Clinical staging has been developed to capture the large heterogeneity in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Including cognitive performance in the staging model may improve its clinical validity. ...Moreover, cognitive functioning could predict transition across stages. However, current evidence of the association between cognition and clinical staging is inconsistent. Therefore, we aim to assess whether cognitive parameters are associated with clinical stages in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and to identify cognitive markers at baseline that are associated with stage-transition at three and six-year follow-up.
We applied the staging model of Fusar-Poli et al. (2017) in 927 patients with non-affective psychotic disorders, assessed at baseline, and after three and six-year follow-up. Cognitive performance was assessed with a standard test battery. Generalized linear mixed models were used to analyze associations of cognitive performance with staging and stage-transition at follow-up.
Findings showed that higher stages of illness were significantly associated with lower processing speed (F = 3.688, p = 0.025) and deficits in working memory (F = 6.365, p = 0.002) across assessments. No associations between cognitive parameters at baseline and stage-transition at three- and six-year follow-up were found.
We conclude that processing speed and working memory were modestly associated with higher stages of illness in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, thereby slightly improving its clinical validity. However, associations were small and we found no evidence for predictive validity.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Epidemiological investigations show that up to 30% of schizophrenic patients suffer from obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) associated with negative impact on the general prognosis. It has been ...proposed that antiserotonergic second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) might induce OCS, but investigations of large samples integrating psychopathology, neuropsychology and psychopharmacology are missing.
We stratified 70 patients with schizophrenia according to their mode of antipsychotic treatment: clozapine and olanzapine (group I) compared with aripiprazole and amisulpride (group II). The groups were matched according to age, sex, educational levels and severity of the psychotic disorder (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale). As the primary endpoint, we evaluated OCS severity (Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale).
OCS were significantly more prevalent and severe in group I, in which OCS severity correlated with dosage of clozapine and duration of treatment. Pronounced cognitive deficits in group I were found in visuospatial perception and visual memory (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised block design, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test), impulse inhibition (go/no-go test), higher perseveration scores (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) and reduced set-shift abilities (Trail Making Test Part B, Set-shift Task). These cognitive domains correlated with OCS severity.
OCS in schizophrenia are associated with antiserotonergic SGA treatment, but longitudinal studies have to prove causality. Before starting treatment with antiserotonergic SGAs, specific neurocognitive domains should be evaluated, as visuospatial learning and impulse inhibition performance might allow early detection of OCS secondary to antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia.
Suicidal ideation is common among individuals with first episode psychosis (FEP), with prevalence estimates up to 56.5 %. Despite its high prevalence, relatively little is known about how ...sociodemographic, clinical and/or developmental characteristics contribute to the experience of suicidal ideation in individuals with FEP.
In this cross-sectional study (FEP n = 551 and controls n = 857), univariate logistic regression analyses were performed to study the associations of sociodemographic, clinical, and developmental factors with suicidal ideation in individuals with FEP as well as controls. Suicidal ideation was assessed using the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE). In addition, multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted based on a stepwise approach.
In FEP, only depressive symptoms remained significantly associated with suicidal ideation when all correlates were integrated into one model. In the multivariate model in controls, depressive symptoms, positive symptoms, and traumatic childhood experiences were significantly associated with suicidal ideation.
This study showed that depressive symptoms are an important factor relating to suicidal ideation in individuals with FEP, over and above other clinical, sociodemographic, and developmental factors. This underscores the relevance of screening for suicidal ideation in individuals with FEP, and highlights the need for a better understanding of the diagnostic uncertainty and course of mood symptoms in early psychosis.
Cross-sectional study design, self-reported questionnaires.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Metamemory describes the monitoring and knowledge about one's memory capabilities. Patients with schizophrenia have been found to be less able in differentiating between correct and false answers ...(smaller confidence gap) when asked to provide retrospective confidence ratings in previous studies. Furthermore, higher proportions of very-high-confident but false responses have been found in this patient group (high knowledge corruption). Whether and how these biases contribute to the early pathogenesis of psychosis is yet unclear. This study thus aimed at investigating metamemory function in the early course of psychosis.
Patients in an at-risk mental state for psychosis (ARMS, n = 34), patients with a first episode of psychosis (FEP, n = 21) and healthy controls (HCs, n = 38) were compared on a verbal recognition task combined with retrospective confidence-level ratings.
FEP patients showed the smallest confidence gap, followed by ARMS patients, followed by HCs. All groups differed significantly from each other. Regarding knowledge corruption, FEP patients differed significantly from HCs, whereas a statistical trend was revealed in comparison of ARMS and FEP groups. Correlations were revealed between metamemory, measures of positive symptoms and working memory performance.
These data underline the presence of a metamemory bias in ARMS patients which is even more pronounced in FEP patients. The bias might represent an early cognitive marker of the beginning psychotic state. Longitudinal studies are needed to unravel whether metacognitive deficits predict the transition to psychosis and to evaluate therapeutic interventions.
Objective
Obsessive–compulsive symptoms (OCS) constitute a major comorbidity in schizophrenia. Prevalence estimations of OCS for patients with at‐risk mental states (ARMS) for psychosis vary largely. ...It is unclear how ARMS patients with or without comorbid OCS differ regarding general psychosocial functioning, psychotic and affective symptoms and neurocognitive abilities.
Method
At‐risk mental states patients (n = 233) from the interventional trial PREVENT (Secondary Prevention of Schizophrenia) were stratified according to the presence or absence of comorbid OCS and compared on several clinical variables.
Results
Patients, who fulfilled the criteria for obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) or presented with subclinical OCS (ARMSposOCS sample), did not significantly differ from patients without OCS (ARMSnegOCS) with regard to gender, age, premorbid verbal intelligence and levels of education. Furthermore, similar severity of depressive syndromes, basic cognitive, attenuated psychotic and brief limited intermittent psychotic symptoms were found. However, ARMSposOCS patients showed more impairment of psychosocial functioning and higher general psychopathology. In contrast, they scored higher in cognitive tasks measuring working memory and immediate verbal memory.
Conclusion
Findings extend upon previous results due to the multidimensional assessment. Subsequent longitudinal studies might elucidate how comorbid OCS influence differential treatment response, especially to cognitive behavioural interventions and the transition rates to psychosis.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Aims
Childhood trauma is associated with an elevated risk for psychosis, but the psychological mechanisms involved remain largely unclear. This study aimed to investigate emotional and ...psychotic stress reactivity in daily life as a putative mechanism linking childhood trauma and clinical outcomes in individuals at ultra-high-risk (UHR) for psychosis.
Methods
Experience sampling methodology was used to measure momentary stress, affect and psychotic experiences in the daily life of
N
= 79 UHR individuals in the EU-GEI High Risk Study. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire was used to assess self-reported childhood trauma. Clinical outcomes were assessed at baseline, 1- and 2-year follow-up.
Results
The association of stress with positive (
β
= −0.14,
p
= 0.010) and negative affect (
β
= 0.11,
p
= 0.020) was modified by transition status such that stress reactivity was greater in individuals who transitioned to psychosis. Moreover, the association of stress with negative affect (
β
= 0.06,
p
= 0.019) and psychotic experiences (
β
= 0.05,
p
= 0.037) was greater in individuals exposed to high
v
. low levels of childhood trauma. We also found evidence that decreased positive affect in response to stress was associated with reduced functioning at 1-year follow-up (
B
= 6.29,
p
= 0.034). In addition, there was evidence that the association of childhood trauma with poor functional outcomes was mediated by stress reactivity (e.g. indirect effect:
B
= −2.13,
p
= 0.026), but no evidence that stress reactivity mediated the association between childhood trauma and transition (e.g. indirect effect:
B
= 0.14,
p
= 0.506).
Conclusions
Emotional and psychotic stress reactivity may be potential mechanisms linking childhood trauma with clinical outcomes in UHR individuals.
Objective
Obsessive–compulsive symptoms (OCS) frequently occur in psychotic disorders. Cross‐sectional associations between OCS and cognitive impairment have led to different causal explanations. ...Whereas one assumes that higher cognitive impairment reflects a risk factor for psychotic patients to develop OCS, another suggests that deficits reflect a consequence of OCS. This study investigated the longitudinal interrelation between OCS and cognitive functioning.
Method
Baseline and follow‐up data from 622 patients and 670 un‐affected siblings from the ‘Genetic Risk and Outcome in Psychosis’ study were analyzed. Participants were allocated to groups according to the presence or absence of OCS at assessments and compared on several cognitive domains.
Results
Cross‐sectional comparisons revealed no group differences in cognitive performance. Longitudinal analyses comparing the groups with changes in OCS revealed one significant group effect with more problems in set‐shifting abilities in patient who reported OCS development at follow‐up. Significant time and interaction effects were mainly due to improvement in immediate verbal recall and digit‐symbol coding in patients and siblings who reported remission of OCS.
Conclusion
Although insight into causality needs further exploration, our results do not confirm the hypothesis of pre‐existing cognitive risk constellations. Findings suggest that remission of comorbid OCS results in improved immediate verbal recall and processing speed.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A key indicator of quality of treatment from the patient's perspective is expressed by satisfaction with care. Our aim was to (i) explore satisfaction and its relation to clinical outcome measures; ...and (ii) explore the predictive value of satisfaction for the course of outcomes over three years.
Data of 654 patients with a non-affective psychosis included in a naturalistic longitudinal cohort study were analyzed. We included 506 males and 148 females with a mean age of 30.47 (SD 7.24) from The Netherlands. Satisfaction was measured with the self-rating Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8. A wide range of interviewer-rated (e.g., Positive and Negative Symptom Scale) and self-rated (e.g., World Health Organization Quality of Life); outcomes of low, intermediate and high satisfied patients were compared using ANOVA, Chi2 or Kruskal–Wallis tests. The predictive value of satisfaction level on clinical outcomes after three years was tested using regression models.
Satisfaction levels were low (19.4%), intermediate (48.9%) or high (31.7%). High satisfied patients showed significantly better interviewer-rated outcomes, e.g., less severe psychotic symptoms, and self-rated outcomes, e.g., better quality of life, compared to patients with intermediate or low satisfaction. Higher levels of satisfaction with care at baseline predicted a reduction of positive symptoms three years later (B=–.09, P-value=.013).
Satisfaction of patients with psychosis is a valuable monitoring measure since high satisfied patients show more favorable outcomes ranging from psychopathological symptoms to quality of life. Further research into explanations of lower levels of satisfaction is commendable in order to improve outcomes.
A recent study suggested that the cadherin gene FAT exerts an influence on susceptibility to bipolar affective disorder (BPAD). We aimed to replicate this finding in a German sample (425 BPAD I and ...419 controls). In addition, we performed a comprehensive linkage disequilibrium mapping of the whole genomic region of FAT and the neighboring circadian gene MTNR1A (48 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering 191 kb). No significant association was observed for SNPs located in the MTNR1A gene. In FAT, however, nine SNPs showed association, eight of them being located in the same haplotype block found to be associated with BPAD by Blair et al. The smallest P-value of 0.00028 (OR 1.71) was seen for non-synonymous SNP rs2637777. A combination of five markers including this marker showed a haplotype distribution with a nominal P-value of 1.8 x 10(-5) that withstands correction for multiple testing. While the control allele frequencies between our sample and the samples of the original study are comparable, tendencies of risk allele frequencies are opposite. Possible explanations for this include potential differences in linkage disequilibrium structure between the German, Australian, UK, and Bulgarian populations sampling variation, multilocus effects and/or the occurrence of independent mutational events. We conclude that our results support an involvement of variation at the FAT gene in the etiology of BPAD, but that further work is needed both to clarify possible reasons for the observed risk allele differences and to ultimately identify the functionally relevant variant(s).
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DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Background Epidemiological studies estimated that amongst patients with schizophrenia a large subgroup of up to 25% also suffers from comorbid obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS). The association ...between these comorbid OCS and neuropsychological impairment remains unclear and somewhat contradictory. Longitudinal approaches which investigate the stability of OCS related cognitive deficits are missing. Methods 37 patients with schizophrenia and comorbid OCS and 43 schizophrenia patients without OCS were assessed with a comprehensive cognitive test-battery and compared at baseline and again 12 months later. Results Schizophrenia patients with comorbid OCS showed significant pronounced deficits with increasing effect sizes over the 12 month assessment period in specific cognitive areas such as visuo-spatial perception and visual memory (WAIS-R block design, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test), executive functioning (perseveration in the Wisconsin card sorting test) and cognitive flexibility (Trail making test B). These cognitive domains correlated with OCS severity and are known to be candidate domains in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Conclusions OCS in schizophrenia is associated longitudinally stable specific cognitive deficits. Prospective studies involving patients with at risk mental states for psychosis are necessary to decipher the interaction of cognitive impairment and the clinical manifestation of schizophrenia and OCS. This might facilitate the definition of patients at high risk for OCS, an early detection of subclinical levels, therapeutic interventions and clinical monitoring.
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