Association of somatic comorbidity and treatment adherence in patients with psychotic disorder

BACKGROUND

Increased risk for somatic comorbidity in individuals with schizophrenia has been well established. In addition, psychiatric patients with somatic illnesses are more likely to have more psychiatric readmissions. Increased burden of treatment related to chronic somatic comorbidities may be associated with lower adherence to psychiatric medication.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study of 275 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder. A general practitioner performed a complete physical health checkup for all participants, including a complete medical examination and laboratory tests. Patients' adherence, attitudes, insight, and side-effects were evaluated using the Attitudes toward Neuroleptic Treatment Scale. Overall symptomatology was measured using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Regression analysis was used to investigate interactions and associations among health beliefs, disease burden, and treatment adherence. Separate regression models were utilized to account for the complexity of health behavior and treatment adherence pathways.

RESULTS

Patients' somatic comorbidity and health behavior were not associated with adherence or attitudes toward antipsychotic treatment. High dose of antipsychotics and obesity were related to the need for medical interventions, while a healthy diet reduced the risk. Higher BPRS score and older age were associated with having somatic symptoms. Somatic comorbidities had no negative effects on treatment adherence or attitudes.

CONCLUSION

This study focuses on exploring possible associations between health beliefs and treatment adherence pathways in patients with psychotic disorders. Contrary to our hypotheses, we found no evidence to support our health belief and diseases burden models and their associations.

Novel Insights into Somatic Comorbidities in Children and Adolescents Across Psychiatric Diagnoses: An Explorative Study

Many children with psychiatric disorders display somatic symptoms, although these are frequently overlooked. As somatic morbidity early in life negatively influences long-term outcomes, it is relevant to assess comorbidity. However, studies of simultaneous psychiatric and somatic assessment in children are lacking. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of somatic comorbidities in a clinical sample of children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders in a naturalistic design. Data were assessed from 276 children with various psychiatric disorders (neurodevelopmental disorders, affective disorders, eating disorders and psychosis) aged 6-18 years. These data were collected as part of routine clinical assessment, including physical examination and retrospectively analyzed. For a subsample (n = 97), blood testing on vitamin D3, lipid spectrum, glucose and prolactin was available. Results of this cross-sectional study revealed that food intake problems (43%) and insomnia (66%) were common. On physical examination, 20% of the children were overweight, 12% displayed obesity and 38% had minor physical anomalies. Blood testing (n = 97) highlighted vitamin D3 deficiency (< 50 nmol/L) in 73% of the children. None of the predefined variables (gender, age, medication and socioeconomic factors) contributed significantly to the prevalence of somatic comorbidities. The main somatic comorbidities in this broad child- and adolescent psychiatric population consisted of (1) problems associated with food intake, including obesity and vitamin D3 deficiency and (2) sleeping problems, mainly insomnia. Child and adolescent psychiatrists need to be aware of potential somatic comorbidities and may promote a healthy lifestyle.

Post-synaptic scaffold protein TANC2 in psychiatric and somatic disease risk

Understanding the shared genetic aetiology of psychiatric and medical comorbidity in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) could improve patient diagnosis, stratification and treatment options. Rare tetratricopeptide repeat, ankyrin repeat and coiled-coil containing 2 (TANC2)-disrupting variants were disease causing in NDD patients. The post-synaptic scaffold protein TANC2 is essential for dendrite formation in synaptic plasticity and plays an unclarified but critical role in development. We here report a novel homozygous-viable Tanc2-disrupted function model in which mutant mice were hyperactive and had impaired sensorimotor gating consistent with NDD patient psychiatric endophenotypes. Yet, a multi-systemic analysis revealed the pleiotropic effects of Tanc2 outside the brain, such as growth failure and hepatocellular damage. This was associated with aberrant liver function including altered hepatocellular metabolism. Integrative analysis indicates that these disrupted Tanc2 systemic effects relate to interaction with Hippo developmental signalling pathway proteins and will increase the risk for comorbid somatic disease. This highlights how NDD gene pleiotropy can augment medical comorbidity susceptibility, underscoring the benefit of holistic NDD patient diagnosis and treatment for which large-scale preclinical functional genomics can provide complementary pleiotropic gene function information.

Summary: Disruption of mouse Tanc2 causes brain and liver abnormality, increasing psychiatric and somatic disease risk long term, highlighting the benefit of holistic diagnosis and treatment approaches for human neurodevelopmental disorder.

An analysis of the relative and absolute incidence of somatic morbidity in patients with affective disorders-A nationwide cohort study

BACKGROUND

Patients with affective disorder seem to experience higher risks of several somatic diseases, but no studies have provided estimates of both absolute and relative risks for these diseases in the same population.

METHODS

A prospective cohort of all patients age ≥18 years old with a hospital contact with affective disorder between 1997-2014 (n=246,282) and a random sample from the background population (n=167,562) was followed for hospitalizations with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, hip fracture, psoriasis, migraine, or dementia. Adjusted absolute and relative risk estimates were calculated using multivariable adjusted Aalen's additive and Cox proportional hazard regression models.

RESULTS

After adjustments, the absolute risk difference was 130.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] 125.5-135.7) additional cases per 10,000 person-years among affective disorder patients compared to the reference population. The corresponding hazard ratio for any somatic disease was 1.50 (95% CI 1.48-1.52). The strongest associations were found for dementia, hip fracture, COPD, and stroke on both the relative and absolute scale. The patients did not have higher risk of cancers except for lung cancer and brain tumors. Risk estimates tended to be slightly higher for individuals with depression or other affective disorder compared to bipolar disorder.

LIMITATIONS

Limitations include use of register-based data, risk of reverse causation and Berkson's bias.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with affective disorder have both higher absolute and relative risk of most somatic diseases except for cancers. Further identification of the shared mechanisms will facilitate the development of targeted interventions.

Older Age Bipolar Disorder

Further understanding of older age bipolar disorder (OABD) may lead to more specific recommendations for treatment adjusted to the specific characteristics and needs caused by age-related somatic and cognitive changes. Late-onset mania has a broad differential diagnosis and requires full psychiatric and somatic work-up, including brain imaging. Research on pharmacotherapy in OABD is limited. First-line treatment of OABD is similar to that for adult bipolar disorder (BD), with specific attention to vulnerability to side effects and somatic comorbidity. Because findings in younger adults with BD cannot be extrapolated to OABD, more research in OABD is warranted.

Prediction of psychiatric comorbidity on premature death in a cohort of patients with substance use disorders: a 42-year follow-up

BACKGROUND

We need to better understand how the use of different substances and psychiatric comorbidity influence premature death generally and cause-specific death by overdose, intoxication and somatic disorders in people with substance use disorders.

METHOD

A cohort of 1405 patients consecutively admitted to a Swedish detoxification unit for substance use disorders in 1970-1995 was followed-up for 42 years. Substances were identified by toxicological analyses. Mortality figures were obtained from a national registry. Causes of death were diagnosed by forensic autopsy in 594 patients deceased by 2012. Predictions were calculated by competing risks analysis.

RESULTS

Forty-two per cent of the cohort died during follow-up; more men than women (46.3% vs 30.4%). The standardised mortality ratio (SMR) was calculated as the ratio of observed deaths in males and females in specific age groups in the cohort versus expected deaths in corresponding groups in the general population. SMR was 5.68 for men (CI 95%; 5.04-6.11) and 4.98 (CI 95%; 4.08-5.88) for women. The crude mortality rate (number of deaths divided by number of person observation years) was 2.28% for men and 1.87% for women. Opiates predicted increased risk of premature death while amphetamine and cannabis predicted lower risk. Comorbid psychiatric disorders were identified in 378 cases and personality disorders in 763 cases. Primary psychoses or mood/depression and anxiety disorders predicted a higher risk of premature mortality. Death by overdose was predicted by male gender, younger age at admission to substance treatment, opiate use, and comorbid depression and anxiety syndromes. Cannabis and amphetamine use predicted a lower risk of overdose. Death by intoxication was predicted by male gender, use of sedatives/hypnotics or alcohol/mixed substances, primary psychoses and depression/anxiety syndromes. Premature death by somatic disorder was predicted by male gender and alcohol/mixed abuse.

CONCLUSION

Psychiatric comorbid disorders were important risk factors for premature drug-related death. Early identification of these factors may be life-saving in the treatment of patients with substance use disorders.

Association between prior somatic disease and 5-year relapse risk among 11,856 incident patients with schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

Somatic diseases have been associated with an increased risk for subsequent schizophrenia; however, it is unknown whether prior somatic diseases negatively affect early treatment outcomes after a first-time schizophrenia diagnosis.

METHODS

We included all individuals born in Denmark after January 1^st, 1977 and first-time diagnosed with schizophrenia between January 1^st, 1996 and December 31^st, 2015. We identified all life-time somatic hospital contacts and all prescriptions within the year before the first-time schizophrenia diagnosis and followed patients for up to five years regarding risk for schizophrenia (re)-hospitalization (relapse). We performed Cox regression analyses calculating hazard rate ratios (HRR) including 95%-confidence intervals (CI) and adjusted for relevant confounders.

RESULTS

We followed a total of 11,856 patients with a first-time schizophrenia diagnosis (58.7% male, mean age 23.1 (SD = 4.7) years) for 39,033 person-years, whereof 5506 (46.4%) had relapse with schizophrenia re-hospitalization during 5-year of follow-up. Somatic hospital contacts ever before (95.4%; HRR = 1.30; 95%-CI = 1.07-1.59), and specifically during the year before schizophrenia diagnosis (42.5%; HRR = 1.36; 95%-CI = 1.11-1.66) were associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia relapse as were a greater number of prior somatic hospital contacts (p < 0.001). Individuals with up to four different prescriptions for somatic medications showed a trend towards a slightly lower risk of relapse.

CONCLUSION

Somatic diseases and health seeking patterns might have an impact on the course of schizophrenia, where severe somatic comorbidity, specifically during the year before first-time schizophrenia diagnosis, seem to negatively affect early treatment course, whereas previous somatic medication use may indicate a better compliance and help-seeking behavior.

The effect of chronic physical illnesses on psychiatric hospital admission in patients with recurrent major depression

People with major depressive disorder (MDD) have an increased burden of chronic physical illnesses (CPI). However, information about the effect of CPIs on recurrent MDD treatment outcome is limited. The objective of this study was to explore whether the number of CPIs in patients with recurrent MDD was associated with higher rate of psychiatric admissions. Data were collected for a consecutive sample of 190 patients diagnosed with recurrent MDD. The key outcome was the number of psychiatric admissions following psychiatric diagnosis. The independent variable was the number of CPIs. The effects of different clinical, sociodemographic, and lifestyle confounding factors were controlled using robust regression. The patients with CPI had significantly more psychiatric admissions than the patients without CPI, and the number of CPIs was significantly associated with the number of psychiatric admissions. The results of our study largely confirmed that more than two CPIs in patients diagnosed with recurrent MDD are associated with higher rates of psychiatric admission, independent of psychiatric comorbidities and other clinical and sociodemographic factors. These findings indicate that to improve treatment outcome and to reduce recurrence, it is crucial to enhance early recognition and treatment of physical comorbidity.

Comorbidity of chronic somatic diseases in patients with psychotic disorders and their influence on 4-year outcomes of integrated care treatment (ACCESS II study)

BACKGROUND

People with psychotic disorders fulfilling criteria of a severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI) display a high risk of somatic comorbidity (SC).

METHODS

ACCESS II is a prospective, long-term study examining the effectiveness of Integrated Care for people with psychotic disorders fulfilling SPMI criteria. Chronic comorbid somatic disorders were systematically assessed according to ICD-10-GM criteria. Patients treated for ≥4years in ACCESS were categorized as early psychosis (treatment: ≤2years) or non-early psychosis (treatment: >2years) patients.

RESULTS

Of 187 patients treated in ACCESS for ≥4years (mean age=41.8years, males=44.4%), 145 (77.5%) had SC, (mean=2.1±2.1). Overall, 55 different diseases from 15 different ICD-10-GM disease areas were identified. Prevalence of ≥1 SC (p=0.09) and specific types of SC (p=0.08-1.00) did not differ between early and non-early psychosis patients, but non-early psychosis patients had a higher mean number of SC (2.3±2.2 vs. 1.3±1.3, p=0.002). SC patients had higher rates of comorbid mental disorders (93% vs. 81%, p=0.002), specifically posttraumatic stress disorder (23% vs. 7%, p=0.002), and suicide attempts (43% vs. 19%, p<0.001). At the 4-year endpoint, both patients with and without comorbidity displayed major improvements in psychopathology, severity of illness, functioning, quality of life and satisfaction with care.

CONCLUSIONS

SC is frequent in patients with severe psychotic disorders, even in the early psychosis phase. The magnitude of the problem underlines the need for regular screening, comprehensive assessment, preventive pharmacotherapy, and targeted SC management.

Older Age Bipolar Disorder

Further understanding of older age bipolar disorder (OABD) may lead to more specific recommendations for treatment adjusted to the specific characteristics and needs caused by age-related somatic and cognitive changes. Late-onset mania has a broad differential diagnosis and requires full psychiatric and somatic work-up, including brain imaging. Research on pharmacotherapy in OABD is limited. First-line treatment of OABD is similar to that for adult bipolar disorder (BD), with specific attention to vulnerability to side effects and somatic comorbidity. Because findings in younger adults with BD cannot be extrapolated to OABD, more research in OABD is warranted.

To what extent are psychiatrists aware of the comorbid somatic illnesses of their patients with serious mental illnesses? - a cross-sectional secondary data analysis

Background

Somatic comorbidities are a serious problem in patients with severe mental illnesses. These comorbidities often remain undiagnosed for a long time. In Germany, physicians are not allowed to access patients’ health insurance data and do not have routine access to documentation from other providers of health care. Against this background, the objective of this article was to investigate psychiatrists’ knowledge of relevant somatic comorbidities in their patients with severe mental illnesses.

Methods

Cross-sectional secondary data analysis was performed using primary data from a prospective study evaluating a model of integrated care of patients with serious mental illnesses. The primary data were linked with claims data from health insurers. Patients’ diagnoses were derived on the basis of the ICD-10 and the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system. Diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease (CAD), hyperlipidaemia, glaucoma, osteoporosis, polyarthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were selected for evaluation. We compared the number of diagnoses reported in the psychiatrists’ clinical report forms with those in the health insurance data.

Results

The study evaluated records from 1,195 patients with severe mental illnesses. The frequency of documentation of hypertension ranged from 21% in claims data to 4% in psychiatrists’ documentation, for COPD from 12 to 0%, respectively, and for diabetes from 7 to 2%, respectively. The percentage of diagnoses deduced from claims data but not documented by psychiatrists ranged from 68% for diabetes and 83% for hypertension, to 90% for CAD to 98% for COPD.

Conclusions

The majority of psychiatrists participating in the integrated care programme were insufficiently aware of the somatic comorbidities of their patients. We support allowing physicians to access patients’ entire medical records to increase their knowledge of patients’ medical histories and, consequently, to increase the safety and quality of care.