Recorded psychiatric comorbidity with bipolar disorder – A Finnish hospital discharge register study

Bipolar disorder is frequently connected to other psychiatric disorders. On the basis of The National Hospital Discharge Register in Finland, we studied the recorded prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity among bipolar inpatients by clinicians, and the factors that were associated with it. Of the 2687 hospital stays in 1998, 82% had no other recorded psychiatric diagnosis except an episode of bipolar disorder. Psychiatric comorbidity was recorded in 18% of hospital stays, of which 20% had two comorbid psychiatric diagnoses. Substance-related disorders (11%) were the most commonly recorded comorbid disorders. Personality disorders were recorded in 6%, and anxiety disorder in 1% of the hospital stays. These figures should be considered far below the expected ones. Recorded comorbidity was associated with the type of episode. Comorbidity in bipolar disorder in psychiatric hospitals in Finland seems to go greatly undetected and may have a deteriorating impact on the course of the illness.     

Autism in community pre-schoolers: Developmental profiles

Autism is often a complex developmental disorder. The aim of the present study was to describe the developmental characteristics of 129 1–4-year-old children (102 boys, 27 girls) referred for clinical assessment (mean age 2.9 years) due to suspicion of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) after community screening at Child Health Care centers. All children were clinically assessed at the Child Neuropsychiatry Clinic (CNC) in Gothenburg by a research team (neurodevelopmental examination, structured interviews and general cognitive and language examinations). Of the 129 children, 100 met diagnostic criteria for ASD (69 with autistic disorder, and 31 with atypical autism/pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified). The remaining 29 children had a variety of developmental disorders, most often attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), language disorder, borderline intellectual functioning, and intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) with (n = 25) or without (n = 4) autistic traits (AT). IDD was found in 36% of the 100 children with ASD, and in 4% of the 25 children with AT. Of the children with ASD, 56% had language disorder with no or just a few words at the initial assessment at the CNC, many of whom in combination with IDD. Hyperactivity was found in 37% of those with ASD and in 40% of those with AT. Epilepsy was found in 6% of the total group and in 7% of those with a diagnosis of ASD. Of the latter group 11% had a history of regression, while none of the AT cases had a similar background. When results were compared with a non-screened preschool ASD group of 208 children, referred for ASD intervention at a mean age of 3.4 years, very similar developmental profiles were seen. In conclusion, early community ASD screening appears to systematically identify those children who are in need of intervention and follow-up.     

Sub-threshold panic attacks and agoraphobic avoidance increase comorbidity of mental disorders: Results from an adult general population sample

Full-blown panic attacks are frequently associated with other mental disorders. Most comorbidity analyses did not discriminate between isolated panic attacks vs. panic attacks that occurred in the context of a panic disorder and rarely evaluated the impact of comorbid agoraphobia. Moreover, there are no larger scale epidemiological studies regarding the influence of sub-threshold panic attacks. 4075 German-speaking respondents aged 18–64 were interviewed using the fully structured Munich Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Limited symptom attacks, isolated panic attacks, and panic disorder were associated with other lifetime DSM-IV disorders with monotonically increasing odds and increasing tendency for multiple comorbidities across the three groups. The presence of agoraphobia was associated with more frequent comorbidity in all panic subgroups and also in persons who never experienced panic attacks. The present study suggests that populations with isolated or limited symptom should be carefully attended to in clinical practice, especially if agoraphobia is present.     

Temperament,character and personality disorders

ObjectiveTo study, whether temperament and character remain stable over time and whether they differ between patients with and without personality disorder (PD) and between patients with specific PDs.MethodsPatients with (n = 225) or without (n = 285) PD from Jorvi Bipolar Study, Vantaa Depression Study (VDS) and Vantaa Primary Care Depression Study were interviewed at baseline and at 18 months, and in the VDS also at 5 years. A general population comparison group (n = 264) was surveyed by mail.ResultsCompared with non-PD patients, PD patients scored lower on self-directedness and cooperativeness. Cluster B and C PDs associated with high Novelty Seeking and Harm Avoidance, respectively. In logistic regression models, sensitivity and specificity of Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) dimensions for presence of any PD were 53% and 75%, and for specific PDs from 11% to 41% and from 92% to 100%, respectively. The 18-month test-retest correlations of TCI-R dimensions ranged from 0.58 to 0.82.ConclusionsMedium-term temporal stability of TCI in a clinical population appears good. Character scores differ markedly between PD and non-PD patients, whereas temperament scores differ only somewhat between the specific PDs. However, the TCI dimensions capture only a portion of the differences between PD and non-PD patients.     

浙江省中学生焦虑抑郁症状共病状况分析

目的 对浙江省中学生焦虑抑郁症状共病的流行特征进行分析,为制定防治策略及评估干预效果提供依据。方法 采用多阶段分层整群抽样和自我管理式问卷调查方法,于2022年4-6月对浙江省30个市（县、区）376所学校的28 043名初中、普通高中和非普通高中的学生采用统一的问卷进行匿名调查。焦虑症状判定采用广泛性焦虑量表,抑郁症状判定采用患者健康问卷抑郁量表,最终纳入分析27 004名。结果 中学生焦虑抑郁症状共病率为11.54%（95%CI：10.90%~12.19%）,女生（15.42%,95%CI：14.47%~16.38%）高于男生（8.05%,95%CI：7.43%~8.67%）（P<0.001）;农村（12.35%,95%CI：11.49%~13.22%）高于城市（10.06%,95%CI：9.27%~10.86%）（P<0.001）;初中、普通高中和非普通高中学生共病率分别为11.73%（95%CI：10.82%~12.64%）、12.49%（95%CI：11.20%~13.79%）和9.98%（95%CI：8.68%~11.27%）（P=0.025）;离异/丧偶/分居家庭的学生共病率（16.64%,95%CI：14.86%~18.43%）高于在婚家庭（10.82%,95%CI：10.14%~11.50%）（P<0.001）;家庭经济状况越好,共病率越低（P<0.001）;过去30 d吸烟者共病率（21.70%,95%CI：18.24%~25.16%）高于未吸烟者（11.13%,95%CI：10.51%~11.76%）;过去30 d饮酒者共病率（19.36%,95%CI：17.58%~21.14%）高于未饮酒者（10.05%,95%CI：9.43%~10.68%）;共病率随每周体育活动天数增加而降低（P<0.001）;自报学习成绩越差的学生,共病率越高（P<0.001）;过去12个月参与过打架者共病率（18.42%,95%CI：16.75%~20.09%）高于未参与过者（10.45%,95%CI：9.81%~11.10%）。结论 浙江省中学生焦虑抑郁症状共病率较高,应关注中学生心理健康。     

Gender dysphoria and homosexuality: A patient series

PurposeTo present the clinical course of adolescents who presented to the child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinic due to gender dysphoria and homosexuality through a patient series.MethodsThe clinical features, comorbidities, and the treatment process of 10 patients who presented to the outpatient clinic and were followed up over a period were presented.ResultsThe average age of the 10 patients, 5 girls and 5 boys, was 14.3 years for the girls and 16 years for the boys. Nine patients were admitted by their families primarily with the desire for the elimination of gender dysphoria or homosexual orientation. Only one female patient was brought by her family because of her intense depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. All of the patients had comorbid psychiatric diseases, nine had depression, and one had bipolar affective disorder comorbidity. The anxiety levels of all patients were high. Psychiatric management in each patient focused on the emotional, cognitive and social difficulties of the case. The treatment of two girls was interrupted suddenly by the family because they saw that the homosexual orientation of the patients was continuing. Two male patients were not brought back for treatment after the evaluation process.ConclusionsGender dysphoria and homosexual orientation are situations that families still find it difficult to accept and that they think it can be eliminated by pressure, coercion or psychiatric treatment. Patients show a high rate of psychiatric comorbidity due to family pressure and social exclusion. Although psychiatric support can cure comorbid disorders in a relatively short time, strains of family and social relationships continue to affect patients.     

Comorbid mental disorders among adults in the mental health surveillance survey

Purpose

To examine the prevalence and correlates of mental disorder comorbidity in the adult U.S. household population.

¿Es segura y eficaz la colecistostomía percutánea en la colecistitis aguda? Análisis de los efectos adversos asociados a la técnica

IntroductionThe main objective of our study is to assess the safety and efficacy of percutaneous cholecystostomy for the treatment of acute cholecystitis, determining the incidence of adverse effects in patients undergoing this procedure.Material and methodObservational study with consecutive inclusion of all patients diagnosed with acute cholecystitis for 10 years. The main variable studied was morbidity (adverse effects) collected prospectively. Minimum one-year follow-up of patients undergoing percutaneous cholecystostomy.ResultsOf 1223 patients admitted for acute cholecystitis, 66 patients required percutaneous cholecystostomy. 21% of these have presented some adverse effect, with a total of 22 adverse effects. Only 5 of these effects, presented by 5 patients (7.6%), could have been attributed to the gallbladder drainage itself. The mortality associated with the technique is 1.5%. After cholecystostomy, one third of the patients (22 patients) have undergone cholecystectomy. Urgent surgery was performed due to failure of percutaneous treatment in 2 patients, and delayed in another 2 patients due to recurrence of the inflammatory process. The rest of the cholecystectomized patients underwent scheduled surgery, and the procedure could be performed laparoscopically in 16 patients (72.7%).ConclusionWe consider percutaneous cholecystostomy as a safe and effective technique because it is associated with a low incidence of morbidity and mortality, and it should be considered as a bridge or definitive alternative in those patients who do not receive urgent cholecystectomy after failure of conservative antibiotic treatment.