Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogenous groups of neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by difficulties in social communication and the presence of restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. Autistic traits are distributed along a continuum in the general population and are negatively associated with social functioning also in non-autistic subjects. Several studies have evaluated the association between autistic traits and the quantity of social interaction; however, evidence on the relationship between autistic traits and quality of social interaction is still scarce.

To evaluate the association between autistic traits and the quality of social interactions in daily life in youths from the general population using the experience samplic method (ESM).

During a six-day experience sampling period, 349 twins and 248 of their siblings aged between 15 and 34 reported the quality of their everyday social interactions. Autistic traits were assesed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). The association between autistic traits and quality of social interaction was tested in separate multilevel linear and logistic regression models.

When participants were alone, higher autistic traits were associated with a sense of being less safe (B=-0.02, p=0.02). When participants were in company, higher autistic traits were associated with a higher preference for being alone (B=0.02, p<0.001) and higher sense of being judged (B=0.03, p=0.001). Moreover, while in company, higher autistic traits were associated with a decreased pleasure of being in company (B=-0.03, p<0.001), a lower sense of being safe in company (B=-0.03, p<0.001), and a lower sense of belonging to a group (B=-0.02, p<0.001).

The preliminary results of the present study showed that autistic traits may influence the quality of social interactions in daily life. Future studies may clarify the mechanisms underlying this association. Assessing autistic traits in youth may help improve the outcome of psychosocial interventions of youths presenting difficulties in social interactions.

None Declared

Armed conflicts, collective situations of adversity, and gross social injustices cause widespread mental suffering in affected populations. In these crises, conflicts break down and traditional community support mechanisms are weakened or destroyed. The loss of trust in others and the lack of hope for change undermine social cohesion at the deepest levels of communities. Therefore, it is important not to overlook the psychosocial impacts of social injustice and violence on the individual and society undermines other efforts to build peaceful societies. Nevertheless, the use of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) approaches to support social cohesion is still very uncommon.

The objective of the proposed intervention in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo was to complement the economic recovery activities of the most vulnerable populations with a psychological support approach. This was to ensure more sustainable results in the appropriation of problem management strategies through the strengthening of individual well-being and group support mechanisms.

The psychosocial intervention is organized around a community psycho-education to sensitize the populations to mental health issues and to promote the awareness of their possible suffering in order to access a psychological care system. The protocol included five weekly group sessions designed to strengthen participants’ individual and collective psychological resources. Several indicators were measured to assess the impact on social cohesion (psychological well-being, psychological resilience, prosocial behavior, etc.)

In eight months of intervention between July 2021 and February 2022, 1024 people were able to participate in the psychological support program. 90% of them showed improvement in psychological well-being, daily functioning and resilience. In addition to these very optimistic results on individual aspects, 65% of the participants increased the level of prosocial behaviour.

The psychosocial intervention proposed in an area of permanent conflict and adversity was mainly aimed at improving the well-being of people showing signs of distress to make them better able to complete their economic activity project. The results showed that taking into account the psychosocial dimension, not only reduced distress and allowed people to better project themselves in the future, but also promoted prosocial behavior. All these elements contribute strongly to social cohesion.

None Declared

The Psychiatry Foundation Fellowships were created by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) as a route to encourage foundation doctors to consider psychiatry as an exciting medical discipline.

This study aimed to explore the Psychiatry Foundation Fellows’ experience of applying to the Fellowship, their expectations prior to being appointed, the benefits of the fellowship, the barriers to gaining those benefits, any common factors raised, and any suggestions about how to improve the fellowship.

The researcher was a leadership fellow in medical education and simulation in the Foundation school of East of England. Ethical approval was obtained through Higher Education England as this was a service evaluation. Recruitment was purposive and participants were contacted by a gatekeeper. Four 1:1 interviews took place, the interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and the transcripts were analysed with thematic analysis.

Preliminary Themes

The Psychiatry Foundation Fellowship was generally a positive experience in terms of fostering enthusiasm for psychiatry. A sense of community among fellows and recognition among clinical supervisors in acute trusts were felt to be lacking. The themes were used to shape RCPsych’s future plans for the Psychiatry Foundation Fellowship.

None Declared

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people with mental disorders were exposed to a common and prolonged source of stress. Studies focusing on the consequences of the pandemic on individuals with a history of mental disorder are scarce, but they suggest a higher vulnerability as compared to the general population.

We aimed at identifying predictors of stress resilience maintained over time among these people during the first two years of the pandemic.

The presented study is part of a larger 2-year, 5-wave international longitudinal online survey.

The Patient Health Questionnaire, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale and the PTSD Checklist DSM-5 were used as latent class indicators for a proxy measure of distress. Specifically, a Latent-Class Analysis was performed to identify a group that showed resilient outcomes across all waves.

We investigated socio-demographic characteristics, economic and housing status, lifestyle and habits, pandemic-related issues, and chronic disease. Adherence to and approval of the restrictions imposed, trust in governments and the scientific community during the pandemic were also assessed. Social support, fear of contamination and personal values were investigated respectively through the Oslo Social Support Scale, the Padua Inventory, and the Portrait Values Questionnaire. The aforementioned characteristics were used to predict sustained resilience through a logistic regression.

A total of 1711 participants out of the total sample (8011 participants from 13 different countries) reported a diagnosis of mental disorder before the pandemic. Nine hundred forty-three participants completed at least three of the five versions of the survey and were included in the analysis. A latent class of participants with resilience maintained over time (sustained resilience) was identified, with an estimated probability of 24.8%. The demographic and clinical variables associated with a higher chance of sustained resilience were older age, maintaining a job during the pandemic, and having a larger number of people in the household. In contrast, female gender, losing job during the pandemic, having difficulty meeting basic needs, greater fear of contamination, a stronger focus on hedonism, less social support and feeling lonely resulted in a lower likelihood of being sustained resilient.

This study identified a number of factors that may help predict resilient outcomes maintained over time in people with mental disorders. COVID-19 related predictors of sustained resilience are new findings which might inform resilience-building interventions during pandemics.

None Declared

Vascular dementia (VD) is the second most common cause of dementia and is characterized by cerebrovascular changes causing cognitive impairment. In patients with VD, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are heterogeneous and highly prevalent manifestations that can arise in the course of dementia and bring suffering to the individual and his family. Currently, pharmacological interventions in the treatment of these symptoms have important adverse effects. Cannabidiol (CBD) has neuroprotective, anxiolytic and antipsychotic properties, as well as a favorable tolerability and safety profile.

To evaluate the effect of CBD on behavioral and psychological symptoms in elderly with VD.

Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial involving elderly patients with VD. The instruments used are: Neuropsychiatric Inventory, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Clinical Global Impression Scale, Side Effects Scale, Mini- Mental State Examination, Brief Cognitive Screening Battery, Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living, Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale, Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly, Zarit Burden Inventory. Included participants were assessed at baseline, at the first, second, and fourth weeks after the start of the clinical trial.

Up to the present moment, 18 patients were included, eight in group 1 and ten in group 2. In the initial evaluation of the BPSD, the mean in the Neuropsychiatric Inventory was 43.25 (±21.89) in group 1 and 50 (±18.86) in group 2, and in the BPRS, the mean was 25.25 ( ±9.82) in group 1 and 34.30 (±15.11) in group 2. The final BPRS averaged 23 (±11.41) in group 1 and 20.40 (±13.32) in group 2. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory averaged in the final assessment 41.88 (±20.15) and 17.60 (±12.33) in groups 1 and 2, respectively.

Cannabidiol has been shown to be a strategy for the management of BPSD. In addition, it has a good side-effect profile.

None Declared

Depression, anxiety and lack of impulse control are common neuropsychiatric symptoms in neurocognitive disorders and have been strongly associated with suicidality.

The aim of this study was to explore suicide rates in three major neuropsychiatric conditions including various degenerative neurocognitive disorders (DND), alcohol related neurocognitive disorders (ARND), and traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

The register cohort data of 231 817 patients with a diagnosis of degenerative dementias, ARND, or TBI, and their mortality data were collected from Finnish nationwide registers between 1998 and 2018. We calculated incidences of suicides, types of suicides, and suicide rates compared with the age- and sex matched general population (Standardized Mortality Ratio, SMR).

In fifteen years since diagnosis, 0.3% (95% CI: 0.2 to 0.5) of patients with DND, 1.1% (0.7 to 1.8) of patients with ARND, and 1.0% (0.7 to 1.3) of patients with TBI died from suicide (Figure). Men died from suicide more often than women [58.9 (51.3 to 67.4) vs. 9.8 (7.5 to 12.5) per 100 000 person-years]. Of all three groups of patients, the highest number of suicides per 100 000 was in ARND (98.8; 65.1 to 143.8), then in TBI (82.0; 62.4 to 105.8), and then in DND (21.2; 18.3 to 24.5). The most common cause of death per 100 000 person-years was self-inflicted injury by hanging, strangulation or suffocation and drowning (12.4, 10.3 to 14.8), the second highest incidence self-inflicted poisoning (5.7, 4.3 to 7.4), and then self-inflicted injury by firearms, explosives, smoke, fire, flames, steam, hot vapours or hot objects (4.7, 3.4 to 6.2). The SMRs (95% CI) in the DND group were 1.31 (1.13 to 1.51) for the whole group, 1.21 (0.90-1.62) for women, and 1.34 (1.14-1.58) for men. The SMRs in the ARND group were 3.69 (2.53-5.38), 5.05 (1.90 to 13.46), and 3.52 (2.34 to 5.30), and in the TBI group 2.99 (2.31 to 3.86), 5.68 (3.22 to 10.00), and 2.66 (2.00 to 3.55), respectively.

Image:

Suicide rates were higher in all three patient groups compared with the same-aged general population. Risk for death from suicide remained elevated for more than ten years after the initial diagnosis. Men committed more suicides than women, but there was no difference between sexes in comparison with the age-matched general population. The suicide methods were mostly violent.

T. Talaslahti Grant / Research support from: Helsinki University Hospital, grant no 212 9003, M. Ginters: None Declared, H. Kautiainen: None Declared, R. Vataja: None Declared, A. Palm: None Declared, H. Elonheimo: None Declared, J. Suvisaari: None Declared, H. Koponen: None Declared, N. Lindberg: None Declared

During the COVID-19 pandemic, care for the elderly in the community was greatly limited. Accordingly, the demand for alternative community care have increased to cope with changing situations.

In this study, we tried to find out whether the companion robot improved mood state and related problem in depressive or isolated community dwelling elderly

For 186 community dwelling elderly who have received social welfare service due to depression or social isolation, we provided companion robot that could support their daily living. The robot was equipped with special program that could recognize and respond to the participant’s own emotion. It was part of behavioral activation techniques which is one of powerful treatment for depression. The self-report questionnaires were used to measure changes in cognitive function, depression, suicidality, loneliness, resilience and satisfaction of life. Outcomes were measured before using companion robot and after 3 months, and we compared them.

The elderly using companion robot for 3 months showed improved cognitive function (45.7% to 30.1%), depression (p<0.001), suicidality(p<0.001), and loneliness (p=0.033) in the self-report questionnaire. Resilience(p=0.749) and satisfaction of life (p=0.246) were also improved but not reached significance.

Image:

Image 2:

Image 3:

These findings showed that the use of companion robot with emotional recognition coaching program could help improve depression, cognitive function, loneliness and suicidal ideation. In particular, this effect was also useful for those who were diagnosed with depression. Also if we can put more techniques of behavioral activation programs into robot, it could be useful in community care for depressive and isolated elderly.

None Declared

One of the most important functions of sleep may be the promotion of brain development. The non-REM and REM sleep sequences show the succession of cerebral processing phenomena that underlie memory consolidation. The negative consequences of sleep loss on neural and behavioral plasticity has been examined. On the other hand, sleep disruption can be a crucial symptom to develop depression disorders. Recent literature suggests that maintenance insomnia may be a risk factor for dementia. It would be important to elucidate which factors may increase the risk of developing dementia and aggravating its progression.

The aim of this scoping review is to point out the increased risk of developing dementia related to insomnia and depression.

Relevant literature was searched with PUBMED as electronic database. We used and combined the following MeSH terms: depression, insomnia, cognitive impairment and dementia. We chose sixteen recent studies from 2009 to 2021. Four of them were ruled out because the methodology and conclusions were not enough evident.

We underlined an interesting research which was carried out with Chinese population in 2021. A total of 256 patients with insomnia disorder were diagnosed by neurologists, 45 of whom were diagnosed with amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and 45 participants with intact cognition were chosen as controls matched for age and education. A case-control study was conducted to compare sleep structure between aMCI and control patients with insomnia disorder. An American prospective research in 2016 founded a statistically significant association with a higher MCI/dementia risk in women with either short (≤6 hours/night) or long (≥8 hours/night) sleep duration (vs.7 hours/night). The relationships between depression, cognitive function, serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and volumetric MRI measurements in older adults were investigated. A total of 4352 individuals aged 65 years or older (mean age 72 years) participated in this Japanese study.

According to these researches, we emphasize the importance of detecting sleep disturbances as potential risk factors for MCI and dementia. All of them provide evidences that future studies should investigate dementia prevention among elderly individuals through the management of insomnia. At that point we have to consider personalized medicine and machine learning techniques for sleep and cognitive or mood symptoms.

None Declared

Prior evidence suggests that men and women might be differentially susceptible to distinct types of childhood adversity (CA), but research on gender-specific associations between CA subtypes and psychiatric symptoms is limited.

To test the gender-specific associations of CA subtypes and psychiatric symptoms in the general population.

Data from 791 twins and siblings from the TwinssCan project were used. Psychopathology and CA exposure were assessed using the Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SCL-90) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), respectively. The associations between the total CTQ scores and SCL-90 scores (i.e. total SCL-90, psychoticism, paranoid ideation, anxiety, depression, somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, and phobic anxiety) were tested in men and women separately. The associations between the five CA subtypes (i.e. physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect) and total SCL-90 were tested in a mutually adjusted model. As exploratory analyses, the associations between all CA subtypes and the nine SCL-90 subdomain scores were similarly tested. The regression coefficients between men and women were compared using Chow’s test. All models were adjusted for age and family structure.

Total CTQ was significantly associated with total SCL-90 in men (B = 0.013, SE = 0.003, P < .001) and women (B = 0.011, SE = 0.002, P < .001). The associations with the nine symptom domains were also significant in both genders (P < .001). No significant gender differences in the regression coefficients of total CTQ were detected. The analyses of CA subtypes showed a significant association between emotional abuse and total SCL-90 in women (B = 0.173, SE = 0.030, P < .001) and men (B = 0.080, SE = 0.035, P = .023), but the association was significantly stronger in women (ꭓ2(1) = 4.10, P = .043). The association of sexual abuse and total SCL-90 was only significant in women (B = 0.217, SE = 0.053, P < .001). The associations of emotional neglect (B = 0.061, SE = 0.027, P = .026) and physical neglect (B = 0.167, SE = 0.043, P < .001) with total SCL-90 were only significant in men. The explorative analyses of SCL-90 subdomains revealed significant associations of emotional abuse with all nine symptom domains and of sexual abuse with seven symptom domains in women. Significant associations of physical neglect with six symptom domains and of emotional neglect with depression were also detected in men. No other significant associations between CT subtypes and total SCL-90 or symptom domain scores were observed in men and women.

CA exposure was associated with diverse psychopathology similarly in both genders. However, women are more sensitive to abuse, but men are more sensitive to neglect. Gender-specific influences of CA subtypes on psychopathology should be considered in future studies.

None Declared

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first register-based cohort study to examine the association between maternal psychiatric hospitalizations before, during, and after pregnancy and the risk of lower academic performance in their adolescent children.

To investigate the risk of lower academic attainment in adolescent offspring of mothers with psychiatric hospitalizations before, during, and after pregnancy.

This administrative health data-based cohort study used linked data obtained from health and educational registries in New South Wales, Australia (n=168, 528). Maternal psychiatric diagnosis before, during, and after pregnancy was measured by using ICD-10. The educational performance of the offspring was assessed by National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). A multiple Logistic regression model was employed to investigate the association

After controlling for relevant covariates, we found that adolescent children of mothers with psychiatric hospitalizations before, during, and after pregnancy were at increased risk of substandard academic performance in all domains, with the highest odds for numeracy [OR, 2.88 (95%CI 2.50-3.31)] followed by reading [OR, 2.08 (95%CI 1.81-2.38)], spelling [OR, 1.74 (95%CI 1.51-2.01), and writing [OR, 1.56 (95%CI 1.34-1.80). In our sex-stratified analysis, maternal psychiatric hospitalizations demonstrated a stronger impact on the academic performance of females in all academic domains. Severe psychiatric disorders showed greater effects when compared to other psychiatric disorders.

Early intervention strategies that aim to enhance academic performance in the children of mothers with psychiatric diagnoses before, during, and after pregnancy are needed.

None Declared

Cannabis use is associated with mental illness among men and women, especially induction or exacerbation of psychosis, anxiety, and depression. Although safety and efficacy of cannabis in most medical conditions have not been established, use of medical cannabis is growing exponentially. In particular, albeit sex-related differences in the activity of the endocannabinoid system in animals and humans, differential effects of cannabis on men and women have rarely been sought.

To characterize patterns of use and adverse effects experienced by men and women using medical cannabis.

Data from the Israeli national database of patients licensed to use medical cannabis in Israel from January 2014 to December 2021 was analyzed. The database includes indications for cannabis use, monthly cannabis quantities, Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) concentrations, and reports of adverse effects. Comparative statistics were used to evaluate the sex related differences.

161,644 persons (62% men) were issued a license to use medical cannabis during the study period. Men are significantly younger than women (50.5±19.1 vs. 56.5±18.4). The leading indications among both men and women are chronic pain (58% of men, 57% of women), symptoms related to oncological disease and chemotherapy treatment (21% of men, 24% of women) and post-traumatic stress disorder (9% of men, 6% of women). Men consume significantly higher monthly quantities at the beginning of treatment compared to women (31.6 gram vs. 29.3 gram) with a higher THC concentration (13.9% vs. 11.6%) and lower CBD concentration (5.3% vs. 6.7%). Over two years of use, there is an increase among both men and women in the amount and THC concentration, and a decrease in the CBD concentration. The differences between men and women remain significant throughout the whole period. Data on adverse effects are available for 28,629 men and 17,204 women (28.6% of men, 28.0% of women). Women report significantly more physical adverse effects (RR 1.48 [95%CI 1.39-1.57]), anxiety (RR 1.45 [95%CI 1.35-1.56]), depression (RR 1.36 [95%CI 0.95-1.96]) and derealization (RR 3.44 [95%CI 2.42-4.89]).

Although the prevalence of medical conditions for which medical cannabis is indicated are similar for both genders, approximately 60% more men consume medical cannabis. While consuming lower cannabis amount and THC concentration, women report more physical and psychiatric adverse effects than men. Understanding the differences in usage patterns and adverse effects between men and women will enable more accurate policy determinations and more effective and safer treatment strategies.

None Declared

Depression is twice as common in women as in men, especially in the young age group. Multiple factors may contribute to this gender difference. Growing attention is being focused on the role of sex hormones, including those of hormonal contraception (HC). Some recent studies have indicated a higher risk of depression among women using HC, although the results are inconclusive.

The aim of this study is to examine the associations between the use of hormonal contraception and the risk of depression in childbearing age women.

The original cohorts for the study included all women aged 15-49 years with at least one redeemed prescriptions for HC in Finland in 2017 (n=294,356), and a 1:1 age-matched cohort of non-users. After exclusion of prevalent cases (n=35,102), all incident cases of depression (as recorded in the Care Register of Health Care and Register of Primary Health Care Visits) in 2018-2019 were identified (n=23,480), and a 4:1 age-matched control group (n=93,920) was selected from the above cohorts. Current use of HC in the 180 days before the event was compared in cases and controls, and associations with risk of depression were tested via conditional multivariate logistic regression models.

During the follow-up, 23,480 incident cases of depression were identified. Current use (in the 180 days before the event) of HC (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.79-0.85), in particular of estradiol- or ethinylestradiol-containing combined HC was associated with a lower risk of depression (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.76–0.89; OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.71–0.78, respectively) compared to non-use of HC. The results remained significant (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.81-0.95; and OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.73-0.81, respectively) after controlling for covariates (marital and socioeconomic status, education level, chronic diseases). Use of progestin-only contraception was not associated with altered risk of depression.

Use of HC in childbearing age women is not associated with increased risk of depression. Rather, the use of estradiol- or ethinylestradiol-containing HC is associated with a lower risk of depression.

None Declared

Predictors consistently associated with psychosis liability and course of illness in schizophrenia (SCZ) spectrum disorders (SSD), including the need for clozapine treatment, are lacking. Longitudinally ascertained medication use may empower studies examining associations between polygenic risk scores (PRSs) and pharmacotherapy choices.

To examine associations between PRS-SCZ loading and groups with different liabilities to SSD: individuals with SSD on clozapine, individuals with SSD on other antipsychotics, their parents and siblings, and unrelated healthy controls; and between PRS-SCZ and the likelihood of receiving a prescription of clozapine relative to other antipsychotics.

Six-year follow-up and cross-sectional observational cohort study.

Multi-center.

Individuals diagnosed with SSD using clozapine or other antipsychotics, their parents and siblings, and unrelated healthy controls.

PRS-SCZ.

We used multinomial logistic regression to examine possible differences between groups by computing risk ratios (RRs), i.e., ratios of the probability of pertaining to a particular group divided by the probability of healthy control status. We also computed PRS-informed odd ratios (ORs) for clozapine use relative to other antipsychotics.

PRSs-SCZ were generated for 2344 participants (mean age: 36.95 years; 42.4% female) remaining after quality control (557 individuals with SSD on clozapine, 350 individuals with SSD on other antipsychotics during six-year follow-up, 542 parents and 574 siblings of individuals with SSD, and 321 unrelated healthy controls). All RRs were significantly different from 1; RRs were highest for individuals with SSD on clozapine (RR=3.24 [95%CI 2.76-3.81], p=2.47x10-46), followed by individuals with SSD on other antipsychotics (RR=2.30 [95%CI 1.95-2.72], p=3.77x10-22), parents (RR=1.44 [95%CI 1.25-1.68], p=1.76x10-6), and siblings (RR=1.40 [95%CI 1.21-1.63], p=8.22x10-6). PRS-SCZ was positively associated with clozapine versus other antipsychotic use (OR=1.41 [95%CI 1.22-1.63], p=2.98x10-6), suggesting a higher likelihood of clozapine prescriptions in individuals with higher PRS-SCZ.

PRS-SCZ loading differs between groups of individuals with SSD, their relatives, and unrelated healthy controls, with clozapine users being at the far end of PRS-SCZ loading. Additionally, PRS-SCZ is associated with a higher likelihood of clozapine prescribing. Our findings may inform early intervention and prognostic studies into the value of PRS-SCZ for personalized antipsychotic treatment.

None Declared

Bipolar disorder is one of the leading causes of disability among young adults. Given the heterogeneity of the disorder and the complexity of its etiopathogenesis, combination therapy is often considered as part of the treatment regimen.

To assess the place of non-pharmacological interventions as a co-adjuvant to pharmacological treatment, to discuss the role of polytherapy in the management of bipolar disorder and to underline the drug to drug interactions to keep in mind.

We present a critical review of recent international recommendations for the management of bipolar disorder. Two main evidence-based guidelines were included: The 2020 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists clinical practice guidelines for mood disorders and The 2018 Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatment.

According to guidelines, the outcomes in bipolar disorder are improved when medication is combined with evidence-based psychological treatment and lifestyle changes. As to polytherapy, it is often recommended to maximise the treatment efficacy. Studies have shown that combination treatments tend to work faster and more effectively than monotherapy especially in episodes with higher index severity. For the management of agitation, an adjuctive treatment by Haloperidol with midazolam or promethazine can be prescribed. In acute mania, combination therapy with quetiapine, aripiprazole, risperidone or asenapine and lithium or divalproex is recommended as first-line treatment options. Combinations of mood-stabilizing drugs may be more often necessary when rapid cycling is present. In a manic episode with mixed features the use of divalproex with an atypical antipyshcotic is recommended. In bipolar I depression, lurasidone and lamotrigine are often used as adjunctive therapies. When anxious distress is present, the combination of olanzapine and fluoxetine has shown to be effective. In a depression with atypical features, tranylcypromine (IMAO) can be added to lithium, divalproex or a second generation antipsychotic for a better result. Adjunctive treatment of olanzapine with fluoxetine may be necessary in a depression with mixed features. However, in bipolar II depression and for maintenance treatment no adjunctive therapies are recommended. Finally, it is important to consider the adverse effects resulting from polytherapy. Using lithium as an adjunctive medication may increase the risk of tremor and acute dystonic reactions and can be a contributing factor for neuroleptic malignant syndrome, whereas divalproex can be an inducer or an inhibitor of some atypical antipsychotics.

Rational polytherapy allows better and faster control over symptoms of bipolar disorder and should be considered after a detailed discussion of risks and benefits.

None Declared

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a serious and chronic mental disease of mood. Lithium is used for treatment and studies have demonstrated that it is the most efficient drug, reducing suicide risk in a high percentage of patients. However, this drug has well known side effects, such as kidney damage. Lithium could cause chronic kidney disease, specially with the presence of other risk factors.

Observational and retrospective study of creatinine levels and glomerular filtration rates observed in blood analysis (follow-up period of 11 years). Sample size of 263 patients diagnosed of BD I and BD II in treatment with lithium. We used socio-demographic (age, sex) and clinic variables (diabetes mellitus, hypertension, use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and/or diuretics) to generate bivariate and multivariate analysis.

Our main objective is to analyze the deterioration of kidney function and the development of chronic kidney disease that chronic treatment with lithium can induce in patients with BD. Our secondary objective is to determine variables which could promote the development of chronic kidney disease, and to assess if these variables could be considered as risk factors during the treatment with lithium.

11,3 % of patients in our study developed chronic kidney disease during monitoring. The deterioration of GFR in patients in treatment with lithium was significantly associated with female sex and NSAIDs consumption. A trend towards statistical significance was found regarding the use of diuretics (p=0,060). No statistical significance was found between diabetes mellitus, hypertension or type of BD and the deterioration of kidney function in our sample. An inverse association was found between the GFR decline and the age but no statistical significance was demonstrated.

We conclude that female sex and use of NSAIDs are predicting factors of GFR decline in patients with BD in chronic treatment with lithium. We must take into account these drugs or even avoid concomitant treatment (lithium and NSAIDs) in order to prevent chronic kidney disease. In addition to it, we should recommend careful use of diuretics during treatment with lithium because of risk of dehydration. Diabetes mellitus and hypertension have universally been associated to increase risk of development of chronic kidney disease. However, we have not found statistical significance in our study. Therefore, research should be done in order to determine specific risk factors in this group of patients and, consequently, optimize their treatment.

None Declared

Many studies have investigated whether there exist predictors of good response to antimanic drugs in bipolar disorder (BD). However, these factors predict response or only indicate benign illness course.

To shed some light on the topic, we tested whether the response to antimanic drugs showed any variability beyond that expected by the effects of illness course and placebo.

We included all double-blind, placebo-controlled RCTs of oral pharmacotherapies targeting adult patients with acute bipolar mania from 1991 to 2020. The primary outcome was the variance of the improvement in manic symptoms in treated individuals compared to placebo. The effect size was the log variability ratio (logVR). We performed a random-effects meta-analysis, including assessments of heterogeneity, sensitivity/cumulative/subgroup analyses, and meta-regression.

42 RCTs (46 comparisons) from a total of 8,438 BD patients with acute mania (53.7% male, mean age=39.3; 5,563 treatment/2,875 control groups) were included in the analysis. Individuals in active treatment groups did not show variability in the response beyond that observed in individuals under placebo (VR=1; 95% C.I.=0.97,1.03; p-value=0.97). No heterogeneity was detected between the studies (I2=0%; tau2=0%; Q=29.21; df=45; p-value=0.97). Results were similar in the leave-one-out/cumulative/subgroup analyses. Meta-regression did not show influences by age, sample size, sex, severity of manic symptoms at baseline, or clinical features (rapid cycling, mixed or psychotic features).

This meta-analysis shows no evidence of differences in the individual response to treatments. These findings suggest that the average treatment effect is a reasonable assumption for the individual BD patient with acute mania. The presented article adds evidence to the equivalent results in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, clinical high-risk state for psychosis, and major depressive disorder, not supporting classification in responders vs. non-responders. However, these findings should be balanced with results from other fields supporting such classification.

None Declared

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic mental disorder characterized by mood instability1. BD is further related to neurocognitive and functional disruptions that remain remarkably stable even when patients are euthymic, leading to poor well-being and quality of life. Mindfulness means paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and involves different facets such as observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judging and non-reacting of inner experience. It remains unclear whether mindfulness and its specific facets are differentially associated with different aspects of attention and trait impulsivity in individuals with BD.

To examine associations between different mindfulness facets, and different aspects of attention and trait impulsivity in BD.

This study was approved by the Hospital Clínic Ethics and Research Board (HCB/2017/0432). After informed consent, 94 outpatients, M age = 45.57, SD = 9.8, range 19-61 years, 41.5% Male, 63.8% BD-I according to DSM-5 criteria, in partial or total remission based on Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS; M = 1.81, SD = 2.11) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS; M = 5.46, SD = 3.71) were enrolled in this study. Participants were evaluated using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) to assess Mindfulness, the Trail Making Test (TMT-A) and the Conner’s Continuous Performance test (CPT-II) to assess Attention, and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) to assess Impulsivity. Pearson correlations were performed, and statistical significance was evaluated two-sided at the 5% threshold.

Mindfulness-Describing was negatively associated with Cognitive and Non-Planning Impulsivity (r = -.43 and -.28, p < .001), Mindfulness-Acting with Awareness was negatively associated with Cognitive, Motor and Non-Planning Impulsivity (r = -.27 to -.45, p < .001), Mindfulness Non-Judging (r = -.33 and -.34, p < .001) and Non-Reacting (r = -.30 and -.46, p < .001) of inner experience were negatively associated with Cognitive and Motor Impulsivity. No associations were found between neither Mindfulness nor Impulsivity with any aspects of Attention.

Preliminary findings suggest that better performance in specific facets of mindfulness (describing, acting with awareness, non-judging or reacting of inner experience) may be related to a decrease in different aspects of trait impulsivity. Further longitudinal and interventional research is needed on underlying mechanisms. Nonetheless, our study suggests the need for including mindfulness-based approaches to improve behavioral and functional outcomes for those with BD.

This work was supported by the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (EU.3.1.3. Treating and managing disease: Grant 945151), CIBERSAM, FIS PI17/00941 ISCIII, European Regional Development Fund.

1. Carvalho AF, Firth J, Vieta E. Bipolar Disorder. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(1):58-66. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1906193

None Declared

The Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) is a relatively specific test for bipolar disorders designed to assess the main functioning problems experienced by patients.

FAST includes 24 items assessing impairment or disability in 6 domains of functioning: autonomy, occupational functioning, cognitive functioning, financial issues, interpersonal relationships, and leisure time. It has already been translated into standardized versions in several languages. The aim of this study is to measure the validity and reliability of the Korean version of FAST (K-FAST).

A total of 209 bipolar disorder patients were recruited from 14 centers in Korea. K-FAST, Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Bipolar Depression Rating Scale (BDRS), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument Brief Form (WHOQOL-BREF) were administered, and psychometric analysis of the K-FAST was conducted

The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) of the K-FAST was 0.95. Test-retest reliability analysis showed a strong correlation between the two measures assessed at a 1-week interval (ICC = 0.97; p < 0.001). The K-FAST exhibited significant correlations with GAF (r=-0.771), WHOQOL-BREF (r=-0.326), YMRS (r=0.509) and BDRS (r=0.598). A strong negative correlation with GAF pointed to a reasonable degree of concurrent validity. Although the exploratory factor analysis showed 4 factors, the confirmatory factor analysis of questionnaires had a good fit for a six factors model (CFI=0.925; TLI=0.912; RMSEA=0.078).Table.

Model fit index of confirmatory factor analysis (n=209)

The K-FAST has good psychometric properties, good internal consistency, and can be applicable and acceptable to the Korean context.

None Declared

Suicide is a serious public health problem since it accounts for nearly 900,000 deaths each year worldwide. Globally in 2019, 10.7 persons out of 100,000 died by suicide. Psychiatric disorders are related to an overwhelming proportion of these cases. In the last years, several specific interventions and action plans for suicide prevention have been implemented in a number of European countries.

Our aim was to analyze recent epidemiologic trends of suicide mortality rates in Europe.

Annual national statistics of suicide mortality rates derived from Eurostat public databases from 2011 to 2019 were analyzed for 38 European countries. The suicide mortality rate was estimated per year/100,000 population. Linear regression models were used to study temporal trends of suicidal mortality. Analyses were performed using RStudio.

Available data show a statistically significant reduction in suicide mortality rates from 2011 to 2019 in 15 European countries, and a significant increase for Turkey (ES=0.32, SD=0.06, p=0.037) (Fig 1). The greatest significant decrease was reported in Lithuania (ES=-1.42, SD=0.02, p=0.02), followed by Hungary (ES=-1.13, SD=0.11, p=0.0007), Latvia (ES=-0.76, SD=0.11, p=0.007), and Poland (ES=-0.73, SD=0.10, p=0.001). Italy reported the lowest significant reduction in suicide mortality rates (ES=-0.13, SD=0.018, p=0.003). The remaining 16 countries showed no significant changes in suicide mortality trends.

Image:

In the last years, Europe registered an overall reduction in reported suicide rates. However, more recent data (i.e., suicide rates after COVID-19 pandemic, age and sex-related effect on suicide rates) should be analyzed and used to implement future recommendations. Current and future suicide prevention strategies aim to contribute to a greater reduction of suicide rates in the different European countries.

None Declared

Stroop test iteration performances and metabolism of tryptophan (TRP) via serotonin (5-HT) and kynurenine (KYN) have both been associated with suicidal behaviors. This study aims to probe their possible interactions.

We explored the association of the performances on the Emotion Inhibition Subtask (EIS) of the Brief Assessment of Cognition for Affective Disorder and the plasmatic levels of 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), 5-HT, KYN, melatonin (MLT) among subjects with Lifetime Suicidal Ideation (LSI) vs non-LSI, and with Lifetime Suicide Attempts (LSA) vs non-LSA.

Using R studio, we employed: 1) the t-test for parametric data and the Wilcoxon test for non-parametric data; 2) Linear Modeling to probe the associations of EIS performances with MLT, KYN, 5-HTP or 5-HT plasmatic levels.

In a sample comprising 45 individuals affected by Bipolar Disorder, we found a statistically significant difference for the Color Naming (CN, image 1) and the Neutral words (NW) subtasks among LSA vs non-LSA. In LSI vs non-LSI, only the NW retained significance, but not the CN. A significant association emerged between CN and 5-HTP in LSI but not in non-LSI (image 2). Similarly, in LSA, an association was found between CN and 5-HTP, but not in non-LSA (image 3). No statistically significant difference emerged among groups regarding gender composition, age, pharmacological therapy, Body Mass Index, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Young Mania Rating Scale, or Clinical Global Impression scale - Severity.

Image:

Image 2:

Image 3:

We found that the plasmatic levels of the metabolites of TRP via 5-HT were correlated to some EIS performances. These findings may represent a hypothesis-generating platform for further investigations.

None Declared