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Intermittent Explosive Disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement

July 2, 2012 Comments off

Intermittent Explosive Disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement
Source: Archives of General Psychiatry

Context
Epidemiologic studies of adults show that DSM-IV intermittent explosive disorder (IED) is a highly prevalent and seriously impairing disorder. Although retrospective reports in these studies suggest that IED typically begins in childhood, no previous epidemiologic research has directly examined the prevalence or correlates of IED among youth.

Objective
To present epidemiologic data on the prevalence and correlates of IED among US adolescents in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement.

Design
United States survey of adolescent (age, 13-17 years) DSM-IV anxiety, mood, behavior, and substance disorders.

Setting
Dual-frame household-school samples.

Participants
A total of 6483 adolescents (interviews) and parents (questionnaires).

Main Outcome Measures
The DSM-IV disorders were assessed with the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI).

Results
Nearly two-thirds of adolescents (63.3%) reported lifetime anger attacks that involved destroying property, threatening violence, or engaging in violence. Of these, 7.8% met DSM-IV/CIDI criteria for lifetime IED. Intermittent explosive disorder had an early age at onset (mean age, 12.0 years) and was highly persistent, as indicated by 80.1% of lifetime cases (6.2% of all respondents) meeting 12-month criteria for IED. Injuries related to IED requiring medical attention reportedly occurred 52.5 times per 100 lifetime cases. In addition, IED was significantly comorbid with a wide range of DSM-IV/CIDI mood, anxiety, and substance disorders, with 63.9% of lifetime cases meeting criteria for another such disorder. Although more than one-third (37.8%) of adolescents with 12-month IED received treatment for emotional problems in the year before the interview, only 6.5% of respondents with 12-month IED were treated specifically for anger.

Conclusions
Intermittent explosive disorder is a highly prevalent, persistent, and seriously impairing adolescent mental disorder that is both understudied and undertreated. Research is needed to uncover risk and protective factors for the disorder, develop strategies for screening and early detection, and identify effective treatments.

See: Uncontrollable Anger Prevalent Among U.S. Youth: Almost Two-Thirds Have History of Anger Attacks

Categories: adolescents, Archives of General Psychiatry, mental health and substance abuse

Genetic Heritability and Shared Environmental Factors Among Twin Pairs With Autism

July 6, 2011 Comments off

Genetic Heritability and Shared Environmental Factors Among Twin Pairs With Autism
Source: Archives of General Psychiatry

Context Autism is considered the most heritable of neurodevelopmental disorders, mainly because of the large difference in concordance rates between monozygotic and dizygotic twins.
Objective To provide rigorous quantitative estimates of genetic heritability of autism and the effects of shared environment.

Design, Setting, and Participants Twin pairs with at least 1 twin with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) born between 1987 and 2004 were identified through the California Department of Developmental Services.

Main Outcome Measures Structured diagnostic assessments (Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) were completed on 192 twin pairs. Concordance rates were calculated and parametric models were fitted for 2 definitions, 1 narrow (strict autism) and 1 broad (ASD).

Results For strict autism, probandwise concordance for male twins was 0.58 for 40 monozygotic pairs (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.42-0.74) and 0.21 for 31 dizygotic pairs (95% CI, 0.09-0.43); for female twins, the concordance was 0.60 for 7 monozygotic pairs (95% CI, 0.28-0.90) and 0.27 for 10 dizygotic pairs (95% CI, 0.09-0.69). For ASD, the probandwise concordance for male twins was 0.77 for 45 monozygotic pairs (95% CI, 0.65-0.86) and 0.31 for 45 dizygotic pairs (95% CI, 0.16-0.46); for female twins, the concordance was 0.50 for 9 monozygotic pairs (95% CI, 0.16-0.84) and 0.36 for 13 dizygotic pairs (95% CI, 0.11-0.60). A large proportion of the variance in liability can be explained by shared environmental factors (55%; 95% CI, 9%-81% for autism and 58%; 95% CI, 30%-80% for ASD) in addition to moderate genetic heritability (37%; 95% CI, 8%-84% for autism and 38%; 95% CI, 14%-67% for ASD).

Conclusion Susceptibility to ASD has moderate genetic heritability and a substantial shared twin environmental component.

Categories: Archives of General Psychiatry, autism spectrum disorders

Ten-Year Course of Borderline Personality Disorder

May 11, 2011 Comments off

Ten-Year Course of Borderline Personality Disorder
Source: Archives of General Psychiatry

The 10-year course of BPD is characterized by high rates of remission, low rates of relapse, and severe and persistent impairment in social functioning. These results inform expectations of patients, families, and clinicians and document the severe public health burden of this disorder.

Categories: Archives of General Psychiatry, mental health and substance abuse

Cannabis Use and Earlier Onset of Psychosis

February 23, 2011 Comments off

Cannabis Use and Earlier Onset of Psychosis
Source: Archives of General Psychiatry

Data Synthesis Meta-analysis found that the age at onset of psychosis for cannabis users was 2.70 years younger (standardized mean difference = –0.414) than for nonusers; for those with broadly defined substance use, the age at onset of psychosis was 2.00 years younger (standardized mean difference = –0.315) than for nonusers. Alcohol use was not associated with a significantly earlier age at onset of psychosis. Differences in the proportion of cannabis users in the substance-using group made a significant contribution to the heterogeneity in the effect sizes between studies, confirming an association between cannabis use and earlier mean age at onset of psychotic illness.

Conclusions The results of meta-analysis provide evidence for a relationship between cannabis use and earlier onset of psychotic illness, and they support the hypothesis that cannabis use plays a causal role in the development of psychosis in some patients. The results suggest the need for renewed warnings about the potentially harmful effects of cannabis.

Categories: Archives of General Psychiatry, drug abuse, mental health and substance abuse
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