its brevity and ease of scoring also suggest that it is feasible to incorporate into routine clinical practice.
Comprehensive psychiatry 05/2013; · 2.08 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Studies comparing dimensional and categorical representations of personality disorders (PDs) have consistently found that PD dimensions are more reliable and valid. While comparisons of dimensional and categorical scoring approaches have consistently favored the dimension model, two reports from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) project have raised questions as to when dimensional scoring is important. In the first study, Asnaani, Chelminski, Young, and Zimmerman (2007) found that once the diagnostic threshold for borderline PD was reached the number of criteria met was not significantly associated with indices of psychosocial morbidity. In the second study, Zimmerman, Chelminski, Young, Dalrymple, and Martinez (2012) found that patients with 1 criterion of borderline PD had significantly more psychosocial morbidity than patients with 0 criteria. The findings of these two studies suggest that dimensional ratings of borderline PD may be more strongly associated with indicators of illness severity for patients who do not versus do meet the DSM-IV criteria for borderline PD. In this third report from the MIDAS project, we tested this hypothesis in a study of 3,069 psychiatric outpatients evaluated with semi-structured diagnostic interviews. In the patients without borderline PD the number of borderline features was significantly associated with each of 6 indicators of illness severity, whereas in the patients with borderline PD 3 of the 6 correlations were significant. The mean correlation between the number of borderline PD criteria and the indicators of illness severity was nearly three times higher in the patients without borderline PD than the patients with borderline PD (0.23 versus 0.08), and 4 of the 6 correlation coefficients were significantly higher in the patients without borderline PD. These findings suggest that dimensional scoring of borderline PD is more important for subthreshold levels of pathology and are less critical once a patient meets the diagnostic threshold. The implications of these findings for DSM-5 are discussed.
Journal of personality disorders 04/2013; 27(2):244-51. · 3.08 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Research assessing the utility of dimensional and categorical models of personality disorders (PDs) overwhelmingly supports the use of continuous over categorical models. Using borderline PD as an example, recent studies from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) project suggested that continuous (criteria count) scoring of PDs is most informative for "subthreshold" levels of pathology, but is less important once a patient meets the diagnostic threshold. Using PD criteria count, the current study compared 7 indices of psychosocial morbidity for patients above and below diagnostic threshold for 3 additional PDs: paranoid, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive. Results showed that for all tested PDs, only number of current Axis I disorders was more correlated with PD criteria in the sub-threshold group as compared to those who met criteria for the disorder. Results for the remaining 6 indices of psychosocial morbidity varied by PD tested.
Comprehensive psychiatry 02/2013; · 2.08 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Gunderson (2010) recently offered a sharp criticism of the draft proposal for diagnosing personality disorders in DSM-5. Based on a review of phenomenological, factor analytic, social psychology, family, neurobiological, and treatment studies of borderline personality disorder (BPD), he proposed an alternative revision of the BPD criteria. One of the suggested changes was a modification of the DSM-IV diagnostic algorithm. Gunderson did not, however, provide any data on the impact this new diagnostic algorithm would have on the prevalence of BPD, or the validity of this alternative approach compared to the DSM-IV algorithm. In the present report from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) project we administered semi-structured diagnostic interviews to 3,081 psychiatric outpatients and examined diagnostic concordance between DSM-IV and Gunderson's proposal, and whether there is incremental validity in Gunderson's diagnostic approach. The results did not indicate that the alternative diagnostic algorithm improved validity, and, depending on the threshold used, could result in false negative diagnoses.
Journal of personality disorders 12/2012; 26(6):880-9. · 3.08 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Many patients have clinically significant symptoms of depression that do not meet the DSM-IV diagnostic thresholds for major depressive disorder (MDD) or dysthymic disorder. DSM-IV does not specify criteria for depressive disorder not otherwise specified (DDNOS). While it is not surprising that research on subthreshold depression has used diverse criteria, some consensus has emerged to define minor depression analogous to MDD, though requiring fewer than the 5 symptoms required to diagnose MDD. In the present report from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) project, we examined how many patients diagnosed with DDNOS met the DSM-IV proposed research criteria for minor depression, and we compared the demographic and clinical profiles of patients diagnosed with DDNOS who did and did not meet the criteria for minor depression METHODS: Three thousand four hundred psychiatric patients presenting to the Rhode Island Hospital outpatient practice were evaluated with semi-structured diagnostic interviews for DSM-IV Axis I and Axis II disorders and measures of psychosocial morbidity. RESULTS: More than 6% of the 3400 patients were diagnosed with DDNOS (n=227). Only a minority of the patients with DDNOS met the criteria for minor depression (39.8%). There was no difference between patients with "subthreshold" depression who did and did not meet the DSM-IV research criteria for minor depression in demographic characteristics, the prevalence of comorbid Axis I or Axis II disorders, history of major depressive disorder, and family history of depression. LIMITATIONS: The present study was conducted in a single outpatient practice in which the majority of patients were white, female, and had health insurance. Although the study was limited to a single site, a strength of the recruitment procedure was that the sample was not selected for participation in a treatment study, and exclusion and inclusion criteria did not reduce the representativeness of the patient groups. While we examined a number of validators, we did not systematically record the treatment the patients received and the outcome of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Amongst psychiatric outpatients with clinically significant depression not meeting criteria for MDD or dysthymic disorder, there was little difference between patients who did and did not meet the DSM-IV research criteria for minor depressive disorder.
Journal of affective disorders 11/2012; · 3.76 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Zimmerman M, Martinez JH, Young D, Chelminski I, Dalrymple K. Sustained unemployment in psychiatric outpatients with bipolar depression compared to major depressive disorder with comorbid borderline personality disorder. Bipolar Disord 2012: 00: 000-000. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Objectives: The morbidity associated with bipolar disorder is, in part, responsible for repeated calls for improved detection and recognition. No such clinical commentary exists for improved detection of borderline personality disorder in depressed patients. Clinical experience suggests that borderline personality disorder is as disabling as bipolar disorder; however, no studies have directly compared the two disorders. For this reason we undertook the current analysis from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) project comparing unemployment and disability rates in patients with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. Methods: Patients were interviewed with semi-structured interviews. We compared three non-overlapping groups of depressed patients: (i) 181 patients with DSM-IV major depressive disorder and borderline personality disorder, (ii) 1068 patients with major depressive disorder without borderline personality disorder, and (iii) 84 patients with bipolar depression without borderline personality disorder. Results: Compared to depressed patients without borderline personality disorder, depressed patients with borderline personality disorder were significantly more likely to have been persistently unemployed. A similar difference was found between patients with bipolar depression and major depressive disorder without borderline personality disorder. No differences were found between patients with bipolar depression and depression with borderline personality disorder. Conclusions: Both bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder were associated with impaired occupational functioning and thus carry a significant public health burden. Efforts to improve detection of borderline personality disorder in depressed patients might be as important as the recognition of bipolar disorder.
Bipolar Disorders 10/2012; · 5.29 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A stated goal of the DSM-5 Work Group on Personality and Personality Disorders (PDs) has been to reduce the high rate of comorbidity among PDs. Few studies have examined whether the diagnosis of multiple PDs has clinical significance. In the present report from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services project, we tested the hypothesis that patients with >1 DSM-IV PD would have more severe forms of psychopathology than patients who were diagnosed with only 1 DSM-IV PD.
A total of 2,150 psychiatric outpatients were evaluated with semi-structured diagnostic interviews for DSM-IV Axis I and Axis II disorders and measures of psychosocial morbidity.
For 8 of the 10 PDs, the majority of patients had at least 1 additional PD, although at least 20% of patients diagnosed with each PD were diagnosed with only 1 PD. Compared with patients with 1 PD, patients with ≥2 PDs had significantly more psychosocial morbidity.
The co-occurrence of PDs conveys clinically significant information. Moreover, despite high levels of comorbidity, each PD also existed as a stand-alone entity. These findings raise questions about the DSM-5 Work Group's emphasis on reducing comorbidity in Axis II.
Annals of Clinical Psychiatry 08/2012; 24(3):195-201. · 1.49 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The DSM-5 Work Group for Personality and Personality Disorders (PDs) recommended retaining 6 specific PD "types" (antisocial, avoidant, borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive, and schizotypal) and eliminating the other 4 PDs currently included in DSM-IV (paranoid, schizoid, histrionic, and dependent). One important clinical aspect of PDs is their association with indices of psychosocial morbidity. Because the literature on the relationship between PDs and psychosocial morbidity in psychiatric patients is limited, we undertook the current analysis of the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services project database to examine which PDs were most strongly associated with a variety of measures of psychosocial morbidity. We tested the hypothesis that the disorders recommended for retention in DSM-5 would be associated with more severe morbidity than the disorders recommended for deletion. A total of 2150 psychiatric outpatients were evaluated with semistructured diagnostic interviews for DSM-IV Axes I and II disorders and 7 measures of psychosocial morbidity. We examined the correlation between each PD dimensional score and each measure of morbidity and then conducted multiple regression analyses to determine which PDs were independently associated with the indices of morbidity. For the 6 PDs proposed for retention in DSM-5, 36 (85.7%) of the 42 correlations were significant, whereas for the 4 PDs proposed for deletion, 26 (92.9%) of the 28 correlations were significant. In the regression analyses for the 6 PDs proposed for retention in DSM-5, 19 (45.2%) of the 42 β coefficients were significant, whereas for the 4 PDs proposed for deletion, 7 (25.0%) of the 28 β coefficients were significant. The results of the present study, along with the results of other studies, do not provide clear evidence for the preferential retention of some PDs over others based on their association with indices of psychosocial morbidity.
Comprehensive psychiatry 04/2012; 53(7):940-5. · 2.08 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: A high rate of comorbidity among the personality disorders has been consistently identified as a problem. To address the problem of excessive comorbidity, the DSM-5 Personality and Personality Disorders Work Group recommended reducing the number of specific personality disorder diagnoses from 10 to 5 by eliminating paranoid, schizoid, histrionic, narcissistic, and dependent personality disorders. No study has examined the impact of this change. The present report from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) project examined the impact of eliminating these 5 personality disorders on the prevalence of personality disorders in a large sample of psychiatric outpatients presenting for treatment, comorbidity among the personality disorders, and association with psychosocial morbidity.
From September 1997 to June 2008, 2,150 psychiatric patients presenting to the Rhode Island Hospital outpatient practice were evaluated with semistructured diagnostic interviews for DSM-IV Axis I and Axis II disorders and measures of psychosocial morbidity.
More than one-quarter of the patients were diagnosed with one of the 10 DSM-IV personality disorders (28.6%, n = 614). When 5 personality disorders were excluded from consideration, then 25.8% (n = 555) were diagnosed with at least 1 of the 5 personality disorders proposed for retention in DSM-5, and the comorbidity rate dropped from 29.8% to 21.3%. Compared to patients without a personality disorder, the patients with either a retained or an excluded personality disorder had greater psychosocial morbidity. There was little difference in psychosocial morbidity between patients with a retained and an excluded personality disorder.
The Personality and Personality Disorders Work Group's desired goal of reducing comorbidity would be achieved by deleting 5 personality disorders, although comorbidity would not be eliminated. The reduction of comorbidity could come with a cost of false-negative diagnoses. The results therefore do not provide unambiguous support for the DSM-5 proposed elimination of 5 personality disorders.
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 02/2012; 73(2):202-7. · 5.80 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In the draft proposal for DSM-5, the Work Group for Personality and Personality Disorders recommended that dimensional ratings of personality disorders replace DSM-IV's categorical approach toward classification. If a dimensional rating of personality disorder pathology is to be adopted, then the clinical significance of minimal levels of pathology should be established before they are formally incorporated into the diagnostic system because of the potential unforeseen consequences of such ratings. In the present report from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) project, we examined the low end of the severity dimension and compared psychiatric outpatients with 0 or 1 DSM-IV criterion for borderline personality disorder on various indices of psychosocial morbidity.
Three thousand two hundred psychiatric outpatients were evaluated with semistructured diagnostic interviews for DSM-IV Axis I and Axis II disorders. The present report is based on the 1,976 patients meeting 0 or 1 DSM-IV criterion for borderline personality disorder.
The reliability of determining if a patient was rated with 0 or 1 criterion for borderline personality disorder was good (κ = 0.70). Compared to patients with 0 borderline personality disorder criteria, patients with 1 criterion had significantly more current Axis I disorders (P < .001), suicide attempts (P < .01), suicidal ideation at the time of the evaluation (P < .001), psychiatric hospitalizations (P < .001), and time missed from work due to psychiatric illness (P < .001) and lower ratings on the Global Assessment of Functioning (P < .001).
Low-severity levels of borderline personality disorder pathology, defined as the presence of 1 criterion, can be determined reliably and have validity.
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 10/2011; 73(1):8-12. · 5.80 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Personality disorder research favors a dimensional representation of the personality disorders over categorical classification, and this is one of the central justifications for changing the diagnostic approach in DSM-5. However, recent research has suggested that the most important loss of information in a categorical system is the failure to account for subthreshold levels of pathology. DSM-IV can be considered to already accommodate a quasi-dimensional system insofar as individuals who do not meet the threshold for diagnosis can be noted to have traits of the disorder. In the present report, we examined 2 questions related to dimensional scoring of the personality disorders and the association between personality pathology and psychosocial morbidity: (1) Is the DSM-IV 3-point dimensional convention (absent, subthreshold traits, present) more strongly associated with indicators of psychosocial morbidity than a categorical approach toward diagnosis? and (2) How does the 3-point dimensional scoring convention compare to the 5-point system proposed for DSM-5 and to a criterion count approach in which the dimensional score represents the sum of the number of criteria present?
From September 1997 to June 2008, 2,150 psychiatric outpatients were evaluated with semistructured diagnostic interviews for DSM-IV Axis I and Axis II disorders and measures of psychosocial morbidity.
The DSM-IV 3-point dimensional convention was more strongly associated with measures of psychosocial morbidity than was categorical diagnosis. There was no difference between the 3-point, 5-point, and criterion count methods of scoring the DSM-IV personality disorder dimensions.
Dimensional scoring of the DSM-IV personality disorders was more highly correlated with measures of psychosocial morbidity than was categorical classification. The DSM-IV 3-point rating convention was as valid as scoring methods using more finely graded levels of severity. These findings argue against changing the current DSM-IV diagnostic approach and instead advocate for the increased recognition that DSM-IV already includes a valid dimensional rating.
The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 08/2011; 72(10):1333-9. · 5.80 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Measurement-based care refers to the use of standardized scales to measure the outcome of psychiatric treatment. Diagnostic heterogeneity poses a challenge toward the adoption of a measurement-based care approach toward outcome evaluation in clinical practice. In the present article, we propose adopting the concept of psychiatric vital signs to facilitate measurement-based care. Medical vital signs are measures of basic physiologic functions that are routinely determined in medical settings. Vital signs are often a primary outcome measure, and they are also often adjunctive measurements. In the present report from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services project, we examined the frequency of depression and anxiety in a diagnostically heterogeneous group of psychiatric outpatients to determine the appropriateness of considering their measurement as psychiatric vital signs. Three thousand psychiatric outpatients were interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV supplemented with items from the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. We determined the frequency of depression and anxiety evaluated according to the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia items. In the entire sample of 3000 patients, 79.3% (n = 2378) reported clinically significant depression of at least mild severity, 64.4% (n = 1932) reported anxiety of at least mild severity, and 87.4% (n = 2621) reported either anxiety or depression. In all 10 diagnostic categories examined, most patients had clinically significant anxiety or depression of at least mild severity. These findings support the routine assessment of anxiety and depression in clinical practice because almost all patients will have these problems as part of their initial presentation. Even for those patients without depression or anxiety, the case could be made that the measurement of depression and anxiety is relevant and analogous to measuring certain physiologic parameters in medical practice such as blood pressure and body temperature regardless of the reason for the visit.
Comprehensive psychiatry 05/2011; 53(2):117-24. · 2.08 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This study compared treatment-seeking men with and without a history of substance use disorders (SUD), both lifetime and current, on diagnostic and clinical variables in order to elucidate their clinical profile. Analyses revealed that men with a history of SUD were more likely meet criteria for a cluster B personality disorder, particularly borderline and antisocial personality disorder, and for anxiety disorders, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Men with lifetime and current SUD reported a significantly higher frequency of hospitalizations and had lower scores on global functioning. Despite the high prevalence of SUD in this sample, depressive and anxiety disorders were the leading reasons for treatment seeking in this large outpatient psychiatric clinic. Implications of the observed diagnostic and clinical correlates of lifetime SUD among treatment-seeking men are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Psychology of Men & Masculinity 03/2011; 12(2):158-165. · 2.08 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Rates of treatment-seeking for alcohol use disorders are notably low. To elucidate the clinical correlates of treatment-seeking for alcoholism, this study compared patients with current alcohol dependence and a primary psychiatric diagnosis who endorsed a desire for alcoholism treatment to patients who refused treatment or who were unsure.
A total of 131 (54 females) psychiatric outpatients with current alcohol dependence completed an intake assessment at a large hospital-based psychiatric clinic and at the end of the intake were asked whether they would like to receive treatment for alcohol problems.
Compared with alcohol-dependent patients who refused treatment for alcoholism or who were unsure (n=46), patients who expressed a desire for treatment (n=85) were older, were more likely to be female, reported higher levels of social impairments, and were more likely to endorse the following alcohol dependence symptoms: (i) multiple unsuccessful efforts or persistent desire to stop or cut down on their drinking; and (ii) drinking more than intended.
Approximately, 35% of patients who met current DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence reported no interest (or were unsure) in alcoholism treatment despite being engaged in treatment-seeking for another psychiatric disorder.
These findings extend previous epidemiological studies documenting treatment-seeking patterns for alcoholism by identifying clinical features associated with interest in treatment for this disorder among psychiatric outpatients.
The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 03/2011; 37(2):105-10. · 1.55 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Bipolar disorder is often underdiagnosed. Recommendations for improving the detection of bipolar disorder include the use of screening questionnaires. The most widely studied screening scale is the Mood Disorders Questionnaire (MDQ). Studies of the performance of the MDQ in heterogeneous samples of psychiatric outpatients presenting for treatment have raised concerns about the adequacy of the MDQ as a screening measure because of its relatively low sensitivity. The sensitivity of a scale is not an inherent property of the instrument but depends on the threshold used to identify positive cases. Prior studies used the scoring recommendations of the developers of the MDQ to examine its performance; none examined the performance of the scale across the range of cutoff scores to determine whether a lower threshold would be more appropriate for the purposes of screening. The goal of the present study was to examine the operating characteristics of the MDQ at all cutoff scores to determine the cutoff point that would be appropriate for the purpose of screening. Seven hundred fifty-two psychiatric outpatients were interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV, and completed the MDQ. When MDQ caseness was based only on symptom score without regard to level of impairment, the cutoff score associated with at least 90% sensitivity was 5. At this cutoff the specificity of the MDQ was 60.7%, and its positive predictive value was 22.1%. These findings indicate that when the cutoff to identify cases on the MDQ was set to achieve a desired level of sensitivity as a screening instrument most cases screening positive on the scale did not have bipolar disorder. Low positive predictive value does not support the use of the MDQ or any bipolar disorder screening scale in psychiatric clinical practice.
Comprehensive psychiatry 03/2011; 52(6):600-6. · 2.08 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Bipolar disorder is prone to being overlooked because its diagnosis is more often based on retrospective report than cross-sectional assessment. Recommendations for improving the detection of bipolar disorder include the use of screening questionnaires. The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) is the most widely studied self-report screening scale that has been developed to improve the detection of bipolar disorder. Although developed as a screening scale, the MDQ has also been used as a case-finding measure. However, studies of the MDQ in psychiatric patients have found high false positive rates, though no study has determined the psychiatric diagnoses associated with false positive results on the MDQ. The goal of the present report from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) project was to identify the psychiatric disorders associated with increased false positive rates on the MDQ. Four hundred eighty psychiatric outpatients were interviewed with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) and completed the MDQ. After excluding the 52 patients diagnosed with a lifetime history of bipolar disorder we compared diagnostic frequencies in patients who did and did not screen positive on the MDQ. Based on the Hirschfeld et al. scoring guidelines of the MDQ, 15.2% (n=65) of the 428 nonbipolar patients screened positive on MDQ. Compared to patients who screened negative, the patients who screened positive were significantly more likely have a current and lifetime diagnosis of specific phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol and drug use disorders, any eating disorder, any impulse control disorder, and attention deficit disorder. Results were similar using a less restrictive threshold to identify MDQ cases. That is, MDQ caseness was associated with significantly elevated rates of anxiety, impulse control, substance use, and attention deficit disorders. Studies using the MDQ as a stand-alone proxy for the diagnosis of bipolar disorder should consider whether the presence of these other forms of psychopathology could be responsible for differences between individuals who screen positive and negative on the scale.
Psychiatry Research 02/2011; 185(3):444-9. · 2.52 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Depression is among the most common reasons for seeking psychiatric treatment, and insomnia symptoms are common in the clinical picture of depression. The present study examines the clinical presentation and psychosocial functioning among depressed outpatients with severe symptoms of insomnia in comparison to depressed outpatients without severe insomnia symptoms. The present sample included 2900 treatment-seeking individuals, with 1057 patients having a principal diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD). All patients were evaluated using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders (SCID), Schedule for Affective Disorders (SADS), and self-report measures of mood and psychosocial functioning. SADS Insomnia ratings were used to determine the presence of severe insomnia symptoms. Clinical, demographic, and psychosocial variables were obtained from the SCID and self-report measures. Among the patients with MDD, 24.7% endorsed severe insomnia symptoms. These individuals were older at time of presentation, were less likely to be married, had a lower education level, had a longer duration of the current depressive episode, were rated as more severe on the CGI, had poorer current functioning via GAF, and had higher HAM-D 21 scores. After controlling for severity, MDD patients with severe insomnia symptoms had poorer social functioning over the past 5 years, though this did not reach the significance level of p < .01, and significantly lower scores on 3 of the 8 SF-36 subscales (p < 0.01). These findings indicate that severe insomnia symptoms are associated with poorer psychosocial functioning and a more severe clinical presentation in patients with MDD. This argues for addressing severe insomnia symptoms among depressed patients, either via behavioral treatment or pharmacologic treatment options.
Journal of psychiatric research 02/2011; 45(8):1101-5. · 3.72 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The proposed draft of the DSM-5 from the Anxiety Disorder Workgroup recommends allowing the diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in individuals with medical conditions, if the anxiety is considered to be excessive. Although prior research has examined diagnosing SAD in individuals with stuttering, such research has not yet been conducted in obese individuals.
This study compared demographic and clinical characteristics of obese individuals diagnosed with DSM-IV SAD (n = 135), modified SAD (clinically significant social anxiety related to weight only; n = 40), and a group of obese individuals with no history of psychiatric disorders (n = 616). All participants were seeking psychiatric clearance for bariatric surgery and completed a comprehensive diagnostic interview.
The two social anxiety groups differed from the no disorder group on adolescent and past 5 years social functioning, and overall current functioning. Individuals with modified SAD had a later onset of their social anxiety, yet reported greater impairment in social life and distress about their social anxiety compared to the DSM-IV SAD group.
Although both of the social anxiety groups differed from the no disorder group on social and overall functioning, there were few differences between those with DSM-IV SAD and modified SAD. This suggests that obese individuals with social anxiety related to weight only may experience comparable severity of anxiety to those with DSM-IV SAD, and supports adoption of the DSM-5 Workgroup's recommendation to change criterion H.
Depression and Anxiety 02/2011; 28(5):377-82. · 4.18 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The negative impact of bipolar disorder on occupational functioning is well established. However, few studies have examined the persistence of unemployment, and no studies have examined the association between diagnostic comorbidity and sustained unemployment. In the present report from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services (MIDAS) project, we described the amount of time unemployed in the five years before the evaluation in a large cohort of outpatients diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and determined the demographic and clinical correlates of sustained unemployment.
A total of 206 patients diagnosed with DSM-IV bipolar I or bipolar II disorder were interviewed with semi-structured interviews assessing comorbid Axis I and Axis II disorders, demographic and clinical variables. The interview included an assessment of the amount of time missed from work due to psychiatric reasons during the past five years. Persistent unemployment was defined as missing up to two years or more from work.
Less than 20% of the patients reported not missing any time from work due to psychiatric reasons, and more than one-third missed up to two years or more from work. Prolonged unemployment was associated with increased rates of current panic disorder and a lifetime history of alcohol abuse or dependence. Patients with prolonged unemployment were older and experienced more episodes of depression.
Most patients presenting for the treatment of bipolar disorder have missed some time from work due to psychiatric reasons, and the persistence of employment problems is considerable. Comorbid psychiatric disorders are a potentially treatable risk factor for sustained unemployment. It is therefore of public health significance to determine if current treatments are effective in bipolar disorder patients with current panic disorder, and if not, to attempt to develop treatments that are effective.
Bipolar Disorders 11/2010; 12(7):720-6. · 5.29 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In DSM-IV, the diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (SAD) and specific phobia in adults requires that the person recognize that his or her fear of the phobic situation is excessive or unreasonable (criterion C). The DSM-5 Anxiety Disorders Work Group has proposed replacing this criterion because some patients with clinically significant phobic fears do not recognize the irrationality of their fears. In the present report from the Rhode Island Methods to Improve Diagnostic Assessment and Services project we determined the number of individuals who were not diagnosed with SAD and specific phobia because they did not recognize the excessiveness or irrationality of their fear.
We interviewed 3,000 psychiatric outpatients and 1,800 candidates for bariatric surgery with a modified version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. In the SAD and specific phobia modules we suspended the skip-out that curtails the modules if criterion C is not met. Patients who met all DSM-IV criteria for SAD or specific phobia except criterion C were considered to have "modified" SAD or specific phobia.
The lifetime rates of DSM-IV SAD and specific phobia were 30.5 and 11.8% in psychiatric patients and 11.7 and 10.2% in bariatric surgery candidates, respectively. Less than 1% of the patients in both samples were diagnosed with modified SAD or specific phobia.
Few patients were excluded from a phobia diagnosis because of criterion C. We suggest that in DSM-5 this criterion be eliminated from the SAD and specific phobia criteria sets.
Depression and Anxiety 11/2010; 27(11):1044-9. · 4.18 Impact Factor
