ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and recent exposure to antipsychotic agents in people with serious mental illness (SMI), and modifying influences. METHOD: A case-crossover design was applied using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) to compare the exposure frequency of antipsychotic agents within individuals of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder between 60-day case and control periods prior to their first AMI episode during 1996-2007. RESULTS: A sample of 834 patients with incident AMI was analysed. AMI was significantly associated with more recent antipsychotic exposure in schizophrenia after adjustment (OR 1.87, 95% confidence interval 1.15-3.03) bipolar disorder (OR 1.06, 0.51-2.21). This association in schizophrenia was significantly stronger in men and in patients without previous diagnoses of cardiovascular risk factors. CONCLUSION: These findings are consistent with a short-term risk effect of antipsychotic exposure on risk of AMI and identify potentially vulnerable groups. Further research is required to clarify underlying biological mechanisms.
Subject(s)
Antipsychotic Agents/administration & dosage , Bipolar Disorder/drug therapy , Bipolar Disorder/epidemiology , Myocardial Infarction/epidemiology , Schizophrenia/drug therapy , Schizophrenia/epidemiology , Adult , Aged , Antipsychotic Agents/adverse effects , Case-Control Studies , Cross-Over Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Myocardial Infarction/chemically induced , Risk Factors , Taiwan/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to develop a Physician's Spiritual Well-Being Scale (PSpWBS). The significance of a physician's spiritual well-being was explored through in-depth interviews with and qualitative data collection from focus groups. Based on the results of qualitative analysis and related literature, the PSpWBS consisting of 25 questions was established. Reliability and validity tests were performed on 177 subjects. Four domains of the PSpWBS were devised: physician's characteristics; medical practice challenges; response to changes; and overall well-being. The explainable total variance was 65.65%. Cronbach α was 0.864 when the internal consistency of the whole scale was calculated. Factor analysis showed that the internal consistency Cronbach α value for each factor was between 0.625 and 0.794 and the split-half reliability was 0.865. The scale has satisfactory reliability and validity and could serve as the basis for assessment of the spiritual well-being of a physician.
