Psychiatry research
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Psychiatry research · Oct 2015
Race/ethnicity and gender differences in mental health diagnoses among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.
Veterans who served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF; predominantly in Afghanistan) and Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn (OIF and OND; predominantly in Iraq) and are enrolled in the VA are comprised of a growing cohort of women and higher proportions of racial/ethnic minorities than civilians. To compare rates of mental health disorders by race/ethnicity and gender for this diverse cohort, we conducted a retrospective analysis of existing records from OEF/OIF/OND veterans who were seen at the VA 10/7/01-8/1/2013 (N=792,663). ⋯ Research is needed to identify contributing factors to differential rates of diagnoses based on race/ethnicity and gender. A/PIs and AI/ANs have unique patterns of mental health diagnoses indicating they should be considered separately to present a comprehensive picture of veteran mental health.
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Psychiatry research · Oct 2015
Adverse childhood experiences influence white matter microstructure in patients with schizophrenia.
Integrity of brain white matter (WM) tracts in adulthood could be detrimentally affected by exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACE). Changes of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures suggesting WM disruption have been reported in patients with schizophrenia together with a history of childhood maltreatment. We therefore hypothesized that ACE could be associated with altered DTI measures of WM integrity in patients with schizophrenia. ⋯ We observed an inverse correlation between severity of ACE and DTI measures of FA, and a positive correlation with MD in several WM tracts including corona radiata, thalamic radiations, corpus callosum, cingulum bundle, superior longitudinal fasciculus, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, uncinate fasciculus. Lower FA and higher MD are indexes of a reduction in fibre coherence and integrity. The association of ACE to reduced FA and increased MD in key WM tracts contributing to the functional integrity of the brain suggests that ACE might contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia through a detrimental action on structural connectivity in critical cortico-limbic networks.
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Psychiatry research · Oct 2015
Comparison of obese adults with poor versus good sleep quality during a functional neuroimaging delay discounting task: A pilot study.
This study aimed to determine if obese adults with poor versus good sleep quality demonstrate reduced self-regulatory capacity and different patterns of neural activation when making impulsive monetary choices. Six obese, good quality sleepers (M age=44.7 years, M BMI=38.1 kg/m(2)) were compared to 13 obese, poor quality sleepers (M age=42.6, M BMI=39.2 kg/m(2)) on sleep and eating behavior and brain activation in prefrontal and insular regions while engaging in a delay discounting task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). ⋯ Behaviorally, poor compared to good quality sleepers reported higher scores in the night eating questionnaire. Obese adults with poor sleep quality demonstrate decreased brain activation in multiple regions that regulate cognitive control and interceptive awareness, possibly reducing self-regulatory capacity when making immediately gratifying decisions.
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Psychiatry research · Sep 2015
Meta AnalysisA meta-analysis of the response of pathological hoarding to pharmacotherapy.
This meta-analysis aimed to identify all studies that have assessed treatment response for pathological hoarding treated with pharmacological agents. Seven studies were identified with a total of 92 participants. Most participants had a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder. ⋯ More than half (ER=0.58, 95% CI=0.37-0.76) of the participants treated with pharmacotherapy responded. This study encourages us to consider the use of SRIs in patients with hoarding disorder. The study also encourages more studies of pharmacotherapy for pathological hoarding, noting that these studies should use validated outcome measures that specifically assess pathological hoarding and novel agents that target the unique neurobiological correlates of pathological hoarding.
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Psychiatry research · Sep 2015
Clinical variables associated with suicide attempts in schizophrenia before and after the first episode.
The aim of this study was to investigate variables associated with suicide attempts in schizophrenia before and after the first episode. We evaluated history of past sucide attempts, clinical symptoms, level of functioning and cognitive performances of 172 patients with first-episode schizophrenia at first admission. Information was collected regarding clinical symptom severity, treatment compliance, and suicide attempts during the follow-up. ⋯ Treatment compliance during the first 6 months and duration of remission was lower in this group. Our findings suggest that longer duration of first hospital treatment, the presence of depressive symptoms, and nonadherence to treatment in early phases of follow up after FES are predictors of suicide attempts. On the other hand, keeping remission during the follow-up protects against suicide attempts.