Depression symptoms are associated with significantly higher use of healthcare services following a heart attack, according to a new study released today by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among caregivers of deceased lung transplant patients are four-to-five times more prevalent than in the average population, according to researchers who analyzed the stress levels of caregivers, as well as their perceptions of the transplant recipients’ quality of dying and death.

Socially successful children tend to have fewer symptoms of anxiety or depression, while children with problems such as anxiety and depression tend to have difficulties forming relationships and being accepted by friends. However, it is difficult to determine whether the anxiety and depression lead to the social problems, or vice versa.

People taking medication for depression typically see a lot of improvements in their symptoms during the first few months, but lagging behind other areas is a sense of hopefulness, according to new research from the University of Michigan Health System.

Nursing home residents who received eyeglasses for uncorrected refractive error were found to have improved quality of life and decreased symptoms of depression when compared to those with refractive error who had not received eyeglasses, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who also suffer from depression often find that continued use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) relieves them of symptoms of depression, according to a study published in the October 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM).

A recent survey conducted by the National Headache Foundation (NHF) found that 90% of headache sufferers also suffer from symptoms of depression. Respondents noted that the most common symptoms included energy loss (67%), difficulty sleeping or oversleeping (66%), difficulty thinking or concentrating (60%), sad mood (56%) and loss of interest or pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed (56%).

A survey of adults displaced by war in northern Uganda found high rates of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, and that these individuals were more likely to favor violent means to end the conflict compared to persons without these symptoms, according to a study in the August 1 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights.

Women whose sexual desire diminishes during menopause are more likely to report disturbed sleep, depression symptoms, and night sweats, according to Group Health research in the June American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Based on a Finnish study, persistent smokers may have higher risk to become depressed in comparison to never smokers. Also those smokers who quit have an elevated risk of depressive symptoms in short run. However, in long run this risk declines to the level of never smokers. In other words, both completely smoke-free life style and successful smoking cessation in long run seem to protect from depressive symptoms.

The Internet offers a valuable opportunity for the public to screen themselves for depression. This is the conclusion of a study published today in BMC Psychiatry, which demonstrates that a Chinese online tool for assessing depression is both accurate and reproducible, and may offer a way to identify the growing number of people suffering from depression.