Mapping the schizophrenia quality of life scale to EQ-5D, HUI3 and SF-6D utility scores in patients with schizophrenia.

Objectives: The current study aimed to map the disease-specific Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS) onto the three- and five-level EuroQol five-dimension (EQ-5D-3 L and EQ-5D-5 L), Health Utility Index Mark 3 (HUI3) and Short Form six-dimensional (SF-6D) preference-based instruments to inform future cost-utility analyses for treatment of patients with schizophrenia.

Methods: Data from 251 outpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders was included for analysis. Ordinary least square (OLS), Tobit and beta regression mixture models were employed to estimate the utility scores.

A Qualitative Approach to Understanding the Holistic Experience of Psychotherapy Among Clients.

The study of the experience of clients across multiple service encounters (or touchpoints) is important from the perspective of service research. Despite the availability of effective psychotherapies, there exists a significant gap in the optimal delivery of such interventions in the community. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the experience of psychotherapy among clients integrating the before-during-after service encounters using a qualitative approach.

Association of adverse childhood experiences with diabetes in adulthood: results of a cross-sectional epidemiological survey in Singapore.

Objectives: Several studies have linked diabetes mellitus to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). While a number of studies have examined the association between ACEs and diabetes in Western populations, few have done it in Asian populations. The current study aimed to examine (1) the association between ACEs and diabetes, including the association after age stratification, and (2) the association of comorbid depression, resource use and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among those with diabetes and ACEs in Singapore.

A Scoping Review on Cue Reactivity in Methamphetamine Use Disorder.

The experience of craving via exposure to drug-related cues often leads to relapse in drug users. This study consolidated existing empirical evidences of cue reactivity to methamphetamine to provide an overview of current literature and to inform the directions for future research. The best practice methodological framework for conducting scoping review by Arkey and O'Malley was adopted.

Independent and combined associations of sleep duration and sleep quality with common physical and mental disorders: Results from a multi-ethnic population-based study.

Sleep duration and sleep quality are often linked to increased risk of mortality and morbidity. However, national representative data on both sleep duration and sleep quality and their relationship with chronic health problems are rarely available from the same source. This current study aimed to examine the independent and combined associations of sleep duration and sleep quality with physical and mental disorders, using data from the Singapore Mental Health Study 2016.

Comparing disease-specific and generic quality of life measures in patients with schizophrenia.

The current study aimed to compare the use of a disease-specific and a generic quality of life (QOL) measure in a group 251 outpatients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder by examining their relationships with symptoms of schizophrenia, psychiatric and medical comorbidities, and other factors, as well as to determine which of these factors will be associated with the measurement discrepancy between the two measures. QOL was assessed with the generic Healthy Utility Index Mark 3 (HUI3) and disease-specific Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS), and symptom severity was determined using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Symptom severity predicted both SQLS and HUI3, while psychiatric comorbidity predicted only the HUI3.

A Retrospective Study of Cognitive Improvement Following Electroconvulsive Therapy in Schizophrenia Inpatients.

Objectives: Findings on the cognitive effect of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in individuals with schizophrenia have brought mixed results, with few recent studies beginning to report cognitive improvements after treatment. Cognitive change in inpatients with schizophrenia who were referred for an acute course of ECT was examined in the current study. Furthermore, the study aimed to determine the profile of patients who experience cognitive improvement and the potential use of a brief cognitive battery to detect this positive cognitive change, if any.

Psychiatry as a career choice among medical students: a cross-sectional study examining school-related and non-school factors.

Objectives: Given the low recruitment to psychiatry worldwide, the current study aimed to examine how premedical and intramedical school factors, perception of career aspects, attitudes towards psychiatry, stigma towards mental illness and personality traits may affect the likelihood of psychiatry as a career choice.

Design: Cross-sectional online study.

Participants: 502 medical students from two public medical institutions in Singapore.

Identifying the best sleep measure to screen clinical insomnia in a psychiatric population.

Background: Insomnia symptoms are highly prevalent among patients with psychiatric disorders, and this mandates the need to identify the best self-administered sleep measure to screen for clinical insomnia among them.

Methods: A total of 400 psychiatric outpatients completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Flinders Fatigue Scale, Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire, and Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale in a cross-sectional study. The sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values of these six sleep scales were assessed and compared in relation to both ICD-10 and DSM-5 insomnia disorder status established using the interviewer-administered Brief Insomnia Questionnaire.

Evaluating DSM-5 Insomnia Disorder and the Treatment of Sleep Problems in a Psychiatric Population.

Study Objectives: With the introduction of insomnia disorder in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), greater emphasis has been placed on the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorder even in the presence of a coexisting mental disorder. The current study seeks to explore the clinical picture of insomnia in the context of psychiatric disorders commonly associated with sleep complaints by assessing the prevalence and correlates of DSM-5 insomnia disorder, and examining the extent to which insomnia symptoms have been addressed in this population.

Methods: Four hundred treatment-seeking outpatients suffering from depressive, bipolar affective, anxiety, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders were recruited.

Correct recognition and continuum belief of mental disorders in a nursing student population.

Background: The current study aimed to explore the correct recognition of mental disorders across dementia, alcohol abuse, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), schizophrenia and depression, along with its correlates in a nursing student population. The belief in a continuum of symptoms from mental health to mental illness and its relationship with the non-identification of mental illness was also explored.

Methods: Five hundred students from four nursing institutions in Singapore participated in this cross-sectional online study.

Metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk among institutionalized patients with schizophrenia receiving long term tertiary care.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and cardiovascular risk are highly prevalent among individuals with schizophrenia. This study aimed to determine the cardiometabolic profile and the associated risk factors in a group of institutionalized patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder receiving prolonged hospital care in the only tertiary psychiatric institution in Singapore.

Methods: Patients residing in long stay wards who were hospitalized for a minimum period of 1year were recruited.

Sleep disturbance among people with major depressive disorders (MDD) in Singapore.

Background: Sleep problems are common with major depressive disorder (MDD), which has been identified as the most pervasive mental disorder in Singapore.

Aims: This study aimed to establish the prevalence of sleep disturbance among adults with lifetime and 12-month MDD, as well as its socio-demographic and clinical correlates.

Method: Data were collected from the Singapore Mental Health Study, a cross-sectional epidemiological survey of the local residential population aged ≥18 years.

Positive mental health in outpatients: comparison within diagnostic groups.

Background: Positive mental health (PMH) supplements the definition of mental health which is not just the mere absence of mental illness. It encompasses an individual's social, emotional and psychological well-being. This cross-sectional study examines the PMH levels in a multi-ethnic outpatient population and the socio-demographic correlates of PMH across the various diagnostic groups.

A systematic review on comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder in schizophrenia.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appears to commonly co-occur with schizophrenia, which is widely considered the most disabling mental illness. Both conditions share neurological risk factors, and present with symptoms that are superficially similar, complicating diagnostic accuracy. The presence of comorbid PTSD is also of concern as additional diagnoses tend to worsen functioning and quality of life.

Positive mental health in outpatients with affective disorders: Associations with life satisfaction and general functioning.

Background: Positive mental health (PMH) is an integral and essential component of health that encompasses emotional, psychological and social well-being. The Keyes' two continua model of mental health and illness posits that mental health status is not merely the absence of mental health problems, and it can be enhanced regardless of a diagnosis of mental illness. The present study hypothesized that mentally ill patients with higher levels of PMH would be associated with better life satisfaction and general functioning.

Patient-reported outcomes in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The purpose of the article was to provide an overview of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and related measures that have been examined in the context of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The current review focused on patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) that evaluated three broad outcome domains: functioning, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and OCD-related symptoms. The present review ultimately included a total of 155 unique articles and 22 PROMs.