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Prospective population-based studies of psychiatric comorbidity following trauma and severe stress exposure in children are limited.To examine incident psychiatric comorbidity following stress disorder diagnoses in Danish school-aged children using Danish […]
» Read moreRates of anxiety and depression are increasing among children and young people. Recent policies have focused on primary prevention of mental disorders in children and young people, with schools at […]
» Read moreAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their impact cannot be clearly distinguished from other distressing life experiences. Much can be therefore be learned by integrating ACEs research with similar, well-established literatures. […]
» Read moreSelective serotonin receptor inhibitors are prescribed to reduce the severity of core behaviors of autism spectrum disorders, but their efficacy remains uncertain.To determine the efficacy of fluoxetine for reducing the […]
» Read moreAbstract: Childhood maltreatment is a global public health, human rights, and moral issue that is associated with a substantial mental health burden. We aimed to assess the association between childhood […]
» Read moreAbstract: A large body of evidence has demonstrated that exposure to childhood maltreatment at any stage of development can have long-lasting consequences. It is associated with a marked increase in […]
» Read moreAbstract: Although many meta-analyses have examined the association between childhood sexual abuse and subsequent outcomes, the scope, validity, and quality of this evidence has not been comprehensively assessed. We aimed […]
» Read moreAbstract: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with mental and physical health risks that, through biological and psychosocial pathways, likely span generations. Within an individual, telomere length (TL), an established […]
» Read moreAbstract: The rising prevalence of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in pediatric populations along with the recent inclusion of NSSI as a condition for further study in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual […]
» Read moreAbstract: Many studies have reported associations between prenatal stress and the development of psychotic, anxiety and depressive disorders; however, to date no studies have investigated potential associations with personality disorders.This […]
» Read moreAbstract: Co-occurring mental health or psychiatric conditions are common in autism, impairing quality of life. Reported prevalences of co-occurring mental health or psychiatric conditions in people with autism range widely. […]
» Read moreAbstract: Childhood maltreatment is a major risk factor for psychopathology associated with interpersonal problems in adulthood, but the etiological pathways involved are still unclear. The authors propose that childhood maltreatment […]
» Read moreAbstract: Eating behaviours in childhood are considered as risk factors for eating disorder behaviours and diagnoses in adolescence. However, few longitudinal studies have examined this association.AimsWe investigated associations between childhood […]
» Read moreLow-intensity psychosocial interventions have been effective in targeting perinatal depression, but relevant mechanisms of change remain unknown.AimsTo examine three theoretically informed mediators of the Thinking Healthy Programme Peer-delivered (THPP), an evidence-based psychosocial intervention for perinatal depression, on symptom severity in two parallel, randomised controlled trials in Goa, India and Rawalpindi, Pakistan.Participants included pregnant women aged ?18 years with moderate to severe depression, as defined by a Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) score ?10, and were randomised to either THPP or enhanced usual care. We examine whether three prespecified variables (patient activation, social support and mother-child attachment) at 3 months post-childbirth mediated the effects of THPP interventions of perinatal depressive symptom severity (PHQ-9) at the primary end-point of 6 months post-childbirth. We first examined individual mediation within each trial (n = 280 in India and n = 570 in Pakistan), followed by a pooled analysis across both trials (N = 850).In both site-specific and pooled analyses, patient activation and support at 3 months independently mediated the intervention effects on depressive symptom severity at 6 months, accounting for 23.6 and 18.2% of the total effect of THPP, respectively. The intervention had no effect on mother-child attachment scores, thus there was no evidence that this factor mediated the intervention effect.The effects of the psychosocial intervention on depression outcomes in mothers were mediated by the same two factors in both contexts, suggesting that such interventions seeking to alleviate perinatal depression should target both social support and patient activation levels.Declaration of interestNone.
» Read moreAntipsychotic drugs might cause acutely occurring, serious side-effects and thus contribute to the increased physical morbidity and mortality observed in patients with severe mental health disorders. We examined this hypothesis by doing a meta-analysis of International Conference on Harmonisation-Good Clinical Practice-defined serious adverse events occurring in placebo-controlled trials of antipsychotics.For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing second-generation antipsychotics with placebo. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, BIOSIS, PsycINFO, PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform for trials published in any language from database inception up until Jan 27, 2017. Trials were included without limitations in population (diagnostic category, age, sex, ethnicity), dosing regimen, blinding status, duration, or publication year. Only psychological studies lasting less than 1 day and trials done in mainland China were excluded. We contacted pharmaceutical companies, drug regulatory authorities, and study investigators for additional data. The primary outcome was the number of patients with at least one somatic serious adverse event. We estimated minimum and maximum numbers of patients with the outcome in each study group and synthesised the results with odds ratios (ORs) in a common-effects meta-analysis. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016033930.We identified 597 RCTs, comprising 108?664 participants, that met the inclusion criteria. 314 trials (67?642 participants) with details on individual serious adverse events available constituted the main dataset for meta-analysis. 88% of these were 13 weeks (approximately 3 months) or shorter in duration (median 6 weeks, IQR 4-9). At least one somatic serious adverse event occurred in 698 (1·63%) to 862 (2·02%) of 42?600 patients on antipsychotics, and in 343 (1·37%) to 419 (1·67%) of 25?042 patients on placebo. The odds ratios (ORs) were 1·24 (95% CI 1·08-1·42) and 1·24 (1·10-1·41) based on the minimum and maximum estimate, respectively. In predefined subgroup analyses we found evidence suggesting a larger effect in older patients (>65 years; OR 1·56, 95% CI 1·22-1·98; 1·58, 1·25-1·99) as compared with adults (18-65 years; 1·09, 0·91-1·29; 1·10, 0·95-1·28); likewise in children or adolescents (<18 years) although the evidence was more uncertain (1·49, 0·81-2·75; 1·54, 0·85-2·77). Of 597 included RCTs, 30 (5%), 358 (60%), and 209 (35%) were rated at high, moderate, or low risk of bias, respectively. ?2 was zero for both analyses of the primary outcome (minimum estimate, maximum estimate). A Bayesian sensitivity analysis using external information on heterogeneity gave similar results.We found evidence that antipsychotics cause short-term somatic serious adverse events on top of somatic serious adverse events occurring independent of treatment. This effect appears to be mainly driven by results in older patients. Hence, clinicians should be aware that antipsychotics are potentially toxic, particularly when treating patients sharing risk factors with the older population.German Ministry of Education and Research.
» Read moreRates and risk factors for suicidal behaviour require updating and comparisons among mood disorders.AimsTo identify factors associated with suicidal risk in major mood disorders.We considered risk factors before, during and after intake assessments of 3284 adults with/without suicidal acts, overall and with bipolar disorder (BD) versus major depressive disorder (MDD), using bivariate comparisons, multivariable regression modelling and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.Suicidal prevalence was greater in BD versus MDD: ideation, 29.2 versus 17.3%; attempts, 18.8 versus 4.78%; suicide, 1.73 versus 0.48%; attempts/suicide ratio indicated similar lethality, 10.9 versus 9.96. Suicidal acts were associated with familial BD or suicide, being divorced/unmarried, fewer children, early abuse/trauma, unemployment, younger onset, longer illness, more dysthymic or cyclothymic temperament, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), substance misuse, mixed features, hospital admission, percentage time unwell, less antidepressants and more antipsychotics and mood stabilisers. Logistic regression found five independent factors: hospital admission, more depression at intake, BD diagnosis, onset age ?25 years and mixed features. These factors were more associated with suicidal acts in BD than MDD: percentage time depressed/ill, alcohol misuse, >4 pre-intake depressions, more dysthymic/cyclothymic temperament and prior abuse/trauma. ADHD and total years ill were similar in BD and MDD; other factors were more associated with MDD. By ROC analysis, area under the curve was 71.3%, with optimal sensitivity (76%) and specificity (55%) with any two factors.Suicidal risks were high in mood disorders: ideation was highest with BD type II, attempts and suicides (especially violent) with BD type I. Several risk factors for suicidal acts differed between BD versus MDD patients.Declaration of interestNo author or immediate family member has financial relationships with commercial entities that might appear to represent potential conflicts of interest with the information presented.
» Read morePrevious studies have shown l-methylfolate to be a safe and beneficial therapy for neuropsychiatric conditions, including major depressive disorder and schizophrenia in adults. The purpose of this study was to assess safety and describe patient experience using l-methylfolate calcium in a real-world pediatric and adolescent population. A retrospective chart review of patients (7 to 20?y of age, mean age 16?y) prescribed l-methylfolate calcium at a psychiatry clinic in Amherst, NY, between January 1, 2010 and November 10, 2015 was conducted. Patients to whom l-methylfolate calcium 15?mg/d (n=139) or 7.5?mg/d (n=7) was administered were identified; 44 patients who were prescribed but to whom l-methylfolate calcium was not administered were included as a comparator population. Common neuropsychiatric diagnoses included anxiety disorders (68% in the treatment population vs. 50% in the comparator population) and mood disorders (57% in the treatment population vs. 52% in the comparator population). Antidepressants (69% vs. 55%) and mood stabilizers or antiepileptic drugs (63% vs. 57%) were frequently prescribed in combination with l-methylfolate calcium. Adverse events occurred less frequently in the treated population, possibly due to the addition of l-methylfolate calcium (10% vs. 25%, P=0.02). The most common adverse events in the treated population were impaired sleep (5 patients) and increased anxiety (3 patients). Rates of laboratory abnormalities did not differ significantly between the treated and comparator populations (P=0.13). Positive subjective treatment experiences were reported by 22.5% of treated patients and negative subjective treatment experiences were reported by 5.4% of treated patients. L-methylfolate calcium was well-tolerated in a pediatric/adolescent population and may provide benefits for patients with a range of neuropsychiatric conditions.
» Read moreAbstract: Irritability, which is strongly associated with impairment and negative outcomes, is a common reason for referral to mental health services but is a nosological and treatment challenge. A major […]
» Read moreAbstract: Sensory overresponsivity (SOR), an atypical negative reaction to sensory stimuli, is highly prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Previous work has related SOR to increased brain response in sensory-limbic […]
» Read moreAbstract: To describe (a) the observed cognitive, emotional, and behavioral phenotype in a cohort of male children with 47,XYY syndrome and (b) stress levels in their parents.We conducted a cross-sectional […]
» Read moreAbstract: SummarySodium valproate and related preparations have recently undergone regulatory review following concern about effects on the unborn child and doctors’ failure to communicate risk. The issues are wider. Valproate […]
» Read moreAbstract: SummaryThe lives of Children and Adolescents with PaRental mental Illness (CAPRI) represent a public health priority. Identifying those at most risk within the risk subset is crucial to promote […]
» Read moreAbstract: Optimal transition from child to adult services involves continuity, joint care, planning meetings and information transfer; commissioners and service providers therefore need data on how many people require that […]
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