Impact of war trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder on psychopathology in Croatian and German patients with severe mental illness.

Aim: To explore posttraumatic stress symptoms and current psychopathology in a binational sample of Croatian and German participants with severe mental illness.

Methods: We studied 178 inpatients from the Greifswald University (German patients, n=89) and University Hospital Zagreb and Ivan Barbot Neuropsychiatric Hospital (Croatian patients, n=89) with either major depression (n=150), schizophrenia (n=26), or bipolar disorder (n=2). Measurements included Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale and the Symptom Check List-90-R.

[The German version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ): preliminary psychometric properties].

Given the relevance of child maltreatment for the development and treatment of many mental disorders, the objective of our study was the psychometric evaluation of the German version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). In a sample of psychiatric patients (N=1 524) the established factor structure (i.e.

[Quality of life and alexithymia in somatoform pain disorder].

Background: Patients with somatoform pain disorders (SPD) frequently display reduced quality of life (QoL) and increased levels of alexithymia. This study investigated the association of QoL and alexithymia in a sample of SPD.

Patients And Methods: Fifty-one patients with SPD (average time since onset: 11.

Alexithymia, hypertension, and subclinical atherosclerosis in the general population.

Objectives: As a personality trait, alexithymia is assumed to present a longstanding risk factor for emotional dysregulation that also affects the autonomic nervous system. Therefore, we hypothesize that alexithymia is associated with hypertension and carotid atherosclerosis in the general population.

Methods: A total of 1168 subjects (age <65 years) from the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP) were eligible for complete case analyses.

Adverse events after pars plana vitrectomy among medicare beneficiaries.

Objectives: To assess the complication rates of pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) among older Americans and to determine whether rates of adverse events and additional operations have changed during the past decade.

Methods: Claims data were reviewed to identify all adults aged 68 years or older in the 5% Medicare sample who underwent their first PPV during 1994-1995, 1999-2000, and 2004-2005. One-year rates of severe complications (endophthalmitis, suprachoroidal hemorrhage, or retinal detachment), less severe complications, receipt of an additional operation, and blindness were calculated and compared among the 3 groups using Cox regression.

Trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder, and physical illness: findings from the general population.

Objective: To determine in a general population sample the differential impact on physical health of exposure to traumatic experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma exposure and PTSD have been associated with physical illness in specific populations, such as veterans.

Methods: Medical histories including cardiovascular, endocrine, pulmonary, and other chronic diseases were obtained from 3171 adults living in the community.

Influence of DRD2 and ANKK1 genotypes on apomorphine-induced growth hormone (GH) response in alcohol-dependent patients.

Background: D(2) receptor function can be assessed by growth hormone (GH) response to apomorphine. Several association studies between dopamine receptor polymorphisms and results of the apomorphine challenge test with normal and alcohol-dependent subjects yielded inconsistent results. In this pilot study, we tested polymorphisms from the DRD2 region for GH response to apomorphine challenge in more detail.

A case of purtscher-like retinopathy following a motor vehicle accident.

Purpose: To describe a case of Purtscher-like retinopathy following seat belt compression of the chest in a motor vehicle accident.

Methods: Case report.

Results: A 53-year-old woman developed Purtscher-like retinopathy following compression of the chest by her seat belt in a motor vehicle accident.

Perceived parental rearing in subjects with obsessive-compulsive disorder and their siblings.

Objective: Perceived parenting in patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is examined. We attempted to overcome some methodological limitations of prior studies by taking age of onset, parental OCD and comorbid depression into consideration. In addition, we included data from unaffected siblings to corroborate information on parental rearing.

Early onset of obsessive-compulsive disorder and associated comorbidity.

Background: Previous studies have aimed to identify subtypes of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) based on their age of onset (AOO). Obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders (OCS disorders) such as tic disorders have been particularly associated with an early onset in some studies. However, subtypes of early- and late-onset OCD are unevenly determined, and the biological and the clinical validity of these subtypes are unknown.

The German version of the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia: factor structure, reliability, and concurrent validity in a psychiatric patient sample.

Background: Recently, the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia (TSIA) was developed to supplement the self-assessment of alexithymia and/or offer a different method of measuring the alexithymia construct. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a German language translation of the TSIA in a psychiatric patient sample.

Methods: Translation and back-translation were performed until a high agreement of cross-language equivalence was obtained between the German and the original English language version of the TSIA.

[Prevalence and familiarity of personality disorders in Germany: results of the Greifswald family study].

Background: There are only few data about the prevalence and familiarity of personality disorders (PD) in population based samples in Germany. Moreover, nearly no information exists for the prevalence of PDs among young adults. Thus, in the current study we examined the prevalence, familiarity and psychopathology of PDs, whereby middle-aged adults (about 45 years old) as well as the adult children of these persons (about 20 years old) were examined.

Association of posttraumatic stress disorder with low-grade elevation of C-reactive protein: evidence from the general population.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with several somatic diseases, and low-grade inflammation may be one psychobiological mechanism mediating this relationship. We assessed the association between PTSD and elevated serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP; >3mg/L) in a large general population sample.

Methods: About 3049 adults living in the community were included in the present study.

Tooth loss and cognitive impairment.

Objectives: Chronic subclinical inflammation may elevate the risk of cognitive impairment. Periodontitis is associated with subclinical inflammation and accounts in part for tooth loss. The hypothesis was tested that periodontitis and tooth loss as a proxy of chronic periodontitis is associated with cognitive impairment in the elderly.

Serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) promoter polymorphisms and the susceptibility to posttraumatic stress disorder in the general population.

Objective: There has been debate whether polymorphisms within the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) moderate susceptibility to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The authors investigated 5-HTTLPR genotypes and their interaction with the number of traumatic events in the prediction of PTSD in a general population sample.

Method: Analyses were based on data from 3,045 subjects who participated in the Study of Health in Pomerania.

Associations between the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and affect, loneliness and intelligence in normal subjects.

Associations of oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) variants and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been reported in earlier studies; in one of the studies associations with IQ and daily living skills were found additionally. Variations of the oxytocin receptor gene might also regulate affect, attachment and separation beyond the diagnostic borders of autism. We tested hypotheses of associations between positive and negative affects and social and emotional loneliness (285 adults), IQ (117 adolescents) and polymorphisms of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR rs53576, rs2254298 and rs2228485) in normal subjects.

Interpersonal evaluation bias in borderline personality disorder.

Background: The cognitive theory of personality disorders hypothesizes that the emotional dysregulation and interpersonal problems in individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are, at least partially, caused by dysfunctional cognitive schemas. These schemas lead to biased evaluation of environmental and interpersonal stimuli.

Method: This study examined the interpersonal evaluations of individuals with BPD, depressive and healthy control participants with the thin-slice judgments paradigm.

Association of mental distress with health care utilization and costs: a 5-year observation in a general population.

Objective: Previous studies have associated mental distress and disorders with increased health care utilization and costs. However, most studies have selected subjects from treatment facilities or have applied retrospective designs.

Methods: N = 3,300 subjects from the baseline cohort of the Study of Health in Pomerania were followed up 5 years later.

Association of childhood neglect with adult dissociation in schizophrenic inpatients.

Background: Dissociation is often related to previous trauma and also occurs frequently in schizophrenia. Dissociation and psychosis may reflect a posttraumatic syndrome in some patients with schizophrenia.

Sampling And Methods: In total, 80 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia were investigated by means of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Dissociative Experience Scale and the Symptom Check List 90-R.

Socioeconomic indicators and prosthetic replacement of missing teeth in a working-age population--results of the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP).

Objectives: To analyse the possible effects of the socioeconomic status (SES) on the prosthetic replacement of missing teeth in working-age people and to explore the role of potential confounders.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 2310 German adults aged 30-59 years. The relationship between each of the three SES indicators (education, income, and occupational status) and dental prostheses were examined by multinomial logistic regression analyses.