Physical illnesses, developmental risk factors and psychiatric diagnoses among subjects at risk of psychosis

Prevalence of non-psychotic disorders in ultra-high risk individuals and transition to psychosis: A systematic review

Despite the growing interest in the prodromes of psychosis, the proper identification of those Ultra High Risk (UHR) subjects who will convert to psychosis remains an unresolved issue. It remains to be fully understood whether the risk of transition to psychosis is incremented by the concomitant presence of non-psychotic symptoms. We performed a systematic review in order to estimate: prevalence rates of non-psychotic disorders in UHR individuals and whether any comorbid disorder impacts on the risk of transition to frank psychosis. The review was conducted using the PRISMA guidelines by searching PubMed until August 2017. The inclusion criteria were: studies with appropriate definition of UHR/ ARMS (At Risk Mental States for psychosis); cross-sectional design (for prevalence rates) or longitudinal design (for transition rates to psychosis); adolescents and/or adults; specified instrument/interview for the diagnosis of mental disorder/symptoms. We included 46 English-language articles. We found that non-psychotic symptoms are a prevalent concern in UHR individuals, and this is true for all comorbid disorders examined. None of the mental disorder examined appear to be a marker for transition to psychosis. Our systematic review found that the great majority of UHR individuals actually has a highly prevalent clearly defined, above-the-threshold mental disorder that should constitute the primary focus of intervention.

Cardiometabolic risk factors in young people at ultra-high risk for psychosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The physical health of people with schizophrenia is poor, and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Unhealthy lifestyles and side-effects of antipsychotic medication contribute to cardiometabolic dysfunction. Yet it is unclear when this unhealthy profile starts. We aimed to see if people at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR) have increased rates of cardiometabolic risk factors.

METHOD

An electronic search of MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials was conducted on 1st May 2015 using terms associated with the ultra-high risk state and health. Eligible studies were peer-reviewed English language research articles with populations that met at-risk diagnostic criteria and reported cardiometabolic risk factors. A meta-analysis was conducted on smoking data, the cardiometabolic risk factor that yielded the most studies.

RESULTS

Forty-seven eligible studies were identified. UHR samples had low levels of physical activity, and high rates of smoking and alcohol abuse compared with controls. No differences were found for body mass index. An overall pooled rate of smoking for UHR participants was 33% (95% CI=0.24-0.42) and significantly more UHR individuals smoked compared with controls with a pooled odds ratio of 2.3 (P<0.05; 95% CI=-1.48-3.48).

CONCLUSIONS

UHR samples display cardiometabolic risk factors which are largely modifiable. The UHR phase is an important opportunity for early intervention services to improve physical health.

Precursors of cognitive impairments in psychotic disorders: a population-based study

Cognitive deficits have been found to be more prevalent in psychotic than in other disorders. Longitudinal research has shown that these deficits were generally already existent before onset of illness and are therefore not necessarily attributable to neurodegenerative processes. This study investigated whether both low IQ and markers of premorbid cognitive dysfunction independently contribute to an increased risk for psychoses. In a cross-sectional study about 50,000 young Swiss males completed a survey of intellectual problems in childhood/adolescence and other vulnerability factors during military call-up in 2005/2006. Subsequently, military IQ assessments were carried out on the entire sample. Diagnostic assessments were conducted according to International Classification of Diseases-10th edition (ICD-10). Low, especially performance, IQ was highly associated with an increased risk for psychotic disorders after adjusting for preexisting cognitive deficits and covariates, while in other disorders this association was less marked. Furthermore, preexisting intellectual problems emerged as important risk factors for psychoses. Our results confirm the importance of low IQ as characteristic of psychoses. Although premorbid intellectual deficits are common in people who go on to develop psychosis, neurodegenerative disease processes may also precipitate further declines in fluid cognitive functions. Assessment of cognitive functioning should be taken into account in early detection of psychoses.