Suchergebnisse

Background: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) strongly influences health, but very little is known about the childhood determinants of adult CRF. Our longitudinal study investigated whether childhood psychopathology and socioeconomic status (SES) were related to adult CRF in 1647 Finnish male military conscripts. Methods: Childhood psychopathology was assessed at the age of eight using the Rutter and Children's Depression Inventory questionnaires. Parental education and family structure were used to assess childhood SES. In late adolescence, depressive symptoms were assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory and smoking with a questionnaire. CRF in early adulthood was examined with the Cooper's 12-minute run test. Results: General linear models showed that low parental education (p = 0.001), depressive symptoms in childhood (p = 0.035) and late adolescence, smoking, underweight, and overweight/obesity (all p <0.001) independently predicted lower CRF. The interaction between depressive symptoms in childhood and adolescence was significant (p = 0.003). In adolescents with depressive symptoms, childhood depressive symptoms (p =0.001) and overweight/obesity (p <0.001) predicted lower CRF. In adolescents without depressive symptoms, conduct problems in childhood predicted lower CRF in the initial models, but the effect disappeared after taking into account smoking and body mass index. Mediational analysis confirmed these results. Limitations: We lacked data on physical activity and only studied males at three time-points. Conclusions: Recurrent depression in childhood and adolescence and low SES in childhood predict lower adult CRF. Conduct problems in childhood predict lower CRF, but the effect is mediated by overweight/obesity and smoking. Psychiatric treatment for children and adolescents should promote physical activity, particularly for children with low SES. ; Peer reviewed

Few researchers have explored the prevalence and impact of risk factors of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) in community-dwelling Japanese adolescents. We used a survey to assess NSSI-associated factors; somatic symptoms; and sleep, psychiatric, and eating problems in a sample of 1,840
Japanese 8th grade students. Associations were examined via logistic regression analyses. Among the students, 34.6% engaged in either self-hitting or self-cutting. A significant association was found between abdominal pain, sleep disturbance, conduct issues, and eating problems on one hand,
and self-hitting without self-cutting as well as self-cutting with or without self-hitting on the other. Emotional problems were associated with self-hitting, and headaches and peer relationship problems were associated with self-cutting. Participants who engaged in both self-cutting and self-hitting
reported more headaches and conduct problems than those who engaged only in self-cutting, suggesting a greater level of mental disturbance in these adolescents. These problems should be given serious attention by clinicians when evaluating adolescents regarding the presence of NSSI.

Psychiatric hospital treatment (PHT) is expensive and indicates a severe disorder. Investigation of the early identification of this small patient group has though been hindered by small samples or unsatisfactory assessment in childhood. The present study aims to study the predictive association between psychopathology at age 8 using multi-informant assessment and later PHT. A nationwide birth cohort of Finnish children (n = 5,346) was assessed at age 8 to obtain information about psychopathology using the Rutter parent and teacher reports and self-reports of depressive symptoms. The main outcome was admission to any hospital with a primary diagnosis of any psychiatric disorder according to the Finnish National Hospital Discharge Register between age 13 and 24. Between age 13 and 24, 6.2% of the males and 4.1% of the females had been admitted for PHT. Among males, PHT was independently predicted by non-intact family and adult reports of conduct and of emotional symptoms, while among females by self-reported depressive symptoms. However, the combination of conduct and emotional problems was the strongest predictor for PHT in both sexes. Admission due to psychosis among males was associated with childhood conduct, attention, and emotional problems, but with emotional problems among females. Psychopathology at age 8 can be seen as a long-lasting increased risk of severe psychiatric disorders requiring hospital treatment in adolescence or early adulthood. Attention should be paid to self-reports among females and of comorbid conduct and emotional problems in both sexes in the early identification of this patient group.

This study used model-based cluster analysis to identify subtypes of men who scored high in overall psychopathy (i.e., ≥ 95th percentile on the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure; n = 193) from a larger sample evaluated for service in the Finnish military (N= 4043). Cluster variates consisted of scores on distinct facets of psychopathy together with a measure of negative affectivity. The best-fitting model specified two clusters, representing 'primary' (n = 110) and 'secondary' psychopathy (n = 83) groups. Compared to a low-psychopathy comparison group (n = 1878), both psychopathy subgroups showed markedly elevated levels of externalizing symptoms and criminal behavior. Secondary psychopathic participants also reported high levels of internalizing problems including anxiousness, depression, and somatization, and scored higher on the disinhibition facet of psychopathy relative to the primary group. By contrast, primary psychopathic individuals reported fewer internalizing problems than either the secondary psychopathy or comparison groups and scored higher on the boldness facet of psychopathy. Primary psychopathic participants also had higher rates of violent crimes than the secondary psychopaths. Implications for conceptualizing and studying psychopathy in non-forensic populations are discussed.

As part of a Nordic multi-centre study investigating the life and care situation of community samples of schizophrenic patients the aim of the present part of the study was to examine the relationship between global subjective quality of life and objective life conditions, clinical characteristics including psychopathology and number of needs for care, subjective factors such as satisfaction with different life domains, social network, and self-esteem. A sample of 418 persons with schizophrenia from 10 sites was used. The results of a final multiple regression analysis, explaining 52.3% of the variance, showed that five subjective factors were significantly associated with global subjective quality of life, together with one objective indicator, to have a close friend. No clinical characteristics were associated with global subjective quality of life. The largest part of the variance was explained by satisfaction with health, 36.3% of the variance, and self-esteem, 7.3% of the variance. It is concluded that the actual relationship between objective life conditions and subjectively experienced quality of life still remains unclear. Furthermore, it seems obvious that personality related factors such as self-esteem, mastery and sense of autonomy also play a role in the appraisal of subjective quality of life, which implies that factors like these are important to consider in clinical and social interventions for patients with schizophrenia in order to improve quality of life for these persons.

Biobehavioral dispositions can serve as valuable referents for biologically oriented research on core processes with relevance to many psychiatric conditions. The present study examined two such dispositional variables-weak response inhibition (or disinhibition; INH-) and threat sensitivity (or fearfulness; THT+)-as predictors of the serious transdiagnostic problem of suicide risk in two samples: male and female outpatients from a U.S. clinic (N=1078), and a population-based male military cohort from Finland (N=3855). INH- and THT+ were operationalized through scores on scale measures of disinhibition and fear/fearlessness, known to be related to DSM-defined clinical conditions and brain biomarkers. Suicide risk was assessed by clinician ratings (clinic sample) and questionnaires (both samples). Across samples and alternative suicide indices, INH- and THT+ each contributed uniquely to prediction of suicide risk-beyond internalizing and externalizing problems in the case of the clinic sample where diagnostic data were available. Further, in both samples, INH- and THT+ interactively predicted suicide risk, with individuals scoring concurrently high on both dispositions exhibiting markedly augmented risk. Findings demonstrate that dispositional constructs of INH- and THT+ are predictive of suicide risk, and hold potential as referents for biological research on suicidal behavior. ; The research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH072850 and MH089727, and U.S. Army Grants W911NF-14-1-0027 and W81XWH-10-2-0181.

Biobehavioral dispositions can serve as valuable referents for biologically oriented research on core processes with relevance to many psychiatric conditions. The present study examined two such dispositional variables-weak response inhibition (or disinhibition; INH-) and threat sensitivity (or fearfulness; THT+)-as predictors of the serious transdiagnostic problem of suicide risk in two samples: male and female outpatients from a U.S. clinic (N=1078), and a population-based male military cohort from Finland (N=3855). INH- and THT+ were operationalized through scores on scale measures of disinhibition and fear/fearlessness, known to be related to DSM-defined clinical conditions and brain biomarkers. Suicide risk was assessed by clinician ratings (clinic sample) and questionnaires (both samples). Across samples and alternative suicide indices, INH- and THT+ each contributed uniquely to prediction of suicide risk-beyond internalizing and externalizing problems in the case of the clinic sample where diagnostic data were available. Further, in both samples, INH- and THT+ interactively predicted suicide risk, with individuals scoring concurrently high on both dispositions exhibiting markedly augmented risk. Findings demonstrate that dispositional constructs of INH- and THT+ are predictive of suicide risk, and hold potential as referents for biological research on suicidal behavior. ; The research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH072850 and MH089727, and U.S. Army Grants W911NF-14-1-0027 and W81XWH-10-2-0181.