So far there seems to be consensus on a diagnosis labelled PGD [1]. Left untreated CG has been shown to be associated with increased medicine consumption, problems with job retention, development of psychopathological disorders and increased mortality [6]; [1,7]. A recent longitudinal study using psychiatric interviews indicates that the prevalence Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of PGD or CG may be around 11% among bereaved individuals losing a close relative [8]. The focus of the present study is on complicated grief reactions and therefore, while keeping in mind the potential overlap

between CG and PTSD [4], CG was chosen above PTSD or other syndromes as the outcome measure of bereavement related distress in this study. Symptoms of CG have in numerous studies been assessed with the rating scale, Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG) [1,5,9]. Items on the ICG correspond closely to the symptoms in CG and the proposed diagnosis of PGD. According to the consensus diagnosis, PGD or CG cannot be diagnosed until six months Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical post loss. Accurately and early identifying persons at risk

of developing CG would be advantageous in providing appropriate support as well as evidence-based treatment in primary and palliative care [10,11]. A major challenge for clinicians consists in correctly identifying vulnerable individuals susceptible Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical to develop CG among the group of bereaved individuals [12]. A number of risk factors have been identified, such as

attachment style, lack of social support and sudden loss [13,14]. Thus, there is a need for a clinical tool that can reliably assess the risk of developing CG in newly bereaved people. The aim of this study was to develop a clinical Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical tool to identify bereaved individuals to establish a prognosis of CG at six months post loss and to propose a model for a screening tool for early identification of bereaved individuals at risk of CG applicable in BML-275 general practice and palliative care. Methods Setting and procedure The study was approved by the regional ethics committee and the study population consisted of two samples. One sample Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical was a longitudinal cohort with measurement at 2, 6, 13 and 18 months (T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively) post loss using a self-report questionnaire sent by mail. At T1 the questionnaire was administered through structured interviews at home visits to half of this sample. Postal questionnaires were used by all participants at T2-T4. This Batimastat sample was identified via the Danish Central Person Register (CPR) and consisted of all persons aged 65 – 80 in the former county of Aarhus, Denmark, who had lost a spouse during the year of 2006 [4]. The Danish CPR contains personal information regarding age, marital status, name of partner and place of residence. The second sample was recruited via the palliative home care team at Aarhus University selleck bio Hospital, Denmark.