Publications by authors named "Yong-Chon Park"
Background: As clinical practices with lithium salts for patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD) are poorly documented in Asia, we studied the prevalence and clinical correlates of lithium use there to support international comparisons.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of use and dosing of lithium salts for BD patients across 13 Asian sites and evaluated bivariate relationships of lithium treatment with clinical correlates followed by multivariate logistic regression modeling.
Results: In a total of 2139 BD participants (52.
Background: Stigma related to mental illness (and its treatment) is prevalent worldwide. This stigma could be at the structural or organizational level, societal level (interpersonal stigma), and the individual level (internalized stigma). Vulnerable populations, for example, gender minorities, children, adolescents, and geriatric populations, are more prone to stigma.
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- This study analyzes the prescription patterns of mood stabilizers, primarily used for bipolar disorder, across 10 Asian countries and highlights their use in treating other psychiatric conditions.
- It found that more than half of the patients had schizophrenia or similar disorders, and symptoms like irritability and aggression were common targets for treatment.
- The results suggest that while mood stabilizers are frequently used off-label for various psychiatric diagnoses, the effectiveness and justification of this practice need further research.
Background: Pharmacoepidemiological studies of clozapine use to treat bipolar disorder (BD), especially in Asia, are rare, although they can provide insights into associated clinical characteristics and support international comparisons of indications and drug dosing.
Methods: We examined the prevalence and clinical correlates of clozapine treatment for BD in 13 Asian countries and regions (China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand) within an Asian Prescription Patterns Research Consortium. We compared BD patients treated with clozapine or not in initial bivariate comparisons followed by multivariable logistic regression modeling.
Psychotic symptoms are rarely concurrent with the clinical manifestations of depression. Additionally, whether psychotic major depression is a subtype of major depression or a clinical syndrome distinct from non-psychotic major depression remains controversial. Using data from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antidepressants, we developed a machine-learning-algorithm-based prediction model for concurrent psychotic symptoms in patients with depressive disorders.
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- Clozapine combined with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for patients with schizophrenia who do not respond to standard therapies, particularly in Asian populations.
- A study utilized machine learning techniques, specifically random forest and LASSO models, to create a prediction model identifying key variables that influence the success of this treatment combination, with significant results from a sample of 3,744 patients.
- Findings highlighted important factors such as inpatient status, BMI, and duration of illness, enabling a more tailored approach in treating schizophrenia through personalized medicine.
Article Synopsis
- * Conducted across 13 Asian countries, the research found that out of 1,647 participants, 13.1% were on high doses, with factors like younger age, male sex, and prior electroconvulsive treatment linked to this higher dosing.
- * The findings indicate significant variations in MS usage among different countries and highlight specific patient characteristics that could help in the individualized treatment of BD.
Article Synopsis
- - The REAP BD study investigated psychotropic medication prescription patterns for bipolar disorder across 12 Asian countries, highlighting the prevalence of polypharmacy and varied treatment approaches.
- - Data collected from 2003 patients showed that a majority were on multiple medications: 80.8% took mood stabilizers, 82.14% took antipsychotics, and the study found that 70% of patients were involved in polypharmacy practices.
- - Results indicated a significant increase in antipsychotic use, with over 80% of patients receiving them, suggesting an emerging trend in their use for treating bipolar disorder.
Network Analysis-Based Disentanglement of the Symptom Heterogeneity in Asian Patients with Schizophrenia: Findings from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antipsychotics.
J Pers Med
January 2022
The symptom heterogeneity of schizophrenia is consistent with Wittgenstein's analogy of a language game. From the perspective of precision medicine, this study aimed to estimate the symptom presentation and identify the psychonectome in Asian patients, using data obtained from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antipsychotics. We constructed a network structure of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) items in 1438 Asian patients with schizophrenia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Recently, rational polypharmacy approaches have been proposed, regardless of the lower risk and cost of monotherapy. Considering monotherapy as first-line treatment and polypharmacy as rational treatment, a balanced attitude toward polypharmacy is recommended. However, the high prevalence of polypharmacy led the Japanese government to establish a polypharmacy reduction policy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Network analysis can be used in terms of a novel psychopathological approach for depressive syndrome. We aimed to estimate the successive network structures of depressive symptoms in patients with depressive disorder using data from the Clinical Research Center for Depression study.
Methods: We enrolled 1,152 South Korean adult patients with depressive disorders who were beginning treatment for first-onset or recurrent depressive episodes.
Article Synopsis
- The study examines the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and antipsychotic-induced extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) in schizophrenia patients, noting an inverse correlation between BMI and EPS prevalence.
- Using data from 1,448 patients, the research found that underweight individuals were more likely to experience symptoms like muscle rigidity and bradykinesia.
- Overall, the findings suggest that lower BMI is linked to increased muscle rigidity among Asian schizophrenia patients, although the exact mechanisms are still unclear.
Although the association between antipsychotic use and corrected QT interval (QTc) prolongation has been repeatedly confirmed, the relationship has been rarely studied in a practical setting. Using data from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antipsychotics (REAP-AP) survey, our study aimed to investigate the prevalence and clinical correlates of QTc prolongation in 2553 Asian patients with schizophrenia. After adjusting for the potential effect of confounding factors, the baseline and clinical characteristics of the schizophrenia patients with and without QTc prolongation were compared using analyses of covariance and binary logistic analyses.
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- The study investigates the coprescription of mood stabilizers (MSs) with antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia across 14 Asian countries, finding that 13.6% of patients received MSs, often at high doses.
- Factors associated with MS use included demographic variables like younger age and female sex, as well as clinical aspects like longer illness duration and more severe symptoms.
- Results suggest that patients on high doses of MSs had a less favorable illness trajectory and were more challenging to treat, indicating that adjunctive MS treatment may reflect greater severity of illness.
Article Synopsis
- Network analysis, referred to as 'symptomics', identifies interconnected symptoms as part of a dynamic structure, applied to various symptom-related areas.
- The study used data from the REAP-AP project to create a network model of extrapyramidal syndrome in 1,046 Asian patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.
- Results indicated that dyskinesia was the most central symptom in the network, with three distinct clusters of extrapyramidal symptoms identified, suggesting a relationship between acute movement disorders and the risk of tardive dyskinesia.
Article Synopsis
- Patterns of clinical use of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics for treating schizophrenia in Asia are not well documented, with an average of 17.9% of patients receiving these medications across 15 countries.
- Patients on LAIs tend to be older, have a history of multiple hospitalizations, and experience more severe symptoms like disorganized behavior or aggression, but they also show slightly better psychosocial functioning.
- There are significant variations in the use of LAI antipsychotics among Asian countries, and clinicians need to consider both the benefits and potential adverse effects when prescribing these treatments.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to analyze and compare the network structures of depressive symptoms among Asian patients using network analysis techniques.
- Researchers used data from 1174 patients and found that persistent sadness, fatigue, and loss of interest were the most central symptoms in the network of depressive disorders.
- The results indicated that geographic and economic factors may affect the expression and organization of depressive symptoms, suggesting cultural influences in how these symptoms manifest among different groups of Asian patients.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates the relationship between cannabis use and schizophrenia specifically in an Asian population, noting a rare examination of this link compared to broader research.
- - Researchers analyzed data from a survey involving 132 cannabis users and 1756 non-users with schizophrenia, using a binary logistic regression model to identify factors correlated with cannabis use.
- - Results showed that lifetime cannabis use is significantly linked to increased aggressive behavior and is associated with a preference for long-acting injectable antipsychotic treatments among these patients.
Article Synopsis
- The study analyzed prescription patterns for bipolar disorder (BD) using Korean data, focusing on clinical features and medication use.
- Results showed that over 85% of patients experienced polypharmacy, with 51.1% in simple and 34.2% in complex polypharmacy, indicating more medication complexity among younger patients with more severe symptoms.
- The findings suggest a need for careful monitoring of weight and medication practices in patients with bipolar disorder who are on multiple drugs, as they tend to be more overweight and use fewer antidepressants but more anxiolytics.
Article Synopsis
- Disorganized speech is a key feature of schizophrenia but there is limited research on how it impacts psychotropic drug prescribing in large patient samples.
- A study of 3,744 schizophrenia patients across 15 Asian countries found that severe disorganized speech affects treatment, notably leading to increased use of mood stabilizers and diazepam.
- The findings suggest that the link between disorganized speech and mood stabilizer use may relate to behaviors like impulsiveness and aggressiveness in patients, challenging traditional classifications of mental disorders.