bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prolonged length of stay in acute psychiatric wards: A descriptive study
Authors: Lopes L. , Gonçalves-Pinho M. , Pereira S. , Ribeiro J.P. , Freitas A. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionThe psychiatric care paradigm has shifted towards community-centered models. Yet, prolonged hospitalizations are still a reality, with debated impact at healthcare systems and patients.ObjectivesThis work aims to describe prolonged hospitalizations in acute psychiatric wards through patients’ sociodemographic and clinical data.MethodsWe analyzed a national hospitalization database that contained all hospitalization episodes registered in Portuguese public hospitals from 2008 to 2015. All episodes with a primary diagnosis of mental disorder defined as ICD-9-CM codes 290.x-319.x were included. Prolonged hospitalizations were defined as having a LoS ≥ P97.5; LOS ≥180 days or LOS ≥1 year. Age, sex, lengh of stay, in-hospital mortality were analysed.ResultsThe LoS ≥ P97.5(≥62 days) group comprised 3911 hospitalizations (2.3% of all psychiatric hospitalizations) and 1755 patients. The median LOS was 81 days and the mean age was 51 years. Sex was equally distributed, though a higher frequency of male patients was found on the ≥180 days (n=364) and ≥ 1 year (n=121) groups. Psychotic disorders were the main diagnosis at discharge (n= 1769, 45.2%), followed by mood disorders (n=1057, 27.0%) and dementia (n=451, 11.5%). In-hospital mortality increased in the higher LoS groups (1.1%; 4.4%; 9.1%, respectively).ConclusionsOverall, middle aged patients with psychotic disorders represent most of the prolonged hospitalizations occurring in acute psychiatric wards. Community-based programs require further development to meet the existing needs.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Comorbidity with substance abuse and its influence in a forensic population: A retrospective study
Authors: Jesus M. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionThe criminality associated with psychiatric disorders has been extensively studied with some studies showing a greater risk of violence in these patients. Substance abuse has been long linked to criminal and antisocial behaviours, but what happens when is in comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders.ObjectivesThe authors aim to study the impact of substance abuse comorbidity in type of crime and other characteristics in a forensic ward population.MethodsA retrospective study was designed, including patients admitted in the Forensic ward of Coimbra Hospital and University Center between 2018 and 2020.ResultsOur study included 110 patients, 39 of which had comorbidity with substance abuse. Although the authors couldn’t find differences in the type of crime committed regarding the patient’s primary diagnosis, substance abuse was significantly associated with non-violent crimes. The prevalence of homicide was significantly inferior in psychoactive substance users and the prevalence of domestic violence was significantly greater. However, the prevalence of a criminal history was significantly higher in patients with comorbidity with substance abuse. Patients with substance abuse had significantly higher childhood adverse events reports.ConclusionsInterestingly, criminal behaviors prior to admission were more frequent in patients with substance abuse, which is understandable. However, the type of crimes were significantly less serious in this patients, which can mean that, although these consumptions are a risk factor for criminal behavior, the association in less important in crimes like murder. The exposition to childhood adverse events is a well-known risk factor for substance abuse in adulthood.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Associations between genes methylation, postnatal risk factors and psychiatric symptoms in a clinical sample of children and adolescents: Preliminar results from the remind longitudinal study
Authors: Villa F. , Rosi E. , Grazioli S. , Mauri M. , Giorda R. , Brambilla P. , Bonivento C. , Garzitto M. , Molteni M. , Nobile M. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionEpigenetics hypothesizes a crucial link between postnatal risk factors, individual response to stress, DNA methylation and psychiatric symptomatology changes during life.ObjectivesWe analyzed methylation within two gene exons: NR3C1 and SLC6A4, which are involved in responses to environmental stressors. We investigated the relationship between methylation, postnatal risk factors and psychopathology assessed by Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in our help-seeking sample evaluated in infancy (W1), preadolescence (W2) and adult life (W3).MethodsPostnatal risk factors data were collected at W1 in 205 clinical subjects (156 M, 49 F; age=9,13±1,95). The CBCL scores were collected at W1 and W2 (W2 age=14,52±2,12). Data regarding methylation were collected at W2. At W3 we are also collecting clinical scores. A Spearman correlation coefficient was calculated between methylation percentage and clinical data at W2. The externalizing and internalizing trajectories were evaluated through repeated measure ANOVA with postnatal risk factors (presence/absence) as between-groups factor.ResultsSignificant associations were found between methylation and internalizing and total clinical scores (Table 1). The rm-ANOVA results showed a significant interaction between the CBCL internalizing score and presence/absence of postnatal risk, with higher internalizing problems in subjects that were exposed to postnatal risk factors. This effect was significant at W2 but not at W1 (Figure 1).ConclusionsPsychopathological symptoms trajectories could depend on epigenetics and early environmental risk factors. Further analyses will address a Linear Discriminant Analysis to proceed to a machine learning oriented approach.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Epigenetic modulation in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Methylation and hydroxymethylation of the bdnf gene exon I promoter
Authors: Vanzetto S. , Alberto V. , Conti D. , Macellaro M. , Benatti B. , Daddario C. , Bellia F. , Dell’Osso B. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionSeveral evidence recognizes Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) as a promising biomarker in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, including Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), considering the involvement of epigenetic regulation in BDNF altered expression.ObjectivesThis study aims to investigate, in a sample of OCD patients, the epigenetic modulation in terms of levels of methylation and hydroxymethylation on the BDNF gene exon I promoter.MethodsFifty OCD patients, recruited from Psychiatry Unit 2, Sacco University Hospital in Milan and fifty healthy controls, comparable by age and gender. Saliva samples were collected by oral swab and epigenetic analysis were performed at the University of Teramo. Statistical analyses were performed with t test with Bonferroni correction.ResultsData analysis showed a significant decrease in 5-methyl cytosine levels (5mC) (mean OCD: 1.221%; mean CTRL: 1.784%; p < 0.001) and a significant increase in 5-Hydroxy-methyl cytosine levels (5hmC) (mean OCD: 1.018%; mean CTRL: 0.527% p< 0.0001) in BDNF gene exon I promoter of OCD patients compared to controls. Regarding 5mC of site 3 and 5hmC of site 1 and 2 of the exon I promoter CpG islands, no statistical significance was found.ConclusionsPresent results showed significant differences in epigenetic modulation of BDNF gene, which might not be univocally interpreted. They could represent an intrinsic OCD characteristic or the effect of antidepressant drugs, assumed by all recruited patients. Further studies, comparing OCD subjects in treatment vs drug-free, are necessary to define BDNF epigenetic modulation role and its possible use as biomarker in the characterization of OCD.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Targets and outcomes of psychotherapies for mental disorders
Authors: Cuijpers P. 
Published: February 2022

Because the causal pathways to mental disorders are largely unknown, it is also difficult to decide what the targets and outcomes of psychotherapies should be. In this presentation I will give an overview of the main types of targets and outcomes of therapies, as well as a brief overview of some of the main results of research on these types. The most important outcomes are symptom reduction, personal targets and outcomes from the patient’s perspective, improvement of quality of life, intermediate outcomes depending on the theoretical framework of the therapist, negative outcomes, and economic outcomes. By far the most research has focused on symptom reduction. In this presentation I will focus on psychotehrapies in general, but will illustrate the findings with research on psychotherapies for depression, because these have been examined most extensively. Furthermore, the perspective of different stakeholders will be presented: Patients, relatives, therapists, employers, health care providers and society at large each have their own perspectives on targets and outcomes. The perspective of patients should have more priority in research and standardization of measures across trials is much needed.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Social orienting is reduced in williams syndrome
Authors: Kleberg J. , Riby D. , Norgren A. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionWilliams syndrome (WS) is a rare genetic disorder caused by a deletion at chromosome 7q1123. WS is associated with high empathy, relatively good face memory and low social anxiety. Despite these strengths, WS individuals typically have an intellectual disability, difficulties with visuospatial perception, non-social anxiety and complex social cognition. Attention to other’s eyes is crucial for adaptive social understanding. Consequently, eyes trigger quick and automatic gaze shifts in typically developing individuals. It is not known whether this process is atypical in WS.ObjectivesTo examine visual attention to other’s eyes in Williams syndrome.MethodsIndividuals with WS (n = 35; mean age 23.5 years) were compared to controls (n = 167) in stratified age groups (7 month, 8-12 years, 13-17 years, adults). Participants were primed to look at either the eyes or the mouth of human faces. The latency and likelihood of a first gaze shift from, or to the eyes, was measured with eye tracking.ResultsWS individuals were less likely, and slower to orient to the eyes than typically developing controls in all age groups from eight years of age (all p <.001), but did not differ from 7 months old infants. In contrast to healthy individuals from eight years and above, WS individuals did not show a preference to orient towards the eyes relative to the mouth.ConclusionsDespite the hyper-social behavioral phenotype, WS is associated with reduced attention to other’s eyes during early stages of processing. This could contribute to the difficulties with complex social cognition observed in this group.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
The influence of ethnic minority background and migration history on recovery in psychotic disorders: A systematic literature review
Authors: Pasinelli L. , Bakia A. , Tarricone I. , Mulder C. , Selten J.-P. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionRecovery in psychotic disorders is a concept that evolved through the last decades. Thanks to the contribution of different researchers, together with the recovery movement, a switch happened from a service-based to a client-based approach towards recovery. The Dutch framework considers recovery as the interplay of symptomatic, personal, functional and societal aspects, determined by different biological, psychological, personal and social factors. Literature on this fourdimensional perspective is still scarce. In addition, even if an increased incidence of psychotic disorders has been recognized in ethnic minority populations and migrants, studies on the influence of ethnicity and migration on recovery in psychotic disorders is limited.ObjectivesTo write a systematic literature review on how ethnic minority status and migration history may affect symptomatic, personal, functional and societal recovery.MethodsA systematic search of the main databases, followed by a four-step selection process to include studies comparing migrants or ethnic minority populations and the non-minoritarian/autochthonous population in terms of recovery. A qualitative, narrative summary has been performed.ResultsThirty-eight articles have been included. Literature is heterogeneous, focused on clinical outcomes and mostly based on data from the UK and the USA. As a common thread, ethnic minority status and migration history result to negatively influence societal, personal and, to a lower extent, clinical recovery.ConclusionsFurther studies based in different cultural backgrounds and focused on recovery in its multiple aspects are needed, to get a better understanding of the contextual and structural factors that affect the interaction between ethnicity, migration and recovery in psychotic disorders.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Gray matter reduction in high-risk subjects, recently diagnosed and chronic patients with schizophrenia: A revised coordinate-based meta-analysis
Authors: Brasso C. , Liloia D. , Cauda F. , Mancuso L. , Nani A. , Manuello J. , Costa T. , Duca S. , Rocca P. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionCharacterizing neuroanatomical markers of different stages of schizophrenia (SZ) to assess of how the disorder develops is extremely important for the clinical practice. It still remains uncertain how abnormalities are formed as SZ progresses.ObjectivesWe reviewed and analyzed 113 voxel based morphometry studies on people at risk of or with schizophrenia to assess GM alterations at different stages of the disorder and to functionally characterize these GM variations.MethodsWe performed a meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry studies of genetic and clinical high-risk subjects (g-/c-HR), recently diagnosed (RDSZ) and chronic SZ patients (ChSZ). We quantified gray matter (GM) changes associated with these four conditions and compared them with contrast and conjunctional data. We performed the behavioral analysis and networks decomposition of alterations to obtain their functional characterization.ResultsCompared to previous investigations, results reveal a robust cortical-subcortical, left-to-right homotopic progression of GM loss. The right anterior cingulate is the only altered region in all conditions. Contrast analyses show left-lateralized insular, amygdalar and parahippocampal GM reduction in RDSZ, which appears bilateral in ChSZ. An overlap between RDSZ and ChSZ is observed in the left insula, amygdala, precentral and inferior frontal gyri. Functional decomposition shows involvement of the salience network, with an enlargement of the sensorimotor network in RDSZ and the thalamus-basal nuclei network in ChSZ.ConclusionsThese results can help the research on diagnostic and neuroimaging biomarkers of SZ staging, as well as on the identification of new therapeutics neuroanotomic targets that could be addressed with focused magnetic or non-invasive electric stimulation.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
The gut-microbiome-endocannabinoid axis and anhedonia/amotivation: A mediation analysis in a general population cohort
Authors: Minichino A. , Jackson M. , Burnet P. , Lennox B. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionGeneral-population studies investigating the biological correlates of anhedonia/amotivation might be informative for treatment breakthroughs for a number of clinical conditions. Reduced gut-microbial diversity might lead to an anhedonic/amotivational syndrome (“sickness behaviour”). However, how gut-microbial diversity contribute to this clinical phenotype is a key gap in knowledge. We hypothesised the endocannabinoid system would be at play.ObjectivesWe tested the hypothesis that the endocannabinoid system mediates the association between gut-microbial diversity and anhedonia/amotivationMethodsSecondary data analysis on 786 volunteer twins (TwinsUK). Measures of gut-microbiome, faecal endocannabinoid metabolites, and anhedonia/amotivation were collected over five years. To test our hypothesis we used a multilevel mediation model using alpha diversity as predictor, faecal levels of the endocannabinoid palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) as mediator, and anhedonia/amotivation as outcome. Analyses were adjusted for obesity, diet, antidepressants, and sociodemographic covariates.ResultsMean age was 65.2±7.6; 27% were obese and 4.7% were on antidepressants. Alpha diversity was significantly associated with anhedonia/amotivation (β=-0.37; 95%CI: -0.71 to -0.03; P=0.03). Faecal PEA levels mediated this association: the indirect effect was significant (β=-0.13; 95%CI: -0.24 to -0.01; P=0.03), as was the total effect (β=-0.38; 95%CI: -0.72 to -0.04; P=0.03). The direct effect of alpha diversity on anhedonia/amotivation was attenuated fullyConclusionsWe provided the first evidence showing that the association between gut-microbial features and anhedonia/amotivation is mediated by the endocannabinoid system. These findings shed light on a new therapeutic target in an area of unmet clinical need.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
With both eyes open – translational research using eye-tracking combined with performance-based evaluation among people with severe mental illness
Authors: Regev S. , Josman N. , Mendelsohn A. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionIndividuals with severe mental illnesses (SMI) often find it hard to perform daily activities such as grocery shopping, which require intact executive functions. The use of performance-based evaluations is valuable, but lacks the subjects’ point of view during task performance.ObjectivesThe aim of the current presentation is to bring together performance-based observation and cognitive science methods to provide insights regarding real-life behavior and problem solving in SMI populations.MethodsIn this quasi-experimental study, forty-three individuals performed the Test of Grocery Shopping Skills (TOGSS) while wearing an eye-tracking device. Eye-movement patterns served as a proxy of executive functions in people with and without SMI during a real-life ingredient selection task. We hypothesized that significant differences will be found between people with SMI and controls in TOGSS sub-outcomes as well as in eye-fixation durations.ResultsTOGSS sub-outcomes indicative of performance efficiency (time and redundancy) were significantly higher in the research group compared to matched controls (P<0.01). Average fixation duration was found to be significantly higher for the research group compared to matched controls (P<0.05) for two of the four item-selection tasks.ConclusionsThese preliminary findings indicate that when confronted with a selection task, individuals with SMI spend more dwelling time while selecting ingredients. Further analyses on these data will examine how this time is spent (e.g. focusing on irrelevant information). The outlined approach may prove beneficial in illuminating specific behavioral and physiological difficulties in individuals with SMI, particularly in the evolving Covid-19 situation, which poses novel social and health-related challenges on real-life tasks.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
Neuropsychological profile and correlation with outcomes in patients admitted to spdc
Authors: Benassi M. , Ambrosini F. , Raggini R. , Piraccini G. , Sant’Angelo R. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionLiterature showed that patients suffering from disorders belonging to the schizophrenic (SZ) and bipolar (DB) spectrum have a qualitatively similar but quantitatively different neurocognitive impairment that correlates with the outcomes. However, the majority of former studies are conducted on patients in remission phase.ObjectivesThis study aims to compare cognitive functions between SZ and DB in the acute phase and their possible correlations with treatment outcomes.MethodsIn a prospective longitudinal study conducted at the SPDC Ausl unit of Romagna - Cesena, 57 SZ and 82 DB took part in the study. The diagnosis was based on the SCID5 CV and SCID5 DP. Symptom severity was assessed with BPRS and HONOS both at the beginning and at the end of hospitalization. Executive functions were measured with Tower of London (ToL) and Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (MCST), attention with Attentive Matrices (MA) and Stroop Test (ST), non-verbal logic skills with Colored Matrices by Raven (PM47). The statistical analyzes applied are ANOVA and logistic regression.ResultsThe cognitive tests did not reveal significant differences between SZ and DB. The logistic regression analysis showed that the scores obtained at the MCST and MA positively correlate with the efficacy of the treatment for both groups.ConclusionsCognition in DB and SZ patients was similarly impaired, supporting recent theories that placed diagnoses on a continuum of severity. Moreover, the results indicated that also in the acute phase the best predictors of the outcome were flexibility in problem solving strategies and visuospatial attention.DisclosureNo significant relationships.
The role of mood disorders in the longitudinal course of obsessive-compulsive disorder: Preliminary data from a 20-year prospective follow-up study
Authors: Bramante S. , Borsotti A. , Rigardetto S. , Maina G. 
Published: February 2022

IntroductionAlthough OCD is believed to have a chronic course, little research has been conducted on this, and there are discrepant findings. Studies over the last years have found that a significant proportion of patients with OCD shows symptomatic remission over long term, however there are significant variations in sampling, clinical characteristics, follow-up, and outcome assessments.ObjectivesThe present prospective study aims to examine rates of OCD remission after 20 years of follow up and to explore demographic and clinical predictors of remission.MethodsThe study sample consists of adult patients with a principal OCD diagnosis and Y-BOCS total score ≥16, who have been referred to the Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin (Italy). OCD symptoms were assessed every 5 years over the 20-year follow-up period. Course data were examined using standard survival analysis methods; Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate relative hazards for predictors of remission.ResultsThere were 360 participants in the study. At year 20, the 28.7 % of the total sample showed OCD remission. Predictor of remission were female gender, lower Y-BOCS mean scores at study entry, longer duration of illness and comorbidity with major depressive disorder. No specific predictors of full remission were found. Lower Y-BOCS mean scores and comorbid bipolar disorder predicted partial remission.ConclusionsThis study suggests that a significant proportion of patients with OCD shows remission. Future studies are needed to clearly identify predictors of remission.DisclosureNo significant relationships.