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ABSTRACT: The people classified as being at ultra-high risk (UHR) of developing psychosis are expected to share many risk factors for psychosis with the patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, including an enhanced incidence of obstetric complications (OCs). This study set out to investigate the incidence and correlates of OCs in a sample of patients accessing an early intervention center. Patients' mothers were asked whether they had suffered from any somatic complication during pregnancy from a list of OCs with potential direct relevance to the physical wellbeing of the offspring. Out of 86 patients diagnosed with first-episode psychosis, 20 (23%) cases were positive for the occurrence of severe OCs, as reported by their mothers during an interview; out of 83 UHR patients, 21 (25%) cases were positive for OCs. OCs were more common in individuals with a family history of psychosis than in those without such a history. OCs might interact with genetic vulnerability to increase the risk of psychosis. Lack of comparison to healthy controls is a limitation that decreases the value of these findings.
Psychiatry Research 08/2012; · 2.52 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Aim: So far, no study has assessed the validity of the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) in patients enrolled in early intervention programmes, nor has any study evaluated the validity of the HoNOS in people at ultra high-risk (UHR) of psychosis. This study set out to assess the validity and reliability of the HoNOS as a measure of outcome in the patients enrolled in an early intervention programme. Methods: The concurrent, discriminant and predictive validity, and the reliability of the HoNOS as a measure of outcome in an early intervention programe were assessed in 87 first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients, and in 81 patients at UHR of psychosis. Results: Reliability indexes were good in the FEP sample, and less good in the UHR sample. HoNOS total scores differentiated between FEP and UHR patients, and the HoNOS subscales proved able to assess a specific profile of symptoms in the two samples, demonstrating a helpful adjunctive measure of health status without complete overlap with other scales. Sensitivity to change was also very good, again with differences between FEP and UHR patients. HoNOS scores at intake did not predict failure to attain remission in FEP patients. There were too few cases of transition to psychosis (n = 2) to assess predictive validity of HoNOS in the UHR sample. Conclusion: HoNOS possesses satisfactory sensitivity and validity to be used in the routine assessment in early intervention programmes.
Early Intervention in Psychiatry 01/2012; · 0.92 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Suicidality is high in schizophrenia, particularly in first-episode patients. Little is known about patients with prodromal symptoms of psychosis or otherwise high-risk persons. In a sample enrolled in an early intervention program implemented in Milan (Italy), a history of attempted suicide before enrollment was found in 6 first-episode schizophrenia (out of 87, 6.9%), and 7 high-risk of psychosis (out of 81, 8.6%) patients. In the first-episode group, a history of suicide attempts was related to a shorter duration of untreated psychosis. In the high-risk group, a family psychiatric history in first/second degree relatives of patients and a personal history of substance abuse were both associated with an enhanced risk of attempted suicide before enrollment. During the first year of treatment, 3 new attempted suicides were recorded among 57 (5.3%) high-risk patients, and none among first-episode patients (n=58) (no dropout in the sample). The levels of suicide ideation on the BPRS did not differ by group at assessment, and significantly declined from assessment at entry to 1-year follow-up, except in seven HRP patients who become positive for core symptoms of schizophrenia, as measured on the BPRS. At enrollment, patients at high risk of psychosis had the same prevalence of past suicide attempts than first-episode schizophrenia patients: since suicide attempt is the most important predictor of a future suicidal attempt, the assessment of suicide risk should be given a privileged role in patients at high risk of psychosis as well.
Biological Psychiatry 07/2009; 113(2-3):145-50. · 8.28 Impact Factor
