Feasibility, acceptability and evaluation of meditation to augment yoga practice among persons diagnosed with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: To design a meditation protocol and test its feasibility, acceptability and efficacy in conjunction with yoga training (YT) for persons with schizophrenia (SZ). METHODS: The meditation protocol consisted of Anapana (observing normal respiration) and Yoga Nidra (supine, restful awareness). In a single-blind randomised controlled trial, medicated and clinically stable outpatients diagnosed with SZ were randomised to receive treatment as usual (TAU), TAU augmented with YT or TAU augmented with meditation and yoga training (MYT) for 3 weeks (N = 145). Acceptability, clinical, social and cognitive functions were assessed after 3-week and 3-month post-randomisation using within-group and between-group analyses with repeated measures multivariate tests. RESULTS: No group-wise differences in compliance, study discontinuation, major/serious side effects or adverse events were noted. For six assessed clinical variables, the direction of changes were in the desired direction and the effect sizes were greater in the MYT group compared with the TAU group at both time points. Changes in social function variables were greater at 3 months than at 3 weeks. Nominally significant improvement in individual cognitive domains were noted in all groups at both time points. All effect sizes were in the small to medium range. CONCLUSION: MYT is feasible and acceptable and shows modest benefits for persons with SZ. MYT can also improve quality of life and clinical symptoms. Larger studies of longer duration are warranted.

Reduced Fertility and Fecundity among Patients with Bipolar I Disorder and Schizophrenia in Egypt

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate reproduction among patients with bipolar I disorder (BP1) or schizophrenia (SZ) in Egypt. METHODS: BP1 patients (n=113) were compared with community based, demographically balanced controls (n=124) and SZ patients (n=79, DSM-IV). All participants were evaluated using structured interviews and corroborative data were obtained from relatives. Standard indices of procreation were included in multivariate analyses that incorporated key demographic variables. RESULTS: Control individuals were significantly more likely to have children than BP1 or SZ patients (controls 46.8%, BP1 15.9%, SZ 17.7%), but the BP1-SZ differences were non-significant. The average number of children for BP1 patients (0.37+/-0.9) and SZ patients (0.38+/-0.9) was significantly lower than for controls (1.04+/-1.48) (BP1 vs controls, p<0.001; SZ vs controls, p<0.001). The frequency of marriages among BP1 patients was nominally higher than the SZ group, but was significantly lower than controls (BP1: 31.9% SZ: 27.8% control: 57.3%). Even among married individuals, BP1 (but not SZ) patients were childless more often than controls (p=0.001). The marital fertility, i.e., the average number of children among patients with conjugal relationships for controls (1.8+/-1.57) was significantly higher than BP1 patients (1.14+/-1.31, p=0.02), but not significantly different from SZ patients (1.36+/-1.32, p=0.2). CONCLUSION: Selected reproductive measures are significantly and substantially reduced among Egyptian BP1 patients. The reproductive indices are similar among BP1 and SZ patients, suggesting a role for general illness related variables. Regardless of the cause/s, the impairment constitutes important, under-investigated disability.

Differences among Men and Women with Schizophrenia: A Study of US and Indian Samples

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that similar differences in psychopathology are present across cultures among men and women with schizophrenia (SZ). METHODS: Sex based differences were tested systematically in two independent samples from the Northeastern USA and North India using the same procedures. The clinical variables were obtained from five interview instruments. RESULTS: Among the US participants, the number of significant differences exceeded chance predictions (15/240 variables significant at p<0.02, 6.25%; expected number of significant differences: 5). Similarly, a greater than expected number of variables differed significantly between men and women among the Indian subjects (13/230 differences at p<0.02, 5.65%; expected: 5). One of these variables significantly differed in both samples (lifetime abuse of cannabis). When multivariate analyses were conducted in the combined US and Indian samples sex based differences remained for only four variables: course of the illness, history of inappropriate emotions, marital status and number of children. CONCLUSION: Sex based differences in SZ/schizoaffective disorder are present in the USA and India at greater than chance probabilities. The majority of the variables differ across the samples. The biological underpinnings of these variables need further investigation.