|
|
|
David B. Adams, Ph.D., F.A.A.C.P., FAPM, F.A.A.P.M.
Board Certified in Clinical Psychology, ABPP
Fellow, American Academy of Clinical Psychology
---------------
Fellow, Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine
Fellow, American Academy of Pain Management
----------------
Distinguished Practitioner, National Academy of Practice in Psychology (NAP)
----------------
Fellow, American Psychological Association
Fellow, Society of Clinical Psychology
(APA)
Fellow, Division of Independent Practice (APA)
Fellow, Division of Psychotherapy (APA)
-----------------
National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology
Certificate of Professional Qualifications (CPQ)
- Association of
State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB)
  
404-252-6454
Atlanta
Medical Psychology
The Medical Quarters - Suite 251
5555 Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30342-1703
Contact Us
30 years in clinical practice:
|
|
Clinical
Services | Educational
Services | OnLine
Referral |
Contact Us |
 PRACTICE
OVERVIEW:
Dr. Adams is a highly published author, professor and researcher in the
interface between
psychological disorder and physical injury/disability.
In addition to his private Atlanta practice,
Dr. Adams also consults nationally to
physicians, nurses, attorneys, insurers, police departments, school systems and
corporations regarding the psychological
impact of worker-related injury and the role of psychological factors in
short- and long-term disability,
depression, anxiety and sexual dysfunction.
Dr.
Adams biography and downloadable
curriculum vitae are available here at psychological.com.
This website contains information
about psychological
disorders,
psychological treatment, as well as access to
scheduling certified
continuing education
seminars. There is a
conference area in which visitors
can discuss shared interests in these areas as well as
Dr. Adams' blog.
Dr. Adams' clinical practice, Atlanta Medical Psychology, is located in The Medical Quarters in the
(Sandy Springs), the north side of Atlanta, at the junction of Scottish Rite, Northside and
Saint Joseph's Hospitals. MAP |
 THIS WEEK'S FACTOID:
"Researchers who set out to pick apart the bonds that link depression and
cardiovascular disease (CVD) say that health behaviors and not complex
biological processes largely account for the increased risk of cardiac events in
people with depression. Physical inactivity, in particular, likely accounts for
the bulk of the risk.
While depression has long been known to increase the risk of heart disease, the
candidate mechanisms had not previously been. The fancy physiological mediators
really were not explaining the association and that it seemed to be all about
health behaviors.
According to Whooley, depressed patients were less likely to take their
medications as prescribed, less likely to exercise, and more likely to smoke.
And after you accounted for those health behaviors, the association between
depression and CVD went away.
If biological mediators were factored into the analysis--things like use of
antidepressant drugs, heart-rate variability, levels of serotonin and omega-3s,
or 24-hour excretion of norepinephrine and cortisol--the effect size for
depressive symptoms on CV events did not substantially change. However, when
behavioral factors such as adherence to medication, smoking status, and most
strikingly physical activity were factored in, the association between
depressive symptoms and cardiovascular events was no longer statistically
significant.
This is good news in that these are modifiable and it's cheap to get people to
exercise and to take their medications; the more challenging news is that it's
very hard to change behaviors.
It doesn't matter whether patients first grew depressed due to lack of physical
exercise or stopped exercising when they became depressed. Very likely it's a
vicious cycle and the association is bidirectional--if you increase exercise in
these patients, you're going to reduce their risk of heart disease. But the
thing to remember about depressed patients is that they are that much less
motivated to do things, so it takes extra effort to get them to exercise, take
their medications, and stop smoking." Whooley MA, de Jonge P, Vittinghoff E, et
al. Depressive symptoms, health behaviors, and risk of cardiovascular events in
patients with coronary heart disease. JAMA 2008; 300:2379-2388.
(Past
Factoids) |
|
© 1996-2008 David B. Adams, Ph.D.,
P.C. |
|
