FAST-O works well for characterization and monitoring of sheltered housing schizophrenia patients.

OBJECTIVE: The de-institutionalizing process came to an end before the millennium shift by closing mental hospitals. After that some of the most ill patients are cared for in sheltered housing (SH). There is no in-house psychiatric competence and the staff on the floor usually lacks such knowledge and training. Observation instruments may improve this by making it possible to assess and monitor patients. METHOD: FAST-O is a simple twelve-item observation scale. Staff at eight SH units were trained in using the instrument and then assessed a total of 67 patients once, twice or three times at monthly intervals. RESULTS: Ten items formed two highly homogenous subscales reflecting Social skills (Soc) and Excitation/Aggression (E/A). Depression and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) items were considered separately. The correlation pattern suggested that the ratings had construct validity. A cluster analysis identified three patient subgroups, of which one had very high E/A scores. Comparisons with reference data suggested that the average symptom level was on par with acutely admitted in-patients for this subgroup. In all groups, E/A symptoms varied considerably over time, the other symptoms were more stable. There were marked differences among the eight SH units with respect to the level of patient problems. CONCLUSIONS: The SH staff was able to produce valid FAST-O assessments. There are reference data which makes it possible to characterize individual patients as well as SH units with respect to treatment needs and safety aspects (for instance risk of violence).

Differences in Psychiatric Problems and Criminality Between Individuals Treated With Central Stimulants Before and After Adulthood.

OBJECTIVE: The evidence for central stimulant (CS) treatment in ADHD is strong in some respects but not with respect to unselected clinical material and long-term effects over the life course cycle. The objective of this study was to explore differences in vocational, psychiatric, and social impairment, including crime and substance abuse, among adults with ADHD, treated or not, with CS drugs before age 18. METHOD: A clinical population of men ( N = 343) and women ( N = 129) seeking CS treatment as adults was assessed within a specific program for such treatment. Clinical information and data collected by structured instruments were available. RESULTS: Previously CS-treated persons had a lower frequency of problems (alcohol/substance abuse, criminality), and of certain psychiatric disorders (depressive, anxiety and personality ones). Most differences were substantial. CONCLUSION: The study supports the assumption that CS treatment during childhood/adolescence offers some protection against the development of a range of problems known to characterize adult ADHD patients.

Is the PANSS cognitive scale measuring cognition?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) cognitive factors and cognition assessed by neuropsychological tests. METHOD: Ninety patients with a psychotic illness, the majority having a schizophrenia diagnosis, were assessed with PANSS ratings and tested by a comprehensive computerized neuropsychological test battery, EuCog. RESULTS: Test performance was in the normal range for some of the cognitive indices, but substantially reduced for others, compared with norms, particularly speed-based indices. PANSS ratings were non-specifically associated with cognitive indices representing performance (speed and accuracy) and problem solving strategies (executive functions). There was no discriminant validity for the cognitive factor. A regression analysis suggested that the PANSS cognitive factors reflected verbal IQ but no other cognitive domain like memory, attention or speed. CONCLUSION: Cognitive test performance is associated with psychopathology as assessed by PANSS items but in a non-specific way. The PANSS cognitive subscale seems to reflect over-learned verbal skills rather than the cognitive domains, which are known to be specifically affected in schizophrenia and relevant for the prognosis. Consequently, PANSS ratings cannot replace the information inherent in neuropsychological test data. The extensive speed problem of patients with schizophrenia should be studied in more detail using test batteries that focus on that problem.

Psychosis in adulthood is associated with high rates of ADHD and CD problems during childhood.

BACKGROUND: Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia display poor premorbid adjustment (PPA) in half of the cases. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder (CD) are common child psychiatric disorders. These two facts have not previously been linked in the literature. AIMS: To determine the prevalence of ADHD/CD problems retrospectively among patients with psychoses, and whether and to what extent the high frequency of substance abuse problems among such patients may be linked to ADHD/CD problems. METHOD: ADHD and CD problems/diagnoses were retrospectively recorded in one forensic (n = 149) and two non-forensic samples (n = 98 and n = 231) of patients with a psychotic illness: schizophrenia, bipolar or other, excluding drug-induced psychoses. RESULTS: ADHD and CD were much more common among the patients than in the general population-the odds ratio was estimated to be greater than 5. There was no significant difference in this respect between forensic and non-forensic patients. Substance abuse was common, but substantially more common among patients with premorbid ADHD/CD problems. CONCLUSIONS: Previous views regarding PPA among patients with a psychotic illness may reflect an association between childhood ADHD/CD and later psychosis. The nature of this association remains uncertain: two disorders sharing some generative mechanisms or one disorder with two main clinical manifestations. Childhood ADHD and particularly CD problems contribute to the high frequency of substance abuse in such groups.

A modified Drug Attitude Inventory used in long-term patients in sheltered housing.

The self-report Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI), in 30- and 10-item versions, provides unique information of clinical relevance for monitoring treatment adherence among people diagnosed with schizophrenia. The primary purpose of this paper was to evaluate the 10-item version among patients living in sheltered housing. Data were collected among 68 persons living in sheltered housing, most of them (82%) diagnosed with schizophrenia, 6% with non-organic psychoses, and 12% with other diagnoses. The dichotomic response format of the original DAI-10 was replaced by a 4-point Likert scale, in order to improve the resolution of the scale. Over 90% of the participants produced meaningful scores. A factor analysis suggested a 2-factor orthogonal structure: one highly homogenous factor (5 items) reflected wanted effects of the drug and displayed a bimodal distribution; one factor (3 items) reflected side effects. One item concerned the perceived control over one's drug treatment, which is a key clinical issue. One item was conceptually ambiguous and displayed no correlations with the other items. On the basis of the results we suggest cut-off scores which indicate the need for three kinds of adherence-improving interventions. Summing up, by dropping one item and using a Likert scale response format, the resulting instrument, DAI-9, appears to be an easy-to-use self-report instrument for monitoring drug attitudes and to identify needs for treatment adherence interventions among seriously ill patients.

'Speedy action over goal orientation': cognitive impulsivity in male forensic patients with dyslexia.

Previous neuropsychiatric studies suggest a relationship between reading disability and cognitive impulsivity. This relationship is not entirely explained by the high comorbidity between reading disability and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as children with a co-occurrence of these disorders tend to be more impulsive than those with ADHD only. Other research has demonstrated that poor verbal skill (irrespective of the presence of dyslexia) deficits in executive functions and impulsivity are important risk factors for criminal behaviour. The present study bridges these two research traditions by examining whether patients undergoing forensic psychiatric investigation who also have dyslexia, have a cognitive style characterized by impulsivity. Male forensic patients (mean age 27 years, range 16-35) with (n = 9) and without (n = 13) dyslexia were evaluated on the computerized EuroCog test battery. The findings suggest that patients with dyslexia tend to use a cognitive impulsive style and suggest a more direct link between dyslexia and cognitive impulsivity that is not mediated by the presence of ADHD. In order to identify treatment needs and tailor treatment accordingly, forensic patients should be assessed with respect to poor verbal skill, dyslexia and impulsivity.

DAI-10 is as good as DAI-30 in schizophrenia.

Drug attitude inventory (DAI-30) is considered to be the best predictor of poor adherence in first-episode schizophrenia. We compared the short version (DAI-10) with DAI-30 in long-term schizophrenia, documented if DAI was associated with poor insight, PANSS and GAF and constructed DAI-10 percentiles. DAI-30 and DAI-10 were homogenous (r = 0.82 and 0.72, respectively) with good test-retest reliability (0.79). The correlation between the DAI versions was high (0.94). Percentile scores of DAI-10 were computed. DAI is an easy-to-use self-report instrument seemingly assessing a unique clinical dimension relevant to non-adherence. DAI-10 might be preferred for its simplicity and good psychometric properties.

Sex differences in offending trajectories in a Swedish cohort.

BACKGROUND: Despite the increased interest in female offending trajectories over the last decades, knowledge is still limited. AIM: To meet the need for more knowledge on female offending trajectories by studying sex differences in criminal career patterns. METHOD: Data on 518 female and 2567 male offenders up to age 30 from the Swedish longitudinal Project Metropolitan study were analysed using latent class analysis. RESULTS: The female offenders were much less predisposed to offend than the males, but when they did, they tended to follow a similar set of trajectories to males in their criminal development over time. Four criminal career patterns were identified for each sex. Two patterns were the same between the sexes, and two were gender unique. All career patterns had meaningful and distinct associations with crime characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Our study presents indicators relating both to gender differences and to heterogeneity within the group of female offenders. One important finding was the identification of an adult-onset offender group unique to females. This group was characterised by high criminal activity over the years following their late onset. Further research will focus on the childhood origins, pathways and outcomes of different female antisocial and criminal careers.

Suicides during 7 years among a catchment area cohort of patients with psychoses.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate a series of consecutive suicides at a psychosis clinic by using a psychological autopsy technique. METHOD: The clinic serves an adult population of 225,000 individuals, of whom 0.5% have regular contact with the clinic. During a 7½-year period, 23 men and nine women committed suicide, which corresponds to an odds ratio of 14. RESULTS: Most patients were schizophrenic, and 24 were outpatients. Suicide methods were violent in all but two cases. Nineteen had a history of at least one suicide attempt, and 24 were known to have had suicidal ideation. More than half had no social contacts over the last year except with psychiatric staff. The median time between the last contact with the psychiatric services and the suicide was 4 days. No warning signs were noted. At the time of death, 3 of the 24 who were prescribed antipsychotics, and none of the 10 who were prescribed antidepressants had plasma levels of the corresponding drug. CONCLUSION: Findings of special interest are the lack of forewarnings and the poor drug compliance. Patients appear to have played "business as usual" with the care-givers, and did it well. Is it a sign of health and despair, or illness?

PECC--factor structure and findings in three longitudinal cohorts of patients with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: Symptom control by drug treatment is the most important task in routine clinical care of patients with schizophrenia. Structured assessment methods are needed in this task but not used much. The US-developed Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) is a standard tool for symptom assessment. The Psychosis Evaluation tool for Common use by Caregivers (PECC) was constructed in Europe some years ago, with the intent to overcome some of the PANSS drawbacks. AIMS AND METHODS: To validate PECC on three longitudinal cohorts of schizophrenic patients representative of Swedish outpatients (n = 225, six assessments over 5 years), international forensic patients (n = 186) and matched non-forensic controls (n = 116), five assessments over 2 years for both. RESULTS: The factor structure of PECC appears to be highly robust. Norm values (in percentiles) were calculated on the materials. Such data provides for analyses of symptom profiles and improvement over time measured in absolute numbers. Forensic patients appear to have a much lower symptom load (except for cognitive symptoms) than the other groups. Forensic controls had much shorter inpatient times than any other group and never caught up with respect to symptom control, even after 2 years. These differences suggest that the scale is clinically valid. CONCLUSION: PECC has a more robust factor structure than PANSS and is simpler to use. Percentile norms have been constructed for outpatients with schizophrenia in general and forensic psychiatry. Percentile scores are accessed readily by the net. PECC is available in many languages. Its separate self-harm item may improve assessments of suicide risk among patients with schizophrenia.

Flunitrazepam intake in male offenders.

The abuse of flunitrazepam (FZ) compounds is worldwide, and several studies have reflected on the consequences with regard to violence, aggression and criminal lifestyle of FZ users. Criminals take high doses of FZ or some other benzodiazepines to "calm down" before the planned crime. There is support from earlier studies that most likely, all benzodiazepines may increase aggression in vulnerable males. Chronic intake of high doses of FZ increases aggression in male rats. Because psychopathy involves aggression, we have examined whether psychopathy as well as any of the four facets of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) (Interpersonal, Affective, Lifestyle and Antisocial) are related to different substance use disorders, with the focus on FZ. We have also examined the relationship between each PCL-R item and FZ use. Participants were 114 male offenders aged 14-35 years, all of whom were convicted for severe, predominantly violent, offences. Substance use, including FZ, was not more common in those who scored high in psychopathy. Use of FZ was more common in offenders who scored high in Facet 4 (Antisocial) of the PCL-R (odds ratio = 4.30, 95% CI 1.86-9.94). Only one of the PCL-R items, "Criminal versatility", was significantly associated with FZ use (odds ratio = 3.7). It may be concluded that intake of FZ has a specific relationship to only one of the facets and not to psychopathy per se. The findings have also important theoretical implications because Facet 4 is not a key factor of the construct of psychopathy. Clinical implications of the article: We have used the new two-factor and four-facet theoretical model of psychopathy in the young offender population, many of them with one or more substance use disorders. The present results suggest that antisocial behavior defined by Facet 4 (poor behavioral control, early behavior problems, juvenile delinquency, revocation of conditional release and criminal versatility) in the studied subjects is more typical for FZ users than it is for non-FZ users. This may have implications for assessment and treatment. Clinicians should be aware that criminals with high scores on Facet 4 have a more than fourfold odds of being a FZ user. This conclusion has an important clinical implication because FZ abuse is very common and is not always the focus of a forensic psychiatric assessment.

Development and validation of the Fast Assessment in Acute Treatment of Psychosis-Observation Rating Scale (FAST-O).

OBJECTIVES: There is a need for an observation scale for assessment and monitoring of acutely psychotic patients. Milestones based on such ratings should be defined, similar to the PANSS-based Remission criteria. FAST-O is such an instrument (11 items and a CGI rating). METHODS: Reliability, validity and factor structure were analyzed in four separate studies--most importantly in one study of 33 chronic forensic in-patients rated concurrently by three independent raters, and another study of 91 Psychiatric Intensive Care Units patients and 20 newly admitted forensic patients, rated twice, each time by two independent raters. RESULTS: The factor structure was simple, two factors and an orphan item (Depression). Reliability was adequate on item (>0.75) as well as scale (>0.85) level. There was no bias related to the rater's professional background. The instrument was sensitive to change. Percentile-based algorithms allow characterization of patients and groups. Tentative treatment milestones are defined; a clinical state "half-way" between the acute state and remission. CONCLUSIONS: FAST-O is a reliable, valid and easy to implement observation scale for patients with a psychotic illness, which can be used without bias by all staff.

Concomitant medication of psychoses in a lifetime perspective.

OBJECTIVE: Patients treated with antipsychotic drugs often receive concomitant psychotropic compounds. Few studies address this issue from a lifetime perspective. Here, an analysis is presented of the prescription pattern of such concomitant medication from the first contact with psychiatry until the last written note in the case history documents, in patients with a diagnosis of psychotic illness. METHODS: A retrospective descriptive analysis of all case history data of 66 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like psychotic disorders. RESULTS: Benzodiazepines and benzodiazepine-related anxiolytic drugs had been prescribed to 95% of the patients, other anxiolytics, sedatives or hypnotic drugs to 61%, anti-parkinsonism drugs to 86%, and antidepressants to 56% of the patients. However, lifetime doses were small and most of the time patients had no concomitant medication. The prescribed lifetime dose of anti-parkinsonism drugs was associated with that of prescribed first-generation but not second-generation antipsychotics. CONCLUSIONS: Most psychosis patients are sometimes treated with concomitant drugs but mainly over short periods. Lifetime concomitant add-on medication at the individual patient level is variable and complex but not extensive.

Pathways to child and adolescent psychiatric clinics: a multilevel study of the significance of ethnicity and neighbourhood social characteristics on source of referral.

BACKGROUND: In the Swedish society, as in many other societies, many children and adolescents with mental health problems do not receive the help they need. As the Swedish society becomes increasingly multicultural, and as ethnic and economic residential segregation become more pronounced, this study utilises ethnicity and neighbourhood context to examine referral pathways to child and adolescent psychiatric (CAP) clinics. METHODS: The analysis examines four different sources of referrals: family referrals, social/legal agency referrals, school referrals and health/mental health referrals. The referrals of 2054 children aged 11-19 from the Stockholm Child-Psychiatric Database were studied using multilevel logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Results indicate that ethnicity played an important role in how children and adolescents were referred to CAP-clinics. Family referrals were more common among children and adolescents with a Swedish background than among those with an immigrant background. Referrals by social/legal agencies were more common among children and adolescents with African and Asian backgrounds. Children with Asian or South American backgrounds were more likely to have been referred by schools or by the health/mental health care sector. A significant neighbourhood effect was found in relation to family referrals. Children and adolescents from neighbourhoods with low levels of socioeconomic deprivation were more likely to be referred to CAP-clinics by their families in comparison to children from other neighbourhoods. Such differences were not found in relation in relation to the other sources of referral. CONCLUSIONS: This article reports findings that can be an important first step toward increasing knowledge on reasons behind differential referral rates and uptake of psychiatric care in an ethnically diverse Swedish sample. These findings have implications for the design and evaluation of community mental health outreach programs and should be considered when developing measures and strategies intended to reach and help children with mental health problems. This might involve providing information about the availability and accessibility of health care for children and adolescents with mental health problems to families in certain neighbourhoods and with different ethnic backgrounds.

Use of antipsychotics - an analysis of lifetime treatment in 66 patients with psychoses.

Only a minority of patients treated with antipsychotics in clinical studies continue their treatments throughout a longer study period. Few studies address this issue from a lifetime perspective. In this naturalistic study, we aimed at analysing the prescription pattern of antipsychotic drugs among a sample of Swedish patients with a diagnosis of psychotic illness, from the first contact with psychiatry (typically between 1973 and 1997) until the last written note in the case history documents. A retrospective descriptive analysis was performed of all case history data of 66 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or related psychotic disorders. Patients with schizophrenia were prescribed antipsychotic medication more than 90% of the time. Each patient generally had been prescribed several (up to 16) different antipsychotic drugs and a quarter of the patients had been prescribed two or more antipsychotics for a third of their prescription time. Patients with psychosis were exposed to a cumulatively growing number of antipsychotics. Various factors, including clinician and patient expectations, and specific strengths and limitations of available antipsychotics may account for frequent medication changes over time.

Accountability and psychiatric disorders: how do forensic psychiatric professionals think?

Swedish penal law does not exculpate on the grounds of diminished accountability; persons judged to suffer from severe mental disorder are sentenced to forensic psychiatric care instead of prison. Re-introduction of accountability as a condition for legal responsibility has been advocated, not least by forensic psychiatric professionals. To investigate how professionals in forensic psychiatry would assess degree of accountability based on psychiatric diagnoses and case vignettes, 30 psychiatrists, 30 psychologists, 45 nurses, and 45 ward attendants from five forensic psychiatric clinics were interviewed. They were asked (i) to judge to which degree (on a dimensional scale from 1 to 5) each of 12 psychiatric diagnoses might affect accountability, (ii) to assess accountability from five case vignettes, and (iii) to list further factors they regarded as relevant for their assessment of accountability. All informants accepted to provide a dimensional assessment of accountability on this basis and consistently found most types of mental disorders to reduce accountability, especially psychotic disorders and dementia. Other factors thought to be relevant were substance abuse, social network, personality traits, social stress, and level of education.

Remission in schizophrenia: analysis in a naturalistic setting.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the recently defined Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale for Schizophrenia remission criteria in a naturalistic setting of psychotic patients; to identify causal factors that change remission status; and to validate the criteria against global indices of illness, cognitive functions, and social outcome. METHODS: This was a longitudinal naturalistic study of 162 patients, diagnosed with schizophrenia or schizophrenia-related psychotic disorders (mean illness duration, 11 years) and treated with risperidone at study entry. Symptoms, drug treatment, cognitive function, and social outcome were measured at baseline and annually for 5 years. Remission was constructed retrospectively with only indirect data on stability over time. RESULTS: At study entry, 40% of the patients with schizophrenia were in symptomatic remission, stabilizing between 55% and 60% after a few years. The need for hospitalization became less frequent over time; initially 31%, dropping to 7% by years 4 and 5. Many patients went in and out of remission. Remission was strongly associated with global indices of illness, with intact insight and with social outcome (except work/studies) but not with cognition or medication. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of certain weaknesses of the study, we may conclude that current definition of remission is primarily a symptomatic measure, covering a subset of symptoms, some of which are not schizophrenia-specific. Although the definition may be clinically relevant, we must be aware of the risk that the connotation of the word could induce too much focus on symptom control.