A factor analytic study of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form in an all-female South African sample with and without HIV infection.

Background: The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) is widely used around the world but no norms have been established for South African users of the CTQ. The CTQ has been employed in South Africa but not yet validated. The present study aims to address this gap.

Intervention for alcohol use disorders at an HIV care clinic in Harare: a pilot and feasibility study.

Background: Alcohol use in HIV infected patients is associated with risky sexual behaviour, poor adherence to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, treatment failure and increased physiologic harm. The objectives of the study were to pilot the outcome assessments to be used in the trial proper, assess the feasibility of delivery of a brief MI/CBT intervention compared to an WHO mhGAP intervention for problematic alcohol use in PLWH in Zimbabwe, and pilot the effectiveness (on alcohol use, functionality and CD4 count) of these interventions at 3 months in a randomised controlled trial design.

Methods: An intervention for HIV infected patients with problematic alcohol use, developed through adaptation of existing evidence based psychological treatments, was assessed for its feasibility at a tertiary HIV care clinic in Zimbabwe.

Generalizability of demographically corrected Zambian neuropsychological norms to South African women.

Demographically corrected norms typically account for the effects of age, education, and in some cases, sex and other factors (e.g. race/ethnicity).

Current evidence on urbanicity and the impact of neighbourhoods on anxiety and stress-related disorders.

Purpose Of Review: To synthesize recent knowledge on the association of urbanization (and neighbourhood factors) and anxiety and stress-related disorders.

Recent Findings: The quality of urban neighbourhoods and neighbourhood factors - physical (e.g.

Social anxiety disorder and childhood trauma in the context of anxiety (behavioural inhibition), impulsivity (behavioural activation) and quality of life.

Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders in South Africa. Previous studies have linked childhood trauma with the development of SAD. The behavioural inhibition system (BIS) and the behavioural activation system (BAS), two dimensions of personality related to anxiety and impulsivity, respectively, are said to influence the development of psychopathology, including SAD.

Epigenetic alterations associated with childhood trauma and adult mental health outcomes: A systematic review.

Multiple, chronic and repeated trauma exposure in childhood is associated with adverse mental health outcomes in adulthood. In this paper we synthesise the literature on epigenetic modifications in childhood trauma (CT) and the mediating effects of differential epigenetic mechanisms on the association between CT and the later onset of psychiatric disorders. We reviewed the literature up to March 2018 in four databases: PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCOhost and SCOPUS.

Childhood emotional neglect and oxytocin receptor variants: Association with limbic brain volumes.

Childhood emotional neglect (EN) is a predictor for the development of affective disorders. Oxytocin (OXT) may mediate the interplay between EN and changes in stress biological systems, brain development, and mental health outcomes. We investigated, in a cross-sectional study, the associations between EN, (epi)genetic variation in the OXT receptor () gene, and amygdalar and hippocampal volumes, two brain regions implicated in emotional processing.

Rates, types and co-occurrence of emotional and behavioural disorders among perinatally HIV-infected youth in Uganda: the CHAKA study.

Purpose: To describe the rates, types and comorbidity of emotional and behavioural disorders among perinatally HIV-infected children and adolescents attending care at five HIV youth clinics in Central and Southwestern Uganda.

Methods: 1339 CA-HIV attending care at HIV youth clinics in Uganda were interviewed using the DSM-5-based Child and Adolescent Symptom Inventory-5 (CASI-5; caregiver reported) and the Youth Inventory-4R (YI-4R; youth reported). Prevalence, risk factors and comorbidity for psychiatric disorders were estimated using logistic regression models.

Posttraumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder and childhood trauma: Differences in hippocampal subfield volume.

Volume-based hippocampal findings in Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) have been inconsistent, with very little investigation of hippocampal subfields. We assessed the effects of early childhood trauma on hippocampal subfields in participants with SAD with and without early childhood trauma and PTSD, compared to healthy controls. The sample comprised 26 participants SAD with early childhood trauma, 22 participants with SAD without early childhood trauma, 17 with PTSD secondary to early childhood trauma and 25 control participants.

Differentiating PTSD from anxiety and depression: Lessons from the ICD-11 PTSD diagnostic criteria.

Objective: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is frequently associated with depression and anxiety, but the nature of the relationship is unclear. By removing mood and anxiety diagnostic criteria, the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) aims to delineate a distinct PTSD phenotype. We examined the effect of implementing ICD-11 criteria on rates of codiagnosed depression and anxiety in survivors with recent PTSD.

Cortisol levels in different tissue samples in posttraumatic stress disorder patients versus controls: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that develops following exposure to severely stressful events. Altered cortisol secretion has been reported in PTSD; however, results have been inconsistent. Previous meta-analyses of cortisol levels in PTSD have combined results of studies that have used different tissue samples (blood, saliva, urine) for cortisol measurement and have not included newer methods of determining cortisol levels (e.

Estimating the risk of PTSD in recent trauma survivors: results of the International Consortium to Predict PTSD (ICPP).

A timely determination of the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prerequisite for efficient service delivery and prevention. We provide a risk estimate tool allowing a calculation of individuals' PTSD likelihood from early predictors. Members of the International Consortium to Predict PTSD (ICPP) shared individual participants' item-level data from ten longitudinal studies of civilian trauma survivors admitted to acute care centers in six countries.

Partnership for mental health development in Sub-Saharan Africa (PaM-D): a collaborative initiative for research and capacity building.

Unlabelled: AimsIn low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) in general and sub-Sahara African (SSA) countries in particular, there is both a large treatment gap for mental disorders and a relative paucity of empirical evidence about how to fill this gap. This is more so for severe mental disorders, such as psychosis, which impose an additional vulnerability for human rights abuse on its sufferers. A major factor for the lack of evidence is the few numbers of active mental health (MH) researchers on the continent and the distance between the little evidence generated and the policy-making process.

Childhood trauma interacts with ApoE to influence neurocognitive function in women living with HIV.

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) describes a spectrum of behavioural, motor and cognitive disturbances that can occur secondary to HIV infection. Less severe forms of the disorder persist despite advances in antiretroviral medication efficacy and availability. Childhood trauma (CT) may predispose individuals to developing HAND.

A survey of traditional and faith healers providing mental health care in three sub-Saharan African countries.

Background: Traditional and faith healers constitute an important group of complementary and alternative mental health service providers (CAPs) in sub-Sahara Africa. Governments in the region commonly express a desire to integrate them into the public health system. The aim of the study was to describe the profile, practices and distribution of traditional and faith healers in three sub-Saharan African countries in great need for major improvements in their mental health systems namely Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.

The relationship between cognitive change and physical health and behavioural outcomes in a Ugandan cohort of adults living with HIV - a longitudinal study.

We investigated changes in cognitive function and physical health and behavioural outcomes (HIV disease progression, health-seeking behaviour, adherence to HIV medications and risky sexual behaviour) at baseline and 12 months later among 1126 Ugandan adults living with HIV. Overall, cognitive function improved from baseline to follow-up, except for gait speed, which was slower at follow-up compared to baseline. There were improvements in physical health and behavioural outcomes by follow-up, with greater improvements among individuals on ART compared to those not on ART.

Relationship between childhood abuse and substance misuse problems is mediated by substance use coping motives, in school attending South African adolescents.

Background: In adults, it has been shown that the relationship between childhood abuse and substance misuse problems is mediated by the belief that substance use helps cope with negative affective states. By contrast, in adolescents, it is unknown whether drug use coping motives play this same mediating role.

Methods: Secondary analysis of 1149 school attending adolescents in Cape Town, South Africa (average age = 16.

Prognostic Value of Motor Timing in Treatment Outcome in Patients With Alcohol- and/or Cocaine Use Disorder in a Rehabilitation Program.

Individuals with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) often have cognitive deficits in multiple domains, including motor timing deficits, with recovery times of up to 1 year. Cognitive deficits influence treatment outcomes and abstinence. To our knowledge, timing deficits have not been investigated with regard to treatment outcome and relapse.

Prevalence and correlates of probable post-traumatic stress disorder and common mental disorders in a population with a high prevalence of HIV in Zimbabwe.

: We investigated the prevalence of and factors associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and common mental disorders (CMDs), which include depression and anxiety disorders, in a setting with a prevalence of high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) within a primary care clinic, using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 and the 14-item Shona Symptom Questionnaire, both locally validated screening tools. : A cross-sectional survey was carried out with adult patients ( = 204) from the largest primary care clinic facility in Harare, Zimbabwe, in June 2016. : A total of 83 patients (40.

Validation of the Montreal cognitive assessment against the RBANS in a healthy South African cohort.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) represents an intermediate state between normal cognition and dementia. Early detection and treatment of reversible contributing factors to progressive cognitive decline currently forms the cornerstone of management. As the population at risk of developing dementia is projected to increase significantly in many low- and middle-income countries where health care services continue to operate under clinical and human resource constraints, there is a need for low-cost, quick and reliable screening tools.

HPA-axis genes as potential risk variants for neurocognitive decline in trauma-exposed, HIV-positive females.

Purpose: Previous studies have independently provided evidence for the effects of HIV infection, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction and early life trauma on neurocognitive impairment (NCI). This study examined the interaction between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of two HPA axis genes, corticotrophin-releasing hormone receptor 1 (; rs110402, rs242924, rs7209436, and rs4792888) and corticotrophin-releasing hormone-binding protein (; rs32897, rs10062367, and rs1053989), childhood trauma, and HIV-associated NCI.

Patients And Methods: The sample comprised 128 HIV-positive Xhosa females of whom 88 (69%) had a history of childhood trauma.

The effects of childhood maltreatment and anxiety proneness on neuropsychological test performance in non-clinical older adolescents.

Background: The effect of childhood maltreatment (CM) on neuropsychological performance is well established, but the effect of anxiety proneness (AP) on such performance has been underexplored. We assessed the predictive ability of CM and AP, and their interaction, in non-clinical adolescents, for a range of previously documented neuropsychological deficits.

Methods: Multiple linear regression models were used to assess the unique and combined influences of CM and AP on neuropsychological performance in 104 non-clinical adolescents, who underwent both neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological assessment.

Attitudes toward alcohol use during pregnancy among women recruited from alcohol-serving venues in Cape Town, South Africa: A mixed-methods study.

Background: The Western Cape Province of South Africa has one of the highest rates of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) globally. Effective prevention of FASD requires understanding women's attitudes about alcohol use during pregnancy and whether these attitudes translate into behavior.

Objective: The goal of this mixed-methods study was to describe attitudes toward alcohol use during pregnancy and examine how these attitudes influence drinking behaviors during pregnancy.

Pulmonary Glue Embolism: An unusual complication following endoscopic sclerotherapy for gastric varices.

A pulmonary glue embolism is an unusual but potentially life-threatening complication following the treatment of variceal bleeding, especially in patients with large varices requiring large volumes of sclerosant. Other contributory factors include the rate of injection and ratio of the constituent components of the sclerosant (i.e.

Prolonged exposure therapy and supportive counselling for posttraumatic stress disorder in adolescents in a community-based sample, including experiences of stakeholders: study protocol for a comparative randomized controlled trial using task-shifting.

Background: There is a dearth of empirical evidence on the effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in developing countries. The primary aim of the study is to examine the effects of prolonged exposure therapy compared with supportive counseling for adolescents with PTSD delivered by nurses trained as counselors.

Methods/design: A single-blind randomized clinical trial comprising 90 adolescents with PTSD using a permuted block design will be utilized.