Conclusions
Auditory, visual, somatic, olfactory, and tactile hallucinations were experienced by deaf people with psychosis, with audio-visual being the most prevalent type of hallucination
The content of hallucinations was religious, paranoid, and/or sexual in nature
It appears that clinicians and researchers need to consider both individual sensory experiences and preferred communication style (e.g., sign, lip-reading, hearing-aid, using or not using their voice) when assessing voice hearing in prelingually deaf people with psychosis.
Based on the number needed to treat for the main study outcome, the authors concluded that 'for every 3 individuals continuing antipsychotic treatment at standard doses, one additional individual will avoid relapse compared to stopping antipsychotic treatment, which can be regarded as a large effect magnitude according to commonly used thresholds.'
Despite the emphasis shifting over the past century from institutional (asylum) care to community treatment and integration, including a focus on occupational functioning, this study did not find that the gap in educational attainment is narrowing for people with schizophrenia (compared to those without). In fact, in low and middle-income countries, this gap may be widening....
....it is important to note that disengagement from education systems often happens far earlier in life than the onset of schizophrenia, pointing to the fact that we cannot simply rely upon First Episode Psychosis services to address this problem. In fact, recent research suggests that cognitive deficits in people with schizophrenia begin to emerge more than a decade before the onset of psychosis itself (Jonas et al., 2022)
For me, the key implication of the study is that people accessing CAMHS, particularly people who experienced inpatient care in adolescence, should be considered for regular review. Once reaching adulthood, screening and assessment for bipolar and psychosis should be available in the adult mental health services. Hopefully, these measures will limit the duration of non-treatment.
Negative content in hearing voices (i.e., auditory verbal hallucinations) has been associated with adverse clinical outcomes including voice-related distress. Voice appraisals and responding mindfully to voices are theorized to reduce voice-related distress. This study aimed in examine mediators of the negative content voice-related distress relationship in clinical (those who recently received input from mental health services) and non-clinical voice-hearers.
The authors sought to determine whether antipsychotic use, compared with nonuse, is associated with lower work disability in first-episode nonaffective psychosis, and if so, for how long. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
There is a strong association between stress and psychotic symptoms, and this study examined the bidirectional nature of this relationship in parents with psychosis, with negative affect as a mediator and a range of other psychosocial factors included as covariates. It also examined whether stress from parenting had a larger impact on psychosis than non-parenting stress.
Patients with schizophrenia have a significant risk of self-harm. We aimed to explore the dynamic relationship between symptomatology, functioning and deliberate self-harm (DSH) and evaluate the feasibility of developing a self-harm risk prediction tool for patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES). To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Schizophrenia-spectrum disorder (SSD) is associated with increased premature death, with emerging data suggesting early illness course as a high-risk period for excess mortality. This study aimed to examine mortality rate in patients with incident SSD and differential mortality risk between inpatient-diagnosed and outpatient-diagnosed subsamples within 5 years of first diagnosis. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Previous research has indicated that individuals expressing high schizotypal traits and patients with Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD), show deficits in facial emotion recognition, compared to low schizotypal or control groups. On the other hand, non-significant findings also exist and the association of facial emotion recognition deficits with the different schizotypal dimensions is not well defined, thus limiting any conclusive outcomes. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to further clarify this relationship. To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
In 2016 NICE updated its guidance, extending the age to which early intervention in psychosis (EIP) services treat patients following their first episode of psychosis, to 65 years, from the previous cut-off of 35 years. The aim of this service evaluation was to identify differences in the demographic details, diagnoses, and treatments between patients below and above 35 years to identify any unmet needs in the latter age category.To read the full article, choose Open Athens “Institutional Login” and search for “Midlands Partnership”.
Antipsychotic-induced weight gain is associated with alterations to the composition of the gut microbiota. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of probiotics plus dietary fiber on antipsychotic-induced weight gain.
In a complex world, gathering information and adjusting our beliefs about the world is of paramount importance. The literature suggests that patients with psychotic disorders display a tendency to draw early conclusions based on limited evidence, referred to as the jumping-to-conclusions bias, but few studies have examined the computational mechanisms underlying this and related belief-updating biases. Here, we employ a computational approach to understand the relationship between jumping-to-conclusions, psychotic disorders, and delusions.
Quantitative models of psychopathology can empirically guide subclassification of heterogeneous clinical presentations such as psychosis; they are particularly well-equipped to capture the nuanced symptomatology observed in first-episode psychosis. As well, components may be better aligned with biological variables. The current study sought to confirm and extend knowledge of the hierarchical structure of psychosis symptoms in first-episode psychosis. Based on past hierarchical work, we hypothesized that a 4 component level would be most closely associated with longitudinal disability.
A consensus definition of clinical recovery in first-episode psychosis (FEP) is required to improve knowledge about recovery rates in this population. To propose criteria for a future consensus definition, this study aims to investigate rates of clinical recovery when using a standard definition (full psychotic symptom remission and adequate functioning for minimum one year) across both affective and nonaffective FEP groups (bipolar spectrum and schizophrenia spectrum disorders).
Most voice hearers report childhood trauma. Many voice hearers report comorbid post-traumatic stress symptoms and that the content of their voices (auditory verbal hallucinations) is directly (voices repeat phrases spoken by perpetrators) or indirectly (voice content and trauma is thematically similar) related to their trauma. The factors that maintain trauma-related voices are unknown, and there is limited research in this area. This study aimed to identify potential maintaining factors of trauma-related voices by reviewing models of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and positive symptoms of psychosis. Open access article- no login required
A. Laenen, T. Vangeneugden, H. Geys, and G. Molenberghs. The British journal of mathematical and statistical psychology, 59 (Pt 1):
113-31(May 2006)Mesures de concordància; Online; ICC; Psiquiatria.