Depression in holocaust survivors: profile and treatment outcome in a geriatric day hospital program
✍ Scribed by David K. Conn; Diana Clarke; Robert Van Reekum
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 93 KB
- Volume
- 15
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0885-6230
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The pro®le of depressive symptoms and the outcome of treatment in Holocaust Survivors (HS) versus non-Holocaust Survivors (NS), attending a Psychiatric Day Hospital Program for depression, were evaluated retrospectively using a clinical database. Approximately 24% of the study population were Holocaust Survivors (HS). The HS group was more likely to receive a diagnosis of major depressive disorder or episode as one of their diagnoses. The HS group, in particular those survivors who had been in ghettos or in concentration camps, were more likely to be given a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. Both groups showed improvement from baseline in their ratings of depression on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Geriatric Depression Scale at the time of discharge (p 5 0.001). However, there were no signi®cant dierences between the groups in terms of their ratings of depression either at admission, at discharge or in their degree of improvement. Likewise, there was no signi®cant dierence between the groups in the pro®le of their depression, as per the sub-scales of the HDRS, with the exception that the HS group displayed more insight' than the NS group ( p 0.002). The NS group scored higher on the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale compared to the HS group (119.1 versus 125.4, p 5 0.001), even when level of education was covaried; however, language may be an important confound. In conclusion, there was no signi®cant dierence in the pro®le or outcome of depression between groups. However, the HS group was more likely to receive a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, displayed more insight', and appear to dier in their cognitive pro®le.