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Prolonged grief disorder

MedGen UID:
1373465
•Concept ID:
C4511668
•
Mental or Behavioral Dysfunction
Synonyms: Disorder, Prolonged Grief; Grief Disorder, Prolonged; Prolonged Grief Disorder; Prolonged Grief Disorders
SNOMED CT: Prolonged grief disorder (723914003); Persistent complex bereavement disorder (723914003)

Definition

A psychiatric disorder characterized by the personal experience of intense and prolonged yearning for, or preoccupation with the circumstances surrounding, a loss that leads to significant impairment in social or occupational functioning. Associated symptoms may include: identity disruption, disbelief, avoidance of reminders, difficulty moving on, emotional pain or numbness, feeling that life is meaningless, and loneliness. [from NCI]

Term Hierarchy

CClinical test,  RResearch test,  OOMIM,  GGeneReviews,  VClinVar  
  • CROGVProlonged grief disorder

Professional guidelines

PubMed

Concurrent Treatment for PTSD and Prolonged Grief Disorder: Review of Outcomes for Exposure- and Nonexposure-Based Treatments.
Eddinger JR, Hardt MM, Williams JL
Omega (Westport) 2021 Aug;83(3):446-469. Epub 2019 Jun 13 doi: 10.1177/0030222819854907. PMID: 31194639
Complicated grief: recent developments in diagnostic criteria and treatment.
Nakajima S
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018 Sep 5;373(1754) doi: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0273. PMID: 30012739Free PMC Article
Performance characteristics and clinical utility of diagnostic criteria proposals in bereaved treatment-seeking patients.
Mauro C, Shear MK, Reynolds CF, Simon NM, Zisook S, Skritskaya N, Wang Y, Lebowitz B, Duan N, First MB, Ghesquiere A, Gribbin C, Glickman K
Psychol Med 2017 Mar;47(4):608-615. Epub 2016 Nov 8 doi: 10.1017/S0033291716002749. PMID: 27821201

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

How symptoms of prolonged grief disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression relate to each other for grieving ICU families during the first two years of bereavement.
Wen FH, Prigerson HG, Chou WC, Huang CC, Hu TH, Chiang MC, Chuang LP, Tang ST
Crit Care 2022 Nov 1;26(1):336. doi: 10.1186/s13054-022-04216-5. PMID: 36320037Free PMC Article
Grief Before and After Bereavement in the Elderly: An Approach to Care.
Meichsner F, O'Connor M, Skritskaya N, Shear MK
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2020 May;28(5):560-569. Epub 2020 Jan 11 doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2019.12.010. PMID: 32037292
The Grief of Parents After the Death of a Young Child.
Morris S, Fletcher K, Goldstein R
J Clin Psychol Med Settings 2019 Sep;26(3):321-338. doi: 10.1007/s10880-018-9590-7. PMID: 30488260
Complicated grief: recent developments in diagnostic criteria and treatment.
Nakajima S
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018 Sep 5;373(1754) doi: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0273. PMID: 30012739Free PMC Article
Prevalence of prolonged grief disorder in adult bereavement: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Lundorff M, Holmgren H, Zachariae R, Farver-Vestergaard I, O'Connor M
J Affect Disord 2017 Apr 1;212:138-149. Epub 2017 Jan 23 doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.01.030. PMID: 28167398

Diagnosis

Prolonged grief disorder in ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR: Challenges and controversies.
Eisma MC
Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2023 Jul;57(7):944-951. Epub 2023 Feb 6 doi: 10.1177/00048674231154206. PMID: 36748103Free PMC Article
History and Status of Prolonged Grief Disorder as a Psychiatric Diagnosis.
Prigerson HG, Kakarala S, Gang J, Maciejewski PK
Annu Rev Clin Psychol 2021 May 7;17:109-126. Epub 2021 Feb 1 doi: 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-081219-093600. PMID: 33524263
Grief and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Older Adults.
Goveas JS, Shear MK
Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2020 Oct;28(10):1119-1125. Epub 2020 Jun 27 doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2020.06.021. PMID: 32709542Free PMC Article
Complicated grief: recent developments in diagnostic criteria and treatment.
Nakajima S
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018 Sep 5;373(1754) doi: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0273. PMID: 30012739Free PMC Article
Prolonged, but not complicated, grief is a mental disorder.
Maciejewski PK, Prigerson HG
Br J Psychiatry 2017 Oct;211(4):189-191. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.116.196238. PMID: 28970298

Therapy

Public Stigma of Prolonged Grief Disorder: An Experimental Replication and Extension.
Dennis H, Eisma MC, Breen LJ
J Nerv Ment Dis 2022 Mar 1;210(3):199-205. doi: 10.1097/NMD.0000000000001427. PMID: 34618716
CBT for Prolonged Grief in Children and Adolescents: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Boelen PA, Lenferink LIM, Spuij M
Am J Psychiatry 2021 Apr 1;178(4):294-304. Epub 2021 Jan 21 doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20050548. PMID: 33472391
The prevalence of prolonged grief disorder in bereaved individuals following unnatural losses: Systematic review and meta regression analysis.
Djelantik AAAMJ, Smid GE, Mroz A, Kleber RJ, Boelen PA
J Affect Disord 2020 Mar 15;265:146-156. Epub 2020 Jan 13 doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.01.034. PMID: 32090736
Complicated grief: recent developments in diagnostic criteria and treatment.
Nakajima S
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018 Sep 5;373(1754) doi: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0273. PMID: 30012739Free PMC Article
What distinguishes prolonged grief disorder from depression?
Kristensen P, Dyregrov K, Dyregrov A
Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen 2017 Apr;137(7):538-539. Epub 2017 Apr 4 doi: 10.4045/tidsskr.16.0629. PMID: 28383227

Prognosis

How symptoms of prolonged grief disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression relate to each other for grieving ICU families during the first two years of bereavement.
Wen FH, Prigerson HG, Chou WC, Huang CC, Hu TH, Chiang MC, Chuang LP, Tang ST
Crit Care 2022 Nov 1;26(1):336. doi: 10.1186/s13054-022-04216-5. PMID: 36320037Free PMC Article
Disorganized attachment and prolonged grief.
Sekowski M, Prigerson HG
J Clin Psychol 2022 Sep;78(9):1806-1823. Epub 2022 Feb 7 doi: 10.1002/jclp.23325. PMID: 35132649
Predictors of Family Caregivers' Depressive- and Prolonged-Grief-Disorder-Symptom Trajectories.
Wen FH, Chou WC, Prigerson HG, Shen WC, Hsu MH, Tang ST
J Pain Symptom Manage 2022 Apr;63(4):476-484.e1. Epub 2021 Dec 29 doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.12.025. PMID: 34971750
Grief: Aetiology, Symptoms and Management.
Pop-Jordanova N
Pril (Makedon Akad Nauk Umet Odd Med Nauki) 2021 Oct 26;42(2):9-18. doi: 10.2478/prilozi-2021-0014. PMID: 34699700
Complicated grief: recent developments in diagnostic criteria and treatment.
Nakajima S
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018 Sep 5;373(1754) doi: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0273. PMID: 30012739Free PMC Article

Clinical prediction guides

How symptoms of prolonged grief disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression relate to each other for grieving ICU families during the first two years of bereavement.
Wen FH, Prigerson HG, Chou WC, Huang CC, Hu TH, Chiang MC, Chuang LP, Tang ST
Crit Care 2022 Nov 1;26(1):336. doi: 10.1186/s13054-022-04216-5. PMID: 36320037Free PMC Article
Disorganized attachment and prolonged grief.
Sekowski M, Prigerson HG
J Clin Psychol 2022 Sep;78(9):1806-1823. Epub 2022 Feb 7 doi: 10.1002/jclp.23325. PMID: 35132649
Predictors of Family Caregivers' Depressive- and Prolonged-Grief-Disorder-Symptom Trajectories.
Wen FH, Chou WC, Prigerson HG, Shen WC, Hsu MH, Tang ST
J Pain Symptom Manage 2022 Apr;63(4):476-484.e1. Epub 2021 Dec 29 doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.12.025. PMID: 34971750
Prolonged grief disorder in DSM-5-TR: Early predictors and longitudinal measurement invariance.
Boelen PA, Lenferink LI
Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2022 Jun;56(6):667-674. Epub 2021 Jul 7 doi: 10.1177/00048674211025728. PMID: 34233500Free PMC Article
Grief: Aetiology, Symptoms and Management.
Pop-Jordanova N
Pril (Makedon Akad Nauk Umet Odd Med Nauki) 2021 Oct 26;42(2):9-18. doi: 10.2478/prilozi-2021-0014. PMID: 34699700

Recent systematic reviews

Emotion Regulatory Strategies in Complicated Grief: A Systematic Review.
Eisma MC, Stroebe MS
Behav Ther 2021 Jan;52(1):234-249. Epub 2020 Apr 13 doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2020.04.004. PMID: 33483120
Assessing prolonged grief disorder: A systematic review of assessment instruments.
Treml J, Kaiser J, Plexnies A, Kersting A
J Affect Disord 2020 Sep 1;274:420-434. Epub 2020 May 23 doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.05.049. PMID: 32663972
The neurobiological reward system in Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD): A systematic review.
Kakarala SE, Roberts KE, Rogers M, Coats T, Falzarano F, Gang J, Chilov M, Avery J, Maciejewski PK, Lichtenthal WG, Prigerson HG
Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2020 Sep 30;303:111135. Epub 2020 Jul 3 doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2020.111135. PMID: 32629197Free PMC Article
The prevalence of prolonged grief disorder in bereaved individuals following unnatural losses: Systematic review and meta regression analysis.
Djelantik AAAMJ, Smid GE, Mroz A, Kleber RJ, Boelen PA
J Affect Disord 2020 Mar 15;265:146-156. Epub 2020 Jan 13 doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.01.034. PMID: 32090736
Prevalence of prolonged grief disorder in adult bereavement: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Lundorff M, Holmgren H, Zachariae R, Farver-Vestergaard I, O'Connor M
J Affect Disord 2017 Apr 1;212:138-149. Epub 2017 Jan 23 doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2017.01.030. PMID: 28167398

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