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Query: UMLS:C0015672 (fatigue)
 51,768 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) has received formal research attention only within the last eight years. Diagnostic criteria for SAD include many characteristics typical of depression: sadness, low self-esteem, lack of energy, social withdrawal, and suicide ideation, and features of atypical depression: carbohydrate craving, overeating, weight gain, and hypersomnia. Differential diagnosis of the disorder depends on an onset in fall/winter and remission in spring/summer. It was hypothesized that spinal cord injury (SCI) patients would have a higher incidence of the disorder in the northern latitudes because of decreased outdoor activities in winter and because of such light-depriving winter survival tactics as installing opaque plastic for storm windows. SCI patient responded to a postal survey which included Rosenthal's Seasonal Pattern Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results showed a substantially higher rate of SAD among SCI patients than in the normative sample.
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PMID:Seasonal affective disorder in a spinal cord injury population. 158 5

In order to assess the suffering of patients who died at home and with whom family doctors participated in euthanasia or assisted suicide, an exploratory, descriptive, retrospective study was carried out regarding primarily the period 1986-1989. Data were collected via anonymous written inquiry among an at random sample of family doctors in North Holland (n = 521), and family doctors in the rest of the Netherlands (n = 521). With reference to the last case of euthanasia or assisted suicide they had encountered questions were included about physical and emotional suffering, signs and symptoms and life expectation. Correlations and differences were analysed by means of the chi2-test. The response to the inquiry was 67% (non-responders did not otherwise differ from responders): 228 (North Holland), 160 (rest of the Netherlands) cases could be analysed. Most patients suffered physically as well as emotionally. The most frequently mentioned aspect was 'general weakness or tiredness'. Also 'dependence or being in need of help', loss of dignity, humiliation' and 'pain' were often present to a (very) large extent. At the time the procedure was carried out the life expectation in almost two-thirds of the cases was less than 2 weeks; in 10% of the cases it was more than 3 months. For several reasons, this investigation reduces the possibilities of extrapolation. Further investigation is necessary to determine whether this picture of suffering is specific of this category of patients.
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PMID:[Euthanasia and assisted suicide by physicians in the home situation. 2. Suffering of the patients]. 192 91

Depressed patients and suicidal patients are common Emergency Department patrons with the potential for serious morbidity or death. Dysphoric mood, vegetative symptoms, and negative perceptions of oneself, the environment, and the future are characteristic of depression. Often, the patient is unaware of the depression and presents with a variety of somatic complaints, chronic fatigue, or pain syndromes. In these instances, the physician must consider the diagnosis of depression and ask the patient about any history of depressive symptoms. In all depressed patients, a careful history and physical examination are needed to identify any drugs or concurrent medical illnesses which might cause or exacerbate the depression. If depression is suspected or if the patient presents after a suicide attempt, then a thorough evaluation of suicide potential is mandatory. Several risk factors for completed suicide exist. Male sex, age under 19 or over 45, few social supports, and a history of previous suicide attempts are all factors associated with increased suicide rates. Concurrent chronic or severe medical illnesses and certain psychiatric illnesses, notably depression, schizophrenia, and substance abuse, also increase an individual's risk for suicide. The method of suicide attempt and the chance for rescue must also be considered when determining risk as well as the presence of an organized plan. Acute psychosis in the suicidal patient is an ominous finding and these patients should be admitted to the hospital. The physician must adopt an empathetic and nonjudgmental attitude when caring for potentially suicidal patients. Disposition can be determined after careful evaluation of risk factors, circumstances surrounding the attempt, and the patient's current feelings. Consultation with a psychiatrist or another mental health professional is desirable for any potentially suicidal patient. Many such patients can be safely treated as outpatients with proper referral; certain high-risk individuals will need to be admitted to the hospital. The decision to either hospitalize or discharge can be difficult and the emergency physician should admit the patient if doubt exists.
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PMID:Depression and suicide assessment. 200 61

Among 200 adults with a chief complaint of chronic fatigue evaluated in an internal medicine practice, currently active panic disorder was diagnosed in 26 patients (13%), a frequency tenfold greater than that in the general population. Panic disorder preceded or was coincidental with the onset of chronic fatigue in 21 of these patients. In comparison with the rest of the study cohort, significantly more patients with panic disorder had a history of severe depression, including persistent thoughts of death or suicide. Moreover, more patients with panic disorder showed a lifetime tendency to have physical symptoms that remained unexplained after medical evaluation. Our findings suggest that treatable panic disorder is an important contributor not only to major depression and somatization, but also to the etiology and clinical presentation of chronic fatigue in patients in an outpatient practice.
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PMID:Panic disorder among patients with chronic fatigue. 201 28

A clinical study was made on depressive state following stroke using stroke patients in the chronic stage. There were 118 stroke patients in the present study and 25 patients (21.2%) satisfied the diagnostic criteria for major depressive syndrome of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition Revised (DSM-III-R). As for dispositional, social, and somatic factors, a tendency was observed for depressive state to develop at a high frequency among patients with a past history of mental disorder prior to development of stroke, patients residing in suburban area, patients engaged in domestic and agricultural work, and patients with a frequent history of physical disorders. A tendency was observed for depressive state to develop at a high frequency among patients showing B type in YG test and patients presenting laterality in electroencephalography. Among the 49 right stroke patients, depressive state was observed in 10 cases (20.4%), while among the 43 left stroke patients, depressive state was seen in 10 cases (23.2%) with the incidence of depressive state showing no difference by hemisphere stroke. Study of the clinical characteristics of depressive state by hemisphere stroke with the use of symptom items of Zung scale and Hamilton scale showed that patients in depressive state with right hemisphere stroke had high values in symptom items considered close to the essence of endogenous depression such as depressed mood, suicide, diurnal variation, loss of weight, and paranoid symptoms, while patients in depressive state with left hemisphere stroke had high values in symptom items having a nuance of so-called neurotic depression such as psychic anxiety, hypochondriasis, and fatigue. Comparison with endogenous depression patients indicated that right stroke patients rather than left stroke patients showed a clinical picture suggestive of endogenous depression. Antidepressant was effective in 71.4% of the cases, but no difference in effectiveness could be observed by hemisphere stroke. In stroke patients in the chronic stage the incidence of clinical depressive state was higher than 20%, and involved in its onset were not only brain organ lesions but also dispositional, social, and somatic factors and integration dysfunction in the emotional activity of the left and right hemisphere functions. As for the clinical picture, a picture considered close to endogenous depression was observed in right stroke patients, while that considered close to so-called neurotic depression was seen in left stroke patients. The therapeutic effect of antidepressant was almost equivalent to that for endogenous depression.
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PMID:[Clinical study on depressive state following stroke]. 223 45

A total of 1600 adolescents between the ages of 13 and 16 living in a county bordering on Paris were interviewed concerning their health, their use of drugs, both legal and illegal, their behavior, and their seeking of health care. Fourteen percent of the boys and 23% of the girls had already thought about suicide and 5% and 10% (respectively) proclaimed having thought about it frequently. Young adolescents who thought about suicide, the girls as well as the boys, had more health problems (fatigue, nightmares, insomnia), used more drugs (including tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs, psychotropic medicine) and had more delinquent behavior (robbery, running away from home, racketeering). Furthermore, the girls had problems in school (absenteeism and being left back). In general, youngsters with suicidal thoughts resorted to violence in a variety of ways. Although these youngsters spoke less readily about their personal problems, they more frequently sought physical health care (doctors, nurses, social workers). This discrepancy between their difficulty in communication and their readiness to ask for physical care is a clear indication of their need to be helped.
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PMID:Suicidal thoughts during early adolescence: prevalence, associated troubles and help-seeking behavior. 232 80

Forty-seven railroad workers who were exposed to polychlorinated phenols, including dioxin (TCDD), during 1979 while cleaning up the chemical spillage following damage to a tank car filled with these chemicals were followed medically for the subsequent 6 years. Two committed suicide. The initial neurological complaints included a sense of fatigue and muscle aching, both of which have been reported in other individuals following dioxin exposure. On detailed neurological examination in December, 1985, 24 of 45 had dystonic writer's cramp and/or other action dystonias of the hands. None of the involved individuals had a family history of dystonia, and all 24 dated the onset of the dystonia to the first 2 to 3 years subsequent to their toxic exposure. The dystonias varied in severity but were usually mild. No other types of dystonic involvement were recognized. Thirty-five of the 45 individuals also manifested postural and terminal intention tremor which resembled benign essential tremor. None of the involved individuals had a family history of tremor, and all 35 of those affected dated the onset of the tremor to some time subsequent to their toxic exposure. Forty-three of 45 patients had histories and findings suggestive of peripheral neuropathy. This is the first report relating any type of dystonia to prior dioxin exposure and the first report relating action dystonia, such as dystonic writer's cramp, and postural/terminal intention tremor, to toxic exposure of any type.
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PMID:Dystonia and tremor following exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. 284 55

Stress is an inevitable part of life in today's society. Some stress may be beneficial and can lead to improved productivity. Unless suitably managed, however, stress may contribute to physiological and psychological dysfunctions such as depression, fatigue, obesity, coronary heart disease, suicide, or violence. The impact of stress on the Nation's physical and mental health may be considerable. Tens of thousands of premature deaths annually are consequences of suicide and homicide. It is estimated that 2,000 deaths to children and up to four million injuries inflicted by abusing parents occur each year partially as a result of stress. Recent years have focused a considerable amount of public and professional interest upon the relationship between stress and physical and mental health. Scientific inquiry has demonstrated various associations between stress and health and disease and has provided evidence that stressful factors can be assessed. Much remains, however, to be elucidated about vulnerability to stress and its control. Some groups such as teenagers, the elderly, and the economically disadvantaged appear to be more vulnerable to stress, and the public in general has limited information about what can be done to reduce stress. There is a clear need to investigate the psychological, environmental, and biological interactions which link stress to health disorders.
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PMID:Health promotion: Control of stress and violent behavior. 641 16

The premenstrual symptom complex many women experience in a moderate to severe form can be divided into four subgroups. Because there is more than one syndrome and nervous tension is one of the most common symptoms, the term premenstrual tension syndromes (PMTS) is used. The most common subgroup, PMT-A, consists of premenstrual anxiety, irritability and nervous tension, sometimes expressed in behavior patterns detrimental to self, family and society. Elevated blood estrogen and low progesterone have been observed in this subgroup. Administration of vitamin B6 at doses of 200-800 mg/day reduces blood estrogen, increases progesterone and results in improved symptoms under double-blind conditions. Women in this subgroup consume an excessive amount of dairy products and refined sugar, and progesterone may be of value in them. The second-most-common subgroup, PMT-H, is associated with symptoms of water and salt retention, abdominal bloating, mastalgia and weight gain. The severe form of PMT-H is associated with elevated serum aldosterone. Vitamin B6 at high dosage suppresses aldosterone and results in diuresis and clinical improvement. Vitamin E helps the breast symptoms. Methylxanthines and nicotine should be curtailed and sodium limited to 3 gm/day. PMT-C is characterized by premenstrual craving for sweets, increased appetite and indulgence in eating refined sugar followed by palpitation, fatigue, fainting spells, headache and sometimes the shakes. PMT-C patients have increased carbohydrate tolerance and low red-cell magnesium. Adequate magnesium replacement results in improved glucose tolerance tests and decreased PMT-C symptoms. Deficiency of the prostaglandin PGE1 may also be involved in PMT-C. PMT-D is the least common but most dangerous because suicide is most frequent in this subgroup. The symptoms are depression, withdrawal, insomnia, forgetfulness and confusion. In ten PMT-D patients the mean blood estrogen was lower and the mean blood progesterone higher than normal during the midluteal phase. Elevated adrenal androgens are observed in some hirsute PMT-D patients. Two PMT-D patients with normal blood progesterone and estrogens had high lead levels in hair tissue and chronic lead intoxication. This subgroups needs careful medical attention when the symptoms are severe. Therapy should be individualized according to the results of the evaluation.
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PMID:Nutritional factors in the etiology of the premenstrual tension syndromes. 668 67

Old age is a time of losses--loss of social roles, of health, and of loved ones. Loneliness and severe depression often accompany these losses, making the elderly especially vulnerable to suicide. Among the warning signs to look for are changes in patterns of sleeping or eating, weight loss, extreme fatigue, increased preoccupation with bodily functions, increased alcohol consumption, mood or behavioral changes, and sudden interest or disinterest in religion. Many of these signal depression. Most of the elderly who commit suicide do so not long after visiting a physician. Thus, responsibility for prevention lies not only with family and friends of the suicidal elderly person but with the physician as well. Society also has a responsibility to value the status of its older members.
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PMID:Suicide in the elderly: are we heeding the warnings? 710 6


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