No significant relationships.

The bioelectrical activity of the brain of suicidals has specific features.

Investigate neurophysiological features associated with high suicidal risk (SR) in dementias.

An electroencephalographic study of brain was performed in 66 patients with dementia, of which 33 (with high SR) were included in the main group, the other 33 (with low SR) – in the control group.

SR correlates include an increase in the spectral density and amplitude (in μV) of the α-rhythm in the right central (C4) (109.4) – in the main group, compared with (64.5) – in the control; in the temporal areas (T4) (132.2) - in the main group, (70.0) – in the control group (p<0.001). The predominance of the spectral density of the slow θ-rhythm over the entire surface of the brain (p<0.001) and δ-rhythm in the projection of Fp2 (82.3) – in the main and (116.1) – in the control groups (p<0.001), F3 (54.80) and (68.1), respectively, (p<0.05), F4 (52.4) and (67.3), respectively, (p<0.01), C4 (52.0) and (62.0), respectively (p<0.05), P3 (44.4) and (58.9), respectively, (p<0.01), O1 (67.6) and (89.41), (p<0.001), O2 (68.5) and (85.8), respectively (p<0.001) are a predictor of low SR in dementias.

With the progression of changes in the brain in dementias SR decreases. In the initial phases of the dementing process with a relatively preserved functional capacity of the brain SR is high.

No significant relationships.

The Unit of Clinical Psychiatry of the University Hospital “Ospedali Riuniti – Ancona”, in collaboration with the Marche Region Health System, is conducting a national observational project entitled “Measures related to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and assistance of postpartum depressive syndrome”, aiming at promoting women’s Mental Health, particularly in pregnancy and peripartum period.

The primary objective is implementing all measures/interventions needed to promptly screening, early diagnosising, and supporting/caring women with mental health disease during pregnancy and peripartum period. A dedicated training program was performed by our clinical team belonging to the Peripartum Psychiatry Outpatient Service of the Unit of Clinical Psychiatry, at the University Hospital “Ospedali Riuniti”, Ancona, Italy, to a selected audience of Gynecologists/Obstetricians/Nurses/Psychologists/Psychiatrists/GPs and Pediatricians.

The training program is a 2-days residential course, held on 21-22th September, 2020. After the training program, all participants (n= 70) were asked to provide an informed consent and complete an online questionnaire to evaluate knowledge/opinions/experiences and clinical practices in the field of depression in pregnancy and postpartum.

A 40-items questionnaire investigated: a) general attitude in performing screening of depression/anxiety during pregnancy; b) overall knowledge about peripartum depression; c) overall knowledge about management/treatment; d) how physicians manage patients with peripartum depression/anxiety (i.e., how they perform screening/diagnosis/treatment during pregnancy, their levels of knowledge/confidence about psychopharmacology in pregnancy).

The findings of the residential course may allow clinicians to adequately inform and help in drafting a preventive, screening and management program able to assist regional stakeholders in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and assistance of perinatal depression.

No significant relationships.

Our Emotional Schemas dictate how we deal with our own emotions, therefore, how we interpret and face different events that occur in our everyday life. Maladaptive schemas have been proven to be at fault for the inability to face different challenges.

This study aims to find the differences in emotional schemas between subjects with history of psychiatric disorder and subjects without a psychiatric disorder.

We realized a case-control study matched for age and gender, and analyzed the answers of 28 subjects (14 women and 14 men) to Leahy Emotional Schema Scale (LESS); 14 of which have a personal history of psychiatric disorders, while the remaining 14 had no such history. The LESS evaluation was part of a bigger study and was addressed to the general population, over 18 years old. The test was applied online, with the informed consent of the subjects.

The mean age of the participants was 40.28±13.98. Out of the 14 subjects with a psychiatric diagnosis, 71,43% have a job, 21,43% are retired and 1% are still studying. There was a significant difference between the two groups regarding the Higher Values dimension of the Emotional Schemas (p=0.0419). Also, the question regarding the feeling of shame when it comes to their own feeling, showed significant difference between the two groups (p=0.0211).

As opposed to the subjects without a history of psychiatric disorder, those who do have a psychiatric diagnosis, feel more often devalued and ashamed, therefore having a lower self-esteem.

Although the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDEQ; Fairburn et al. 2008) is the most used instrument worldwide for the assessment of eating disorders symptoms, its factorial structure considerably varies, which limits its construct validity. Using exploratory factor analisys in data from a sample of overweight women, our group found a three-factors structure of the EDEQ Portuguese version (Peixoto et al. 2013), Although it was in accordance with other psychometric studies (eg. Peterson et al 2007), it was different from the original matrix. Further investigation regarding its factor structure has been conducted, with studies supporting a modified seven-item-three-factors structure (dietary restraint, shape/weight overvaluation, body dissatisfaction) with improved psychometric properties (Grilo et al. 2013, 2015), including with Portuguese samples (Machado et al. 2018; Santos et al. 2019).

To analyze if the EDEQ version composed of seven items and three factors is replicated in a Portuguese sample of overweight women.

The EDEQ was administered to an outpatient sample of 276 women (Mean age= 43.85±11.89 years; Mean BMI=32.82±5.43 Kg/height2) attending a weight loss treatment consultation in a public hospital.

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed an adequate fit of the EDEQ-7 second order model with three dimensions (χ2/df=1.5497; RMSEA=.0452, CFI=.9955, TLI=.9914, GFI=.xxx; p<.001). The EDEQ7 Cronbach’s alphas for the total and its dimensions were α<.70.

Given its good psychometric properties, the overlap of the measurement model with those found with different samples and the reduced number of items, the EDEQ7 will be very useful both in research and clinical settings with/for overweight women.

Since October 2017 till 2019 the project of Psychosocial Care for internally displaced persons and the war affected population in Ukraine has been in place (short name “Let’s talk”). In 2020 this project continuing for counselling pandemic affected persons.

The counsellors are professional psychologists who were trained within the scope of the project. Sessions may be held in Russian or Ukrainian, according to the user’s choice.

Analysis of protocols of online counseling sessions and supervisions.

The key and most frequent issues mentioned by the clients are loneliness, the loss of the sense of life, fear, uncertainty, anxiety, difficulties in family relations, in particular, with children, job insecurity, addictions, psychosomatic disorders and so others. They are closely related to the situation in the country (military operation, the division into “We” and “Other”, the risk of provocations, the cases of treason and personal revenge, threats to the family members of the military). The above issue is in potential clients’ inadequately high suspicion level (in some cases on the border of paranoid fantasies), which is manifested in the fear of the possible infringement of confidentiality, over-listening, surveillance, recording of talks etc.

The online counseling is the way to provide professional, accessible, free for the users and fully anonymous psychosocial care. Most frequent issues mentioned by the IDPs and the war affected population peoples has been indicated. When presenting the project service, the focus is always made on the high level of data protection and strict confidentiality.

No significant relationships.

Spirituality and religiousness are not so far extensively investigated in patients after stroke.

The aim of this preliminary study is to explore whether self-reports in two questionnaires measuring the personal experience of spirituality and religiousness can influence cognition and more specifically performance on neuropsychological tests examining attention.

Fifteen male stroke patients participated voluntarily one year after their hospitalization. The mean age of the patients was 75.58 years (SD = 7.50, range 61-90), level of education 15.47 years (SD = 3.82). In addition to that, fifteen controls with similar demographics, free of physical and mental diseases, were also examined. Depressive symptoms of the participants were assessed with the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale. The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale, the Systems of Belief Inventory (SBI-15R) and a number of standardized tests examining attention were administered: Trail Making Test-Part A (TMT-A) time to completion, the Digit Span (WAIS-III) greatest forward span, the Ruff 2 & 7 Selective Attention Test automatic detection speed (ADS) and controlled search speed (CSS).

indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the control group and the stroke group in attention. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups regarding the levels of spirituality and religiousness.

Although spirituality and religiousness may be related with quality of life, cognitive functioning such as attention does not seem to be influenced by these variables one year post-stroke. Future research should further investigate the possible influence of the abovementioned factors in post-stroke recovery and rehabilitation.

Clinical pathways (CPWs) are tools used to guide evidence-based healthcare. They translate clinical practice guideline recommendations into clinical processes of care within the characteristics of a healthcare institution. There are few studies about the impact of CPW in the field of Psychosis in terms of adequacy to their recommendations and clinical outcomes.

PSYCHSTAGE project has been designed to study the adjustment of psychosis clinical care to a CPW based in a Clinical Practice Guideline according to a clinical staging model in a network of psychiatric services covering 580.000 inhabitants in a University Hospital in Madrid.

Retrospective and observational study in a sample of 1780 subjects 18 years old or above, diagnosed with schizophrenia and other psychosis. Socio-demographic and clinical variables were collected from clinical records, including ICG, GAF and DAS at the time they were included in the study. Clinical stage was established according to McGorry model at the same time. CPW was analysed in 1,391 subjects with 15,254 care events using a Process mining method. Process discovery, process checking and process enhancement analysis have been used.

Patients were grouped according the clinical stage. 9,2% were in stage 2; 18,5% in 3a; 47% in 3b; 22,1% in 3c and 4,1% in 4. A different CPW is represented for each clinical stage in routine practice. Then, every pathway is compared with the recommendations in the established Psychosis CPW.

Process mining can be a useful tool for the study of CPW in the field of psychosis

Digital Mental Health holds strategic potential in fulfilling populations’ mental healthcare unmet needs, enabling convenient and equitable access to mental healthcare. However, despite strong evidence of efficacy, uptake by mental healthcare providers remains low and little is known about factors influencing adoption and its interrelationship throughout the Digital Mental Health adoption process.

This study aimed at gaining in-depth understanding of factors influencing adoption and mapping its interrelationship along different stages of the Digital Mental Health adoption process.

This work adopted a qualitative approach consisting of in-depth semi-structured interviews with 13 mental healthcare professionals, including both psychologists and psychiatrists. The interviews were transcribed and analysed thematically, following Braun and Clarke’s method.

In this communication, we will describe how digital technology is currently used by clinicians to deliver mental healthcare. We identify potential factors influencing Digital Mental Health adoption and characterize the different identified stages inherent to this appropriation process: i) Pondering appropriate use; ii) Contractualizing the therapeutic relationship; iii) Performing online psychological assessment; iv) Adapting and/or developing interventions; v) Delivering Digital Mental Health interventions; and vi) Identifying training unmet needs. A discussion on how different factors and its interrelationship impact the adoption process will also be performed.

By characterizing mental healthcare providers journey throughout the Digital Mental Health adoption process, we intend to inform ecosystem stakeholders, such as researchers, policy makers, societies and industry, on key factors influencing adoption, so policies, programs and interventions are developed in compliance with this knowledge and technology is more easily integrated in clinical practice.

Voluntary dropouts before completion of inpatient psychiatric treatment are common in patients with dual disorders. However, the socioeconomic profile and family structure of patients who undergo a therapeutic program may correlate with their motivation and participation in the treatment received, as well as with their subsequent recovery.

To evaluate the family typology of patients with dual diagnosis according to the degree of intrafamily cohesion and adaptability correlated with the prediction of therapeutic success and the risk of voluntary abandonment of hospital detoxification treatment.

A total of 211 patients admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit with substance use disorders were studied. Data were obtained from two sources: (1) interview of participants, (2) review of participants’ medical records using the Maudsley Addiction Profile (MAP) and the Family Cohesion and Adaptability Assessment Scale (FACES III).

The 127 subjects who completed the hospital detoxification program had significantly lower MAP and FACES III scores at baseline than the 84 subjects who did not complete the study. Those who did not complete the admission reported greater addictive severity and poorer family functioning. Family cohesion and adaptability measured with FACES III and addictive severity assessed with MAP positively correlated with successful compliance with the hospital treatment program for dual diagnosis patients.

These findings reveal the association of psychosocial and family determinants and addictive severity with treatment completion and subsequent prognostic evolution. Recognizing these predictive characteristics may allow early identification of patients at higher risk of early dropout and prevent it by increasing the intensity of treatment.

In February 2020, the Central Mental Hospital Dundrum moved to a complete ban on cigarette smoking. Concerns were raised that this might represent a ‘restrictive practice’ and that patients might gain weight or see changes in their blood pressure if they were not permitted to smoke.

The aim of the study was to ascertain if there were changes in the blood pressure readings or body mass index of a group of patients in a secure forensic hospital after the implementation of a complete campus-wide smoking ban

All patients (n=20) working with one medium cluster team were included in the study. Demographic details and data pertaining to legal status, diagnosis and length of stay in the hospital were obtained. BMI, blood pressure and medications were reviewed at the time of introduction of the smoking ban, 1st February 2020 and again 5 months later.

All those included in the study were male. The median age was 35 years, most common diagnosis was schizophrenia and mean length of stay was 4.23 years. 20% of patients were prescribed anti-hypertensives at the time of introduction of the smoking ban. All of the patients on anti-hypertensives were overweight. At follow up there was no increase in BMI noted in the patient group. Two patients had dose reductions in anti-hypertensives, three had discontinuation of bronchodilators.

Introducing a campus wide smoking ban in a secure forensic psychiatric hospital is both clinically positive and practically possible. There was no noted increase in incidents in the hospital during this period.

Pharmacogenetics (PGx) studies genetic variance and related differences in drug outcomes. The aim of PGx testing is to increase therapy efficacy and safety, by applying e.g. dose adjustments in patients with a specific geno- or phenotype. PGx guidelines for psychotropic drugs are available (PGx drugs), including atomoxetine used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In Denmark, broad implementation of PGx is currently still low, possibly due to the lack of population-based studies investigating the real-world impact of PGx variability.

The aim of this study is to investigate the association of PGx variability (patients’ genotype/phenotype) in users of atomoxetine and different treatment outcomes in a large population-based sample of individuals with ADHD.

This study will use data of the large Danish population-based iPSYCH case-cohort study sample including information on genetic variants, prescription drug use and outcome data, e.g. psychiatric and somatic hospitalizations and death. The study population comprises all individuals diagnosed with ADHD born 1981-2005 with at least one prescription for atomoxetine between 1995 and 2016. All individuals will be categorized according to their CYP2D6 phenotypes. We will perform Cox regression analysis to estimate the hazard ratios comparing the rates of the different outcomes in people with different phenotypes adjusted for a number of confounding factors.

We have identified approximately 20,000 individuals with ADHD, of whom an estimated 10-20% have filled at least one prescription of atomoxetine.

We expect results in the beginning of 2021.

We thank the iPSYCH consortium, in specific the iPSYCH PI’s (Merete Nordentoft, Anders Børglum, Preben B. Mortensen, Ole Mors, Thomas Werge and David M. Hougaard). The iPSYCH project is funded by the Lundbeck Foundation Denmark and the universities and un

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a need for engaging online resources to enrich psychiatry training for undergraduate medical students. Podcasting is a well-established digital communication platform utilised daily in a myriad of capacities, including education. A group of medical students were tasked with creating their own educational podcasts covering specific aspects of psychiatry.

Each pair was set a sub-topic of psychiatry and utilised software to produce educational resources. The objective of this project was to reflect upon production as well as explore the efficacy of podcasting as a tool within undergraduate training.

The medical students conducted research and contacted experts within the field to contribute to their podcasts. The majority of the students then conducted reviews of the literature surrounding podcasting within medical education, which informed the production of their own podcasts. From this, it was discussed how this project could impact future practice, and indicated that podcasts may become crucial asynchronous learning tools in medical education.

Literature review and first-hand experience of podcast production enabled the students to appreciate the advantages of podcasting and the potential for its widespread future applications. Their wider reading revealed that podcast-using study participants outperformed or matched their peers in assessments, and overwhelmingly enjoyed using podcasts over traditional teaching methods.

The use of podcasting can complement traditional psychiatry training and appeal to a generation of digital natives that prefer this learning style. Podcast production is also an excellent revision method, highlighting the advantages of peer-to-peer education in both learning and increasing engagement with psychiatry.

No significant relationships.

Violent Experiences result in economic and social costs for society, impacting on emotions in families, on health (both physical and mental), and overall quality of life, causing potential damages. Thus, it becomes relevant to do research on this impact, aiming at raising awareness and promoting prevention.

The purpose of the study is to estimate the impact of experiences of violence on both physical and mental health taking into account variables such as age, gender, and marital status.

This is a cross-sectional study sampling 1407 Portuguese speaking adults, with an age average of 42 years old (DP=17.28). The measures used were: The SF-36 questionnaire to assess quality of life, physical and mental health, and the Experiences of Violence Questionnaire.

The sample was divided into two groups (victims and non-victims). The group of participants that were not subjected to violence presents more positive results. In relation to the comparison between genders, it was verified that males present more positive results having into account all dimensions SF-36 when compared to women. Also, older participants (53 years old or more) presents lower results of general health.

Violence and health, increasingly related due to the impact it has on the subjects’ physical and mental health and quality of life.

No significant relationships.

No significant relationships.

The presence of some common immunological pathogenesis mechanisms in multiple sclerosis and depression suggests the possibility of comorbid depressive disorder formation in multiple sclerosis patients, which significantly worsens their quality of life and patient’s compliance. In this regard, the depressive pathology diagnosis in people suffering from multiple sclerosis acquires important scientific and practical value.

The aim of the study was the cytokine status peculiarities identification in multiple sclerosis patients with comorbid recurrent depressive disorder (F33).

The cytokines content in patient’s blood mononuclear cells culture supernatants was carried out by ELISA. The recurrent depressive disorder diagnosis was established based on ICD-10 criteria. The depressive disorders symptoms severity was determined according to the M. Hamilton and A.T. Beck depression scales, as well as during the clinical interview

A higher production of IL-6 was noted in multiple sclerosis patients with mild recurrent depressive disorder (F33.00), in contrast to patients without the affective symptoms. The IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6 contents in the blood mononuclear cells culture supernatants of patients with severe recurrent depressive disorder (F33.2) exceeded the corresponding parameters of patients with mild depressive symptoms. A direct correlation between the depression severity and IL-1β, TNF-α, IL -6 spontaneous production by blood mononuclear cells of patients with multiple sclerosis was found.

The severity of recurrent depressive disorder correlates with a change in the parameters of the cytokine status: severe depressive symptoms are accompanied by a change in the functional activity of immune cells and an increase in the production of cytokines synthesized by type I T-helpers.

No significant relationships.

Psychiatric Patients Admissions in Mental health Service of Treviso (Italy) were compared from 2013 to 2017. Trends of Admissions take onto consideration, the presence of Menthal Health Service for Outpatients Care.

To point out the distribution of Diagnosis made in Different Years for different patients ages.

For every patient has been considered the following date : Sex, Age, Marital State, Profession, Psychiatric Diagnosis, Days of Admission, Geografic Origin and KInd of Admission (Voluntary / Involuntay).

It is noticeable the different percentage of Psychiatric Diagnosis in 2013 rather than in 2017. In 2017 it happened a more amount of Psychiatric Admission of Subjects with Substance Addiction Related Disturbs (Alcool included) and Atypical Depression Sindrome and Borderline and Cluster B Perrsonalòity Disorders. Lower amount instead was verified for Diagnosis of Schizofernia, Neurosis and Oligofrenia. Beside it was noticed, an earlier onset of Psychotic Sindrome in Young people often related with Substance Abuse. In the 2017 besides was lower the amount of Involuntary Admission (T.S.O. in Italy) compared with 2013.

Different distribution of Diagnosis is explained by the Evolution Diagnosis Orientation (from D.S.M. IV to I.C.D. 10) About the increased Diagnosis of Substance Addiction Disturbs and Younger age of same subjescts seems caused by a different treatment’s Strategy with brief selective Admissions. Furthermore lesser Involonary Admission seems due to best knowledge of every patients. The most of Theese were indeed already known by Ambulatory Outpatient Mental Health Service.

A large body of literature suggests that childhood trauma exposure is a non-specific risk factor for development of eating disorders (EDs) later in life. One potential mechanism through which early traumatic experiences may increase the risk for EDs is represented by long-lasting changes in the body stress response system.

We investigated the activity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and of the sympathetic nervous system in adult ED patients with or without a history of childhood trauma exposure.

We recruited 35 women with EDs, admitted to the Eating Disorders Center of the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Naples “Luigi Vanvitelli”. Participants filled in the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), to assess exposure to childhood trauma. They were instructed to collect saliva samples at awakening and after 15, 30 and 60 minutes, in order to measure cortisol levels and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA), a marker of the sympathetic nervous system activity.

According to the CTQ cut-off scores, 21 ED women were classified as maltreated (Mal) participants and 14 women as no-maltreated (noMal) ED participants. Compared to noMal ED women, Mal ED participants showed significantly decreased cortisol awakening response (CAR) and sAA morning secretion.

Present findings confirm that childhood trauma exposure impairs the CAR of adult patients with EDs and show that also the morning secretion of sAA is decreased in childhood maltreated adult ED patients. Therefore, our study shows for the first time a dampening in the basal activity of both components of the endogenous stress response system in childhood maltreated adult ED women.

A decrease in pain sensitivity has been observed in patients with schizophrenia since the beginning of the twentieth century. This hypothesis further emerged during the last decades due to many clinical findings.

To study pain responsiveness in patients with schizophrenia and explore its physiopathological mechanism through a review of the literature.

We searched the Medline database with no time restrictions, and we hand searched the references of all retrieved reviews. After removing duplicates, we selected Full-text articles in both French and English languages. Keywords: “schizophrenia”, “pain”, “pain threshold”, “nociceptors”, “opioid receptors”, “opioid peptides”

We have collected 399 references, we finally included 50 Articles only. Many case reports with heterogeneous types of pain concluded that despite the high prevalence of somatic comorbidities in patients with schizophrenia, there was no significant difference in pain complaints between patients with schizophrenia and controls. There was a positive correlation between the decrease in pain sensitivity and schizophrenia. Experimental studies supported a decrease in pain perception and a high pain threshold in those patients. The neurobiological hypothesis suggested the lack of pain transmission by the dysfunctional glutamatergic system and the involvement of the opioid system. these findings have been reported in patients even before starting treatment. The psychopathology theory pointed to the impact of psychotic defenses such as denial and cleavage in the phenomenon of pain insensitivity.

The meticulous research of pain symptoms should be systematic in patients with schizophrenia and the hypoalgesia should be considered when dealing with somatic conditions in this specific population.

Schizophrenia patients with auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) demonstrate impaired functional connectivity (FC) between brain regions, involved in executive functions and language. However, as most studies compare patients to healthy controls, the specificity of these findings either for schizophrenia in general or for AVH is unclear.

We aimed to compare whole-brain resting-state FC of main language brain regions between schizophrenia patients with and without history of AVH and healthy controls.

Schizophrenia male patients with (n=31; mean age 29,8±11,6) or without history of AVH (n=16; 29±12,4) and 39 healthy male controls (30±8,9) underwent resting-state fMRI on 3T Philips scanner. No between-group differences in age, illness duration, and severity of clinical symptoms except AVH were revealed. Regions of interest (ROIs) were taken from the independent fMRI study with conventional language localizer and included left inferior frontal gyrus (l_IFG) and superior temporal gyri (STG) bilaterally. Whole-brain FC of each ROI was compared between groups (ANCOVA; p<.005 voxelwise; p(FDR)<.017 clusterwise, corrected for number of ROIs) with post hoc tests.

Decreased FC between each STG (left and right) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was revealed in all patients, compared to healthy controls. Patients with history of AVH, compared to other groups, showed decreased FC between l_IFG and ACC.

Disrupted fronto-temporal FC is non-specific for AVH and characterizes all schizophrenia patients. Patients with history of AVH have impaired FC between the l_IFG, underlying language production, and ACC, involved in differentiation between language production and comprehension. The study was supported by RFBR grant 18-013-01214.