Alejandro de la Torre-Luque

Complutense University of Madrid | UCM · Department of Psychiatry

Objective This study aims to investigate the interrelationship of risk factors for suicidal behaviour and their influence on attempt severity in a sample of adolescents who have recently attempted suicide. For it a network analyse was performed. Method Data from a sample of adolescents from 12 to 17 years of age with documented suicide attempts we...

Background and objectives This study examined problematic video game use and its sociodemographic and clinical correlates in a sample of 1,410 Spanish video game players (33.6% women; mean age = 21.12 years, SD = 3.29). Methods The participants completed a comprehensive set of assessment scales to evaluate clinical features: a sociodemographic inte...

Background Suicidal behavior constitutes a multi-cause phenomenon that may also be present in people without a mental disorder. This study aims to analyze suicidal behavior outcomes in a sample of attempters, from a symptom-based approach. Methods The sample comprised 673 patients (72% female; M = 40.9 years) who attended a hospital emergency depa...

Introduction The feeling of emptiness is a complex subjective experience considered relevant in the suicidal process, acting as a risk factor for suicide ideation, attempts and even reattempts. However, empirical studies are still scarce. Objectives This study has three objectives: to compare emptiness levels in healthy people and those with suici...

The SmartCrisis-Teen Study Protocol. Abstract: Suicidal behavior and Non-Suicidal Self-Injuries (NSSIs) are a major health problem in the adolescent population. New technologies can contribute to the development of innovative interventions in suicide prevention. Here, we present the SmartCrisis-Teen study protocol. The study consists of a randomize...

Purpose Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) has become an excellent non-invasive alternative for many patients with primary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and adrenal malignancies (AM). The aims of this study were to analyse how tumor-, patient- and treatment-related factors may influence the outcomes and side effects of SBRT and to assess its benefi...

Background The European Union (EU) faces many health-related challenges. Burden of diseases information and the resulting trends over time are essential for health planning. This paper reports estimates of disease burden in the EU and individual 27 EU countries in 2019, and compares them with those in 2010. Methods We used the Global Burden of Dise...

Background Child maltreatment is associated with a higher probability of mental disorders and suicidal behavior in adolescence. Therefore, accurate psychometric instruments are essential to assess this. Objective To validate the Spanish version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) in adolescents with suicide attempts. Methods...

Social dysfunction represents one of the most common signs of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Schizophrenia (SZ) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Perturbed socioaffective neural processing is crucially implicated in SZ/AD and generally linked to social dysfunction. Yet, transdiagnostic properties of social dysfunction and its neuro-biological unde...

Background Understanding the health consequences associated with exposure to risk factors is necessary to inform public health policy and practice. To systematically quantify the contributions of risk factor exposures to specific health outcomes, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 aims to provide comprehensiv...

Although scales that evaluate postpartum stress exist, they lack specificity in maternal postpartum stress. The MPSS was created because there was a need to assess maternal stress during the postpartum stage. The introduction of the MPSS has enriched the evaluation tools for postpartum stress and has helped understand maternal stress at various pos...

Background: : Suicide attempt (SA) lethality is associated with heightened suicidal desires and social cognition deficits. Fearlessness about death (FAD) and hypomentalizing may play a role in SA and self-harm. Although studies have identified relationships between these constructs, this line of research is still limited. We aimed to explore the me...

Background Suicide is one of the main external causes of death worldwide. People who have already attempted suicide are at high risk of new suicidal behavior. However, there is a lack of information on the risk factors that facilitate the appearance of reattempts. The aim of this study was to calculate the risk of suicide reattempt in the presence...

Background Disorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditio...

Introduction: Dysfunctions in the oxytocin system have been reported in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Deficits could be related to interpersonal hypersensitivity, which has been previously associated with failures in social cognition (SC) in this disorder, especially in Theory of Mind (ToM) skills. The aim of this work is to...

Background Suicide is an international health concern with immeasurable impact from the perspective of human and social suffering. Prior suicide attempts, anxious and depressive symptoms, and relatively lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are among the most replicated risk factors for suicide. Our goal was to visualize the distribution of...

Spinal metastasis may occur in 40–70% of patients with cancer. Symptoms can vary from pain to spinal cord compression (SCC) and can affect their quality of life (QoL). Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) allows dose escalation of spinal tumor metastases, minimizing doses to organs at risk and improving pain control. The aim of this study is to re...

Theory of Mind (ToM) is a cognitive construct that involves different levels of complexity. Development of the different ToM skills follows an evolutionary course in line with the increasing requirements from environmental demands through childhood and adolescence to adulthood. Accordingly, ToM assessment should comprise the heterogeneity of the co...

Background In recent decades, the relationship between emotional disorders (i.e., depression and anxiety) and alterations in physiological functions (i.e., inflammation or metabolism) have been well supported. However, studies on a symptom-based approach have provided mixed results. Our study aims to gain insight into how subclinical statuses, feat...

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has constrained opportunities in social, educational and professional domains, leading to developmental challenges for adolescents initiating their transition to adulthood. Meta‐analysis indicated that there was a small increase in psychological distress during the first year of the COVID‐...

Introduction Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a severe mental disorder characterized by affective, behavioral and relational instability, along with interpersonal hypersensitivity and unstable affective relationships (APA 2013). Poor interpersonal functioning could be associated with critical deficits in the ability to mentalize in these pa...

Introduction More than 700,000 people die by suicide in 2019 globally (World Health Organitation 2021). Mental health problems constitute a risk factor for suicidal behavior and death by suicide (Hoertel et al. Mol Psychiatry 2015; 20 718–726). Different mental disorders have been related to different forms of suicidal ideation and behavior (Coneje...

Introduction Theory of Mind (ToM) is defined as the cognitive ability that infers other’s mental states (Premack & Woodruff. J Behav Brain Sci 1978; 1 515-526).The interest in the study of ToM distinguishing its affective and cognitive components has been growing. Its study in psychopathology has been evolved from its original studies in autism spe...

Introduction Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), defined as abuse, neglect, or a dysfunctional household in childhood, have been associated with suicidality (Fjeldsted et al., 2020). Every type of ACE has a direct impact on suicide ideation, self-harm and/or suicide attempt (Angelakis et al., 2019). Objectives We aim to quantify the association...

Introduction Cognitive symptoms in psychosis represent a major unmet clinical need (Acuna-Vargas et al. Cog in Psych 2019; 21(3), 223–224). Deficit in memory has been largely described in first episode early onset psychosis (Mayoral et al. Eur Psych 2008; 23(5), 375-383) and has been associated to a worse functionality (Øie et al. Neuropsychology 2...

Introduction Over the last decade, excessive spontaneous mind wandering (MW) has been consistently associated with emotional disorders. The main aims of the present study were (1) to re-examine the factor structure of the Mind Excessively Wandering Scale (MEWS); (2) to validate the Spanish version of the MEWS; and (3) to conduct a cross-cultural va...

Objective: To analyse the patterns of relationships between depressive symptoms and immunometabolic markers across longitudinal depression status in older people. Methods: A sample of 3349 older adults (55.21% women; initial age: m = 58.44, sd = 5.21) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing was used. Participants were classified according to...

The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to examine the contributions of social interaction and other non-social factors to loneliness among older adults in the context of confinement measures constraining opportunities for in-person social interactions. This study aims to identify groups of individuals with heterogeneous trajectories of...

Objectives Asthma is a common chronic and burdensome disease which typically begins in childhood. The aim of this study was to assess perinatal and obstetric factors which may increase the risk of developing asthma in the offspring. Methods Data from five consecutive waves (n=7,073 children, from birth to 15 years old) from a nationally-represen...

High comorbidity between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and eating disorders (ED) shows the necessity of developing transdiagnostic models, where impulsivity could play a relevant role in the manifestations of self-injurious behaviour.

Objectives: Findings from a birth cohort study indicated that the mental health of young adults had not worsened during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to 2018. This study examined longitudinal changes in mental health between March 2018 and June 2021 in the context of protracted public health mitigation measures about 12 months...

Introduction In chronic low back pain (CLBP), disturbed body image has been highlighted as a contributor to the condition and a potential target for treatment. The Fremantle Back Awareness Questionnaire (FreBAQ) allows its assessment. Following international guidelines for the cross-cultural translation of questionnaires, we aimed to translate the...

Objectives: To estimate the risk of suicide attempt repetition among individuals with an index attempt. It also aims to study the role of risk factors and prevention programme in repetition. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted in keeping with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Studies on attempt repetition (both cohort studi...

Objectives This study is designed to search for aggrupation of inflammatory/oxidative biomarker alterations in borderline personality disorder (BPD) and their association with phenotypic features. Methodology Inflammatory/nitrosative proteins were measures in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from BPD patients. Patients were a...

Treatments aimed at increasing self-perception may improve chronic low back pain (CLBP) symptomatology and present novel management approaches. Consequently, it is important to have valid, complete, and reliable tools for its assessment, and to understand which variables influence altered back awareness. We aimed to evaluate the face/content validi...

Background: Breastfeeding promotes children's health and is associated with positive effects to maternal physical and mental health. Uncertainties regarding SARS-CoV-2 transmission led to worries experienced by women and health professionals which impacted breastfeeding plans. We aimed to investigate the impact of self-reported and country-specifi...

The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 generated an alert that became a state of emergency in health issues worldwide, a situation that affected the entire population, including pregnant women. The present study aims to understand the effect of the psychopathological profile of a sample of pregnant women at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic on themselves durin...

Objective To conduct a systematic review and meta-analyses of the effect of socio-behavioral cognitive reserve (CR) proxies on cognitive decline after stroke. Method Three journal search and indexing databases (PubMed, Scopus and Web of Sciences) were crossed to examine the scientific evidence systematically. In addition, meta-analytic techniques,...

This study aimed at identifying the heterogeneous trajectories of emotional dysregulation across childhood and to study the relationship between specific trajectories and adolescent suicide-related behaviour (SRB). Data from the Millennium Cohort Study (N = 13,853 children; 49.07% female, M = 3.13 years at baseline, SD = 0.2) were used to identify...

Background Although there is scientific evidence of the presence of immunometabolic alterations in major depression, not all patients present them. Recent studies point to the association between an inflammatory phenotype and certain clinical symptoms in patients with depression. The objective of our study was to classify major depression disorder...

Eating disorders (ED) are severe mental disorders that may result in significant functional impairment and disability. Neuropsychological studies have consistently found impaired executive function (EF) among ED patients. EF is particularly involved in fundamental skills of daily living and in behavioral and emotional regulation. In this study, imp...

Purpose: This study investigates the feeling of emptiness in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and patients with eating disorder (ED), and its relationship with suicidal behavior and childhood traumatic events. Methodology: 103 BPD patients and 107 ED patients were assessed with the Feeling of Emptiness Scale (FES) and the Trau...

Introduction Abnormal cortisol suppression in borderline personality disorder has been consistently reported in previous studies, suggesting that a hypersensitivity response of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis might occur in these patients. In this study, the abnormalities of the cortisol response in borderline personality disorder (BP...

Growing evidence supports the hypothesis that temperamental traits are not static throughout adolescence. The known links between both reactive and regulatory temperament and anxiety symptoms should be investigated bearing this hypothesis in mind. This study collected self-reported data on behavioral inhibition system (BIS) sensitivity, attentional...

Background Social functioning is often impaired in schizophrenia (SZ) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, commonalities and differences in social dysfunction among these patient groups remain elusive. Materials and methods Using data from the PRISM study, behavioral (all subscales and total score of the Social Functioning Scale) and affective (...

This retrospective study aimed to provide some clinical outcomes regarding effectiveness, toxicity, and quality of life in PCa patients treated with dose-escalated moderately hypofractionated radiation therapy (HFRT). Patients received HFRT to a total dose of 66 Gy in 22 fractions (3 Gy/fraction) delivered via volume modulated arc therapy (VMAT) in...

Suicide is a leading cause of preventable death, injury, and disability worldwide. Suicide behavior may adopt multiple variants, from mild to more severe suicidality expressions: suicidal ideation, suicide plan, suicide attempt, and completed suicide (death by suicide). Major efforts have been made in science and in the clinical practice to develop...

Background Disability and mortality burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have risen worldwide; however, the NCD burden among adolescents remains poorly described in the EU. Methods Estimates were retrieved from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019. Causes of NCDs were analysed at three different levels o...

Introduction. Complex diagnostic profiles (i.e., clusters of comorbid disorders) may be present in adolescence with long-lasting effects later in life. Little is known about their developmental transitions to adulthood as well as potential risk factors. This study aimed to identify the diagnostic profiles in adolescence and emerging adulthood, patt...

Introduction. Suicide constitutes a major concern with evident contribution to global mortality worldwide. Evidence on suicide trends is mixed in the COVID-19 pandemic era. Spain may be an at-risk country for increased suicide risk in the time of COVID-19 pandemic due to prolonged restrictions and lockdown, elevated COVID-19 wave recurrence and rel...

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of preventable death worldwide, with its peak of maximum incidence in later life. Depression often puts an individual at higher risk for suicidal behaviour. In turn, depression deserves particular interest in old age due to its high prevalence and dramatic impact on health and wellbeing. Aim: To gather inte...

During the gestation period, pregnant women experience physical and psychological changes, which represent vulnerability factors that can boost the development of mental health conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic is producing new changes in the routines of the whole society, especially on lifestyle habits. The psychological impact associated with the...

Background Alterations in cognitive performance have been described in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Howeve