Author Interviews, Critical Care - Intensive Care - ICUs, JAMA, Pharmacology, Psychological Science / 19.03.2014

Dr. Christian Fynbo Christiansen Clinical Associate Professor Department of Clinical Epidemiology Aarhus University HospitalMedicalResearch.com Interview Invitation Dr. Christian Fynbo Christiansen Clinical Associate Professor Department of Clinical Epidemiology Aarhus University Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Christiansen:  We included 24,179 critically ill nonsurgical patients receiving mechanical ventilation in intensive care units in Denmark, and matched comparison groups of hospitalized patients and the general population. We assessed psychiatric diagnoses and medication prescriptions before and after critical illness. We found an increased prevalence of psychiatric diagnoses in the 5 year period before critical illness, compared to both other hospitalized patients and the general population. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics, Psychological Science / 11.03.2014

Mitch van Geel, PhD Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University Leiden, the NetherlandsMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Mitch van Geel, PhD Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University Leiden, the Netherlands MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr.van Geel: We performed a meta-analysis, which is a way to statistically summarize effect sizes from earlier studies. Individual studies often provide varying effect sizes, which makes it difficult to judge whether and how strong variables are related. Furthermore, study characteristics (sampling methods, response rates, controlling for certain confounders) might influence study results. By using a meta-analysis it can be analyzed to what extent study characteristics are related to results; if a particular result only tends to be established in studies with certain designs (for example a convenience sample), we might wonder whether such an effect really exists; but if we find that a particular outcome is unrelated to study characteristics or found in studies with relatively stronger designs, we might feel more certain in concluding that a relation between variables (bullying-suicide thoughts or attempts) exists. By using a meta-analysis we established a significant relation between bullying and thoughts about suicide, and bullying and suicide attempts, and we found that these results were unrelated to study characteristics. (more…)
Author Interviews, Johns Hopkins, Mental Health Research, Pediatrics, Psychological Science / 31.01.2014

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Golda Ginsburg, Ph.D Professor Director, Research, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, MarylandGolda Ginsburg, Ph.D Professor Director, Research, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, Maryland MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr Ginsburg: This study examined the long-term outcomes of youth treated for an anxiety disorders. Findings revealed that almost half of anxious youth treated for an anxiety disorder were in remission (i.e., did not meet diagnostic criteria for any of the three study entry anxiety disorders) at an average of six years since starting treatment. Youth showing clinically meaningful improvement after 12 weeks of treatment, were more likely to be in remission, had lower anxiety severity, and had better functioning compared to youth who showed minimal or no initial clinical improvement. Treatment type did not affect long-term outcomes. (more…)
Author Interviews, Breast Cancer, Psychological Science, Radiation Therapy / 22.01.2014

Guy H. Montgomery, Ph.D. Director, Integrative Behavioral Medicine Program Cancer Prevention and Control Department of Oncological Sciences, Box 1130 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, NY 10029-6574MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Guy H. Montgomery, Ph.D. Director, Integrative Behavioral Medicine Program Cancer Prevention and Control Department of Oncological Sciences Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, NY 10029-6574 MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Montgomery: A brief psychological intervention comprised of cognitive behavioral techniques and hypnosis (CBTH) reduced fatigue during, and for up to six months after, radiotherapy in breast cancer patients. (more…)
Author Interviews, Genetic Research, Psychological Science / 21.01.2014

Eric Lacourse, Ph.D. Professeur agrégé Département de sociologie Université de Montréal Groupe de Recherche sur l'Inadaptation Psychosociale chez l'enfant (GRIP) Centre de Recherche de l'Hôpîtal Ste-JustineMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eric Lacourse, Ph.D.  Professeur agrégé Département de sociologie Université de Montréal Groupe de Recherche sur l'Inadaptation Psychosociale chez l'enfant  Centre de Recherche de l'Hôpîtal Ste-Justine MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Lacourse: The gene-environment analyses revealed that early genetic factors were pervasive in accounting for developmental trends, explaining most of the stability and change in physical aggression, ” Lacourse said. “However, it should be emphasized that these genetic associations do not imply that the early trajectories of physical aggression are set and unchangeable. Genetic factors can always interact with other factors from the environment in the causal chain explaining any behaviour.” (more…)
Author Interviews, Lancet, Psychological Science, Sexual Health / 10.12.2013

Catherine H. Mercer Ph.D. Senior Lecturer UCL Centre for Sexual Health & HIV Research Research Department of Infection & Population Health University College London London U.K.MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Catherine H. Mercer Ph.D. Senior Lecturer UCL Centre for Sexual Health & HIV Research Research Department of Infection & Population Health University College London London U.K. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Dr. Mercer: Firstly, the National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles, Britain’s nationally-representative surveys of sexual behaviour (or Natsal for short), have captured substantial changes in sexual attitudes and lifestyles over the past 60 years, having collected data from over 45,000 people born between the 1930s and the 1990s – a period spanning much of the 20th Century. Secondly, the recent changes in behaviour that we have observed - so over the past decade - have however been considerably more marked for women than men, with the gender gap in reported behaviour narrowing, and in some cases, disappearing altogether. Thirdly, we’ve seen a greater acceptance of more diverse sexual lifestyles, such as same-sex sexual partnerships, but greater intolerance of what many people might consider as ‘disrespectful’ sexual partnerships, including non-exclusivity in marriage. (more…)
Author Interviews, CMAJ, Pediatrics, Psychological Science / 18.09.2013

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gianluca Gini, PhD and Tiziana Pozzoli, PhD Department of Developmental and Social Psychology University of Padua, Padua, Italy MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: Results of this meta-analysis show that bullied children are twice as likely as non-bullied children to experience psychosomatic symptoms (e.g., headache, stomachache, backache, abdominal pain, dizziness,  sleeping problems, poor appetite, bedwetting, skin problems, vomiting), especially in samples that included an higher proportion of boys.  Importantly, the same result was found not only with cross-sectional studies but also in a meta-analysis of six studies that employed a longitudinal design. (more…)
Author Interviews, Psychological Science / 08.08.2013

Kathleen Vohs, Professor of Marketing and Land O' Lakes Professor of Excellence in Marketing Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: We found that being in a tidy environment led people toward doing what’s expected of them or what’s considered the right thing to do -- so, for instance, people in a tidy room donated more money to charity and chose healthy over unhealthy snacks. Being in a messy room, though, made people more creative. (more…)