The British Journal of Psychiatry (BRIT J PSYCHIAT)

Publications in this journal

• Article: The structure of paranoia in the general population

  Paul E Bebbington, Orla McBride, Craig Steel, Elizabeth Kuipers, Mirjana Radovanovič, Traolach Brugha, Rachel Jenkins, Howard I. Meltzer, Daniel Freeman
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  ABSTRACT: Background Psychotic phenomena appear to form a continuum with normal experience and beliefs, and may build upon common emotional interpersonal concerns. Aims We tested predictions that paranoid ideation is exponentially distributed and hierarchically arranged in the general population, and that persecutory ideas build on more common cognitions of mistrust, interpersonal sensitivity and ideas of reference. Method Items were chosen from the SCID-II questionnaire and the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire in the second British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity (N=8580), to test a putative hierarchy of paranoid development using confirmatory factor analysis, latent class analysis and factor mixture modelling analysis. Results: Different types of paranoid ideation ranged in frequency from less than 2% to nearly 30%. Total scores on these items followed an almost perfect exponential distribution (r=.99). Our four a priori first-order factors were corroborated (Inter-personal Sensitivity; Mistrust; Ideas of Reference; Ideas of Persecution). These mapped onto four classes of individual respondents: a rare, severe, Persecutory Class with high endorsement of all item factors, including persecutory ideation; a Quasi-normal Class with infrequent endorsement of interpersonal sensitivity, mistrust and ideas of reference and no ideas of persecution; and two intermediate classes, characterised respectively by relatively high endorsement of items relating to mistrust and to ideas of reference. Conclusions: The paranoia continuum has implications for the aetiology, mechanisms and treatment of psychotic disorders, while confirming the lack of a clear distinction from normal experiences and processes.
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 03/2013;
• Article: The structure of paranoia in the general population

  Paul E Bebbington PhD, Orla McBride PhD, Craig Steel PhD, Elizabeth Kuipers PhD, Mirjana Radovanovič MD, Traolach Brugha MD, Rachel Jenkins MD, Howard I. Meltzer PhD, Daniel Freeman PhD
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: Background Psychotic phenomena appear to form a continuum with normal experience and beliefs, and may build upon common emotional interpersonal concerns. Aims We tested predictions that paranoid ideation is exponentially distributed and hierarchically arranged in the general population, and that persecutory ideas build on more common cognitions of mistrust, interpersonal sensitivity and ideas of reference. Method Items were chosen from the SCID-II questionnaire and the Psychosis Screening Questionnaire in the second British National Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity (N=8580), to test a putative hierarchy of paranoid development using confirmatory factor analysis, latent class analysis and factor mixture modelling analysis. Results: Different types of paranoid ideation ranged in frequency from less than 2% to nearly 30%. Total scores on these items followed an almost perfect exponential distribution (r=.99). Our four a priori first-order factors were corroborated (Inter-personal Sensitivity; Mistrust; Ideas of Reference; Ideas of Persecution). These mapped onto four classes of individual respondents: a rare, severe, Persecutory Class with high endorsement of all item factors, including persecutory ideation; a Quasi-normal Class with infrequent endorsement of interpersonal sensitivity, mistrust and ideas of reference and no ideas of persecution; and two intermediate classes, characterised respectively by relatively high endorsement of items relating to mistrust and to ideas of reference. Conclusions: The paranoia continuum has implications for the aetiology, mechanisms and treatment of psychotic disorders, while confirming the lack of a clear distinction from normal experiences and processes.
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 03/2013;
• Article: Psychological therapies in anorexia nervosa: on the wrong track?

  Gutierrez, Carrera
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  ABSTRACT: Current treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN) is disheartening. Maybe we are on the wrong track either by persistently failing to understand the fundamental features articulating the current concept of the disorder in terms of symptoms, personality traits, psychopathology and neuropsychological profile or that these features are an epiphenomenon of malnutrition, and are thus irrelevant as targets for AN treatment.
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 01/2013;
• Article: Preventive strategies in depression: gathering evidence for risk factors and potential interventions

  Michael Berk, Felice N Jacka
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  ABSTRACT: This editorial critiques the recent literature concerning both vitamin D deficiency in major depression and supplementation as a treatment strategy, and contextualises it within a broader approach to the prevention of depression, based on the recent evidence for lifestyle as a risk factor for depression and anxiety.
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 11/2012; 201:339-341.
• Article: Preventive strategies in depression: gathering evidence for risk factors and potential interventions

  Michael Berk, Felice N Jacka
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  ABSTRACT: This editorial critiques the recent literature concerning both vitamin D deficiency in major depression and supplementation as a treatment strategy, and contextualises it within a broader approach to the prevention of depression, based on the recent evidence for lifestyle as a risk factor for depression and anxiety.
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 11/2012; 201:339-341.
• Article: Still some methodological discrepancies in the update of a meta-analysis

  Kliem, Beller, Kröger
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 07/2012;
• Article: Temperature-related Deaths in People with Severe Mental Illness.

  Howard
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 01/2012;
• Article: British Journal of Psychiatry

  Hobbs
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 01/2012;
• Article: The population impact of improvements in mental health services: the case of Australia [Letter]

  Goldney RD, Eckert K, Taylor AW, Hawthorn G
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 01/2012; 199(February 8):443-444.
• Article: Clinical recognition and recording of alcohol disorders by clinicians in primary and secondary care: meta-analysis

  Alex J. Mitchell, Nick Meader, Victoria Bird, Maria Rizzo
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  ABSTRACT: Background Clinicians have considerable difficulty identifying and helping those people with alcohol problems but no previous study has looked at this systematically. Aims To determine clinicians’ ability to routinely identify broadly defined alcohol problems. Method Data were extracted and rated by two authors, according to PRISMA standard and QUADAS criteria. Studies that examined the diagnostic accuracy of clinicians’ opinion regarding the presence of alcohol problems as well as their written notation were evaluated. Results A comprehensive search identified 48 studies that looked at the routine ability of clinicians to identify alcohol problems (12 in primary care, 31 in general hospitals and 5 in psychiatric settings). A total of 39 examined alcohol use disorder, 5 alcohol dependence and 4 intoxication. We separated studies into those using self-report and those using interview. The diagnostic sensitivity of primary care physicians (general practitioners) in the identification of alcohol use disorder was 41.7% (95% CI 23.0–61.7) but alcohol problems were recorded correctly in only 27.3% (95% CI 16.9–39.1) of primary care records. Hospital staff identified 52.4% (95% CI 35.9–68.7) of cases and made correct notations in 37.2% (95% CI 28.4–46.4) of case notes. Mental health professionals were able to correctly identify alcohol use disorder in 54.7% (95% CI 16.8–89.6) of cases. There were limited data regarding alcohol dependency and intoxication. Hospital staff were able to detect 41.7% (95% CI 16.5–69.5) of people with alcohol dependency and 89.8% (95% CI 70.4–99.4) of those acutely intoxicated. Specificity data were sparse. Conclusions Clinicians may consider simple screening methods such as self-report tools rather than relying on unassisted clinical judgement but the added value of screening over and above clinical diagnosis remains unclear.
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 01/2012; 201:93-100.
• Article: Nicotine dependence and illness severity in schizophrenia

  Rajeev Krishnadas, Sameer Jauhar, Susan Telfer, Somashekar Shivashankar, andRobin G McCreadie
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 01/2012;
• Article: The moderating role of the MAOA genotype in the development of antisocial behavior

  Fergusson DM
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 01/2012;
• Article: Preventative strategies in depression: gathering evidence for risk factors and potential interventions

  michael berk, Felice N Jacka
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  ABSTRACT: Invited editorial
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 01/2012;
• Article: The population impact of improvements in mental health services: the case of Australia [Letter]

  Goldney RD, Eckert K, Taylor AW, Hawthorn G
  The British Journal of Psychiatry 01/2012; 199(March 17):443-444.