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Showing papers by "Janet B. W. Williams published in 2001"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In addition to making criteria-based diagnoses of depressive disorders, the PHQ-9 is also a reliable and valid measure of depression severity, which makes it a useful clinical and research tool.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: While considerable attention has focused on improving the detection of depression, assessment of severity is also important in guiding treatment decisions. Therefore, we examined the validity of a brief, new measure of depression severity.

26,004 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Investigation of health problems and impairment associated with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder among female primary care and obstetric gynaecology patients found anxiety disorders, mood disorders and diabetes were much more common among women with BN or BED than among women without these eating disorders.
Abstract: Background Although psychiatric patients with eating disorders are known to be at risk for a variety of health problems, relatively little is known about eating disorders and associated health problems in other populations. An epidemiological study was conducted to investigate health problems and impairment associated with bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED) among female primary care and obstetric gynaecology patients. Methods Psychiatric disorders, physical illnesses, disabilities, functional status and stress were assessed among 4651 female patients (age range:18 to 99 years) at 8 primary care and 7 obstetric gynaecology clinics throughout the United States. Results Two hundred eighty-nine women (62%) were diagnosed with BN or BED. The prevalence of BN was approximately 1% among young and middle-aged women. The prevalence of BED increased steadily from early (3.3%) through middle (8.5%) adulthood. Anxiety disorders, mood disorders and diabetes were much more common among women with BN or BED than among women without these eating disorders. Women with BN or BED reported markedly poorer functioning and much higher levels of disability, health problems, insomnia, psychosocial stress and suicidal thoughts than did women without BN or BED, after co-occurring psychiatric disorders were controlled statistically. Yet, fewer than one of ten cases of BN or BED was recognized by the patients' physicians. Conclusions Patients with BN or BED often experience considerable disability, impairment, distress and co-occurring illnesses. Increased recognition of eating disorders may be a crucial step towards encouraging more patients to seek treatment for these disabling conditions.

251 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Investigation of whether hopelessness mediates the association between social support and depression in HIV-infected men indicated that low baseline social support predicted increases in hopelessness and depression.
Abstract: Data from a prospective longitudinal study were used to investigate whether hopelessness mediates the association between social support and depression, as hypothesized by L. Y. Abramson, G. I. Metalsky, and L. B. Alloy (1989). Measures of hopelessness, social support, and depression were administered to 103 HIV-infected men and readministered 6 months later. Findings indicated that low baseline social support predicted increases in hopelessness and depression. Increases in hopelessness predicted increases in depression after controlling for baseline social support. Low baseline social support did not predict increased depression when hopelessness was controlled statistically.

65 citations