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Article

Published Online: September 1943

THE SPIROGRAM IN CERTAIN PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS

JACOB E. FINESINGERAuthors Info & Affiliations

Publication: American Journal of Psychiatry

Volume 100, Number 2

https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.100.2.159

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Abstract

1. A rapid method of scoring irregularity in the spirogram tracing is described. This method makes use of 7 variables which are added to obtain a numerical score.

2. A series of tracings obtained from 50 anxiety neuroses, 40 hysterias and 10 reactive depressions, 60 schizophrenic patients and 103 normal control subjects were scored.

3. The highest mean score was found for the anxiety group and the lowest mean scores were found for the schizophrenic and normal groups. The mean values of hysterias and reactive depressions fall between the extremes. Statistically valid differences were found on comparing the anxiety group with the schizophrenic and with the normal control group.

4. The incidence of sighing respirations was 60% for the anxiety group, 54% for the group of hysterias and reactive depressions, 37% for the schizophrenic patients and 21% for the normal control subjects.

5. The mean value for sighing respiration was significantly greater for the anxiety neuroses when compared with the schizophrenic and normal controls.

6. Major fluctuations (large waves in the tracings) were found significantly greater for the anxiety neuroses than for schizophrenic and normal controls.

7. The schizophrenic group showed very little difference from the normal control subjects for all of the variables studied with the exception of points off the upper line. In this item the schizophrenic group had a lower mean value, which was statistically significant.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

American Journal of Psychiatry

Volume 100 • Number 2 • September 1943

Pages: 159 - 169

History

Published in print: September 1943

Published online: 1 April 2006

Authors

Affiliations

JACOB E. FINESINGER

The Department of Diseases of the Nervous System, Harvard Medical School and the Psychiatric Department, Massachusetts General Hospital.

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THE SPIROGRAM IN CERTAIN PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS

Abstract

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