Despite their documented efficacy, substantial proportions of patients discontinue antidepressant medication (ADM) without a doctor's recommendation. The current report integrates data on patient-reported reasons into an investigation of patterns and predictors of ADM discontinuation.

Face-to-face interviews with community samples from 13 countries (n = 30 697) in the World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys included n = 1890 respondents who used ADMs within the past 12 months.

10.9% of 12-month ADM users reported discontinuation-based on recommendation of the prescriber while 15.7% discontinued in the absence of prescriber recommendation. The main patient-reported reason for discontinuation was feeling better (46.6%), which was reported by a higher proportion of patients who discontinued within the first 2 weeks of treatment than later. Perceived ineffectiveness (18.5%), predisposing factors (e.g. fear of dependence) (20.0%), and enabling factors (e.g. inability to afford treatment cost) (5.0%) were much less commonly reported reasons. Discontinuation in the absence of prescriber recommendation was associated with low country income level, being employed, and having above average personal income. Age, prior history of psychotropic medication use, and being prescribed treatment from a psychiatrist rather than from a general medical practitioner, in comparison, were associated with a lower probability of this type of discontinuation. However, these predictors varied substantially depending on patient-reported reasons for discontinuation.

Dropping out early is not necessarily negative with almost half of individuals noting they felt better. The study underscores the diverse reasons given for dropping out and the need to evaluate how and whether dropping out influences short- or long-term functioning.

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).

We aim to quantify the association between types of ACEs (including emotional, physical, sexual abuse, and emotional and physical neglect) and the number of suicide attempts in lifetime.

We included 748 patients who attempted suicide at least once. They were asked to complete the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (CSSRS), and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF). Logistic regression models were run to assess the association between each ACE type and the number of suicide attempts.

Poisson univariate regression analyses show a linear trend in the relationship between having a higher number of suicide attempts and having suffered every ACE type in childhood (p<0.05). Our results show a lower percentage of previous suicide attempts among participants without ACEs, and an increasing tendency among patients with various types of ACEs. The rate of ACEs types is significantly higher in the group with previous suicide attempts than in the first-attempt group (p=0.000).

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This study contributes to clarify the role of childhood trauma in the number of suicide attempts in lifetime. This has important implications for reducing suicide rates, and preventing future re-attempts. Further studies analysing every construct of childhood trauma may contribute to the detection of suicidal behaviour.

This work was supported by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant number: PI19/00941 SURVIVE) and co-funded by the European Union (grant numbers: COV20/00988, PI17/00768), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Societal Challenges (grant number: 101016127), and the Fundación Española de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental

SURVIVE project (PI19/00941)

Suicide attempt, Adverse Childhood Experiences

Angelakis, I., Gillespie, E. L., & Panagioti, M. (2019). Childhood maltreatment and adult suicidality: A comprehensive systematic review with meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 49(7), 1057-1078. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291718003823

Fjeldsted, R., Teasdale, T. W., & Bach, B. (2020). Childhood trauma, stressful life events, and suicidality in Danish psychiatric outpatients. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 74(4), 280-286. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039488.2019.1702096

None Declared

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 2011; 25(1), 25–35). However, results from existing studies are quite mixed on memory deficits of early psychosis patients, particularly in terms of memory contents and storage resources.

The aims of this study were 1) to examine the nature and extent of cognitive impairment in early-onset psychosis and 2) to analyze which type of memory (verbal and visual) is more affected in the disorder.

The present systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to the PRISMA criteria (Moher et al. Systematic Reviews 2015; 4(1), 1 - 9). A systematic search of CINAHL, PsycInfo, PubMed, Redalyc, SCOPUS and Web of Science (published from 2000 to 2020) identified case-control studies of early onset psychotic disorder (under 18 years old). Those studies focused on both verbal and visual memory performance.

Twenty articles were included in the review. A deficit in memory in child and adolescent psychotic disorders was obtained displaying a large effect size in memory tasks (g = -0.83). Also, a medium effect size was found in visual memory tasks (g = - 0.61) and a large effect size was found in verbal memory tasks (g = -1.00).

It was observed a strong memory deficit on early psychotic disorders already present at the onset of the illness. This deficit was stronger when verbal memory tasks were used compared to the effect found with visual memory tasks. Based on previous literature (García-Nieto et al. Jou Cli Child & Ado Psych 2011; 40(2), 266-280; Lepage et al. Eur Psych 2008; 23(5):368- 74; Hui et al. Psych Med 2016; 46(11):2435-44), these results contribute to describe and characterize the cognitive symptoms in the first-episode psychosis in a youth population.

None Declared

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 spectrum disorders (ASD), schizophrenia (SCZ) and, borderline personality disorder (BPD), to other mental disorders like major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (BP), anorexia nervosa (AN) and social anxiety disorder (SAD).

1) review the most commonly used instruments for ToM assessment; 2) to compile the evidence on ToM deficits across mental disorders. For both objectives, target disorders are previously mentioned.

The search was carried out on the PubMed, PsycInfo and Scopus databases, using the terms “Theory of mind”, “Mentalization” and the previously mentioned mental disorders and pertinent thesaurus. Articles in English, published since 2010 were considered. A 2-step strategy (first, article screening and full reading) was followed to select articles of interest.

Reading the Mind in the Eyes (Baron-Cohen et al., J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2001; 42 241-251) and Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (Dziobeck et al. J Autism Dev Disord 2006; 36 623-636) were the most commonly used tasks to assess ToM. Regarding mental disorders, studies showed deficits in cognitive and affective ToM skills in ASD, SCZ, BPD, MDD and BP. Hypomentalization was mainly observed in ASD and MDD, while BPD and SCZ were featured by errors associated with hypermentalization. Studies in AN and SAD are scarce, but they mainly highlight a cognitive ToM deficit, with hypomentalization in AN and hypermentalization in ASD. In all of them, depressive symptomatology seems to be a critical moderator of ToM performance.

Although ToM impairments are well described for some mental disorders, more research is needed to reach solid conclusions for others. The use of different and heterogeneous ToM assessment instruments can strongly influence the results of studies. The study of ToM is essential to gain a better understanding of the diseases and to develop effective treatments targeting specific ToM deficits.

None Declared

Elimination disorders (ED) include enuresis, defined as wetting from 5 years, and encopresis, defined as soiling from 4 years onwards after organic causes are excluded. They are highly prevalent in childhood and often associated with clinically relevant comorbid psychological disorders. However, no systematic review or meta-analysis examines their co-occurrence with internalizing and externalizing problems in children.

The aim of this study is to determine if, and to what extent, children with ED show higher internalizing and externalizing problems than their healthy peers.

A multistep literature search was performed from database inception until May 1st, 2022. PRISMA/MOOSE-compliant systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42022303555) were used to identify studies reporting on internalizing and/or externalizing symptoms in children with an ED and a healthy control (HC) group. First, a systematic review was provided. Second, where data allowed for it, a quantitative meta-analysis using random effects model was conducted to analyze the differences between the ED and the HC groups for internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Effect size was standardized mean difference. Meta-regression analyses were conducted to examine the effect of sex, age, and study quality. Funnel plots were used to detect a publication bias. Where found, the trim and fill method was used to correct it.

36 articles were included, 32 of them reporting on enuresis (n=3244; mean age=9.4; SD=3.4; 43.84% female) and 7 of them on encopresis (n=214; mean age=8.6; SD=2.3; 36.24% female) [Image 1]. The ED group presented significantly lower self-concept (ES:0.42; 95%CI: [0.08;9.76]; p=0.017) and higher symptom scores for thought problems (ES:-0.26; 95%CI: [-0.43;-0.09]; p=0.003), externalizing symptoms (ES:-0.20; 95%CI: [-0.37;-0.03]; p=0.020), attention problems (ES:-0.37; 95%CI: [-0.51;-0.22]; p=0.0001), aggressive behaviour (ES:-0.33; 95%CI: [-0.62;-0.04]; p=0.025) and social problems (ES: 0.39; 95%CI: [-0.58;-0.21]; p=0.0001) [Image 2]. Significant publication biases were found across several of the studied domains [Image 3]. No significant effect of sex, age or quality of the study score was found.

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Children with an elimination disorder may have significant internalizing and externalizing problems, as well as impaired self-concept. It is recommendable to screen for them in children with ED and provide interventions as appropriate.

None Declared

To explore the health impacts of Hurricane Maria (HM) on HIV care outcomes among people living with HIV who use drugs.

Using data from an ongoing cohort study in San Juan, Puerto Rico (Proyecto PACTo), we measured differences in HIV care outcomes (viral load, viral suppression, and CD4 counts) before and after HM using assessments conducted at 6-month intervals. Generalized estimating equations were used to assess factors associated with HIV care outcomes.

All HIV care outcomes showed a deterioration from pre-HM values to post-HM values (mean viral load increased, CD4 counts decreased, and rate of viral suppression decreased) after controlling for pre-HM sociodemographic and health characteristics. In addition to HM, age (aIRR = 1·01), being homeless (aIRR = 0·78) and having health insurance (aIRR = 1·6) were independently associated with viral suppression.

219 participants completed follow-up visits between April 2017 and January 2018, before and after HM.

People living with HIV who use drugs in Puerto Rico experienced poorer HIV outcomes following HM. Socio-environmental factors contributing to these outcomes is discussed in the context of disaster response, recovery, and program planning.

Consistent evidence supports the involvement of genetic and environmental factors, and their interactions, in the etiology of psychosis. First-episode psychosis (FEP) comprises a group of disorders that show great clinical and long-term outcome heterogeneity, and the extent to which genetic, familial and environmental factors account for predicting the long-term outcome in FEP patients remains scarcely known.

The SEGPEPs is an inception cohort study of 243 first-admission patients with FEP who were followed-up for a mean of 20.9 years. FEP patients were thoroughly evaluated by standardized instruments, with 164 patients providing DNA. Aggregate scores estimated in large populations for polygenic risk score (PRS-Sz), exposome risk score (ERS-Sz) and familial load score for schizophrenia (FLS-Sz) were ascertained. Long-term functioning was assessed by means of the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS). The relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) was used as a standard method to estimate the effect of interaction of risk factors.

Our results showed that a high FLS-Sz gave greater explanatory capacity for long-term outcome, followed by the ERS-Sz and then the PRS-Sz. The PRS-Sz did not discriminate significantly between recovered and non-recovered FEP patients in the long term. No significant interaction between the PRS-Sz, ERS-Sz or FLS-Sz regarding the long-term functioning of FEP patients was found.

Our results support an additive model of familial antecedents of schizophrenia, environmental risk factors and polygenic risk factors as contributors to a poor long-term functional outcome for FEP patients.

First-episode psychosis is a critical period for early interventions to reduce the risk of poor outcomes and relapse as much as possible. There are now many studies revealing the patterns of course in the short and medium terms, but uncertainties about the long-term outcomes of symptomatology remain to be ascertained.

First, we ascertained whether the structure of psychopathological symptoms, dimensions and domains of psychopathology remains invariant over time between first-episode psychosis and long-term follow-up. Second, we analysed the changes in the interrelationships of psychopathological symptoms, dimensions and domains of psychopathology between FEP and long-term follow-up at three levels.

We performed network analysis to investigate first-episode and long-term stages of psychosis at three levels of analysis: micro, meso and macro. The sample was a cohort of 510 patients with first-episode psychoses from the SEGPEP study, who were reassessed at the long-term follow-up (n = 243). We used the Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History (CASH) for their assessments.

Our results showed a similar pattern of clustering between first episodes and long-term follow-up in seven psychopathological dimensions at the micro level, 3 and 4 dimensions at the meso level, and one at the macro level. They also revealed significant differences between first-episode and long-term network structure and centrality measures at the three levels.

Our findings suggest that disorganization symptoms have more influence in long-term stabilized patients. The main results of the current study add evidence to the hierarchical, dimensional and longitudinal structuring of first-episode psychoses.

No significant relationships.

While it is well known that there is an interaction between sleep disorders and substance abuse, it is certainly more complex than was previously thought. The effects on sleep depend on the substance used, but it has been shown that both during use and in withdrawal periods consumers have various sleep problems, and basically more fragmented sleep. We know that sleep problems must be taken into account to prevent addiction relapses.

To explain the different sleep disorders caused by substances such as alcohol and cannabis

As an example of this, two cases are introduced: the first one, a 17-year-old boy, who is diagnosed with ADHD with daily cannabis use since the age of 14. As a result of reducing consumption, he presents an episode of sleep paralysis that he had not previously had. The second one is a 50-year-old man diagnosed with a personality disorder and with dependence on cannabis and alcohol for years. He currently has abstinence from alcohol for months and maintains daily cannabis use. However, he has long-standing sleep pattern disturbances and frequent depersonalization phenomena at night.

Alcohol at low doses has no clear effects on sleep architecture. At higher doses it decreases sleep latency, as well as awakenings. In chronic alcoholic patients, a decrease in deep slow sleep, and more fragmented sleep have been found. Cannabis withdrawal reduces sleep quality, increases latency, and produces strange dreams.

There is a positive relationship both between having a substance use disorder and suffering from a sleep disorder.

No significant relationships.

Neuroimaging findings have reported aberrant functional connectivity in brain regions involved reward system in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) altering hedonic processing over food. Likewise, endocannabinoids such as Anandamide (AEA) and 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) have been involved in rewarding aspects of food intake.

To identify nucleus accumbens (NAcc) functional connectivity with whole-brain comparing between individuals with AN and controls. Furthermore, in a sub-study, to explore the interaction between NAcc functional connectivity and peripheral AEA and 2-AG levels.

A total of 60 adult women (18 to 56 years of age) took part in the present study. Twenty-six individuals belonged to the AN group (BMI<18) and 34 to the HC group (BMI=18-24.99). All participants underwent functional magnetic resonance in resting-state, and blood samples were obtained in fasting.

Negative functional connectivity was observed in the AN group compared with the control group between the NAcc and the cerebellum (pFWE<.001), between the NAcc and the insula (pFWE<.001), between the NAcc and the supramarginal gyrus (pFWE=.019), and between the NAcc and the postcentral gyrus (pFWE=.010). Analyses exploring the association between NAcc functional connectivity and peripheral endocannabinoids levels displayed altered NAcc-cerebellum functional connectivity was negatively associated with peripheral 2-AG levels in the AN group (r= -.553; p=.011).

Understanding the interaction between the reward system and peripheral endocannabinoids in patients with AN could contribute to better elucidate the pathophysiology of this disorder. Future studies will need to further investigate the clinical and therapeutic implications of these findings in patients with AN.

No significant relationships.

Cognitive deficits are common, clinically relevant and closely linked to poor functional outcomes in everyday functioning in patients with schizophrenia and other psychoses.

To ascertain to which extent a polydiagnostic assessment of schizophrenia is associated with clinically-derived criteria of cognitive impairment and gold-standard neuropsychological assessment.

We assessed 98 patients with a psychotic disorder. We tested if patients met criteria for schizophrenia according to five diagnostic classifications: Krapelin, Bleuler, Schneider, ICD-10 and DSM-IV. Also, we applied a set of clinically-derived criteria to assess cognitive impairment associated with psychosis (CIAPs). Gold-standard neuropsychological assessment was administered, covering the cognitive domains included in the MATRICS Cognitive Battery: attention, processing speed, verbal memory, visual memory, working memory, executive function and social cognition. MANOVAs were performed to test the association between polydiagnostic and clinically-derived criteria and neuropsychological assessment.

MANOVA profile analyses revealed that patients who met CIAPs criteria showed cognitive impairment in all the cognitive domains except for social cognition. Patients diagnosed with Kraepelin’s criteria showed significant differences in processing speed, visual memory, working memory and GCI. Patients fulfilling Bleuler and DSM-IV criteria showed significant deficits in processing speed and verbal memory, respectively. Schneider and ICD-10 diagnostic criteria did not reveal differences in cognition between patients who fulfilled these criteria.

CIAPs criteria were the most accurate classifying patients with cognitive impairment, followed by Kraepelin’s criteria, which were the ones among diagnostic criteria which better differentiated patients regarding cognitive impairment. These criteria take into consideration the outcome in addition to symptoms.

This work was supported by the Government of Navarra (grants 17/31, 18/41, 87/2014) and the Carlos III Health Institute (FEDER Funds) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (14/01621 and 16/02148). Both had no further role in the study des

Social cognition has been associated with functional outcome in patients with first episode psychosis (FEP). Social cognition has also been associated with neurocognition and cognitive reserve. Although cognitive reserve, neurocognitive functioning, social cognition, and functional outcome are related, the direction of their associations is not clear.

The aim of the study was to analyze the influence of social cognition as a mediator between cognitive reserve and cognitive domains on functioning in FEP both at baseline and at 2 years.

The sample of the study was composed of 282 FEP patients followed up for 2 years. To analyze whether social cognition mediates the influence of cognitive reserve and cognitive domains on functioning, a path analysis was performed. The statistical significance of any mediation effects was evaluated by bootstrap analysis.

At baseline, as neither cognitive reserve nor the cognitive domains studied were related to functioning, the conditions for mediation were not satisfied. Nevertheless, at 2 years of follow-up, social cognition acted as a mediator between cognitive reserve and functioning. Likewise, social cognition was a mediator between verbal memory and functional outcome. The results of the bootstrap analysis confirmed these significant mediations (95% bootstrapped CI (−10.215 to −0.337) and (−4.731 to −0.605) respectively).

Cognitive reserve and neurocognition are related to functioning, and social cognition mediates in this relationship.

This work was supported by the Carlos III Institute of Health and European Fund for Regional Development (PI08/1213, PI11/ 01977, PI14/01900, PI08/01026, PI11/02831, PI14/01621, PI08/1161, PI16/ 00359, PI16/01164, PI18/00805), the Basque Foundation for He

Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) is a physical, cognitive, emotional and functional condition resulting from prolonged stays in ICU (Intensive Care Unit). In pathologies with clinical characteristics similar to SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia, most patients showed cognitive deficits after discharge from ICU. In particular, previous studies describe impairment on verbal learning among PICS patients.

To analyse the immediate verbal-learning performance in patients with PICS after COVID-19 infection in a Functional Rehabilitation Unit in Madrid (Spain) using the Spanish version of the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP-S).

This study was conducted in the Hospital Central de la Cruz Roja, in Madrid (Spain). A sample of 17 PICS adult patients was included, with age ranging from 56 to 74 years old (mean = 68.35 years; 13 males). Patients were assessed around three weeks after referral from their reference hospital. The Verbal Learning Test-Immediate (VLT-I) of the SCIP-S was used as outcome. Descriptive analyses were conducted (mean and standard deviation) on standardized scores (z) based on age-adjusted general population norms. Significant impairment was set at z < -1.5.

Mean z-score on VLT-I was -1.08 (S.D. = .80) from the total sample, with 33.3% of cases with significant impairment (mean = -1.81; S.D. = .20).

These preliminary results show the probable presence of mild-moderate impairment on immediate verbal learning in a subgroup of patients, which was already observed in PICS patients with other medical conditions. Longitudinal studies, with larger samples, are needed where the premorbid cognitive level is considered.

No significant relationships.

Psychopathological symptoms and cognitive impairment are core features of patients with psychotic disorders. Executive dysfunctions are within the most commonly observed deficits and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is the test most extensively used for their assessment. Yet, the structure of executive deficits remains unclear, as there may be different underlying processes.

The study’s aims were to explore and compare the network structure of the WCST measures in psychosis and their unaffected siblings.

Subjects were 298 patients with a DSM 5 diagnosis of psychotic disorder and 89 of their healthy siblings. The dimensionality and network structure of the 13 WCST measures were examined by means of the Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA) and centrality parameters.

The WCST network structure comprised 4 dimensions: Perseveration (PER), Inefficient sorting (IS), Failure to maintain set (FMS) and Learning (LNG). Patient and sibling groups showed a similar network structure and in both cases the network structure was reliably estimated.

Perseveration measures reflect the inability to switch sorting rules when necessary. Scores for the IS dimension can occur when the subject ineffectively tries to test different sorting hypotheses, changing at random the response. FMS reflects the subject’s strategy when he/she is able to find out the sorting rule, but is unable to keep applying that rule long enough. LNG comprised conceptual ability and learning items. The lack of significant difference between network structures is in keeping with results from exploratory and confirmatory studies demonstrating an invariant cognitive factor structure between schizophrenia patients and their unaffected siblings.

Epidemiological studies indicate that individuals with one type of mental disorder have an increased risk of subsequently developing other types of mental disorders. This study aimed to undertake a comprehensive analysis of pair-wise lifetime comorbidity across a range of common mental disorders based on a diverse range of population-based surveys.

The WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys assessed 145 990 adult respondents from 27 countries. Based on retrospectively-reported age-of-onset for 24 DSM-IV mental disorders, associations were examined between all 548 logically possible temporally-ordered disorder pairs. Overall and time-dependent hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards models. Absolute risks were estimated using the product-limit method. Estimates were generated separately for men and women.

Each prior lifetime mental disorder was associated with an increased risk of subsequent first onset of each other disorder. The median HR was 12.1 (mean = 14.4; range 5.2–110.8, interquartile range = 6.0–19.4). The HRs were most prominent between closely-related mental disorder types and in the first 1–2 years after the onset of the prior disorder. Although HRs declined with time since prior disorder, significantly elevated risk of subsequent comorbidity persisted for at least 15 years. Appreciable absolute risks of secondary disorders were found over time for many pairs.

Survey data from a range of sites confirms that comorbidity between mental disorders is common. Understanding the risks of temporally secondary disorders may help design practical programs for primary prevention of secondary disorders.