Risk factors for violence in psychosis: systematic review and meta-regression analysis of 110 studies.

Background: Previous reviews on risk and protective factors for violence in psychosis have produced contrasting findings. There is therefore a need to clarify the direction and strength of association of risk and protective factors for violent outcomes in individuals with psychosis.

Method: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis using 6 electronic databases (CINAHL, EBSCO, EMBASE, Global Health, PsycINFO, PUBMED) and Google Scholar.

Medication for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and criminality.

Background: Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common disorder that has been associated with criminal behavior in some studies. Pharmacologic treatment is available for ADHD and may reduce the risk of criminality.

Methods: Using Swedish national registers, we gathered information on 25,656 patients with a diagnosis of ADHD, their pharmacologic treatment, and subsequent criminal convictions in Sweden from 2006 through 2009.

Choice and rejection of psychiatry as a career: surveys of UK medical graduates from 1974 to 2009.

Background: Recruitment of adequate numbers of doctors to psychiatry is difficult.

Aims: To report on career choice for psychiatry, comparing intending psychiatrists with doctors who chose other clinical careers.

Method: Questionnaire studies of all newly qualified doctors from all UK medical schools in 12 qualification years between 1974 and 2009 (33 974 respondent doctors).

Personality disorders, violence, and antisocial behavior: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis.

The risk of antisocial outcomes in individuals with personality disorder (PD) remains uncertain. The authors synthesize the current evidence on the risks of antisocial behavior, violence, and repeat offending in PD, and they explore sources of heterogeneity in risk estimates through a systematic review and meta-regression analysis of observational studies comparing antisocial outcomes in personality disordered individuals with controls groups. Fourteen studies examined risk of antisocial and violent behavior in 10,007 individuals with PD, compared with over 12 million general population controls.

Perinatal risk factors in offenders with severe personality disorder: a population-based investigation.

Although perinatal factors are associated with the development of several psychiatric disorders, it is unknown whether these factors are linked with personality disorder. Cases of personality disorder were drawn from a national registry of all forensic psychiatric evaluations (n = 150). Two control groups were used: (1) A sample of forensic evaluations without any psychiatric disorder (n = 97) allowing for a nested case-control investigation; and (2) A population-based sample matched by age and gender with no history of psychiatric hospitalization (n = 1498).

Prevalence of tuberculosis, hepatitis C virus, and HIV in homeless people: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: 100 million people worldwide are homeless; rates of mortality and morbidity are high in this population. The contribution of infectious diseases to these adverse outcomes is uncertain. Accurate estimates of prevalence data are important for public policy and planning and development of clinical services tailored to homeless people.

Use of risk assessment instruments to predict violence and antisocial behaviour in 73 samples involving 24 827 people: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To investigate the predictive validity of tools commonly used to assess the risk of violence, sexual, and criminal behaviour.

Design: Systematic review and tabular meta-analysis of replication studies following PRISMA guidelines.

Data Sources: PsycINFO, Embase, Medline, and United States Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts.

Severe mental illness in 33,588 prisoners worldwide: systematic review and meta-regression analysis.

Background: High levels of psychiatric morbidity in prisoners have been documented in many countries, but it is not known whether rates of mental illness have been increasing over time or whether the prevalence differs between low-middle-income countries compared with high-income ones.

Aims: To systematically review prevalence studies for psychotic illness and major depression in prisoners, provide summary estimates and investigate sources of heterogeneity between studies using meta-regression.

Method: Studies from 1966 to 2010 were identified using ten bibliographic indexes and reference lists.

A novel approach to determining violence risk in schizophrenia: developing a stepped strategy in 13,806 discharged patients.

Clinical guidelines recommend that violence risk be assessed in schizophrenia. Current approaches are resource-intensive as they employ detailed clinical assessments of dangerousness for most patients. An alternative approach would be to first screen out patients at very low risk of future violence prior to more costly and time-consuming assessments.

Risk of violent crime in individuals with epilepsy and traumatic brain injury: a 35-year Swedish population study.

Background: Epilepsy and traumatic brain injury are common neurological conditions, with general population prevalence estimates around 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively.

Structured assessment of violence risk in schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders: a systematic review of the validity, reliability, and item content of 10 available instruments.

Objectives: To undertake a systematic review on structured violence risk assessment tools in individuals with schizophrenia.

Methods: A systematic search was conducted from 1990 to 2011 to identify violence risk assessment tools and studies examining their predictive validity. Item content of the identified instruments was analyzed, and areas under the curve (AUC) from the studies were extracted.

Alcohol use disorders in schizophrenia: a national cohort study of 12,653 patients.

Background: Comorbid alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in schizophrenia are associated with increased morbidity, more inpatient treatment, and violent offending. It is of clinical importance to identify those with schizophrenia who may go on to develop an alcohol use disorder; however, the risk factors are not well understood. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for the development of an AUD in patients after they had been diagnosed with schizophrenia.

A comparative study of violence risk assessment tools: a systematic review and metaregression analysis of 68 studies involving 25,980 participants.

There are a large number of structured instruments that assist in the assessment of antisocial, violent and sexual risk, and their use appears to be increasing in mental health and criminal justice settings. However, little is known about which commonly used instruments produce the highest rates of predictive validity, and whether overall rates of predictive validity differ by gender, ethnicity, outcome, and other study characteristics. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of nine commonly used risk assessment instruments following PRISMA guidelines.

The pharmacological management of violence in schizophrenia: a structured review.

Although the increased risk of violent behavior in individuals with schizophrenia is now well-established, there is considerable uncertainty in pharmacological strategies to reduce this risk. In this review, we performed a systematic search of three electronic databases from January 2000 to March 2010 of treatment research on the management of violence in schizophrenia. We identified eight randomized controlled trials.

Bipolar disorder and violent crime: new evidence from population-based longitudinal studies and systematic review.

Context: Although bipolar disorder is associated with various adverse health outcomes, the relationship with violent crime is uncertain.

Objectives: To determine the risk of violent crime in bipolar disorder and to contextualize the findings with a systematic review.

Design: Longitudinal investigations using general population and unaffected sibling control individuals.