The association between childhood maltreatment and pain sensitivity in a high-risk adolescent population.

The risk of developing chronic pain is twice as high among people with a history of childhood maltreatment compared to those without these experiences. It is unclear, however, whether childhood maltreatment might lead to lower or higher perception of pain. In this paper, we investigate the association between childhood maltreatment and pain sensitivity.

Linked patterns of symptoms and cognitive covariation with functional brain controllability in major depressive disorder.

Background: Controllability analysis is an approach developed for evaluating the ability of a brain region to modulate function in other regions, which has been found to be altered in major depressive disorder (MDD). Both depressive symptoms and cognitive impairments are prominent features of MDD, but the case-control differences of controllability between MDD and controls can not fully interpret the contribution of both clinical symptoms and cognition to brain controllability and linked patterns among them in MDD.

Methods: Sparse canonical correlation analysis was used to investigate the associations between resting-state functional brain controllability at the network level and clinical symptoms and cognition in 99 first-episode medication-naïve patients with MDD.

Childhood adversity and psychopathology: the dimensions of timing, type and chronicity in a population-based sample of high-risk adolescents.

Background: Research on childhood adversity and psychopathology has begun investigating the dimension of timing, however the results have been contradictory depending on the study population, outcome and how adverse life events (ALEs) were operationalized. Additionally, studies so far typically focus only on a narrow range of psychiatric diagnoses or symptoms. The current cross-sectional study aimed to examine the association between timing, type and chronicity of ALEs and adolescent mental health problems.

Workplace trauma and professional quality of Life in clinical and forensic psychiatry: the CRITIC study.

Background: Frontline staff in psychiatry need to perform at a very high professional level in order to ensure patient and community safety. At the same time they are exposed to high levels of stress and workplace trauma. This may have severe consequences for their professional quality of life.

Dose response relationship between lithium serum levels during pregnancy and birth outcomes.

Introduction: Lithium use during pregnancy reduces the risk of mood episodes in the perinatal period for women with bipolar disorder. Some previous studies found deleterious effects of intrauterine lithium exposure on birth outcomes, yet little is known about a dose response relationship. The current study investigated the influence of maternal lithium serum levels on birth outcomes.

Timing and type of adverse life events: Impact on substance use among high-risk adolescents.

A robust association has been reported between childhood adverse life events (ALEs) and risky substance use in adolescence. It remains unclear, however, what the impact of type and timing of these ALEs is. We investigated the association between ALEs and substance use in adolescents.

Fidelity and Clinical Competence in Providing Illness Management and Recovery: An Explorative Study.

Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) is a psychosocial intervention supporting people with serious mental illnesses. In this study, 15 IMR groups were assessed for fidelity and clinician competency to establish the implementation level of all IMR elements and explore complementarity of the IMR Treatment Integrity Scale (IT-IS) to the standard IMR Fidelity Scale. Use of the IT-IS was adapted, similar to the IMR Fidelity Scale.

Clinical characteristics associated with relapse 2 years after electroconvulsive therapy for major depression.

Objective: High relapse rates are observed after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for major depression. Identifying patients who are at increased risk for relapse to intensify their treatment regimen post-ECT might reduce relapse rates. We aimed to determine clinical characteristics that are associated with relapse within 2 years after successful ECT.

Intergenerational impact of childhood trauma on hair cortisol concentrations in mothers and their young infants.

Background: Alterations in stress regulation and function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis during infancy may be a risk factor for the development of psychopathology later in life. Maternal childhood trauma, depression, anxiety and stressful life events are individually associated with HPA axis dysregulation. Less is known about their interdependent influence on maternal and infant stress regulation in at risk populations.

Brain development after intrauterine exposure to lithium: A magnetic resonance imaging study in school-age children.

Objective: Lithium is often continued during pregnancy to reduce the risk of perinatal mood episodes for women with bipolar disorder. However, little is known about the effect of intrauterine lithium exposure on brain development. The aim of this study was to investigate brain structure in children after intrauterine exposure to lithium.

Neurodevelopment in school-aged children after intrauterine exposure to antipsychotics.

Objective: Antipsychotics are increasingly prescribed in pregnancy, yet little is known about potential long-term developmental effects on children. In this study, we investigated the effect of prenatal antipsychotic exposure on neurodevelopmental functioning in school-aged children.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional neurodevelopmental assessment of 91 children aged 6-14 years whose mothers had severe mental illness and were either exposed or unexposed to antipsychotic medication during pregnancy.

Association Between Childhood Body Size and Premenstrual Disorders in Young Adulthood.

Importance: Emerging data suggest that more than two-thirds of premenstrual disorders (PMDs), including premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder, have symptom onset during the teen years. Adulthood adiposity has been associated with PMDs; however, the association with childhood and adolescent body size is unknown.

Objective: To examine the association between childhood and adolescent body size and risk of PMDs in young adulthood.

Influence of adjuvant nortriptyline on the efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy: A randomized controlled trial and 1-year follow-up.

Objective: There is limited evidence that adding an antidepressant to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), compared with ECT monotherapy, improves outcomes. We aimed to determine whether the addition of nortriptyline to ECT enhances its efficacy and prevents post-ECT relapse.

Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (RCT).

Effects of Illness Management and Recovery: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

There have been inconsistent findings in the literature with respect to the efficacy of Illness Management and Recovery (IMR) in the psychosocial treatment of people with schizophrenia or other severe mental illnesses. This study aimed to comprehensively investigate the effectiveness of IMR, including the impact of completion and fidelity. In this randomized controlled trial (RCT), 187 outpatients received either IMR plus care as usual (CAU) or only CAU.

Prevalence of adult sexual abuse in men with mental illness: Bayesian meta-analysis.

Background: Sexual abuse is a broad category of traumatic experiences that includes rape and any unwanted sexual contact with a body part or foreign object, whether penetrative, oral or otherwise. Although patients with mental illness have a higher risk of becoming victims of sexual abuse in adulthood, few studies investigate the proportion of male victims in this population. Their underrepresentation in research is a barrier to understanding the negative outcomes associated with sexual abuse in men.

Long-term outcome of postpartum psychosis: a prospective clinical cohort study in 106 women.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the outcome of postpartum psychosis over a four-year follow-up, and to identify potential clinical markers of mood/psychotic episodes outside of the postpartum period.

Methods: One hundred and six women with a diagnosis of first-onset mania or psychosis during the postpartum period were included in this prospective longitudinal study. Women were categorized into either (1) recurrence of non-postpartum mood/psychotic episodes or (2) mania/psychosis limited to the postpartum period.

The effect of prenatal lithium exposure on the neuropsychological development of the child.

Objectives: Lithium is an effective treatment for bipolar disorder, also during pregnancy to prevent the recurrence of episodes in the perinatal period. Little is known about the neuropsychological development of lithium-exposed offspring. The current study was designed to investigate neuropsychological functioning in lithium-exposed children with the aim to provide further knowledge on the long-term effects of lithium use during pregnancy.

Bipolar episodes after reproductive events in women with bipolar I disorder, A study of 919 pregnancies.

Background: Women with bipolar I disorder are at high risk for severe episodes after childbirth, but there is no study that provides an overview on bipolar episode risk both during pregnancy and after childbirth, miscarriage and induced abortion. The aim of this study was to determine the episode risk during all pregnancy outcomes subdivided by first and subsequent pregnancies.

Methods: Participants were 436 women with bipolar I disorder from the Dutch Bipolar Cohort, having 919 pregnancies of which 762 resulted in a live childbirth, 118 ended in a miscarriage and 39 ended in induced abortion.

Victimisation of individuals with serious mental illness living in sheltered housing: differential impact of risk factors related to clinical and demographic characteristics.

Background: Sheltered housing is associated with quality-of-life improvements for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI). However, there are equivocal findings around safety outcomes related to this type of living condition.

Aims: We aimed to investigate raw differences in prevalence and incidence of crime victimisation in sheltered housing compared with living alone or with family; and to identify groups at high risk for victimisation, using demographic and clinical factors.

An exploratory study of perinatal hair cortisol concentrations in mother-infant dyads with severe psychiatric disorders versus healthy controls.

Background: Maternal psychopathology during pregnancy is associated with negative outcomes in offspring. Increased placental transfer of maternal cortisol may contribute to mediate this association. Hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs) appear to be a good biomarker of long-term prenatal stress exposure.

Assessing the Acceptability, Feasibility and Sustainability of an Intervention to Increase Detection of Domestic Violence and Abuse in Patients Suffering From Severe Mental Illness: A Qualitative Study.

Despite interventions to improve detection rates, domestic violence, and abuse (DVA) remains largely undetected by healthcare services. We therefore aimed to examine the acceptability, feasibility, and sustainability of an intervention aiming to improve DVA detection rates, which included a clear referral pathway (i.e.