Two-year diagnostic stability in a real-world sample of individuals with early psychosis

The use of community treatment orders in people with substance induced psychosis

The community treatment order (CTO) is a legally mandated approach to community based psychiatric care that has been in existence for over 20 years in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Changes to legislation of CTOs implemented in 2015, has resulted in bolstered use of this approach to treat substance induced psychosis (SIP). Treatment plans implemented with the use of CTOs in the present study include pharmacotherapy, in the form of long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAI-AP). The purpose of this retrospective, observational study was to determine whether there is a benefit for the use of a CTO with LAI-AP to mandate treatment for individuals diagnosed with SIP, and rates of both readmission to hospital, and presentation to emergency departments. We observed that individuals diagnosed with SIP and assigned a CTO that included a LAI-AP demonstrated a significantly lower rate of presentations to emergency departments and a lower rate of readmissions to hospital in the first one year following diagnosis, compared to those diagnosed with SIP and not assigned a CTO. Our results suggest that use of legally mandated treatment in this diagnostic group may ease both fiscal and human resource burdens on the healthcare system. Our finding may also assist when planning treatment pathways and services for people with a diagnosis of SIP.

Racial and ethnic differences in comorbid psychosis: a population-based study

Introduction

Differences in the prevalence of psychiatric conditions such as psychosis as well as patterns of comorbidity for psychosis have been reported between racial and ethnic groups. It is unclear whether those differences are consistent for comorbid psychosis.

Methods

Self-reported diagnostic data from American adults ages 18-99 participating in the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES) (N ~ 11,844) were used to test the association between four racial and ethnic group categories (White, Asian, Hispanic, Black) and comorbid psychosis. Comorbid psychosis was measured as a 4-level categorical variable (No mental illness nor psychosis, Mental Illness, Psychosis only, comorbid psychosis (i.e., Psychosis + Mental Illness). Chi-square tests were used to determine significant differences in the prevalence of comorbid psychosis by race and ethnicity. A multinomial logistic regression was used to test the association between racial and ethnic classifications and comorbid psychosis after adjusting for common demographic characteristics (i.e., education, sex, income, and age).

Results

Relative to White participants, Hispanic and Asian participants were less likely to be affected with comorbid psychosis. (Adjusted Odds Ratio, AORAsian = 0.32, CI = 0.22 - 0.47, p <0.0001, AORHispanic = 0.66, CI = 0.48 - 0.92, p = 0.012). Relative to White participants there was not significant association for comorbid psychosis in Black participants (AORBlack = 0.91, CI = 0.70 - 1.20, p = 0.52) In contrast Hispanic and Black participants were more likely to report psychosis alone (AORHispanic = 1.94, CI = 1.27-2.98, p = 0.002, AORBlack = 1.86, 1.24-2.82, p = 0.003) compared to White participants.

Conclusion

There were different patterns of associations by race and ethnicity for psychosis and comorbid psychosis. The lower prevalence of comorbid psychosis in non-White groups may be due to underdiagnosis or underreporting of other mental disorders.

Differential Cellular Interactome in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder-Discriminatory Biomarker Role

Schizophrenia (SCH) and bipolar disorder (BD) are two of the most important psychiatric pathologies due to their high population incidence and disabling power, but they also present, mainly in their debut, high clinical similarities that make their discrimination difficult. In this work, the differential oxidative stress, present in both disorders, is shown as a concatenator of the systemic alterations-both plasma and erythrocyte, and even at the level of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)-in which, for the first time, the different affectations that both disorders cause at the level of the cellular interactome were observed. A marked erythrocyte antioxidant imbalance only present in SCH generalizes to oxidative damage at the plasma level and shows a clear impact on cellular involvement. From the alteration of protein synthesis to the induction of death by apoptosis, including proteasomal damage, mitochondrial imbalance, and autophagic alteration, all the data show a greater cellular affectation in SCH than in BD, which could be linked to increased oxidative stress. Thus, patients with SCH in our study show increased endoplasmic reticulum (ER)stress that induces increased proteasomal activity and a multifactorial response to misfolded proteins (UPR), which, together with altered mitochondrial activity, generating free radicals and leading to insufficient energy production, is associated with defective autophagy and ultimately leads the cell to a high apoptotic predisposition. In BD, however, oxidative damage is much milder and without significant activation of survival mechanisms or inhibition of apoptosis. These clear differences identified at the molecular and cellular level between the two disorders, resulting from progressive afflictions in which oxidative stress can be both a cause and a consequence, significantly improve the understanding of both disorders to date and are essential for the development of targeted and preventive treatments.

Interactions between mood and paranoid symptoms affect suicidality in first-episode affective psychoses

BACKGROUND

Suicide prevention is a major challenge in the treatment of first-episode affective psychoses. The literature reports that combinations of manic, depressive and paranoid symptoms, which may interact, are associated with an increased risk of suicide. The present study investigated whether interactions between manic, depressive and paranoid symptoms affected suicidality in first-episode affective psychoses.

METHODS

We prospectively studied 380 first-episode psychosis patients enrolled in an early intervention programme and diagnosed with affective or non-affective psychoses. We compared intensity and presence of suicidal thoughts and occurrence of suicide attempts over a three-year follow-up period and investigated the impact of interactions between manic, depressive and paranoid symptoms on level of suicidality.

RESULTS

At 12 months follow-up, we observed a higher level of suicidal thoughts and higher occurrence of suicide attempts among the affective psychoses patients compared to non-affective psychoses patients. Combined presence of either depressive and paranoid symptoms, or manic and paranoid symptoms, was significantly associated with increased suicidal thoughts. However, the combination of depressive and manic symptoms showed a significant negative association with suicidal thoughts.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that paranoid symptoms combined with either manic or depressive symptoms are associated with an increased risk of suicide in first-episode affective psychoses. Detailed assessment of these dimensions is therefore warranted in first-episode affective patients and integrated treatment should be adapted to increased suicidal risk, even if patients do not display full-blown depressive or manic syndromes.

Mapping diagnostic trajectories from the first hospital diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder: a Danish nationwide cohort study using sequence analysis

BACKGROUND

A key clinical problem in psychiatry is predicting the diagnostic future of patients presenting with psychopathology for the first time. The objective of this study was to establish a comprehensive map of subsequent diagnoses after a first psychiatric hospital diagnosis.

METHODS

Through the Danish National Patient Registry, we identified patients aged 18 years or older with an inpatient or outpatient psychiatric hospital contact and who had received one of the 20 most common first-time psychiatric diagnoses (defined at the ICD-10 two-cipher level, F00-F99) between Jan 1, 1995, and Dec 31, 2008. For each first-time diagnosis, the 20 most frequent subsequent psychiatric diagnoses (F00-F99), and death, occurring during 10 years of follow-up were identified as outcomes. To assess diagnostic stability, we used social sequence analyses, assigning a subsequent diagnosis to each state with a length of 6 months following each first-time diagnosis. The subsequent diagnosis was defined as the last diagnosis given within each 6-month period. We calculated the normalised entropy of each sequence to show the uncertainty of predicting the states in a given sequence. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the risk of receiving a subsequent diagnosis (at the one-cipher level, F0-F9) after each first-time diagnosis.

FINDINGS

The cohort consisted of 184 949 adult patients (77 129 [41·7%] men and 107 820 [58·3%] women, mean age 42·5 years [SD 18·5; range 18 to >100). Ethnicity data were not recorded. Over 10 years of follow-up, 86 804 (46·9%) patients had at least one subsequent diagnosis that differed from their first-time diagnosis. Measured by mean normalised entropy values, persistent delusional disorders (ICD-10 code F22), mental and behavioural disorders due to multiple drug use and use of other psychoactive substances (F19), and acute and transient psychotic disorders (F23) had the highest diagnostic variability, whereas eating disorders (F50) and non-organic sexual dysfunction (F52) had the lowest. The risk of receiving a subsequent diagnosis with a psychiatric disorder from an ICD-10 group different from that of the first-time diagnosis varied substantially among first-time diagnoses.

INTERPRETATION

These data provide detailed information on possible diagnostic outcomes after a first-time presentation in a psychiatric hospital. This information could help clinicians to plan relevant follow-up and inform patients and families on the degree of diagnostic uncertainty associated with receiving a first psychiatric hospital diagnosis, as well as likely and unlikely trajectories of diagnostic progression.

FUNDING

Mental Health Services, Capital region of Denmark.

TRANSLATION

For the Danish translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Long-term Outcomes of People With DSM Psychotic Disorder NOS

Introduction

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-IV diagnostic category "Psychotic disorder not otherwise specified" (PNOS) is seldom investigated, and we lack knowledge about long-term outcomes. We examined long-term symptom severity, global functioning, remission/recovery rates, and diagnostic stability after the first treatment for PNOS.

Methods

Participants with first-treatment PNOS (n = 32) were reassessed with structured interviews after 7 to 10 years. The sample also included narrow schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD, n = 94) and psychotic bipolar disorders (PBD, n = 54). Symptomatic remission was defined based on the Remission in Schizophrenia Working Group criteria. Clinical recovery was defined as meeting the criteria for symptomatic remission and having adequate functioning for the last 12 months.

Results

Participants with baseline PNOS or PBD had lower symptom severity and better global functioning at follow-up than those with SSD. More participants with PNOS and PBD were in symptomatic remission and clinical recovery compared to participants with SSD. Seventeen (53%) PNOS participants retained the diagnosis, while 15 participants were diagnosed with either SSD (22%), affective disorders (19%), or substance-induced psychotic disorders (6%). Those rediagnosed with SSD did not differ from the other PNOS participants regarding baseline clinical characteristics.

Conclusions

Long-term outcomes are more favorable in PNOS and PBD than in SSD. Our findings confirm diagnostic instability but also stability for a subgroup of participants with PNOS. However, it is challenging to predict diagnostic outcomes of PNOS based on clinical characteristics at first treatment.

Early intervention in psychosis in emerging countries: Findings from a first-episode psychosis programme in the Ribeirão Preto catchment area, southeastern Brazil

AIM

People presenting with first-episode psychosis (FEP) can benefit from early intervention programmes. However, such programmes are scarce in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In Brazil, there are a few programmes, but they are unequally distributed across the country. We aimed to describe the implementation and performance of the Ribeirão Preto Early Intervention in Psychosis Programme (Ribeirão Preto-EIP), an outpatient service for patients presenting with FEP residing in the Ribeirão Preto catchment area in Southeastern Brazil.

METHODS

A detailed description of the service, staff and theoretical framework was compiled. Furthermore, a retrospective cohort study of patients attending the programme throughout 4 years (2015-2018) was conducted. Data were obtained by analysing the medical records of all patients, and sociodemographic and diagnostic stability information for this period was recorded.

RESULTS

The Ribeirão Preto-EIP had 358 new referrals during the study period. Among them, 237 patients were assessed for an average (median) duration of 14 months. Most patients were male (64.1%) and single (84.8%). The median age was 23.5 years (range, 9-86 years). Schizophrenia was the main diagnosis (43.4%), followed by substance-induced (25.7%) and affective (18.6%) psychosis. Referrals occurred from emergency, inpatient, community-based mental health and primary care services.

CONCLUSIONS

Programmes such as the Ribeirão Preto-EIP demonstrate that early intervention in psychosis is feasible in LMICs despite significant challenges for their access and integration in the health system. Strategic scale-up policies could be undertaken to offer better short- and long-term outcomes for individuals presenting with FEP and their families.

Exploring the clinical relevance of a dichotomy between affective and non-affective psychosis: Results from a first-episode psychosis cohort study

AIM

Defining diagnosis is complex in early psychosis, which may delay the introduction of an appropriate treatment. The dichotomy of affective and non-affective psychosis is used in clinical setting but remains questioned on a scientific basis. In this study, we explore the clinical relevance of this dichotomy on the basis of clinical variables in a sample of first-episode psychosis patients.

METHOD

We conducted a prospective study in a sample of 330 first-episode psychosis treated at an early intervention program. Affective and non-affective psychosis patients were compared on premorbid history, baseline data, outcomes and course of symptoms over the 3 years of treatment.

RESULTS

Affective psychosis patients (22.42%) were more likely to be female, and had a shorter duration of untreated psychosis. The longitudinal analyses revealed that positive symptoms remained higher over the entire follow-up in the non-affective sub-group. A higher degree of variability of manic symptoms and a significantly better insight after 6 months were observed in the affective sub-group. No difference was observed regarding depressive and negative symptoms. At discharge, only the environmental quality of life and insight recovery were better in affective psychosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study suggests that despite marginal differences at baseline presentation, these sub-groups differ regarding outcome, which may require differentiation of treatment and supports the utility of this dichotomy.

Diagnostic Stability of Primary Psychotic Disorders in a Research Sample

Psychiatric diagnosis is often treated as a stable construct both clinically and in research; however, some evidence suggests that diagnostic change may be common, which may impact research validity and clinical care. In the present study we examined diagnostic stability in individuals with psychosis over time. Participants with a diagnosis of any psychotic disorder (n = 142) were assessed at two timepoints using the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. We found a 25.4% diagnostic change rate across the total sample. People with an initial diagnosis of psychosis not otherwise specified and schizophreniform disorder had the highest rates of change, followed by those with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder; people with bipolar disorder had the lowest change rate. Most participants with an unstable initial diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, bipolar disorder, or psychosis not otherwise specified converted to a final diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder. Participants with an unstable initial diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder most frequently converted to a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Our findings suggest that diagnostic change is relatively common, occurring in approximately a quarter of patients. People with an initial diagnosis of schizophrenia-spectrum disorder were more likely to have a diagnostic change, suggesting a natural stability of some diagnoses more so than others.

Bipolar disorders

Bipolar disorders are a complex group of severe and chronic disorders that includes bipolar I disorder, defined by the presence of a syndromal, manic episode, and bipolar II disorder, defined by the presence of a syndromal, hypomanic episode and a major depressive episode. Bipolar disorders substantially reduce psychosocial functioning and are associated with a loss of approximately 10-20 potential years of life. The mortality gap between populations with bipolar disorders and the general population is principally a result of excess deaths from cardiovascular disease and suicide. Bipolar disorder has a high heritability (approximately 70%). Bipolar disorders share genetic risk alleles with other mental and medical disorders. Bipolar I has a closer genetic association with schizophrenia relative to bipolar II, which has a closer genetic association with major depressive disorder. Although the pathogenesis of bipolar disorders is unknown, implicated processes include disturbances in neuronal-glial plasticity, monoaminergic signalling, inflammatory homoeostasis, cellular metabolic pathways, and mitochondrial function. The high prevalence of childhood maltreatment in people with bipolar disorders and the association between childhood maltreatment and a more complex presentation of bipolar disorder (eg, one including suicidality) highlight the role of adverse environmental exposures on the presentation of bipolar disorders. Although mania defines bipolar I disorder, depressive episodes and symptoms dominate the longitudinal course of, and disproportionately account for morbidity and mortality in, bipolar disorders. Lithium is the gold standard mood-stabilising agent for the treatment of people with bipolar disorders, and has antimanic, antidepressant, and anti-suicide effects. Although antipsychotics are effective in treating mania, few antipsychotics have proven to be effective in bipolar depression. Divalproex and carbamazepine are effective in the treatment of acute mania and lamotrigine is effective at treating and preventing bipolar depression. Antidepressants are widely prescribed for bipolar disorders despite a paucity of compelling evidence for their short-term or long-term efficacy. Moreover, antidepressant prescription in bipolar disorder is associated, in many cases, with mood destabilisation, especially during maintenance treatment. Unfortunately, effective pharmacological treatments for bipolar disorders are not universally available, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. Targeting medical and psychiatric comorbidity, integrating adjunctive psychosocial treatments, and involving caregivers have been shown to improve health outcomes for people with bipolar disorders. The aim of this Seminar, which is intended mainly for primary care physicians, is to provide an overview of diagnostic, pathogenetic, and treatment considerations in bipolar disorders. Towards the foregoing aim, we review and synthesise evidence on the epidemiology, mechanisms, screening, and treatment of bipolar disorders.