Assessing the Impact of Medication and Stenting on the Quality of Life of Patients With Chronic Pancreatitis: A Prospective Study

This research aimed to assess the effect of pharmacotherapy alone versus the combination of pharmacotherapy and endoscopic stenting on the quality of life (QoL) outcomes of chronic pancreatitis patients. Chronic pancreatitis, an inflammatory disease, often presents with persistent pain, affecting patients' quality of life. Thirty patients treated either with pharmacotherapy alone or with the addition of endoscopic stenting were analyzed. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) was used to gather data on the patients' QoL. Results showed that both treatment groups experienced improvements in global health, role functioning, fatigue, and abdominal pain scores over follow-ups. Specifically, the stenting group saw notable enhancements in global health and role functioning. The study's conclusions provide valuable insights into the potential benefits of both treatments, with stenting offering significant improvements in certain QoL parameters. However, the sample size and source limit generalizability, suggesting the need for more extensive research across diverse settings.

Content comparison of the EORTC CAT Core, SF-36, FACT-G, and PROMIS role and social functioning measures based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

OBJECTIVES

In line with the World Health Organizations' health definition, patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures frequently cover aspects of social health. Our study aimed to evaluate the role functioning (RF) and social functioning (SF) contents assessed by PRO measures commonly used in cancer patients.

METHODS

We analysed the item content of the SF and RF domains of the EORTC CAT Core, the EORTC QLQ-C30, the SF-36, and the FACT-G as well as the PROMIS item bank covering the Ability to Participate in Social Roles and Activities. Following an established methodology we linked item content to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework.

RESULTS

The content of 85 items was assigned to three ICF components ('Activities and Participation', 'Body Functions', and 'Environmental Factors'). The EORTC CAT Core RF items were mostly related to the first-level ICF categories 'Domestic life' and 'Community, social and civic life', while its SF item bank focused on 'Interpersonal interactions and relationships'. These three categories were also covered by the PROMIS social participation item bank. The FACT-G Social/Family scale focused on environmental factors ('Support and Relationships' and 'Attitudes') while the SF-36 Role-physical/emotional scales had a stronger focus on 'General tasks and demands' and 'Major life areas'.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results highlight conceptual overlap and differences among PRO measures for the assessment of social health in cancer. This information may help to select the most appropriate measure for a specific setting or study purpose and to better understand the possibilities of linking scores across different PRO measures.

Cognitive-Behavioral Social Skills Training: Outcome of a Randomized Controlled Trial for Youth at Risk of Psychosis

Aim

Difficulties in social functioning have been observed in youth at clinical high-risk (CHR) of psychosis even in those who do not go on to develop a psychotic illness. Few treatment studies have attempted to improve social functioning in this population. The aim of this study was to conduct a randomized trial comparing the effects of Cognitive-Behavioral Social Skills Training (CBSST) with a supportive therapy (ST).

Methods

Both CBSST and ST were weekly group therapies, delivered over 18 weeks. This was a 2-arm trial with single-blinded ratings and intention-to-treat analyses. Assessments occurred at baseline, end-of-treatment, and 12 months after the baseline assessment. The primary outcome was social and role functioning and defeatist performance attitudes were the secondary outcome. Attenuated positive and negative symptoms, anxiety, depression, self-efficacy, and beliefs about self and others were examined as exploratory outcomes.

Results

There were no significant differences between the 2 groups at baseline or either of the 2 follow-ups. However, at follow-ups, in each group there were significant improvements in clinical symptoms. These could not be attributed to group treatment since there was no control or wait-list group.

Conclusions

Since poor social functioning is one of the most observed difficulties in CHR individuals, and a decline in social functioning may be a significant predictor of later transition to psychosis, future work will be needed to find effective treatments for this decline in functioning for CHR youth.

Individualized vocational and educational support and training for youth at clinical high risk for psychosis

AIM

Early intervention for psychosis has been of high interest in the past two decades. Research demonstrates that clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR-p) populations experience impairments in role functioning. Although several vocational and cognitive interventions exist for people living with psychosis, there are no known evidence-based treatments for role functioning difficulties during the CHR-p stage. There is clear evidence for a need for interventions that directly target role functioning.

METHODS

This paper describes the theoretical development and implementation of a novel intervention targeting role functioning impairments: Individualized Vocational and Educational Support and Training (InVEST). The CEDAR Clinic, a specialized CHR-p coordinated specialty care (CSC) team, has worked to develop InVEST to target core aspects of role functioning, namely executive functioning, stress sensitivity, and task initiation. The intervention is cost-efficient, as bachelor level clinicians provide the service under supervision of licensed clinicians. This summary describes InVEST, provides a disguised case example, and presents initial exploratory data (N = 135) focused on the intervention's feasibility in this CSC program.

RESULTS

Although these preliminary data are limited, available information suggests that InVEST may provide a core treatment modality within CHR-p treatment programs.

CONCLUSIONS

More research formally investigating InVEST with a larger sample would provide further evidence of the intervention's efficacy.

Using combined environmental-clinical classification models to predict role functioning outcome in clinical high-risk states for psychosis and recent-onset depression

BACKGROUND

Clinical high-risk states for psychosis (CHR) are associated with functional impairments and depressive disorders. A previous PRONIA study predicted social functioning in CHR and recent-onset depression (ROD) based on structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) and clinical data. However, the combination of these domains did not lead to accurate role functioning prediction, calling for the investigation of additional risk dimensions. Role functioning may be more strongly associated with environmental adverse events than social functioning.

AIMS

We aimed to predict role functioning in CHR, ROD and transdiagnostically, by adding environmental adverse events-related variables to clinical and sMRI data domains within the PRONIA sample.

METHOD

Baseline clinical, environmental and sMRI data collected in 92 CHR and 95 ROD samples were trained to predict lower versus higher follow-up role functioning, using support vector classification and mixed k-fold/leave-site-out cross-validation. We built separate predictions for each domain, created multimodal predictions and validated them in independent cohorts (74 CHR, 66 ROD).

RESULTS

Models combining clinical and environmental data predicted role outcome in discovery and replication samples of CHR (balanced accuracies: 65.4% and 67.7%, respectively), ROD (balanced accuracies: 58.9% and 62.5%, respectively), and transdiagnostically (balanced accuracies: 62.4% and 68.2%, respectively). The most reliable environmental features for role outcome prediction were adult environmental adjustment, childhood trauma in CHR and childhood environmental adjustment in ROD.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings support the hypothesis that environmental variables inform role outcome prediction, highlight the existence of both transdiagnostic and syndrome-specific predictive environmental adverse events, and emphasise the importance of implementing real-world models by measuring multiple risk dimensions.

Cognitive behavioural social skills training: Methods of a randomized controlled trial for youth at risk of psychosis

AIM

Poor functioning has become a hallmark of many youth at clinical high-risk (CHR) of psychosis. Even for those who do not make the transition to psychosis remain troubled by functional deficits and a decline in functioning increases the odds of transitioning to psychosis. There are very few treatment studies that have attempted to improve social and role functioning. The aim of this paper is to describe the methods of a treatment study to address social and role functioning in CHR.

METHODS

This was a randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioural social skills training (CBSST) versus a supportive therapy. CBSST combines elements of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and social skills training (SST), two evidence-based treatments for schizophrenia. By adding CBT to SST to target functioning outcomes, SST can be used to train new social skills, and thoughts that interfere with skilled performance in the real world can be addressed using CBT. We developed an adapted version of CBSST, more appropriate for the age range and illness severity of typical CHR individuals, to attempt to show improvements in social and role functioning for these young people.

RESULTS

Two hundred and three participants were recruited for this study. Results include initial baseline data.

CONCLUSION

This article describes the baseline methodology of a CHR youth who have difficulties in social and/or role functioning. It is one of the first clinical trials to address this significant problem.

Associations of psychotic-like experiences, related symptoms, and working memory with functioning

This study examined the association of spatial working memory and attenuated psychotic-like experiences and related symptoms with social and role functioning. Findings from this study suggest that symptom dimensions and working memory impairment were associated with diminished functioning across a variety of domains. Specifically, negative symptoms and working memory impairment were inversely associated with both social and role functioning, whereas positive and disorganized symptoms showed inverse associations with social functioning only. Symptom dimensions did not moderate cognitive and functional variables, although working memory and attenuated clinical symptoms had an additive effect on functioning. Post-hoc analyses examining symptom dimensions simultaneously showed negative symptoms to be the variable most strongly predictive of overall functioning. These findings suggest that even in a non-clinical sample, sub-threshold psychosis symptoms and cognition may influence people’s social and role functioning.

Negative Symptoms and Functioning in Youth at Risk of Psychosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

After participating in this activity, learners should be better able to:• Evaluate the relationship between negative symptoms and functioning in youth at clinical high risk for psychosis.

AIM

Youth at CHR for psychosis often demonstrate significant negative symptoms and poor functioning, though the magnitude and direction of the relationship between the two remains unknown. The objective of this systematic review is to summarize the relationship between negative symptoms and functioning in CHR samples.

METHOD

Electronic databases CINAHL, EBM, Embase, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO were searched from inception. Studies were selected if they included any study that reported a relationship between negative symptoms and functioning in youth at clinical high risk (CHR). The correlation coefficient r was converted to Cohen's d, and all random-effects meta-analyses were performed using the transformed values.

RESULTS

Forty-one studies met the inclusion criteria, including a total of 4574 individuals at CHR for psychosis. Negative symptom total scores were significantly associated with poorer global functioning (d, -1.40; 95% CI, -1.82 to -0.98; I = 79.4%; p < .001 [9 studies, n = 782]), social functioning (d, -1.10; 95% CI, -1.27 to -0.93; I = 10.40%; p < .001 [12 studies, n = 811]), and role functioning (d, -0.96; 95% CI, -1.17 to -0.76; I = 41.1%; p < .001 [9 studies, n = 881]). In addition, negative symptoms were consistently associated with poor premorbid functioning. When examining negative symptom domains, avolition, anhedonia, and blunted affect were each significantly and independently associated with poorer social functioning and role functioning. In terms of prediction models, negative symptoms contributed to the prediction of lower functioning across multiple studies.

CONCLUSION

This meta-analysis demonstrates a strong relationship between negative symptoms and functioning in youth at clinical high risk for psychosis.

Functional Capacity Assessed by the Map Task in Individuals at Clinical High-Risk for Psychosis

OBJECTIVES

Recent studies have recognized that signs of functional disability in schizophrenia are evident in early phases of the disorder, and, as a result, can potentially serve as vulnerability markers of future illness. However, functional measures in the psychosis prodrome have focused exclusively on real-world achievements, rather than on the skills required to carry-out a particular real-world function (ie, capacity). Despite growing evidence that diminished capacity is critical to the etiology of the established disorder, virtually no attention has been directed towards assessing functional capacity in the pre-illness stages. In the present study, we introduce the Map task, a measure to assess functional capacity in adolescent and young-adult high-risk populations.

METHODS

The Map task was administered to 609 subjects at Clinical High-Risk (CHR) for psychosis and 242 Healthy Controls (HCs) participating in the North American Prodrome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS2). Subjects were required to efficiently complete a set of specified errands in a fictional town.

RESULTS

CHR participants showed large impairments across major indices of the Map task, relative to the HCs. Most importantly, poor performance on the Map task significantly predicted conversion to psychosis, even after adjusting for age, IQ, clinical state, and other potential confounders.

CONCLUSIONS

To the best of our knowledge, the Map task is one of the first laboratory-based measures to assess functional capacity in high-risk populations. Functional capacity deficits prior to the onset of psychosis may reflect a basic mechanism that underlies risk for psychosis. Early intervention targeting this domain may help to offset risk and independently improve long-term outcome.

Comparison of measures of functioning for use with treatment-seeking adolescents experiencing attenuated symptoms of psychosis

AIM

A growing body of research documents a relation between psychosis risk and functional impairment. Although a general picture of psychosis risk and impaired functioning is emerging, less is known about how different functional measures relate to specific psychosis-risk symptoms.

METHODS

The current study examines the relative contribution of psychosis-risk symptoms across multiple measures of functioning in a sample of treatment-seeking adolescents and young adults.

RESULTS

Results indicate that different domains of psychosis-risk symptoms (negative and positive psychotic symptoms, related affective symptoms) contribute differentially to measures of different types of functioning.

CONCLUSION

Study of the relation between psychosis-risk symptoms and different measures of functional impairment can potentially contribute towards a more efficient use of measures of functioning and help inform individualized treatment considerations.

The impact of premorbid adjustment, neurocognition, and depression on social and role functioning in patients in an early psychosis treatment program

OBJECTIVE

Functional impairments are debilitating concomitants of psychotic disorders and are present early in the illness course and, commonly, prior to psychosis onset. The factors affecting social and role functioning in early psychosis (EP) following treatment are unclear. We evaluated whether six months of participation in the PREP(R), Boston, EP treatment program, part of a public-academic community mental health center, was related to improvements in social and role functioning and whether premorbid adjustment in adolescence, baseline neurocognition, and depression symptoms predicted functional improvement.

METHOD

The Global Functioning Social and Role scales, MATRICS neurocognitive battery, and Calgary Depression Scale were assessed at baseline and six months during naturalistic treatment, while premorbid adjustment was measured at baseline. All participants were psychotic disorder patients in PREP(R) (n = 46 with social functioning and 47 with role functioning measures at both time points).

RESULTS

Large improvements were observed in role functioning (d = 0.84) and medium to large improvements were observed in social functioning (d = 0.70). Models consisting of adolescent premorbid adjustment and change in depression symptoms predicted social and role functioning change, whereas neuropsychological functioning did not.

CONCLUSIONS

Substantial improvements in social and role functioning were observed among this sample participating in a recovery-based EP program. The impact of clinical factors on social and role functioning was highlighted. Further studies of premorbid adjustment in adolescence and the treatment of depression in EP programs in controlled treatment trials are needed to confirm these findings.

A cross-sectional exploration of the clinical characteristics of disengaged (NEET) young people in primary mental healthcare

OBJECTIVE

Youth with mental health problems often have difficulties engaging in education and employment. In Australia, youth mental health services have been widely established with a key aim of improving role functioning; however, there is little knowledge of those who are not engaged in employment, education or training (NEET) and the factors which may influence this. This study aimed to examine NEET status and its correlates in a sample of such youth.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional data from a longitudinal cohort study.

SETTING

Between January 2011 and August 2012, young people presenting to one of the four primary mental health centres in Sydney or Melbourne were invited to participate.

PARTICIPANTS

Young adults (N=696) aged between 15 and 25 years (M=19.0, SD=2.8), 68% female, 58% (n=404) attended headspace in Sydney.

MEASURES

Individuals 'Not in any type of Education, Employment or Training' in the past month were categorised as NEET. Demographic, psychological and clinical factors alongside disability and functioning were assessed using clinical interview and self-report.

RESULTS

A total of 19% (n=130/696) were NEET. NEETs were more likely to be male, older, have a history of criminal charges, risky cannabis use, higher level of depression, poorer social functioning, greater disability and economic hardship, and a more advanced stage of mental illness than those engaged in education, training or work. Demographics such as postsecondary education, immigrant background and indigenous background, were not significantly associated with NEET status in this sample.

CONCLUSIONS

One in five young people seeking help for mental health problems were not in any form of education, employment and training. The commonly observed risk factors did not appear to influence this association, instead, behavioural factors such as criminal offending and cannabis use appeared to require targeted intervention.

Emotion recognition and social/role dysfunction in non-clinical psychosis

As researchers continue to understand non-clinical psychosis (NCP-brief psychotic-like experiences occurring in 5-7% of the general population; van Os et al., 2009), it is becoming evident that functioning deficits and facial emotion recognition (FER) impairment characterize this phenomenon. However, the extent to which these domains are related remains unclear. Social/role functioning and FER were assessed in 65 adolescents/young adults exhibiting low and high-NCP. Results indicate that FER and social/role functioning deficits were present in the High-NCP group, and that the domains were associated in this group alone. Taken together, findings suggest that a core emotive deficit is tied to broader social/role dysfunction in NCP.

Abnormal movements are associated with poor psychosocial functioning in adolescents at high risk for psychosis

The period immediately preceding the onset of overt psychosis is characterized by a range of symptoms and behaviors including emerging attenuated psychosis, spontaneous movement abnormalities, and a broad decline in role and social functioning. Recent evidence suggests that basal ganglia dysfunction, which is implicated in the development of psychotic symptomatology, may manifest in the form of both movement abnormalities and deficits in processes integral to psychosocial functioning. However, little is known about the relationship between abnormal movement function and the observed psychosocial deficits. In the present study, 40 clinical high-risk participants meeting criteria for a prodromal syndrome were assessed for movement abnormalities and global role and social functioning at baseline. Role and social functioning were then followed up after a one-year period. At baseline, the severity of spontaneous movement abnormalities was associated with poor role functioning. Further, when controlling for baseline functioning, movement abnormalities predicted changes in social functioning one-year later, with a trend in the same direction for role functioning. Exploratory analyses also indicated that elevated baseline movement abnormalities distinguished those at-risk participants who eventually converted to psychosis and that this was also the case for poorer baseline global role functioning (at the trend level). Taken together, the results suggest that movement abnormalities are closely associated with deficits in psychosocial functioning. Elucidating the link between these phenomena may serve to refine etiological models of frontal-subcortical circuit dysfunction and inform understanding of functioning and outcome of these affected youth.

Mediators of the association between depression and role functioning

OBJECTIVE

While the adverse effect of Major Depressive Episode on role functioning is well established, the exact pathways remain unclear.

METHOD

Data from The European Study of the Epidemiology of Mental Disorders, a cross-sectional survey including 21 425 adults from six European countries, were used to assess 12-month depression (Composite International Diagnostic Interview), activity limitations and role functioning in the past 30 days (Disability Assessment Schedule). An a priori model based on the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health was designed and a structural equation model for categorical and ordinal data was used (MPlus) to estimate the extent to which six limitations mediated the association between depression and role functioning.

RESULTS

The unadjusted association between depression and role functioning was strong (0.43; SE = 0.04). In the best-fitting model, only concentration and attention problems and embarrassment mediated a significant amount of association (direct effect dropped to 0.17; SE = 0.10, which was no longer significant).

CONCLUSIONS

Targeting cognition and embarrassment in treatment could help reduce depression-associated role disfunctioning.

Social functioning in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis

Poor social functioning is a hallmark of schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to examine social functioning in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis. Social functioning was assessed in a sample of 86 clinical high risk (CHR) individuals and compared to that of 50 first-episode of psychosis (FE) subjects, 53 multi-episode schizophrenia subjects (ME) and 55 non-psychiatric controls (NPC). Subjects were assessed on the Social Functioning Scale (SFS), the Role Functioning subscale of the Quality of Life Scale (QLS-role), and the premorbid functioning scale. On the SFS, the CHR group did not differ significantly from the FE and ME groups and all were impaired relative to the NPCs. On QLS-role, the CHR group performed significantly better than the ME patients and significantly worse than NPCs. CHR subjects did not differ from patients in terms of premorbid functioning. This study demonstrates that even at the pre-psychotic phase of the illness, these young people are demonstrating significant deficits in social functioning, supporting that social deficits are present long before the onset of psychotic symptoms.

The profile and impact of probable dementia in a sub-Saharan African community: Results from the Ibadan Study of Aging

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to determine the profile of dementia in a sub-Saharan Africa country and assess its effects on role functioning and quality of life.

METHODS

Using a multistage, stratified, clustered sampling of households in the Yoruba-speaking areas of Nigeria, representing 22% of the national population, 2152 persons aged 65 years and above were studied. Probable dementia was evaluated using a validated cognitive test - the 10-Word Delay Recall Test. Activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental ADL, and quality of life were also assessed.

RESULTS

The prevalence of probable dementia in this sample was 10.1% (95% confidence interval, 8.6-11.8). Female sex and increasing age were risk factors. Also, lifetime history of alcohol use doubles the risk. Affected persons had relatively preserved functioning and quality of life.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that the diagnosis of dementia may be downwardly biased in this culture due to relatively preserved levels of social and functional roles.