Suicide is a worldwide problem that generates both great suffering for the individual and its family as well as a large economic impact for the society. 800 000 people commit suicide each year globally, of whom many have already been in contact with the care system without getting the help they need. The aim of this study was to describe nurses’ experiences of caring for suicidal patients. We conducted a literature study based on analysis of qualitative studies according to Friberg’s five step model. Ten studies, published 2011-2021, were included. When asked about their experiences, nurses empathize the need of patient safety and the importance of forming a close partnership with the patient. They also empathize the emotional impact the caring of these patients put on them. Patient safety for these patients is a matter of both a safe hospital environment and nurses being well educated and aware of suicidal cues. The formation of a partnership is crucial for the nurse’s ability to make a good assessment and is usually facilitated by nurses being open and personal as well as empathic and present in the moment. However, becoming too close to the patient may be emotionally tough if the patient commits suicide. Nurses therefore need support and tools for handling their emotions. Further on, to make a good assessment the nurses also need to be able to tune into the patients verbally unexpressed needs. 

Background: Treatment guidelines recommend behaviour therapy (BT) for patients with Tourette syndrome (TS) and chronic tic disorder (CTD). However, BT is rarely accessible due to limited availability of trained therapists and long travel distances to specialist clinics. Internet-delivered BT has the potential of overcoming these barriers through remote delivery of treatment with minimal therapist support. In the current protocol, we outline the design and methods of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) evaluating an internet-delivered BT programme referred to as BIP TIC. The trial's primary objective is to determine the clinical efficacy of BIP TIC for reducing tic severity in young people with TS/CTD, compared with an active control intervention. Secondary objectives are to investigate the 12-month durability of the treatment effects and to perform a health economic evaluation of the intervention.

Methods: In this single-blind superiority RCT, 220 participants (9-17 years) with TS/CTD throughout Sweden will be randomised to 10-12 weeks of either therapist-supported internet-delivered BT based on exposure with response prevention (BIP TIC) or therapist-supported internet-delivered education. Data will be collected at baseline, 3 and 5 weeks into the treatment, at post-treatment, and 3, 6, and 12 months post-treatment. The primary endpoint is the 3-month follow-up. The primary outcome is tic severity as measured by the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale - Total Tic Severity Score. Treatment response is operationalised as scores of "Very much improved" or "Much improved" on the Clinical Global Impression - Improvement scale, administered at the primary endpoint. Outcome assessors will be blind to treatment condition at all assessment points. A health economic evaluation of BIP TIC will be performed, both in the short term (primary endpoint) and the long term (12-month follow-up). There are no planned interim analyses.

Discussion: Participant recruitment started on 26 April 2019 and finished on 9 April 2021. The total number of included participants was 221. The final participant is expected to reach the primary endpoint in September 2021 and the 12-month follow-up in June 2022. Data analysis for the primary objective will commence after the last participant reaches the primary endpoint.

Importance: Behavior therapy is a recommended intervention for Tourette syndrome (TS) and chronic tic disorder (CTD), but availability is limited and long-term effects are uncertain.

Objective: To investigate the long-term efficacy and cost-effectiveness of therapist-supported, internet-delivered exposure and response prevention (ERP) vs psychoeducation for youths with TS or CTD.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This 12-month controlled follow-up of a parallel group, superiority randomized clinical trial was conducted at a research clinic in Stockholm, Sweden, with nationwide recruitment. In total, 221 participants aged 9 to 17 years with TS or CTD were enrolled between April 26, 2019, and April 9, 2021, of whom 208 (94%) provided 12-month follow-up data. Final follow-up data were collected on June 29, 2022. Outcome assessors were masked to treatment allocation throughout the study.

Interventions: A total of 111 participants were originally randomly allocated to 10 weeks of therapist-supported, internet-delivered ERP and 110 participants to therapist-supported, internet-delivered psychoeducation.

Main Outcomes And Measures: The primary outcome was within-group change in tic severity, measured by the Total Tic Severity Score of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS-TTSS), from the 3-month follow-up to the 12-month follow-up. Treatment response was defined as 1 (very much improved) or 2 (much improved) on the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scale. Analyses were intention-to-treat and followed the plan prespecified in the published study protocol. A health economic evaluation was performed from 3 perspectives: health care organization (including direct costs for treatment provided in the study), health care sector (additionally including health care resource use outside of the study), and societal (additionally including costs beyond health care [eg, parent's absenteeism from work]).

Results: In total, 221 participants were recruited (mean [SD] age, 12.1 [2.3] years; 152 [69%] male). According to the YGTSS-TTSS, there were no statistically significant changes in tic severity from the 3-month to the 12-month follow-up in either group (ERP coefficient, -0.52 [95% CI, -1.26 to 0.21]; P = .16; psychoeducation coefficient, 0.00 [95% CI, -0.78 to 0.78]; P > .99). A secondary analysis including all assessment points (baseline to 12-month follow-up) showed no statistically significant between-group difference in tic severity from baseline to the 12-month follow-up (coefficient, -0.38 [95% CI, -1.11 to 0.35]; P = .30). Treatment response rates were similar in both groups (55% in ERP and 50% in psychoeducation; odds ratio, 1.25 [95% CI, 0.73-2.16]; P = .42) at the 12-month follow-up. The health economic evaluation showed that, from a health care sector perspective, ERP produced more quality-adjusted life years (0.01 [95% CI, -0.01 to 0.03]) and lower costs (adjusted mean difference -$84.48 [95% CI, -$440.20 to $977.60]) than psychoeducation at the 12-month follow-up. From the health care organization and societal perspectives, ERP produced more quality-adjusted life years at higher costs, with 65% to 78% probability of ERP being cost-effective compared with psychoeducation when using a willingness-to-pay threshold of US $79 000.

Conclusions And Relevance: There were no statistically significant changes in tic severity from the 3-month through to the 12-month follow-up in either group. The ERP intervention was not superior to psychoeducation at any time point. While ERP was not superior to psychoeducation alone in reducing tic severity at the end of the follow-up period, ERP is recommended for clinical implementation due to its likely cost-effectiveness and support from previous literature.

Deliberate fire-setting, such as the crime of arson, can have devastating, even lethal, consequences. This study compared factors at the time of arson by female and male offenders in Sweden between 2000-2010. The women (n = 100), and men (n = 100) included in this study were randomly chosen from among all individuals who had been convicted for arson during this period and who underwent forensic psychiatric investigations. Information regarding psychiatric and somatic characteristics, their psychosocial situation, and whether they were in contact with health or social services before the arsons were examined. The results showed that both women and men have complex psychiatric and somatic characteristics, as well as psychosocial situations. Women showed more self-destructive behaviour, lower Global Assessment of Functioning scores, and had been in contact with psychiatric health services to a greater extent than men. More women than men had children. These findings suggest that specific actions may be needed for preventing and treating women compared with men at risk for committing arson.

The caudate nucleus is a part of the striatum, and striatal hyperdopaminergia is considered central to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. How caudate volume is affected in schizophrenia and what role antipsychotics play remains unclear. In early-onset schizophrenia (EOS), where psychosis emerges during a neurodevelopmentally critical phase, the caudate may exhibit a heightened vulnerability to the effects of antipsychotic medications. We hypothesized effects of both antipsychotic medication use and age of onset on caudate in schizophrenia. We included adult patients with EOS (n = 83) and adult-onset schizophrenia (AOS) (n = 246), adult healthy controls (HC, n = 774), adolescent patients with non-affective psychosis (n = 56) and adolescent HC (n = 97). We obtained T1-weighted MRI scans using a 1.5T Siemens scanner and General Electric 3T scanners. In our main analysis, we tested for main and interaction effects of diagnosis and current antipsychotic medication use on caudate volume. Adult patients with EOS (p < 0.001) and AOS (p = 0.002) had both larger caudate than HC. Age of onset (EOS/AOS) interacted with antipsychotic use (p = 0.004) which was associated with larger caudate in EOS (p < 0.001) but not in AOS (p = 0.654). Conversely, among medicated patients only, EOS had larger caudate than AOS (p < 0.001). No other subcortical structures showed differences between medicated EOS and AOS. Medicated adolescent patients with non-affective psychosis and medicated adult patients with EOS showed similar caudate volumes. The results may indicate a schizophrenia-related and a medication-induced caudate increase, the latter restricted to patients with EOS and possibly occurring already in adolescence shortly after disease onset.

Patients with schizophrenia exhibit a higher cardiovascular mortality compared to the general population which has been attributed to life-style factors, genetic susceptibility and antipsychotic medication. Recent echocardiographic studies have pointed to an association between clozapine treatment and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), a measure that has been inversely associated with adverse outcomes including all-cause mortality. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is considered the reference method for LVEF measurement. The aim of the present study was to investigate the LVEF in patients with schizophrenia on long-term treatment with antipsychotics and healthy controls. Twenty-nine adult patients with schizophrenia on long-term medication with antipsychotics and 27 age-, sex- and body mass index-matched healthy controls (mean ages 44 and 45 years, respectively) were recruited from outpatient psychiatric clinics in Uppsala, Sweden. The participants were interviewed and underwent physical examination, biochemical analyses, electrocardiogram and CMR. Men with schizophrenia on long-term antipsychotic treatment showed significantly lower LVEF than controls (p = 0.0076), whereas no such difference was evident among women (p = 0.44). Specifically, clozapine-treated male patients had 10.6% lower LVEF than male controls (p = 0.0064), whereas the LVEF was 5.5% below that of controls among male patients treated with non-clozapine antipsychotics (p = 0.047). Among medicated men with schizophrenia, we found significantly lower LVEF compared to healthy individuals, suggesting the need of routine cardiac monitoring in this patient group. This is the first study showing a significant negative association between treatment with non-clozapine antipsychotics and LVEF.

Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) is the rate-limiting enzyme in serotonin synthesis. We investigated possible relationships between five TPH1 gene polymorphisms and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of the major serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), the major dopamine metabolite homovanillic acid (HVA), and the major norepinephrine metabolite 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) in healthy volunteers (n = 132). The G-allele of the TPH1 rs4537731 (A-6526G) polymorphism was associated with 5-HIM and HVA, but not MHPG concentrations. None of the other four TPH1 polymorphisms (rs211105, rs1800532, rs1799913 and rs7933505) were significantly associated with any of the monoamine metabolite concentrations. Two (rs4537731G/rs211105T/rs1800532C/rs1799913C/rs7933505G and rs4537731A/rs211105T/rs1800532C/rs1799913C/rs7933505G) of five common TPH1 five-allele haplotypes were associated with 5-HIAA and HVA concentrations in opposite directions. None of the common haplotypes was associated with MHPG concentrations in the CSF. The results suggest that TPH1 gene variation participates in the regulation of serotonin and dopamine turnover rates in the central nervous system of healthy human subjects.

Glutamate-related genes have been associated with schizophrenia, but the results have been ambiguous and difficult to replicate. Homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) are the major degradation products of the monoamines dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline, respectively, and their concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), mainly HVA, have been associated with schizophrenia. In the present study, we hypothesized that CSF HVA, 5-HIAA and MHPG concentrations represent intermediate phenotypes in the association between glutamate-related genes and psychosis. To test this hypothesis, we searched for association between 238 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ten genes shown to be directly or indirectly implicated in glutamate transmission and CSF HVA, 5-HIAA and MHPG concentrations in 74 patients with psychotic disease. Thirty-eight nominally significant associations were found. Further analyses in 111 healthy controls showed that 87% of the nominal associations were restricted to the patients with psychosis. Some of the psychosis-only-associated SNPs found in the D-amino acid oxidase activator (DADA) and the kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO) genes have previously been reported to be associated with schizophrenia. The present results suggest that CSF monoamine metabolite concentrations may represent intermediate phenotypes in the association between glutamate-related genes and psychosis.

Infections with Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1) and Toxoplasma gondii (TG) have been implicated in severe mental illness. All three pathogens have high seroprevalence in the human population, are neurotropic and establish a persistent infection. We hypothesized that exposed (seropositive) patients with severe mental illness would show higher immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations than exposed healthy controls (HC). We included 765 patients with severe mental illness (schizophrenia n = 515, bipolar disorder n = 250) and 541 HC. CMV, HSV1 and TG IgG seropositivity and concentrations were measured with immunoassays (seropositivity: CMV, n = 447 patients vs. 296 HC; HSV1, n = 355 vs. 238; and TG, n = 159 vs. 126). Among seropositive participants, patients had higher HSV1 (p < 0.001) and TG (p = 0.003) IgG concentrations than HC. Stratifying by diagnosis, both schizophrenia (p = 0.001) and bipolar disorder (p = 0.001) had higher HSV1 IgG concentrations, while schizophrenia only had higher TG (p = 0.009) and CMV (p = 0.045) IgG concentrations than HC. In SZ, higher HSV1 IgG concentrations were associated with higher psychotic (p = 0.030) and manic (p = 0.008) symptom scores, but only among CMV- or TG-infected patients which suggests synergistic effects. Among all participants, HSV1 IgG concentrations were inversely associated with interleukin-18 (p < 0.001) and positively associated with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (p = 0.002) and B cell-activating factor (p = 0.004), possibly indicating T cell exhaustion, enhanced inflammation, and increased B-cell response, respectively. Patients with severe mental illness exhibit a heightened immune system response to HSV1, TG, and CMV infections suggesting immune system dysfunction and/or a more severe infection. For HSV1, higher IgG concentrations were linked to a greater clinical burden.

BACKGROUND: Homovanillic acid (HVA), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) are the major monoamine metabolites in the central nervous system (CNS). Their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations, reflecting the monoamine turnover rates in CNS, are partially under genetic influence and have been associated with schizophrenia. We have hypothesized that CSF monoamine metabolite concentrations represent intermediate steps between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes implicated in monoaminergic pathways and psychosis.

METHODS: We have searched for association between 119 SNPs in genes implicated in monoaminergic pathways [tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1), TPH2, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), DOPA decarboxylase (DDC), dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) and MAOB] and monoamine metabolite concentrations in CSF in 74 patients with psychotic disorder.

RESULTS: There were 42 nominally significant associations between SNPs and CSF monoamine metabolite concentrations, which exceeded the expected number (20) of nominal associations given the total number of tests performed. The strongest association (p = 0.0004) was found between MAOB rs5905512, a SNP previously reported to be associated with schizophrenia in men, and MHPG concentrations in men with psychotic disorder. Further analyses in 111 healthy individuals revealed that 41 of the 42 nominal associations were restricted to patients with psychosis and were absent in healthy controls.

CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that altered monoamine turnover rates in CNS reflect intermediate steps in the associations between SNPs and psychosis.

Even if the treatment of cancer has developed over the last decades 50% of the patients still die of their cancer. The doctor's way of dealing with his and his patient's anxiety must surely be of significance for the treatment the patient receives.

In the first part of the thesis earlier studies of physicians' stress and ways of coping are reported. There is a lack of systematic studies which show how doctors working with cancer patients adjust to this work. The aim of this investigation is to study cancer doctors' difficulties and coping strategies. The theoretical frame of the study embraces parts of psychoanalytical theory and coping models, emphasizing that both unconscious and conscious psychological processes play their part in the coping process.

The second, empirical part of the study includes 23 physicians strategically selected out of a population of physicians who work with institutional care and who have daily contact with adult cancer patients. The main method of data collection has been a series of recorded interviews. The focus of the interview was the physician's perception of how he reacts, thinks, talks and acts in different phases of the cancer disease. To illustrate the defence strategies of the interviewers, the projective percept-genetic test, the "Defence Mechanism Test" (DMT) is used. The "Structural Analysis of Social Behaviour" (SASB) has been used to study the doctors' self image.

The results indicate that the stated difficulties deeply affect the doctor as a human being. The statements reflect conflicting feelings and wishes in relation to authority, conflicting feelings and wishes in relation to frightening and injuring, conflicting feelings and wishes in relation to intimacy/distance. Thirty themes of coping strategies frequently recur and they have been grouped into seven categories. Most of the doctors "seek knowledge" and support from scientific literature. The majority of them state that attempting to "solve a problem" is their main strategy. Most of the doctors "seek support " as a part of their coping strategy. An interesting observation is that the doctors to a higher extent "seek a relation" to their patients rather than to their colleagues. Almost one third use "denial of the severity of a situation" as their main strategy. All the doctors consciously or unconsciously use "diverting strategies", i.e. undertake tasks which are devoid of contact with patients, such as research and administration or other activities which allow them to avoid the patient. One third use "projective manoeuvres" but this is never a main strategy.

In the third part of the study the credibility of the results and their pedagogical and practical implications are discussed.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of relapse prevention (RP) as a treatment for internet gaming disorder (IGD).

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Three child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) units in Region Skåne, Sweden.

Participants: Children aged 13-18 years, coming for their first visit to CAP during 2022, were screened for gaming behavior. Those who met the proposed DSM-5 criteria for IGD were offered participation in the trial, if they had the capacity to provide written informed consent and if they spoke Swedish. A total of 111 CAP patients agreed to participate. Out of those, 11 patients were excluded due to incorrect inclusion such as young age (n = 1), or due to the absence of responses to follow-up measures (n = 9). After exclusion, 102 participants remained (intervention = 47, control = 55).

Interventions: The intervention, RP, is based on cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) and was provided individually, comprising of five to seven 45-min sessions over a period of 5 to 7 weeks versus treatment as usual.

Outcome measures: Participants were assessed with Game Addiction Scale for Adolescents pre-treatment (GASA) (baseline), post-treatment (treatment group only), and 3 months after baseline (follow-up).

Results: The repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant interaction effect between treatment and time. Both the control group and treatment group lowered their mean GASA score from baseline to follow-up significantly, but the improvement was greater in the treatment group (mean difference in control group -5.1, p < 0.001, 95% CI = - 3.390 to -6.755, mean difference in treatment group -9.9, p < 0.001, 95% CI = -11.746 to -8.105).

Conclusion: RP was found to be superior to treatment as usual in terms of reduction of IGD symptoms. Future research should address which aspects within a given treatment are effective, who benefits from treatment, in what aspects, and why.

Background: The need for priority setting in healthcare became evident during the Covid-19 pandemic, when planned care was postponed facilitating emergency treatment of Covid-19 patients, raisinquestions about the population’s preferences.

Aim: To estimate the population values interventions reducing the number of suicides in comparison to treatments reducing the number of deaths due to other causes in a country where healthcare system has a pronounced public character and a declared emphasis on equity and solidarity during a time when the limited healthcare resources were predominantly allocated for the treatment of Covid patients.

Data and Methods: The data was collected via a web survey sent to members of the web panel Userneeds during a tree-week period starting with the last week of December 2021, when media was informing the population about global experts and politicians’ huge concern about the extremely high infection risk of the Omicron. The survey was designed to identify the populations’ preferences for the allocation of the limited health care resources to save lives. An online discrete choice experiment was conducted among a sample of 1000 respondents to elicit the relative importance placed on reducing the number of deaths due to suicide in comparison to deaths due to pancreatic cancer, breast cancer and acute heart attack. The sample is representative with respect age, gender, and geographical region for the adult population of Sweden.

Results: Respondents with high value of life satisfaction and no experience of any of the four health conditions chose to allocate a given limited healthcare budget for relatively young people but not to suicide. When not controlling for the individual’s life satisfaction, the respondents seem to prioritize the interventions that reduce the risk of young people to die due to suicide and breast cancer.

Discussion: Even though the derived value of suicide prevention is near the average willingness to pay for suicide prevention, in general, a value derived using Wellbeing Valuation should not be seen as the actual amount that people would be willing to pay.

Background: Each year, near one million individuals worldwide commit suicide, and several more make suicide attempts. Both suicide and suicide attempts are a source of tremendous grief among friends and relatives of the victim, which generate large costs for society. This has prompted calls for more research on interventions that prevent suicide and self-harm behaviors, their costs and the society willingness to pay (WTP) for such interventions. Suicide screening followed by an intervention may identify suicidal individuals and prevent recurring self-harm, but few cost-effectiveness studies have been conducted.

Aims of the Study: We aim to derive the value of suicide prevention by using the wellbeing valuation method.

Methods: We use data collected from a representative sample of 1038 Swedish residents aged 18-80, who were randomly selected from a web-panel. They answered questions about the importance of interventions aimed prevent suicide and their WTP for these interventions. They also reported their life-satisfaction, their direct and indirect experience with mental disorders, including knowing someone who committed suicide or suicide attempt, variable needed to apply the well-being approach. In a first step, we estimate life satisfaction equations, controlling additionally to the well-known determinants such as satisfaction with health, income, and martial satisfaction, for variables related to suicide (e.g., the individual’s awareness about suicide because a close friend or relative committed suicide or had a suicide attempt and the individual’s s willingness to pay for suicide prevention). In the second step, we derive the value of suicide prevention by using the estimates of awareness about suicide and income from the life satisfaction equations.

Results: Our preliminary estimates show that knowing someone who committed suicide or suicide attempt has positive significant effect on the individual’s life satisfaction, and the preliminary derived value of suicide prevention is near the average willingness to pay for suicide prevention.

Discussion: Even though the derived value of suicide prevention is near the average willingness to pay for suicide prevention, in general, a value derived using Wellbeing Valuation should not be seen as the actual amount that people would be willing to pay.

The aim of our study is to research what the future help-needs and expectations on the civilian society are among Swedish soldiers before they are sent on their first deployment abroad, especially to Afghanistan. The fact that Sweden sends soldiers to a warzone is something that is new nd research according the help-needs from the returning soldiers are missing.

This study is based on a qualitative method where the data consists of four focus group interviews with at least two participants in each focus group from three different military bases in Sweden. The results indicate that the soldiers´expectations on the civilian society are low but that they would like to have more support from the civilian society. An important notice during the study, we encountered the fact that the participants in some way feel stigmatized. The results also show that they want the Swedish armed forces to be in charge and provide the care for the soldiers where health professionals involved have som military background. In the results found we also see that they are in different extent thinking and aware of the risks with deployment in Afghanistan and that they are thinking more on the physical risks rather than the psychological.

One of the final conclusions is that if they really are stigmatized this might be a new group of people for the Swedish social services to work with.

IMPORTANCE: The availability of behavior therapy for individuals with Tourette syndrome (TS) and chronic tic disorder (CTD) is limited.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of internet-delivered exposure and response prevention (ERP) for children and adolescents with TS or CTD.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This single-masked, parallel group, superiority randomized clinical trial with nationwide recruitment was conducted at a research clinic in Stockholm, Sweden. Out of 615 individuals assessed for eligibility, 221 participants meeting diagnostic criteria for TS or CTD and aged 9 to 17 years were included in the study. Enrollment began in April 2019 and ended in April 2021. Data were analyzed between October 2021 and March 2022.

INTERVENTIONS: Participants were randomized to 10 weeks of therapist-supported internet-delivered ERP for tics (111 participants) or to therapist-supported internet-delivered education for tics (comparator group, 110 participants).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was change in tic severity from baseline to the 3-month follow-up as measured by the Total Tic Severity Score of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS-TTSS). YGTSS-TTSS assessors were masked to treatment allocation. Treatment response was operationalized as a score of 1 ("Very much improved") or 2 ("Much improved") on the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scale.

RESULTS: Data loss was minimal, with 216 of 221 participants (97.7%) providing primary outcome data. Among randomized participants (152 [68.8%] boys; mean [SD] age, 12.1 [2.3] years), tic severity improved significantly, with a mean reduction of 6.08 points on the YGTSS-TTSS in the ERP group (mean [SD] at baseline, 22.25 [5.60]; at 3-month follow-up, 16.17 [6.82]) and 5.29 in the comparator (mean [SD] at baseline, 23.01 [5.92]; at 3-month follow-up, 17.72 [7.11]). Intention-to-treat analyses showed that the 2 groups improved similarly over time (interaction effect, -0.53; 95% CI, -1.28 to 0.22; P = .17). Significantly more participants were classified as treatment responders in the ERP group (51 of 108 [47.2%]) than in the comparator group (31 of 108 [28.7%]) at the 3-month follow-up (odds ratio, 2.22; 95% CI. 1.27 to 3.90). ERP resulted in more treatment responders at little additional cost compared with structured education. The incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained was below the Swedish willingness-to-pay threshold, at which ERP had a 66% to 76% probability of being cost-effective.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Both interventions were associated with clinically meaningful improvements in tic severity, but ERP led to higher response rates at little additional cost.

Parents experience many stressful situations when their child is ill and needs medical care, irrespective of the child’s age, diagnosis or the severity of the illness. Poor sleep quality and negative mood decrease the parents’ ability to sustain attention and focus, to care for their ill child, and to cope with the challenges they face.

The overall aim of this thesis was to evaluate sleep, mood, cortisol response, and sense of coherence (SOC) in parents caring for children in need of medical care, and to identify factors that may influence parents’ sleep.

This thesis includes four original studies; two of these are quantitative, prospective, descriptive and comparative studies including parents (n=82) accommodated in six pediatric wards with their ill child, using questionnaires and sleep logs to measure sleep, mood and SOC, and saliva cortisol to measure cortisol response. A follow-up was performed four weeks later at home, after hospital discharge. The other two studies are qualitative, inductive and explorative interview studies, including parents (n=12) staying overnight with their preterm and/or ill infant in three neonatal intensive care units, and parents (n=15) with a child receiving hospital-based home care in two pediatric outpatient clinics. The interviews were analyzed with a phenomenographic method.

Being together with one’s family seems beneficial for sleep and may decrease stress. The ability to stay with the child, in the hospital or at home, was highly appreciated by the parents. When caring for a child with illness, parents’ sleep quality was sufficient in the hospital; however, sleep quality improved further (p<0.05) at home after discharge. The parents reported frequent nocturnal awakenings in the hospital caused by the child, medical treatment and hospital staff. Concern and anxiety about the child’s health, and uncertainty about the future were stressors affecting the parents’ sleep and mood negatively. The parents had lower (p=0.01) morning awakening cortisol levels in the pediatric ward compared to at home, and parents accommodated for more than one night had lower (p<0.05) post-awakening cortisol levels compared to parents staying their first night.

The findings of this thesis conclude that being together as a family is important for the parents’ sleep. The ability to be accommodated in the hospital and gather the family around the child may have given the parents time for relaxation and recovery, that in turn may lead to a less stressful hospital stay. When it is beneficial for the child, the whole family should be included in the pediatric care. Moreover, pediatric nurses must acknowledge parents’ sleep, in hospital and at home. Medical treatment and care at night should be scheduled and sleep promoted for the parents in order to maintain health and well-being in the family.

Psykologiska bedömningar av föräldrar beskrivs sällan som en mer uttalad och tydlig del av arbetet inom barn- och ungdomspsykiatri, utan det är i hög grad ett underförstått arbetsområde. Syftet med den här undersökningen var att beskriva hur arbetet med psykologiska bedömningar av föräldrar konceptualiseras och praktiseras under det inledande skedet av behandlingskontakter inom BUP. Nio psykologer vid sju öppenvårdsmottagningar intervjuades och intervjuerna analyserades tematiskt. En viktig aspekt som framkommer i resultatet är hur det gemensamma arbetet mellan psykolog och förälder för att etablera en arbetsallians erbjuder goda möjligheter till psykologiska bedömningar av föräldern. Under arbetet med alliansen, och med alliansen som bas, kan olika former av systematik och modeller för psykologiska bedömningar tillämpas. Resultatet indikerar också att arbetsalliansens centrala betydelse för bedömningsarbetet är tydligt relaterad till organisationens påverkan på det arbetet, liksom till betydelsen av psykologisk kompetens vid arbete med psykologiska bedömningar av föräldrar.

Background: Bipolar disorders (BP) are frequently diagnosed and treated as pure depression initially; accurate diagnosis often being delayed by 8 to 10 years. In prospective studies, the presence of hypomanic symptoms in adolescence is strongly predictive of later bipolar disorders. As such, an instrument for self-assessment of hypomanic symptoms might increase the detection of suspected and of manifest, but under-treated, cases of bipolar disorders.

Methods: The multi-lingual hypomania checklist (HCL-32) has been developed and is being tested internationally. This preliminary paper reports the performance of the scale in distinguishing individuals with BP (N=266) from those with major depressive disorder (MDD; N= 160). The samples were adult psychiatry patients recruited in Italy (N= 186) and Sweden (N=240).

Results: The samples reported similar clinical profiles and the structure for the HCL-32 demonstrated two main factors identified as "active/elated" hypomania and "risk-taking/irritable" hypomania. The HCL-32 distinguished between BP and MDD with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 51%.

Limitations: Although the HCL-32 is a sensitive instrument for hypomanic symptoms, it does not distinguish between BP-1 and BP-11 disorders.

Conclusions: Future studies should test if different combinations of items. possibly recording the consequences of hypomania, can distinguish between these BP subtypes.

This study examined the transcultural robustness of a screening instrument for hypomania, the Hypomania Checklist-32, first revised version (HCL-32 R1). It was carried out in 2606 patients from twelve countries in five geographic regions (Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe, South America and East Asia). In addition, GAMIAN Europe contributed data from its members. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine the transregional stability of the measurement properties of the HCL-32 R1, including the influence of sex and age as covariates. Across cultures, a two-factor structure was confirmed: the first factor (F1) reflected the more positive aspects of hypomania (being more active, elated, self-confident, and cogni-tively enhanced); the second factor (F2) reflected the more negative aspects (being irritable, impulsive, careless, more substance use). The measurement properties of the HCL-32 R1 were largely invariant across cultures. Only few items showed transcultural differences in their relation to hypomania as measured by the test. F2 was higher among men and in more severe manic syndromes; F1 was highest in North and East Europe and lowest in South America. The scores decreased slightly with age. The frequency of the 32 items showed remarkable similarities across geographic areas, with two excep-tions: South Europeans had lower symptom frequencies in general and East Europeans higher rates of substance use. These findings support the interna-tional applicability of the HCL-32 R1 as a screening instrument for hypomania.

Background: Child physical abuse (CPA) is an extensive public health problem because of its associations with poor health outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine which of the background factors of CPA committed by a parent or other caregiver relates to self-reported poor health among girls and boys (13; 15 and 17 years old): perpetrator, last year exposure; severity and frequency; socioeconomic load and foreign background.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study in a Swedish county (n = 8024) a path analysis was performed to evaluate a model where all background variables were put as predictors of three health-status variables: mental; physical and general health problems. In a second step a log linear analysis was performed to examine how the distribution over the health-status categories was different for different combinations of background factors.

Results: Children exposed to CPA reported poor health to a much higher extent than those who were not exposed. In the path analysis it was found that frequency and severity of abuse (boys only) and having experienced CPA during the last year, was significantly associated with poor health as well as socioeconomic load in the families. Foreign background was significantly negatively associated with all three health indicators especially for girls. Neither mother nor father as perpetrator remained significant in the path analysis, while the results from the log linear analyses showed that mother-abuse did in fact relate to poor general health and mental as well as physical health problems among boys and girls. Father-abuse was associated with poor mental health if severe abuse was reported. Poor mental health was also associated with mild father-abuse if exposure during the last year was reported.

Conclusion: Despite the limitations that cross-sectional studies imply, this study provides new knowledge about factors associated with poor health among physically abused children. It describes details of CPA that have significant associations to different aspects of poor health and thus what needs to be addressed by professionals within mental health providers and social services. Understanding how different factors may contribute to different health outcomes for exposed children is important in future research and needs further studies.

Background

Child physical abuse (CPA) is an extensive public health problem because of its associations with poor health outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine which of the background factors of CPA committed by a parent or other caregiver relates to self-reported poor health among girls and boys (13; 15 and 17 years old): perpetrator, last year exposure; severity and frequency; socioeconomic load and foreign background.

Methods

In a cross-sectional study in a Swedish county (n = 8024) a path analysis was performed to evaluate a model where all background variables were put as predictors of three health-status variables: mental; physical and general health problems. In a second step a log linear analysis was performed to examine how the distribution over the health-status categories was different for different combinations of background factors.

Results

Children exposed to CPA reported poor health to a much higher extent than those who were not exposed. In the path analysis it was found that frequency and severity of abuse (boys only) and having experienced CPA during the last year, was significantly associated with poor health as well as socioeconomic load in the families. Foreign background was significantly negatively associated with all three health indicators especially for girls. Neither mother nor father as perpetrator remained significant in the path analysis, while the results from the log linear analyses showed that mother-abuse did in fact relate to poor general health and mental as well as physical health problems among boys and girls. Father-abuse was associated with poor mental health if severe abuse was reported. Poor mental health was also associated with mild father-abuse if exposure during the last year was reported.

Conclusion

Despite the limitations that cross-sectional studies imply, this study provides new knowledge about factors associated with poor health among physically abused children. It describes details of CPA that have significant associations to different aspects of poor health and thus what needs to be addressed by professionals within mental health providers and social services. Understanding how different factors may contribute to different health outcomes for exposed children is important in future research and needs further studies.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Stress and stress-related mental health complaints are common and increasing among adolescents, especially girls. Identifying typical sources of stress as well as central intervention targets is an important effort in the development of effective prevention and treatment protocols. This study investigated worry as potential mediator in the development of mental health problems in response to common stressors in adolescence. We also examined to what sources adolescents ascribe their stress over the years from the 7th through the 9th grade.

DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.

METHODS: Self-reported subjective stressor load, worry, anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed in a sample of Swedish 7th graders (N = 1137; 46% girls, mean age 13.2) with follow-up assessments one and two years later.

RESULTS: School was the most common source of stress across all time-points, with girls reporting considerable more stress than boys. Worry mediated the relationship between overall stressor load and depressive symptoms and anxiety over time and was not moderated by gender.

CONCLUSIONS: Worry may be an important target in stress prevention and efforts to prevent stress-related problems would benefit from focusing on early adolescence as especially school stress is already relatively common in grade 7.

Background: Stressor experience is an important topic of research concerning adolescent health and ill-health. For this, valid and reliable measures of adolescent stress are needed. The Adolescent Stress Questionnaire 2 was developed to tap into stressor domains specific for adolescence. Psychometric evaluations in Australian and European samples have indicated adequate psychometric properties. However, the ASQ-2 is quite extensive, which may render its use in large cohort studies, where several aspects of adolescent health are investigated, inconvenient and problematic.

Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of a short version of the ASQ-2 (ASQ-S) in terms of construct validity and factorial invariance across gender.

Method: The ASQ-2 was translated into Swedish and items were retained from nine of the ten scales based on factor loadings. One scale (stress of emerging adult responsibilities) was removed entirely due to low internal consistency and variance explained. The remaining 27 items were piloted and then included in an ongoing 5-year longitudinal study involving the participation of all students in the 7th and 8th grade in public schools from three Swedish municipalities (N = 2768, 47.5 % girls, mean age 13.64 years). For this study data from the first and second wave was used.

Results: A nine factor Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) showed a good fit to the data and invariance across sexes was supported. The nine scales correlated positively with depressive symptoms, anxiety and worry and negatively with self-esteem. Girls reported higher stress levels than boys in eight of the nine scales. Stressors related to peer pressure predicted reported levels of anxiety and worry one year later, whereas stressors related to romantic relationships predicted depressive symptoms.

Conclusions: Overall this study suggests that the ASQ-S could be a valid measure of adolescent stressor experience and psychometrically equivalent to the full ASQ-2.

Background: Stressor experience is an important topic of research concerning adolescent health and ill-health. For this, valid and reliable measures of adolescent stress are needed. The Adolescent Stress Questionnaire 2 was developed to tap into stressor domains specific for adolescence. Psychometric evaluations in Australian and European samples have indicated adequate psychometric properties. However, the ASQ-2 is quite extensive, which may render its use in large cohort studies, where several aspects of adolescent health are investigated, inconvenient and problematic. Objective: To evaluate the psychometric properties of a short version of the ASQ-2 (ASQ-S) in terms of construct validity and factorial invariance across gender. Method: The ASQ-2 was translated into Swedish and items were retained from nine of the ten scales based on factor loadings. One scale (stress of emerging adult responsibilities) was removed entirely due to low internal consistency and variance explained. The remaining 27 items were piloted and then included in an ongoing 5-year longitudinal study involving the participation of all students in the 7th and 8th grade in public schools from three Swedish municipalities (N = 2768, 47.5 % girls, mean age 13.64 years). For this study data from the first and second wave was used. Results: A nine factor Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) showed a good fit to the data and invariance across sexes was supported. The nine scales correlated positively with depressive symptoms, anxiety and worry and negatively with self-esteem. Girls reported higher stress levels than boys in eight of the nine scales. Stressors related to peer pressure predicted reported levels of anxiety and worry one year later, whereas stressors related to romantic relationships predicted depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Overall this study suggests that the ASQ-S could be a valid measure of adolescent stressor experience and psychometrically equivalent to the full ASQ-2.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after one or more traumatic events causing extreme stress or grave physical harm. The neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor is the primary receptor for substance P (SP); a neuropeptide suggested being involved in anxiety and depression. The present study investigated differences in NK1-receptor availability between PTSD patients and healthy controls, using positron emission tomography (PET). Methods: Eleven male refugee patients (age: 41±10) with DSM-IV defined PTSD and nine healthy male control subjects (age: 33±10) were investigated using the PET-tracer [11C]GR205171, supplied by Uppsala Imanet. GR205171 is a highly selective NK1-receptor antagonist. Scans were performed during 60 minutes in the resting state. Parametric images were generated using the graphical reference Patlak method assuming irreversible binding of [11C]GR205171 from 20-60 minutes and having cerebellum as reference region. Exploratory whole brain analyses were performed using the statistical parametric mapping (SPM2) software. Results: PTSD patients had lower [11C]GR205171 binding compared to controls, in frontal cortical clusters encompassing bilaterally insula and left Brodmann area 11, reflecting lower NK1-receptor availability. No areas were found in which PTSD patients had higher [11C]GR205171 binding. Conclusions: This is the first study reporting differences in NK1-receptor availability in PTSD patients relative to controls. A tentative conclusion is that PTSD patients have a down regulation of the NK1-receptor system, which could be either a risk factor or due to emotional trauma processing.

Decades of research have revealed numerous risk factors for mental disorders beyond genetics, but their consistency and magnitude remain uncer-tain. We conducted a "meta-umbrella" systematic synthesis of umbrella reviews, which are systematic reviews of meta-analyses of individual studies, by searching international databases from inception to January 1, 2021. We included umbrella reviews on non-purely genetic risk or protective factors for any ICD/DSM mental disorders, applying an established classification of the credibility of the evidence: class I (convincing), class II (highly suggestive), class III (suggestive), class IV (weak). Sensitivity analyses were conducted on prospective studies to test for temporality (reverse causation), TRANSD criteria were applied to test transdiagnosticity of factors, and A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) was employed to address the quality of meta-analyses. Fourteen eligible umbrella reviews were retrieved, summarizing 390 meta-analyses and 1,180 associations between putative risk or protective factors and mental disorders. We included 176 class I to III evidence associations, relating to 142 risk/protective factors. The most robust risk factors (class I or II, from prospective designs) were 21. For dementia, they included type 2 diabetes mellitus (risk ratio, RR from 1.54 to 2.28), depression (RR from 1.65 to 1.99) and low frequency of social contacts (RR=1.57). For opioid use disorders, the most robust risk factor was tobacco smoking (odds ratio, OR=3.07). For non-organic psychotic disorders, the most robust risk factors were clinical high risk state for psychosis (OR=9.32), cannabis use (OR=3.90), and childhood adversities (OR=2.80). For depressive disorders, they were widowhood (RR=5.59), sexual dysfunction (OR=2.71), three (OR=1.99) or four-five (OR=2.06) metabolic factors, childhood physical (OR=1.98) and sexual (OR=2.42) abuse, job strain (OR=1.77), obesity (OR=1.35), and sleep disturbances (RR=1.92). For autism spectrum disorder, the most robust risk factor was maternal overweight pre/during pregnancy (RR=1.28). For attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), they were maternal pre-pregnancy obesity (OR=1.63), maternal smoking during pregnancy (OR=1.60), and maternal overweight pre/during pregnancy (OR=1.28). Only one robust protective factor was detected: high physical activity (hazard ratio, HR=0.62) for Alzheimers disease. In all, 32.9% of the associations were of high quality, 48.9% of medium quality, and 18.2% of low quality. Transdiagnostic class I-III risk/protective factors were mostly involved in the early neurodevelopmental period. The evidence-based atlas of key risk and protective factors identified in this study represents a benchmark for advancing clinical characterization and research, and for expanding early intervention and preventive strategies for mental disorders.

BACKGROUND: Child psychiatric treatment facilities vary greatly worldwide and are virtually non-existent in many low-income countries. One of the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood is ADHD, with an estimated prevalence of 3-5% in Sweden. Previous studies have shown a similar prevalence of ADHD in minority and majority children in Sweden and the UK. However, clinical studies demonstrated that children from immigrant families living in Sweden received less psychiatric care than those of native-born parents. We tested the hypothesis that the consumption of child psychiatric care in immigrant families would be determined by the availability of such treatment in the parents' country of origin. Patterns of medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were studied as a proxy for child psychiatric care.

METHODS: This was a register study of dispensed stimulant medication during 2013-2014 in Swedish national birth cohorts from 1995-2009. The study population, consisting of nearly 1.4 million children, was divided by national income of the parental country of origin and whether the parents were native Swedes, European immigrants, non-European immigrants or a mixture. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratios of having been dispensed at least one ADHD drug during 2013, with adjustments for gender, family status indicating whether the child is living with both parents, household income and area of residence.

RESULTS: Having parents born in low-income (OR [95% confidence interval] 0.27 [0.24-0.29]) or middle-income (European: OR 0.23 [0.20-0.26], non-European: OR 0.39 [0.34-0.41]) countries was associated with lower ADHD treatment levels than having parents born in high-income countries (European: OR 0.60 [0.54-0.66], non-European: OR 0.68 [0.59-0.79]), when compared to children of parents born in Sweden. In families with a background in low or middle income countries, there was no significant association between household income and ADHD medication, while in children with Swedish and mixed backgrounds high level of disposable income was associated with lower levels of ADHD medication.

CONCLUSION: The use of child psychiatric care by immigrant families in Sweden was largely associated with the income level of the country of origin.

BACKGROUND: The resilience of post-war displaced persons is not only influenced partly by the nature of premigration trauma, but also by postmigration psychosocial circumstances and living conditions. A lengthy civil war leading to Eritrea separating from Ethiopia and becoming an independent state in 1991 resulted in many displaced persons.

METHOD: A random sample of 749 displaced women living in the shelters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa was compared with a random sample of 110 displaced women living in the community setting of Debre Zeit, 50 km away from Addis Ababa, regarding their quality of life, mental distress, sociodemographics, living conditions, perceived social support, and coping strategies, 6 years after displacement.

RESULTS: Subjects from Debre Zeit reported significantly higher quality of life and better living conditions. However, mental distress did not differ significantly between the groups. Also, Debre Zeit subjects contained a higher proportion born in Ethiopia, a higher proportion married, reported higher traumatic life events, employed more task-oriented coping, and perceived higher social support. Factors that accounted for the difference in quality of life between the shelters and Debre Zeit groups in three of the four quality of life domains of WHOQOL-BREF (physical health, psychological, environment), included protection from insects/rodents and other living conditions. However, to account for the difference in the fourth domain (social relationships), psychosocial factors also contributed significantly.

CONCLUSION: Placement and rehabilitation in a community setting seems better than in the shelters. If this possibility is not available, measures to improve specific living conditions in the shelters are likely to lead to a considerable increase in quality of life.

Childhood maltreatment is connected to increased risk of violent offending and psychopathology. Mentalisation and emotion regulation are reduced in individuals who have experienced severe childhood maltreatment, and are involved in violent behaviour and psychotic disorders. The current study investigated if childhood maltreatment is more prevalent and more severe in forensic psychiatric patients than in community controls, if those who have committed violent acts that are more severe report a higher severity of childhood maltreatment, and if mentalisation and emotion regulation are reduced in forensic psychiatric patients. Four types of childhood maltreatment, neglect, psychological, sexual and physical abuse, were investigated separately with the use of the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse semi-structured interview. All types of childhood maltreatment were more prevalent and more severe in forensic psychiatric patients as compared to community controls.The results suggest that different types of childhood maltreatment have different effects on mentalisation, emotion regulation and violence. Forensic psychiatric patients had lower mentalisation scores and higher emotion dysregulation. There was no significant relationship between severity of childhood maltreatment and severity of violence. 

The interaction of epigenetics, childhood trauma, and anxiety disorders is a fascinating area of scientific study with significant ramifications for clinical practice and mental health. This abstract captures the intricate interplay between these factors, emphasizing how early-life hardships leave persistent biochemical fingerprints on a person's genetic composition, perhaps influencing the emergence of anxiety disorders. Through epigenetic pathways, childhood trauma, which includes events like abuse, neglect, and persistent stress, might influence a person's sensitivity to anxiety. These processes, which control the expression of genes involved in stress response, neurotransmitter signaling, and emotional regulation, include DNA methylation, histone changes, and microRNA regulation. The disturbance of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and neuroplasticity provide as more evidence of the effects of trauma-induced epigenetic modifications, which manifest as altered brain circuits and stress response mechanisms. This complex interaction highlights how nature and nurture interact dynamically, enhancing our knowledge of the many-faceted causes of anxiety disorders. A need for focused treatments and therapies that address the molecular causes of anxiety is made as a result of the recognition of the long-lasting impacts of childhood trauma, giving those who are afflicted hope for better mental health outcomes and resilience.

BACKGROUND: The role of Interleukin-1 Receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), an innate antagonist to pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1, has attracted increasing attention due to its potential pathogenic and therapeutic implications in depression. However, the role of alcohol and adiposity in modulating IL-1Ra cytokine pathway in depressed patients has remainned unknown. The aim of this study was to follow the changes in IL-1Ra serum levels in depressed patients with or without simultaneous alcohol use disorder (AUD) and different degrees of adiposity during 6 months of follow-up.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 242 patients with depression were followed for 6 months. At baseline 99 patients had simultaneous AUD. Levels of serum IL-1Ra and common mediators of inflammation (IL-6, hs-CRP) were measured. Clinical assessments included Body Mass Index (BMI), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores.

RESULTS: Significant reductions in clinical symptoms and IL-1Ra were observed during 6-month follow-up. In hierarchical linear regression analysis, the effect of MADRS score, age, gender, and smoking had a combined effect of 2.4% in the model. The effect of AUDIT score increased the effect to 4.2% of variance (p = 0.08), whereas adding BMI increased the effect to 18.5% (p <  0.001).

CONCLUSION: Adiposity may influence the IL-1Ra anti-inflammatory response in depressed patients, whereas the effect of alcohol consumption in these patients seems insignificant. These findings should be considered in studies on the role of IL-1Ra in depression.

Recent studies have revealed that the gut microbiota modulates brain development and behavior, but the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. Here, we show that bacterial peptidoglycan (PGN) derived from the commensal gut microbiota can be translocated into the brain and sensed by specific pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) of the innate immune system. Using expression-profiling techniques, we demonstrate that two families of PRRs that specifically detect PGN (that is, PGN-recognition proteins and NOD-like receptors), and the PGN transporter PepT1 are highly expressed in the developing brain during specific windows of postnatal development in both males and females. Moreover, we show that the expression of several PGN-sensing molecules and PepT1 in the developing striatum is sensitive to manipulations of the gut microbiota (that is, germ-free conditions and antibiotic treatment). Finally, we used the PGN-recognition protein 2 (Pglyrp2) knockout mice to examine the potential influence of PGN-sensing molecules on brain development and behavior. We demonstrate that the absence of Pglyrp2 leads to alterations in the expression of the autism risk gene c-Met, and sex-dependent changes in social behavior, similar to mice with manipulated microbiota. These findings suggest that the central activation of PRRs by microbial products could be one of the signaling pathways mediating the communication between the gut microbiota and the developing brain.

Two trained and experienced clinical psychologists and two nontrained students rated the sections in Gunderson's Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB) on the basis of hospital records for 16 patients (DIB-R). The results showed that both reliability and validity, i.e., correlations with an actual interview, were unexpectedly high, around .80 for the trained judges and around .55 for the nontrained judges. The conclusion is that the DIB may be used for retrospective diagnosis of borderline patients from hospital records.

Disasters and major accidents are a significant cause of distress worldwide. High levels of posttraumatic stress can become chronic after severe and prolonged psychological trauma, raising concerns about the extent of adverse long-term consequences after single events. The present thesis aimed to describe the course and burden of posttraumatic stress in survivors from a ferry disaster in the Baltic Sea, an airliner crash-landing in Gottröra, Sweden, and a bus accident involving Swedish 6^th grade schoolchildren in Måbødalen, Norway.

The participants were surveyed 1 month to 4 years after the events and again after 14 to 20 years. The follow-up surveys included 33 ferry disaster survivors, 70 airline survivors, and 7 surviving schoolchildren with a comparison group from the same school (n = 33). Short- and long-term changes in posttraumatic stress were estimated separately in generalised regression models refined by linear splines. In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 ferry survivors 15 years after the disaster, including structured clinical interviews and thematic analysis of survivors’ descriptions of consequences of the event and social support.

Approximately half of all survivors experienced significant posttraumatic stress at the initial assessments. Significant long-term distress was noted in one fourth of the ferry survivors and one sixth of the airline survivors. The bus crash was not associated with significant long-term posttraumatic stress. A poorer long-term outcome was noted in women and in bereaved survivors.

The thematic analysis revealed that long-term consequences not only included negative aspects but also positive ones, including personal growth and existential awareness. There was ample availability of social support, although the need for support extended over a period of several years. Barriers to support from significant others were described in detail by the survivors.

The results extend previous research by providing a comprehensive account of long-term consequences of disasters and major accidents in light of early reactions. The interviews provide some new insights into features of social support that warrant further study. Important future challenges include evaluating whether timely attention to survivors at risk for chronic distress and significant others can facilitate recovery.

In Sweden, four out of five people have smartphones, indicating the potential to increase the reach of low- intensity support after trauma via smartphone-apps to aid recovery. While there are many apps in the mental health field available to the general public, their effects are rarely evaluated. The PTSD Coach smartphone-app was developed by the VA ́s National Center for PTSD—Dissemination and Training Division. A Swedish version was developed by using existing code while making adjustment to the content for a Swedish context with a view for use by both civilians and veterans. A pilot study is underway and the findings will be used to inform a larger efficacy study. To date, 31 participants have been recruited to the pilot study, in which they use the Swedish version of the PTSD Coach for four weeks. Pre- and post- assessments include a structured clinical interview (MINI), PCL-5, PHQ-9 and the Swedish version of the PTSD Coach Survey. The participants’ experiences with using the app are explored in focus groups. During this presentation, the adaptation for the Swedish PTSD Coach will be outlined and experiences from the development and pilot study of the Swedish version will be described. 

The present study aimed to examine the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors with low levels of risk factors for PTSD. The sample included 142 adults (58% women, 54% university education, 93% employed/students/retired) on vacation in Southeast Asia during the 2004 Indian Ocean disaster. Semi-structured clinical interviews (SCID-I) were performed after 6 years including PTSD, depression, specific phobia, and alcohol abuse. The 6-year prevalence of PTSD was 11.3% and the current prevalence was 4.2%, with onset mainly within 1 month and remission within 3 years post-disaster. Suicidal ideation and comorbidity were common in PTSD cases. Lifetime prevalence of depression was 19%, specific phobia 7%, and alcohol abuse 4%. The findings suggest elevated levels of PTSD but not other disorders as compared with general population samples, but still lower levels than other disaster samples. Despite benign circumstances, however, the course and burden of PTSD were comparable to similar studies.

This prospective longitudinal study aimed to examine posttraumatic stress in survivors 14 years after a ferry disaster, and estimate short- and long-term changes in stress associated with traumatic bereavement and acute dissociation. There were 852 people who perished in the disaster, 137 survived. The 51 Swedish survivors were surveyed with the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) at 3 months, 1, 3, and 14 years (response rates 82%, 65%, 51%, and 69%). Symptoms decreased from 3 months to 1 year; no change was found thereafter. After 14 years, 27% reported significant symptoms. Traumatic bereavement, but not acute dissociation, was associated with long-term symptom elevation. Chronic posttraumatic stress can persist in a minority of survivors, and traumatic bereavement appears to hinder recovery.

Background

Survivors of natural disasters are thought to be at an increased risk of psychiatric disorders, however the extent of this risk, and whether it is linked to pre-existing psychopathology, is not known. We aimed to establish whether Swedish survivors of tsunamis from the 2004 Sumatra–Andaman earthquake had increased risks of psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts 5 years after repatriation.

Methods

We identified Swedish survivors repatriated from southeast Asia (8762 adults and 3742 children) and 864 088 unexposed adults and 320 828 unexposed children matched for sex, age, and socioeconomic status. We retrieved psychiatric diagnoses and suicide attempts from the Swedish patient register for the 5 years after the tsunami (from Dec 26, 2004, to Jan 31, 2010) and estimated hazard ratios (HRs), then adjusted for pre-tsunami psychiatric disorders, and, for children, for parental pre-tsunami disorders.

Findings

Exposed adults were more likely than unexposed adults to receive any psychiatric diagnosis (547 [6.2%] vs 47 734 [5.5%]; adjusted HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.11–1.32), particularly stress-related disorders (187 [2.1%] vs 8831 [1.0%]; 2.27, 1.96–2.62) and suicide attempts (38 [0.43%] vs 2752 [0.32%]; 1.54, 1.11–2.13), but not mood or anxiety disorders. Risk of psychiatric diagnoses did not differ between exposed and unexposed children and adolescents (248 [6.6] vs 22 081 [6.9%]; 0.98, 0.86–1.11), although exposed children and adolescents had a higher risk for suicide attempts with uncertain intent (1.43; 1.01–2.02) and stress-related disorders (1.79; 1.30–2.46), mainly during the first 3 months after the tsunami.

Interpretation

The 2004 tsunami was, independently of previous psychiatric morbidity, associated with an increased risk of severe psychopathology, mainly stress-related disorders and suicide attempts, in children and adults. Survivors of natural disasters should be targeted with early interventions and active long-term follow-up to prevent, detect, and alleviate psychiatric disorders that might follow.

Background: Survivors of natural disasters are thought to be at an increased risk of psychiatric disorders, however the extent of this risk, and whether it is linked to pre-existing psychopathology, is not known. We aimed to establish whether Swedish survivors of tsunamis from the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake had increased risks of psychiatric disorders and suicide attempts 5 years after repatriation.

Methods: We identified Swedish survivors repatriated from southeast Asia (8762 adults and 3742 children) and 864 088 unexposed adults and 320 828 unexposed children matched for sex, age, and socioeconomic status. We retrieved psychiatric diagnoses and suicide attempts from the Swedish patient register for the 5 years after the tsunami (from Dec 26, 2004, to Jan 31, 2010) and estimated hazard ratios (HRs), then adjusted for pre-tsunami psychiatric disorders, and, for children, for parental pre-tsunami disorders.

Findings: Exposed adults were more likely than unexposed adults to receive any psychiatric diagnosis (547 [6.2%] vs 47 734 [5.5%]; adjusted HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.11-1.32), particularly stress-related disorders (187 [2.1%] vs 8831 [1.0%]; 2.27, 1.96-2.62) and suicide attempts (38 [0.43%] vs 2752 [0.32%]; 1.54, 1.11-2.13), but not mood or anxiety disorders. Risk of psychiatric diagnoses did not differ between exposed and unexposed children and adolescents (248 [6.6] vs 22 081 [6.9%]; 0.98, 0.86-1.11), although exposed children and adolescents had a higher risk for suicide attempts with uncertain intent (1.43; 1.01-2.02) and stress-related disorders (1.79; 1.30-2.46), mainly during the first 3 months after the tsunami.

Interpretation: The 2004 tsunami was, independently of previous psychiatric morbidity, associated with an increased risk of severe psychopathology, mainly stress-related disorders and suicide attempts, in children and adults. Survivors of natural disasters should be targeted with early interventions and active long-term follow-up to prevent, detect, and alleviate psychiatric disorders that might follow.

Funding: The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research, Swedish Board of Health and Welfare, Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Swedish Society for Medical Research.

Background:

Disasters yield increased rates of psychological disorders decades later. Other consequences, however, have received little attention in the past.

Objective:

We aimed to examine diagnostic status and survivors’ views on disaster-related consequences and social support.

Methods:

A mixed-methods approach was used with 22 survivors (of 49 eligible) 15 years after a ferry disaster. Data collection included audiotaped interviews with open-ended questions and diagnostic assessment of Axis-I disorders.

Results:

The post-disaster incidence was 54% (12/22) for Axis-I disorders, and 45% (10/22) for full or subsyndromal posttraumatic stress disorder. Thematic analysis revealed that survivor perception of the longterm consequences included positive (character change) and negative aspects (being ascribed a survivor identity). Participants’ sought social support for several years, yet many felt hindered by experiential dissimilarity and distress of significant others.

Conclusions:

Axis-I disorders were prevalent, but not salient to survivors’ perceptions in the long-term. Postdisaster interventions need to attend to common barriers to support.

BACKGROUND: Greater access to evidence-based psychological treatments is needed. This review aimed to evaluate whether internet-delivered psychological treatments for mood and anxiety disorders are efficacious, noninferior to established treatments, safe, and cost-effective for children, adolescents and adults.

METHODS: We searched the literature for studies published until March 2013. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were considered for the assessment of short-term efficacy and safety and were pooled in meta-analyses. Other designs were also considered for long-term effect and cost-effectiveness. Comparisons against established treatments were evaluated for noninferiority. Two reviewers independently assessed the relevant studies for risk of bias. The quality of the evidence was graded using an international grading system.

RESULTS: A total of 52 relevant RCTs were identified whereof 12 were excluded due to high risk of bias. Five cost-effectiveness studies were identified and three were excluded due to high risk of bias. The included trials mainly evaluated internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (I-CBT) against a waiting list in adult volunteers and 88% were conducted in Sweden or Australia. One trial involved children. For adults, the quality of evidence was graded as moderate for the short-term efficacy of I-CBT vs. waiting list for mild/moderate depression (d = 0.83; 95% CI 0.59, 1.07) and social phobia (d = 0.85; 95% CI 0.66, 1.05), and moderate for no efficacy of internet-delivered attention bias modification vs. sham treatment for social phobia (d = -0.04; 95% CI -0.24, 0.35). The quality of evidence was graded as low/very low for other disorders, interventions, children/adolescents, noninferiority, adverse events, and cost-effectiveness.

CONCLUSIONS: I-CBT is a viable treatment option for adults with depression and some anxiety disorders who request this treatment modality. Important questions remain before broad implementation can be supported. Future research would benefit from prioritizing adapting treatments to children/adolescents and using noninferiority designs with established forms of treatment.