Factors associated with the initiation of laxative use in the same patients with schizophrenia over a 20-year period: Retrospective cohort study.

Background: Constipation is a common adverse effect of antipsychotics, but little investigation has been conducted. We aimed to address the factors associated with the initiation of laxative use in the same patients with schizophrenia over a 20-year period.

Methods: We enrolled patients with schizophrenia attending each hospital (n = 14) from April 1, 2021, and retrospectively examined all prescriptions as of April 1, 2016, 2011, 2006, and 2001, every 5 years starting in 2021, for this population.

Prescribing Trends for the Same Patients with Schizophrenia Over 20 Years.

Background: Recent pharmacoepidemiology data show an increase in the proportion of patients receiving second-generation antipsychotic (SGA) monotherapy, but no studies have analyzed the same patients over a long period of time. Therefore, in this study, we retrospectively evaluated schizophrenia patients with available data for 20 years to determine whether the drug treatments in the same patients have changed in the past 20 years.

Methods: The study began in April 2021 and was conducted in 15 psychiatric hospitals in Japan.

Different Attitudes of Patients and Psychiatrists Toward Benzodiazepine Treatment.

Background: Concern regarding the benefit/risk ratio of the long-term use of benzodiazepines (BDZs) and Z-drugs is increasing. To prevent the risk of dependence in BDZ long-term use, it is essential to understand the attitudes of patients and psychiatrists toward BDZ treatment. The aims of this investigation were to 1) obtain information on patients' attitudes with long-term BDZ use and their referring psychiatrists' attitudes toward BDZ treatment, including their perception of the difficulty of reducing the dose of BDZs, and 2) identify discrepancies between patients' and psychiatrists' perceptions.

Differences in etiological beliefs about schizophrenia among patients, family, and medical staff.

Objectives: To determine whether etiological beliefs are different among schizophrenia patients, their family, and medical staff.

Patients And Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed at five hospitals and one mental clinic and included 212 patients, 144 family members, and 347 medical staff other than psychiatrists. A questionnaire about the possible etiological causes of schizophrenia was used.

Attitudes toward placebo-controlled clinical trials among depressed patients in Japan.

Background: Placebo-controlled clinical trials are the standard in the design of clinical studies for the licensing of new drugs. Medical and ethical concerns regarding placebo use still exist in clinical trials of depressed patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes toward placebo-controlled clinical trials and to assess factors related to the willingness to participate in such trials among depressed patients in Japan.

Work-family conflict as a mediator between occupational stress and psychological health among mental health nurses in Japan.

Background: Occupational stress among mental health nurses may affect their psychological health, resulting in reduced performance. To provide high-quality, sustainable nursing care, it is necessary to identify and control the factors associated with psychological health among mental health nurses. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of work-family conflict (WFC) in the well-known relationship between occupational stress and psychological health among mental health nurses in Japan.

Attitudes toward Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trials of Patients with Schizophrenia in Japan.

Background: Although the use of placebo in clinical trials of schizophrenia patients is controversial because of medical and ethical concerns, placebo-controlled clinical trials are commonly used in the licensing of new drugs.

Aims: The objective of this study was to assess the attitudes toward placebo-controlled clinical trials among patients with schizophrenia in Japan.

Method: Using a cross-sectional design, we recruited patients (n = 251) aged 47.

Dietary patterns and schizophrenia: a comparison with healthy controls.

Background: It has been reported that the onset of schizophrenia and the physical complications after its onset are related to diet. Diet has been considered as a variable factor of the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. However, the results of studies on this relationship have been inconsistent.

Hyperprolactinemia during antipsychotics treatment increases the level of coagulation markers.

Objective: The strong association between psychiatric patients who receive antipsychotics and the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is known. Although previous reports suggest that hyperprolactinemia often increases markers of activated coagulation, few studies have examined the direct relationship between the prolactin level elevated by antipsychotics and activated markers of activated coagulation.

Method: The participants included 182 patients with schizophrenia (male =89, female =93) who received antipsychotic treatments for at least 3 months.

Relationship between occupational stress and depression among psychiatric nurses in Japan.

Psychiatric nursing is a stressful area of nursing practice. The purpose of this study was to examine occupational stress among psychiatric nurses in Japan. In this cross-sectional study, 238 psychiatric nurses were recruited from 7 hospitals.

Dietary patterns are associated with obesity in Japanese patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Obesity among patients with schizophrenia is a growing concern because being overweight is widely regarded as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature death. Dietary patterns have been suggested as one modifiable factor that may play a role in development of obesity. The objective of this study was to examine the association between dietary patterns and obesity among patients with schizophrenia in Japan.

Body mass index and quality of life among outpatients with schizophrenia in Japan.

Background: Obesity is becoming more prevalent and thus growing as a public health concern in patients with schizophrenia. This investigation evaluated the relationship between body weight and the self-reported quality of life (QOL) of Japanese patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: We recruited outpatients (n=225) aged 42.

Effect of age and disease on bone mass in Japanese patients with schizophrenia.

Background: There have been a limited number of studies comparing bone mass between patients with schizophrenia and the general population. The aim of this study was to compare the bone mass of schizophrenia patients with that of healthy subjects in Japan.

Methods: We recruited patients (n = 362), aged 48.

Comparison of prevalence of metabolic syndrome in hospital and community-based Japanese patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Lifestyle factors, such as an unbalanced diet and lack of physical activity, may affect the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in schizophrenic patients. The aim of this study was to compare the MetS prevalence between inpatients and outpatients among schizophrenic population in Japan.

Methods: We recruited inpatients (n = 759) and outpatients (n = 427) with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV) diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder from 7 psychiatric hospitals using a cross-sectional design.

The effect of smoking status on the plasma concentration of prolactin already elevated by risperidone treatment in schizophrenia patients.

Smoking prevalence for schizophrenic patients is higher than for the general population. Inter-individual variability in hyperprolactinemia induced antipsychotics particularly risperidone can be explained by smoking status to some extent. We therefore studied the effects of smoking status on the plasma concentration of prolactin.

A crossover study on the glucose metabolism between treatment with olanzapine and risperidone in schizophrenic patients.

Several studies have suggested that risperidone is superior to olanzapine in glucose tolerance; however, there is little information available about the risk of impaired glucose metabolism induced by atypical antipsychotics in the same patients. A 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed in 22 mildly obese, diabetes-free, Japanese patients with schizophrenia who received risperidone or olanzapine for at least 2 months. After the OGTT, the medication was switched to another by decreasing the previous dosage gradually over 2 to 8 months after the initiation of the second medicine.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among patients with schizophrenia in Japan.

Aims: In an Asian population, the criteria for metabolic syndrome (MetS) are different from those for Western populations. The aim of this study was to assess the MetS prevalence among patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in Japan.

Methods: We recruited patients (n=1186), aged 54.

Dose-dependent effects of adjunctive treatment with aripiprazole on hyperprolactinemia induced by risperidone in female patients with schizophrenia.

Hyperprolactinemia is a frequent consequence of treatment with risperidone. Recent studies have suggested that aripiprazole, a partial dopamine agonist, reduces the prolactin response to antipsychotics. Thus, we examined the dose effects of adjunctive treatment with aripiprazole on the plasma concentration of prolactin in patients who had elevated prolactin levels because of risperidone treatment.

Comparing the influences of age and disease on distortion in the clock drawing test in Japanese patients with schizophrenia.

Objective: The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) is commonly used for cognitive screening, but there are few studies that compare performance on the CDT among schizophrenic patients of different ages. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of schizophrenia and aging on performance in the CDT.

Method: Schizophrenic patients (N = 244) and a comparison group (N = 875) were recruited as subjects.

Characteristics of the tree-drawing test in chronic schizophrenia.

Aims: A tree-drawing test acts as both a projective psychological examination as well as a supplementary psychodiagnostic tool. There is little information relating the characteristics of schizophrenia and the tree-drawing test. The present study compared the structural and morphological differences in the results of the tree-drawing test between schizophrenic patients and healthy individuals, as well as between schizophrenic patients who responded well to treatment and those who responded poorly.

Prolactin fluctuation over the course of a day during treatments with three atypical antipsychotics in schizophrenic patients.

Hyperprolactinemia is a frequent consequence of treatment with some antipsychotic agents. Although prolactin secretion varies over the course of a day and during psychological circumstances, there is little information in the literature regarding the time dependence of the prolactin response to antipsychotics. We evaluated prolactin levels in schizophrenic patients receiving risperidone (3 mg twice daily), olanzapine (10 mg twice daily), or perospirone (16 mg twice daily) for at least 4 weeks.

Gender-specific prolactin response to antipsychotic treatments with risperidone and olanzapine and its relationship to drug concentrations in patients with acutely exacerbated schizophrenia.

Hyperprolactinemia is a frequent consequence of treatment with antipsychotic agents, partially because the prolactin response to antipsychotics is related to dopamine blockade. Recent studies have suggested that the prolactin response to olanzapine is weaker than that to risperidone. Thus, we studied the effects of various factors on the elevated plasma prolactin levels caused by these medications.

Clinical response to risperidone in relation to plasma drug concentrations in acutely exacerbated schizophrenic patients.

There are no data indicating a clear relationship between the clinical effect of risperidone and plasma drug concentration. In this study, 51 patients with acutely exacerbated schizophrenia received 6 mg risperidone/day for 4 weeks. A clinical evaluation using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Udvalg for Klinicke Undersøgelser (UKU) side effect rating scale were performed at baseline and each week.

Glucose metabolism in Japanese schizophrenia patients treated with risperidone or olanzapine.

Objective: Atypical antipsychotics are increasingly replacing conventional neuroleptic agents, but induction of impaired glucose tolerance and development of type 2 diabetes are of concern as side effects. Risperidone has been suggested to be superior to olanzapine for glucose tolerance in whites, but there is little information on these drugs in Asian populations, even though Asians have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes compared to whites.

Method: A 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed in 100 age-matched, sex-matched, and body mass index (BMI)-matched Japanese inpatients with schizophrenia (DSM-IV criteria) who did not suffer from diabetes and had taken risperidone (N=50) or olanzapine (N=50) for at least 3 months.