Dying Too Soon: Excess Mortality in Severe Mental Illness.

We aimed to identify baseline predictors of mortality in patients with a severe mental illness (SMI) over a 6-year period and to describe mortality rates as standardised mortality ratios (SMRs). We hypothesised that cardiovascular diseases, older age, cigarette smoking, more severe psychiatric symptoms and more severe psychotropic side effects, and alcohol or drug use were independent risk factors for mortality. Medical examinations were conducted at baseline in a cohort of 322 SMI patients.

Treatment results for severe psychiatric illness: which method is best suited to denote the outcome of mental health care?

Background: The present study investigates the suitability of various treatment outcome indicators to evaluate performance of mental health institutions that provide care to patients with severe mental illness. Several categorical approaches are compared to a reference indicator (continuous outcome) using pretest-posttest data of the Health of Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS).

Methods: Data from 10 institutions and 3189 patients were used, comprising outcomes of the first year of treatment by teams providing long-term care.

Use of outcome measurements in clinical practice: How specific should one be?

Objective: Progress feedback is often measured with generic instruments that measure common symptoms and generic aspects of functioning. The current study aims to explore the relative usefulness of disorder-specific measures. We hypothesized that disorder-specific instruments reveal more improvement than generic instruments and that the addition of disorder-specific instruments results in better treatment outcomes.

Burden on caregivers of older patients with bipolar disorder.

Objectives: Available data suggest high burden on caregivers of patientswith bipolar disorder (BD), yet the well-being of patients with BD increasingly depends on family members, partners and close friends. Aspatients with BD get older, the need for informal care may shift. We aimed to describe the caregivers of older adults with BD (OABD) and explore what patients' and caregivers' characteristics are associated with caregiver burden.

Homesick: residential and care patterns in patients with severe mental illness.

Background: Changes in the residential and care settings of patients with severe mental illness (SMI) are a concern because of the large variety of possible negative consequences. This study describes patterns of changes in the residential and care settings of SMI patients and explores associations between these changes, sociodemographics, and clinical characteristics.

Methods: From January 2006 to January 2012, all data relating to changes in residential and/or care setting by SMI patients (N = 262) were collected from electronic case files.

Pathways through care of severely mentally ill individuals experiencing multiple public crisis events: a qualitative description.

Background: Patients experiencing severe mental illnesses (SMI) need continuing support and remain vulnerable in many domains. Crisis interventions and compulsory admissions are common, causing a huge burden on police, health workers, the community and patients. The aim of this retrospective case-file study is to determine profiles of SMI-patients and their pathways through care among those experiencing multiple public crisis events.

Victimisation in adults with severe mental illness: prevalence and risk factors.

Background: Patients with a severe mental illness (SMI) are more likely to experience victimisation than the general population.

Aims: To examine the prevalence of victimisation in people with SMI, and the relationship between symptoms, treatment facility and indices of substance use/misuse and perpetration, in comparison with the general population.

Method: Victimisation was assessed among both randomly selected patients with SMI (n = 216) and the general population (n = 10 865).

Criminal victimisation in people with severe mental illness: a multi-site prevalence and incidence survey in the Netherlands.

Background: Although crime victimisation is as prevalent in psychiatric patients as crime perpetration (and possibly more so), few European figures for it are available. We therefore assessed its one-year prevalence and incident rates in Dutch severely mentally ill outpatients, and compared the results with victimisation rates in the general population.

Method: This multisite epidemiological survey included a random sample of 956 adult severely mentally ill outpatients.

Psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the self-sufficiency matrix (SSM-D).

Measuring treatment outcomes can be challenging in patients who experience multiple interlinked problems, as is the case in public mental health care (PMHC). This study describes the development and psychometric properties of a Dutch version of the self-sufficiency matrix (SSM-D), an instrument that measures outcomes and originates from the US. In two different settings, clients were rated using the SSM-D in combination with the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) and the Camberwell assessment of need short appraisal schedule (CANSAS).

Victimization of patients with severe psychiatric disorders: prevalence, risk factors, protective factors and consequences for mental health. A longitudinal study.

Background: Victimization among people with a Severe Mental Illness is a common phenomenon. The objectives of this study proposal are: to delineate the extent and kind of victimization in a representative sample of chronic psychiatric patients; to contribute to the development and validation of a set of instruments registering victimization of psychiatric patients; to determine risk factors and protective factors; and to gain insight into the possible consequences of victimization.

Methods/design: An extensive data set of 323 patients with Sever Mental Illness (assessed 4 years ago) is used.

Artemis and nonhomologous end joining-independent influence of DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit on chromosome stability.

Deficiency in both ATM and the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) is synthetically lethal in developing mouse embryos. Using mice that phenocopy diverse aspects of Atm deficiency, we have analyzed the genetic requirements for embryonic lethality in the absence of functional DNA-PKcs. Similar to the loss of ATM, hypomorphic mutations of Mre11 (Mre11(ATLD1)) led to synthetic lethality when juxtaposed with DNA-PKcs deficiency (Prkdc(scid)).

The Mre11 complex influences DNA repair, synapsis, and crossing over in murine meiosis.

The Mre11 complex (consisting of MRE11, RAD50, and NBS1/Xrs2) is required for double-strand break (DSB) formation, processing, and checkpoint signaling during meiotic cell division in S. cerevisiae. Whereas studies of Mre11 complex mutants in S.