Medical Pharmacology: Depression and Antidepressant Medications

Which one of the following percentages is most likely the mean prevalence of depression in patients with cancer?
1. 5%
2. 10%
3. 15%
4. 25%
5. 40%
6. Over 50%
Which one(s) of the following cancers is/are associated with depression rate of about 40-50%?
1. Pancreatic cancer
2. Oropharyngeal cancer
3. Both
4. Neither
Which one(s) of the following neurologic disorders is/are frequently accompanied by depression?
1. Dementia
2. Parkinson's disease
3. Multiple sclerosis
4. Traumatic brain injury
5. A & B
6. A & B & C
7. A & B & C & D
Late-onset diagnosed depression in individuals otherwise apparently cognitively normal is associated with an increased risk of a later Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.
1. True
2. False
Concerning depression in patients with diabetes mellitus, choose the correct statement from those given below:
1. The likely prevalence of depression in patients with diabetes is less than 5%.
2. The severity of the depressive mood state appears uncorrelated with the level of hyperglycemia.
3. Treatment of depression may be made more difficult as a result of effects of antidepressant agents on glycemic control.
4. All of the above statements are correct
Some features of depression may be associated with hypothyroidism. Which one(s) of the following statements describe the association.
1. Hypothyroidism is likely associated with depressed mood.
2. Hypothyroidism may also be associated with memory impairment.
3. Both
4. Neither
Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia may be accompanied by both depression and anxiety.
1. True
2. False
Which one(s) of the following presentations is/are associated with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder?
1. Loss of interest in pleasure (anhedonia)
2. Diurnal variation in depressive presentations, with improvement as the day progresses.
3. Both
4. Neither
Major depression with atypical presentation might be associated with which one(s) of the following characteristics?
1. Hyposomnia
2. Anorexia
3. Hyperactivity
4. Rejection sensitivity
5. All of the above
Major depression with postpartum onset is most likely to occur within the following postpartum timeframe.
1. Two weeks to two months
2. Two weeks to six months
3. Two weeks to 12 months
4. Two weeks to 18 months
Which one(s) of the following antihypertensive medications may be associated with depressive syndrome development?
1. Clonidine
2. Guanethidine
3. Methyldopa
4. All of the above
The most important complication associated with depression is suicide.
1. True
2. False
Suicide is about 10 times more prevalent in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia than in the general population.
1. True
2. False
In the psychiatric evaluation assessing a patient's current suicidal risk and the possible need for hospitalization versus outpatient therapy, which one of the following considerations appears most important.
1. The extent of the patient's socialization.
2. The degree of possible alcohol use
3. Finding out how many hours per day the patient thinks about suicide
4. A family history of suicide
Which one of the following drugs is NOT classified as belonging to one of the newer antidepressant groups?
1. Amitriptyline (Elavil)
2. Duloxetine (Cymbalta)
3. Venlafaxine (Effexor)
4. None of the above, i.e. none of the above drugs belong to one of the newer antidepressant groups.