Academic Performance in Children of Mothers With Schizophrenia and Other Severe Mental Illness, and Risk for Subsequent Development of Psychosis: A Population-Based Study.

Objective: We examined the academic performance at age 12 years of children of mothers diagnosed with schizophrenia or other severe mental illness using a large whole-population birth cohort born in Western Australia. We investigated the association between academic performance and the subsequent development of psychotic illness.

Method: The sample comprised 3169 children of mothers with severe mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, unipolar major depression, delusional disorder or other psychoses; ICD-9 codes 295-298), and 88 353 children of comparison mothers without known psychiatric morbidity.

Letter Reversals, Default Mode, and Childhood ADHD.

To investigate the relationship of static reversals, handedness and gender to reaction time variability (RTV) in a sequentional sample of 1,109 children referred to a child psychiatry clinic for investigation of possible ADHD. A DSM-III ADHD diagnosis and ADHD severity ratings (mild, moderate, and severe) by the present investigator was recorded. The age at which the children were still manifesting static reversals as reported by their mother, and right, left, or both-handedness as reported by the mother and observed by the investigator, were noted.

Comorbid ADHD and mental health disorders: are these children more likely to develop reading disorders?

While attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been associated with both internalizing and externalizing childhood behaviour disorders, the specific relationship of these comorbid disorders to ADHD and reading problems is less well defined. The present study analysed data from the Australian Twin ADHD Project, which utilized DSM-IV-based ratings of ADHD, separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder for twins and siblings aged 6 to 18 years. While differences between children with and without ADHD were demonstrated for those with separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder and a reading disorder, for all age groups, regression analysis of ADHD diagnostic subtypes by age and reading disorder showed that only generalized anxiety disorder remained significant after controlling for ADHD subtypes.

The relationship between MECP2 mutation type and health status and service use trajectories over time in a Rett syndrome population.

This study aimed to investigate the trajectories over time of health status and health service use in Rett syndrome by mutation type. Data were obtained from questionnaires administered over six years to 256 participants from the Australian Rett Syndrome Database. Health status (episodes of illness and medication load) and health service use (general practitioner and specialist visits and hospital stays) were summarized into composite scores with Principal Component Analysis.

Impact of scoliosis surgery on activities of daily living in females with Rett syndrome.

Background: Scoliosis is a common orthopaedic complication of Rett syndrome, and surgery is commonly used to reduce asymmetry in cases with severe scoliosis.

Methods: Data from questionnaires administered to caregivers biennially from 2000 to 2006 were used to describe functional skill levels in subjects with Rett syndrome, and within-subject change in 16 subjects with scoliosis surgery were compared with within-subject change in 186 pairs of data from 86 subjects with conservatively managed scoliosis. Postsurgical assessment was conducted after a mean of 17.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a Rasch analysis of the SWAN Rating Scale.

The prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been estimated at 3-7% in the population. Children with this disorder are often characterized by symptoms of inattention and/or impulsivity and hyperactivity, which can significantly impact on many aspects of their behaviour and performance. This study investigated the characteristics of the SWAN Rating Scale and its discrimination of ADHD subtypes.

Feeding experiences and growth status in a Rett syndrome population.

Objectives: Feeding difficulties in Rett syndrome are complex and multifactorial. In this study, we describe the feeding experiences in Rett syndrome and examine the factors affecting growth.

Materials And Methods: Using questionnaire data related to a population-based cohort, ages 2 to 29 years (n = 201), we measured the feeding experiences, growth, and factors affecting growth (enteral nutritional support, mutations, mobility, breath-holding, hyperventilation) in subjects with Rett syndrome.

The diagnosis of autism in a female: could it be Rett syndrome?

The overlap between autism and Rett syndrome clinical features has led to many cases of Rett syndrome being initially diagnosed with infantile autism or as having some autistic features. Both conditions seriously disrupt social and language development and are often accompanied by repetitive, nonpurposeful stereotypic hand movements. The aims of this study were to compare the early and subsequent clinical courses of female subjects with Rett syndrome categorised by whether or not a diagnosis of autism had been proposed before Rett syndrome had been diagnosed and compare the spectrum of methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) mutations identified among the two groups.

Sleep problems in Rett syndrome.

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a severe neurological disorder, affecting mainly females. It is generally caused by mutations in the MECP2 gene. Sleep problems are thought to occur commonly in Rett syndrome, but there has been little research on prevalence or natural history.

Evaluation of the In Touch training program for the management of alcohol and other drug use issues in schools.

In Touch is a professional training program designed to develop staff skills and support structures so as to enable schools to manage alcohol and other drug (AOD) matters in a coordinated manner that maximizes beneficial outcomes for at-risk students, while at the same time maintaining school discipline and community relationships. This study is an evaluation of the impact of the program on alcohol and other drug (AOD) related knowledge, attitudes and activity of participating school staff, and on AOD management practice in their schools. Data from 53 intervention participants and 21 controls were compared at pre- and post-intervention.

Emergency room injury presentations as an indicator of alcohol-related problems in the community: a multilevel analysis of an international study.

Objective: This study describes and examines the development of surrogate measures of acute alcohol-related injury for use in the evaluation of community-based prevention initiatives.

Method: An international collaborative study of alcohol and injury, the Emergency Room Collaborative Alcohol Analysis Project (ERCAAP), provided a subset of data on 8580 emergency room (ER) presentations from five countries and 28 ER facilities.

Results: Presentations most likely to be alcohol related were those made between 12:00 AM and 4:59 AM (56%), on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays (26%); and those among injured persons who were male (28%), who were aged between 18 and 45 years (24%) or who were unmarried (24%).