Rui Coelho | ULHT - Universidade Lusofona de Humanidades e Tecnologias (original) (raw)

Papers by Rui Coelho

Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 1999

In a community sample of 102 Portuguese white women we evaluated the relationship between osteopo... more In a community sample of 102 Portuguese white women we evaluated the relationship between osteoporosis and indexes of psychopathology and well-being. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), psychopathology by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90-R), and quality of life using the Psychological General Well-Being Index. A questionnaire comprising social, demographic, clinical, and behavioral characteristics was also used. The sample prevalence of osteoporosis was 47.1%. Women with osteoporosis presented significantly higher scores on the total BDI (16+/-9 vs. 13+/-10, p=0.045) and lower scores in the hostility (0.8+/-0.6 vs. 1.2+/-0.7, p=0.012) and phobic anxiety (1.1+/-0.8 vs. 1.5+/-0.9, p=0.041) subscales of the SCL-90-R. No differences were found regarding mean general well-being scores (62+/-17 vs. 64+/-19, p=0.665). This study showed that women with osteoporosis have significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms and a corresponding higher prevalence of depression, independent of other factors strongly associated with osteoporosis, such as age or body mass index.

Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health, 2005

Quality of life is a major goal in the context of preventive and therapeutic cardiology. It is im... more Quality of life is a major goal in the context of preventive and therapeutic cardiology. It is important, both as an outcome measure in clinical trials of congestive heart failure (CHF) and as a consideration in individual physicians' therapeutic decisions. In this article, quality of life concepts are reviewed, methods of measurement are explored and clinically significant changes on prognosis are discussed. There is a need for more research which is based on carefully selected measures of quality of life chosen as being of particular importance to patients and to the hypotheses being tested.

Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 2000

Psychosocial characteristics might contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of cardiovasc... more Psychosocial characteristics might contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of cardiovascular disease as it is increasingly recognised that biomedical risk factors do not fully explain its dynamics. This study aimed to describe psychometric indexes in a Portuguese community sample relating them to known cardiovascular disease risk factors. Anthropometric, blood pressure, serum measurements and information on demographic, social, medical and behavioural characteristics were obtained for 215 women and 156 men. Self-administered questionnaires were used for the psychometric evaluation (Bortner scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Hopkins Symptom Distress Checklist 90-Revised, Psychological General Well-Being and the Nottingham Health Profile, NHP). There were significant differences according to gender regarding almost every psychometric dimension assessed. After adjusting for the presence of different biomedical risk factors, significant decreasing mean behaviour pattern scores were found with increasing age. Mean depression scores were significantly higher in women and in individuals with lower educational level. As to general psychological well-being, the highest scores were obtained for men and individuals with higher educational level. For the assessed dimensions of quality of life, as well as indexes of psychopathology, men scored better than women. No significant differences in mean scores of behaviour pattern, depression, psychological general well-being and dimensions of NHP were found according to the presence of an increasing number of cardiovascular risk factors. The study shows that the clustering of multiple biomedical risk factors does not result in additive deleterious psychological effects and that psychometric indexes are mainly dependent on gender and education, common confounders in most studies evaluating cardiovascular risk factors.

Psychosomatics, 2003

The authors examined the relationship between coping style and perceived quality of life in patie... more The authors examined the relationship between coping style and perceived quality of life in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Diabetic patients (N‫)321ס‬ and nondiabetic comparison patients (N‫)421ס‬ treated at a Portuguese health center completed the Nottingham Health Profile, a quality-of-life measure. The diabetic patients also completed the Coping Responses Inventory, a measure of coping styles. In both groups, female subjects had poorer qualityof-life ratings than male subjects. Diabetic patients were more likely to regard diabetes and the consequent changes in lifestyle as a threat than as a challenge. A greater proportion of diabetic patients used avoidance coping styles, which overall were related to worse quality of life, than used active confrontation coping styles. Coping style was significantly correlated with several dimensions of quality of life in diabetic patients.

Psychopathology, 2000

Psychosocial factors have been considered important in the initiation of drug abuse and seem to a... more Psychosocial factors have been considered important in the initiation of drug abuse and seem to affect its clinical course and outcome. Several studies have reported psychopathology, namely depression, to be consistently high in addiction. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the prevalence of depression and its relationship to the severity of drug abuse in a Portuguese sample of drug addicts. Two hundred and eighty-five drug addicts (23 women and 262 men, aged between 16 and 41 years old), diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria, were contacted during their first visit for treatment at public health centres. Social, demographic and behavioural characteristics of the study sample were obtained by interview using a structured questionnaire. The severity of drug abuse was evaluated using a Portuguese version of the Drug Abuse Screening Test, and depression was assessed by the Zung self-rating depression scale. The prevalence of depression was 51.2% and was higher in females than males (77.8 vs. 48.7%, p = 0.034). A significant correlation was also found between the severity of drug abuse and depression scores, which was also stronger in females (r = 0.53 vs. r = 0.24). This study showed a high prevalence of depression in drug addicts, regardless of the type and duration of drug abuse, and a significant association between depression and severity of drug addiction.

Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 1999

It has been hypothesized that white-coat hypertensives (WCHs) have lower cardiovascular risk than... more It has been hypothesized that white-coat hypertensives (WCHs) have lower cardiovascular risk than sustained hypertensives (HTs), but higher emotional reactivity. We evaluated 92 HT patients (clinic and daytime BPϾ140/90 mmHg), 52 WCHs (clinic BPϾ140/90 and ambulatory daytime BPϽ134/ 85 mmHg), and 74 normotensive subjects (NTs, clinic BPϽ140/90 and ambulatory daytime BPϽ134/85 mmHg), aged between 24 and 72 years, and matched for educational level, age, gender, and weight for depression, psychopathology, well-being, and quality of life. HTs showed worse scores than WCHs and NTs on most of the psychological variables; no differences were found between WCHs and NTs except on physical mobility. Daytime BP variability was HTsϾWCHsϾNTs, whereas nighttime BP variability was HTsϾWCHsϭNTs. We conclude that HTs have worse psychological profiles than the other two groups. WCHs and NTs have similar psychological profiles, although WCHs have a higher daytime BP variability, which is not associated with higher emotional reactivity.

Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 1999

In a community sample of 102 Portuguese white women we evaluated the relationship between osteopo... more In a community sample of 102 Portuguese white women we evaluated the relationship between osteoporosis and indexes of psychopathology and well-being. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), psychopathology by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90-R), and quality of life using the Psychological General Well-Being Index. A questionnaire comprising social, demographic, clinical, and behavioral characteristics was also used. The sample prevalence of osteoporosis was 47.1%. Women with osteoporosis presented significantly higher scores on the total BDI (16+/-9 vs. 13+/-10, p=0.045) and lower scores in the hostility (0.8+/-0.6 vs. 1.2+/-0.7, p=0.012) and phobic anxiety (1.1+/-0.8 vs. 1.5+/-0.9, p=0.041) subscales of the SCL-90-R. No differences were found regarding mean general well-being scores (62+/-17 vs. 64+/-19, p=0.665). This study showed that women with osteoporosis have significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms and a corresponding higher prevalence of depression, independent of other factors strongly associated with osteoporosis, such as age or body mass index.

Clinical Practice & Epidemiology in Mental Health, 2005

Quality of life is a major goal in the context of preventive and therapeutic cardiology. It is im... more Quality of life is a major goal in the context of preventive and therapeutic cardiology. It is important, both as an outcome measure in clinical trials of congestive heart failure (CHF) and as a consideration in individual physicians' therapeutic decisions. In this article, quality of life concepts are reviewed, methods of measurement are explored and clinically significant changes on prognosis are discussed. There is a need for more research which is based on carefully selected measures of quality of life chosen as being of particular importance to patients and to the hypotheses being tested.

Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 2000

Psychosocial characteristics might contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of cardiovasc... more Psychosocial characteristics might contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of cardiovascular disease as it is increasingly recognised that biomedical risk factors do not fully explain its dynamics. This study aimed to describe psychometric indexes in a Portuguese community sample relating them to known cardiovascular disease risk factors. Anthropometric, blood pressure, serum measurements and information on demographic, social, medical and behavioural characteristics were obtained for 215 women and 156 men. Self-administered questionnaires were used for the psychometric evaluation (Bortner scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Hopkins Symptom Distress Checklist 90-Revised, Psychological General Well-Being and the Nottingham Health Profile, NHP). There were significant differences according to gender regarding almost every psychometric dimension assessed. After adjusting for the presence of different biomedical risk factors, significant decreasing mean behaviour pattern scores were found with increasing age. Mean depression scores were significantly higher in women and in individuals with lower educational level. As to general psychological well-being, the highest scores were obtained for men and individuals with higher educational level. For the assessed dimensions of quality of life, as well as indexes of psychopathology, men scored better than women. No significant differences in mean scores of behaviour pattern, depression, psychological general well-being and dimensions of NHP were found according to the presence of an increasing number of cardiovascular risk factors. The study shows that the clustering of multiple biomedical risk factors does not result in additive deleterious psychological effects and that psychometric indexes are mainly dependent on gender and education, common confounders in most studies evaluating cardiovascular risk factors.

Psychosomatics, 2003

The authors examined the relationship between coping style and perceived quality of life in patie... more The authors examined the relationship between coping style and perceived quality of life in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Diabetic patients (N‫)321ס‬ and nondiabetic comparison patients (N‫)421ס‬ treated at a Portuguese health center completed the Nottingham Health Profile, a quality-of-life measure. The diabetic patients also completed the Coping Responses Inventory, a measure of coping styles. In both groups, female subjects had poorer qualityof-life ratings than male subjects. Diabetic patients were more likely to regard diabetes and the consequent changes in lifestyle as a threat than as a challenge. A greater proportion of diabetic patients used avoidance coping styles, which overall were related to worse quality of life, than used active confrontation coping styles. Coping style was significantly correlated with several dimensions of quality of life in diabetic patients.

Psychopathology, 2000

Psychosocial factors have been considered important in the initiation of drug abuse and seem to a... more Psychosocial factors have been considered important in the initiation of drug abuse and seem to affect its clinical course and outcome. Several studies have reported psychopathology, namely depression, to be consistently high in addiction. The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the prevalence of depression and its relationship to the severity of drug abuse in a Portuguese sample of drug addicts. Two hundred and eighty-five drug addicts (23 women and 262 men, aged between 16 and 41 years old), diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria, were contacted during their first visit for treatment at public health centres. Social, demographic and behavioural characteristics of the study sample were obtained by interview using a structured questionnaire. The severity of drug abuse was evaluated using a Portuguese version of the Drug Abuse Screening Test, and depression was assessed by the Zung self-rating depression scale. The prevalence of depression was 51.2% and was higher in females than males (77.8 vs. 48.7%, p = 0.034). A significant correlation was also found between the severity of drug abuse and depression scores, which was also stronger in females (r = 0.53 vs. r = 0.24). This study showed a high prevalence of depression in drug addicts, regardless of the type and duration of drug abuse, and a significant association between depression and severity of drug addiction.

Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 1999

It has been hypothesized that white-coat hypertensives (WCHs) have lower cardiovascular risk than... more It has been hypothesized that white-coat hypertensives (WCHs) have lower cardiovascular risk than sustained hypertensives (HTs), but higher emotional reactivity. We evaluated 92 HT patients (clinic and daytime BPϾ140/90 mmHg), 52 WCHs (clinic BPϾ140/90 and ambulatory daytime BPϽ134/ 85 mmHg), and 74 normotensive subjects (NTs, clinic BPϽ140/90 and ambulatory daytime BPϽ134/85 mmHg), aged between 24 and 72 years, and matched for educational level, age, gender, and weight for depression, psychopathology, well-being, and quality of life. HTs showed worse scores than WCHs and NTs on most of the psychological variables; no differences were found between WCHs and NTs except on physical mobility. Daytime BP variability was HTsϾWCHsϾNTs, whereas nighttime BP variability was HTsϾWCHsϭNTs. We conclude that HTs have worse psychological profiles than the other two groups. WCHs and NTs have similar psychological profiles, although WCHs have a higher daytime BP variability, which is not associated with higher emotional reactivity.