Publications by authors named "Serlachius E"

Predictors for the pharmacological effect of ADHD medication in children and adolescents are lacking. This study examined clinically relevant factors in a large (N = 638) prospective cohort reflecting real-world evidence. Children and adolescents aged 6-17 diagnosed with ADHD were evaluated at baseline and three months following ADHD medication initiation.

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Introduction: The number of adolescents seeking professional help for depression is increasing and, despite advances in treatment, large unmet treatment needs remain. In the current protocol, we describe the design and methodology of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the clinical efficacy of two forms of internet-delivered behavioural activation (I-BA), with and without therapist support, in reducing depressive symptoms, compared with treatment as usual (TAU). Secondary objectives include examining the 12-month maintenance of the treatment effects and conducting a health economic evaluation of the interventions.

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Background: Evidence for substance use-related problems in individuals with mild intellectual disability is sparse and mainly limited to selected psychiatric populations. We evaluated the risk of substance use-related problems in individuals with mild intellectual disability compared to the general population. Additionally, we have performed secondary sibling comparison analyses to account for familial confounding.

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Article Synopsis
  • Behavior therapy is crucial for treating Tourette syndrome (TS) and chronic tic disorder (CTD), but access to this therapy and its long-term effectiveness remain unclear.* -
  • The study aimed to compare the long-term efficacy and cost-effectiveness of therapist-supported, internet-delivered exposure and response prevention (ERP) versus psychoeducation in youth with TS or CTD.* -
  • Conducted in Stockholm, the trial involved 221 participants aged 9-17, with a focus on tic severity improvement and a detailed economic evaluation of both treatment approaches.*
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Few studies have evaluated the implementation of ICBT in regular child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). This study aimed to explore the acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of ICBT for children and adolescents with anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) within a rural CAMHS. The study also explored outcome predictors and long-term outcomes.

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Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a prevalent and impairing psychiatric condition that typically debuts in adolescence and is associated with risky behaviours. The disorder can be effectively treated with cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). However, CBT for BDD is seldom available primarily due to a shortage of trained therapists.

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Background: Behavioural therapy for tics is difficult to access, and little is known about its effectiveness when delivered online.

Objective: To investigate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an online-delivered, therapist- and parent-supported therapy for young people with tic disorders.

Design: Single-blind, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial, with 3-month (primary end point) and 6-month post-randomisation follow-up.

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Background: Insomnia is common in adolescents. This study evaluated feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a six-week internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (ICBT-I) in adolescents.

Methods: In this uncontrolled pilot study, participants ( = 27, 78% female) completed assessments pre- and post intervention.

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Approximately one-fifth of new parents struggle with unwanted intrusive thoughts (UITs) about intentionally harming their child. This study evaluated the initial efficacy, feasibility and acceptability of a novel online self-guided cognitive intervention for new parents with distressing UITs. Self-recruited parents ( = 43, 93% female, age 23-43 years) of children 0-3 years reporting daily distressing and impairing UITs were randomized to the 8-week self-guided online cognitive intervention or to waiting-list.

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Long-term follow-up data from trials of digital mental health interventions are rare. This study reports 2-year follow-up data from a non-inferiority trial (N = 152) comparing stepped-care (internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy [CBT] followed by traditional in-person CBT if needed) vs in-person CBT for pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. Both treatment groups had comparable long-term effects, with the majority of participants being responders (stepped-care 66 %; in-person CBT 71 %) 2 years after the end of treatment.

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Behavioural Activation (BA) is an established treatment for adults with depression, and research on BA for adolescents is promising. However, there is a knowledge gap in terms of the experiences of adolescents and their parents BA for depression delivered online. Furthermore, there have been no previous studies conducted on the experiences of respondents with regard to the role of the therapist in online treatment.

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Background: Little is known about the long-term effectiveness of behavioural therapy for tics. We aimed to assess the long-term clinical and cost-effectiveness of online therapist-supported exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy for tics 12 and 18 months after treatment initiation.

Methods: ORBIT (online remote behavioural intervention for tics) was a two-arm (1:1 ratio), superiority, single-blind, multicentre randomised controlled trial comparing online ERP for tics with online psychoeducation.

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Objective: Access to effective treatments for adolescents with depression needs to improve. Few studies have evaluated behavioural activation (BA) for adolescent depression, and none remotely delivered BA. This study explored the feasibility and acceptability of therapist-guided and self-guided internet-delivered BA (I-BA) in preparation for a future randomised controlled trial (RCT).

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Internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) is an efficacious treatment for social anxiety disorder (SAD) in youth. However, we have limited knowledge about patient characteristics that may be associated with better (or worse) treatment outcome. Particularly concerning factors suggested to be involved in the maintenance of SAD (e.

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Introduction: The operational definitions of treatment response, partial response, and remission in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are widely used in clinical trials and regular practice. However, the clinimetric sensitivity of these definitions, that is, whether they identify patients that experience meaningful changes in their everyday life, remains unexplored.

Objective: The objective was to examine the clinimetric sensitivity of the operational definitions of treatment response, partial response, and remission in children and adults with OCD.

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Objective: To test if decreased parental protective behaviors, monitoring behaviors, and parental catastrophizing mediate relief of gastrointestinal symptoms in children 8-12 years with functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs). The study uses secondary data analyses of a randomized controlled trial in which exposure-based online cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) was found superior to treatment as usual in decreasing gastrointestinal symptoms.

Methods: The ICBT included 10 weekly modules for children and 10 weekly modules for parents.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study addresses the limited access to behavior therapy for those with Tourette syndrome (TS) and chronic tic disorder (CTD) and aims to assess the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of internet-delivered exposure and response prevention (ERP).
  • Conducted as a randomized clinical trial in Sweden, 221 children and adolescents aged 9 to 17 were recruited to receive either ERP or a control education intervention over 10 weeks from April 2019 to April 2021.
  • Results showed significant improvements in tic severity for participants in the ERP group compared to the control group, with most individuals (97.7%) providing outcome data at a 3-month follow-up.
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Aim: To examine the association of childhood-onset type 1 diabetes (T1D) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with educational outcomes from compulsory school to university.

Methods: Using multiple Swedish nationwide registers, we followed up on 1,474,941 individuals born in Sweden from 1981-1995 to December 31, 2013. Associations of T1D and ADHD with achieving educational milestones (from compulsory school to university) and school performances were estimated using logistic and linear regression models and sibling comparison models.

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Aim: To validate child-adapted shortened versions of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome-Behavioural Responses Questionnaire (IBS-BRQ; short scale denoted BRQ-C) and the Visceral Sensitivity Index (VSI; short scale denoted VSI-C) for children with functional abdominal pain disorders (FAPDs).

Methods: A child psychologist supervised by a child gastroenterologist was responsible for shortening the scales (BRQ-C, 11 items; and VSI-C, 7 items). Then, a sample of 89 children aged 8-12 years with FAPDs was used in the validation.

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Williams syndrome (WS) is a rare genetic condition associated with high sociability, intellectual disability, and social cognitive challenges. Attention to others' eyes is crucial for social understanding. Orienting to, and from other's eyes was studied in WS (n = 37, mean age = 23, age range 9-53).

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Objectives: The current study evaluated the feasibility of an internet-delivered cognitive therapy (I-CT) in a self-help format with minimal therapist support for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with primary taboo obsessions. Specifically, the aims were to investigate (1) whether participants were able to grasp and apply the internet-delivered cognitive framework to their own situation; (2) whether they had clinically meaningful reductions of OCD symptom severity; and (3) whether reduced negative appraisals (hypothesized mechanism of change in CT) preceded reductions in OCD symptom severity.

Method: Nineteen OCD patients with primary taboo obsessions, recruited from an OCD clinic or self-referrals, received the I-CT intervention for 10 weeks.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study analyzed how tic disorders in children and young people were affected by COVID-19 by comparing scores on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale before and during the pandemic.
  • 112 participants aged 9-17 years were randomized into two groups: one assessed pre-pandemic and the other post-pandemic.
  • Results showed no significant differences in tic symptoms or severity between the two groups, indicating that the pandemic did not notably impact existing tic symptoms regardless of age, gender, or other factors like anxiety or autism.
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Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a treatable condition that often requires specialist care, particularly when comorbid with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, specialist clinics are few and typically located in large medical centers. To increase availability of evidence-based treatment for OCD in individuals with ASD, we adapted an internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (ICBT) protocol to suit the needs of these individuals and conducted a feasibility study ( = 22).

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