ANHEDONIA IN THE PSYCHOSIS RISK SYNDROME: STATE AND TRAIT CHARACTERISTICS

Background: Previous studies reported deficits in pleasure experience in schizophrenia, but little is known about anhedonia in psychosis risk syndrome. Aim of this study was: (1) to assess anhedonia in distinct help-seeking subgroups of young people identified through the Ultra-High Risk (UHR) criteria, (2) to explore its association with functioning and psychopathology in the UHR group, and (3) to monitor longitudinally its stability in UHR individuals along 1-year follow-up period. Subjects and methods: All participants (78 UHR, 137 with a First Episode Psychosis (FEP), and 95 non-UHR/FEP), aged 13-35 years, completed the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire - Brief version (SPQ-B), the Brief O-LIFE questionnaire (BOL), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life - Brief version (WHOQOL-BREF). We adopted two different indexes of anhedonia: i.e. CAARMS “Anhedonia” item 4.3 and BOL “Introvertive Anhedonia” subscale scores. Results: In comparison with non-UHR/FEP, UHR individuals showed higher baseline CAARMS item 4.3 and BOL “Introvertive Anhedonia” subscale scores. No difference in anhedonia scores between UHR and FEP patients was found. After 1-year follow up period, UHR subjects had a significant decrease in severity exclusively on CAARMS item 4.3 subscore. Conclusions: In the UHR group, CAARMS anhedonia showed significant correlations with functioning deterioration, negative symptoms, and comorbid depression (including suicide ideation), while BOL anhedonia with a poorer self-perceived quality of life and specific schizotypal personality traits (i.e. interpersonal deficits and disorganization). Anhedonia is prominent in the psychosis risk syndrome and its severity is indistinguishable from that of FEP patients

Anhedonia and suicidal ideation in young people with early psychosis: Further findings from the 2-year follow-up of the ReARMS program.

Hedonic deficits have been extensively studied in schizophrenia, but little is known about their association with suicidal ideation in early psychosis. The aim of this research was to examine the relationship between anhedonia and suicidal thoughts across a 2-year follow-up period in people with First Episode Psychosis (FEP) and at Ultra High Risk (UHR) of psychosis. Ninty-six UHR and 146 FEP, aged 13–35 years, completed the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). The BDI-II “Anhedonia” subscale score to assess anhedonia and the CAARMS “Depression” item 7.2 subscore to measure depression were used across the 2 years of follow-up. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed. No difference in anhedonia scores between FEP and UHR individuals was found. In the FEP group, a significant enduring association between anhedonia and suicidal ideation was found at baseline and across the follow-up, independent of clinical depression. In the UHR subgroup, the enduring relationship between anhedonia and suicidal thoughts were not completely independent from depression severity. Anhedonia is relevant in predicting suicidal ideation in early psychosis. Specific pharmacological and/or psychosocial interventions on anhedonia within specialized EIP program could reduce suicide risk overtime

Lower Frailty Is Associated with Successful Cognitive Aging Among Older Adults with HIV

Aging with HIV poses unique and complex challenges, including avoidance of neurocognitive disorder. Our objective here is to identify the prevalence and predictors of successful cognitive aging (SCA) in a sample of older adults with HIV. One hundred three HIV-infected individuals aged 50 and older were recruited from the Modena HIV Metabolic Clinic in Italy. Participants were treated with combination antiretroviral therapy for at least 1 year and had suppressed plasma HIV viral load. SCA was defined as the absence of neurocognitive impairment (as defined by deficits in tasks of episodic learning, information processing speed, executive function, and motor skills) depression, and functional impairment (instrumental activities of daily living). In cross-sectional analyses, odds of SCA were assessed in relation to HIV-related clinical data, HIV-Associated Non-AIDS (HANA) conditions, multimorbidity ( 652HANA conditions), and frailty. A frailty index was calculated as the number of deficits present out of 37 health variables. SCA was identified in 38.8% of participants. Despite no differences in average chronologic age between groups, SCA participants had significantly fewer HANA conditions, a lower frailty index, and were less likely to have hypertension. In addition, hypertension (odds ratio [OR]\u2009=\u20090.40, p\u2009=\u2009.04), multimorbidity (OR\u2009=\u20090.35, p\u2009=\u2009.05), and frailty (OR\u2009=\u20090.64, p\u2009=\u2009.04) were significantly associated with odds of SCA. Frailty is associated with the likelihood of SCA in people living with HIV. This defines an opportunity to apply knowledge from geriatric population research to people aging with HIV to better appreciate the complexity of their health status

Suicide risk in young people at ultra-high risk (UHR) of psychosis: findings from a 2-year longitudinal study

Background: Suicide risk is high in first episode schizophrenia. Little data are available in young individuals at Ultra-High Risk (UHR) of psychosis. Purposes of the study were: (1) to assess prevalence and incidence rates of suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and completed suicide in UHR individuals compared with First Episode Psychosis (FEP) and non-FEP/UHR help-seeking peers at baseline and over a 24-month follow-up time, and (2) to explore any association of suicidal ideation with other psychopathological parameters at baseline. Methods: 273 young people (13-35 years) were evaluated with the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS), the Beck Depression Inventory - II Edition (BDI), and the World Health Organization Quality Of Life scale - Brief version (WHOQOL-BREF). The BDI item 9 cut-off score of ≥1 dichotomized the presence/absence of suicidal ideation. Results: UHR individuals showed more severe suicidal ideation and a higher percentage of individuals with a history of attempted suicide than FEP and non-UHR/FEP samples, and a higher 2-year incidence rate of suicide attempts than non-UHR/FEP subjects. No inter-group differences in incidence rates of completed suicide were found. In the UHR group, suicidal ideation was associated with BDI-II and CAARMS "Anhedonia" scores, and showed a negative correlation with all WHOQOL-BREF scores. Conclusions: Suicidal ideation is frequent in UHR subjects, supporting the routine monitoring of suicide risk in people at risk of psychosis. Suicide risk is correlated with severity of depression and anhedonia, and with a poorer quality of life

Lower Frailty Is Associated with Successful Cognitive Aging Among Older Adults with HIV.

Aging with HIV poses unique and complex challenges, including avoidance of neurocognitive disorder. Our objective here is to identify the prevalence and predictors of successful cognitive aging (SCA) in a sample of older adults with HIV. One hundred three HIV-infected individuals aged 50 and older were recruited from the Modena HIV Metabolic Clinic in Italy. Participants were treated with combination antiretroviral therapy for at least 1 year and had suppressed plasma HIV viral load. SCA was defined as the absence of neurocognitive impairment (as defined by deficits in tasks of episodic learning, information processing speed, executive function, and motor skills) depression, and functional impairment (instrumental activities of daily living). In cross-sectional analyses, odds of SCA were assessed in relation to HIV-related clinical data, HIV-Associated Non-AIDS (HANA) conditions, multimorbidity (≥2HANA conditions), and frailty. A frailty index was calculated as the number of deficits present out of 37 health variables. SCA was identified in 38.8% of participants. Despite no differences in average chronologic age between groups, SCA participants had significantly fewer HANA conditions, a lower frailty index, and were less likely to have hypertension. In addition, hypertension (odds ratio [OR] = 0.40, p = .04), multimorbidity (OR = 0.35, p = .05), and frailty (OR = 0.64, p = .04) were significantly associated with odds of SCA. Frailty is associated with the likelihood of SCA in people living with HIV. This defines an opportunity to apply knowledge from geriatric population research to people aging with HIV to better appreciate the complexity of their health status

HIV patients undergoing second generation antipsychotics show high cardiovascular disease burden

Cardiovascular disease is highly prevalent in HIV-positive patients and can be explored with coronary artery calcium score as a biomarker of preclinical coronary disease. Antiretroviral drugs and concomitant treatment including second generation anti-psychotics may contribute to metabolic derangement with potential impact on traditional cardiovascular risk factors associated with the metabolic syndrome phenotype. The objective of the study was to assess the impact of second generation anti-psychotics on subclinical cardiovascular disease in HIV positive patients

Identification of young people at “Ultra-High Risk” (UHR) of developing psychosis: validation of the “Checklist per la valutazione dell’esordio psicotico” for use in primary care setting

Objective. The study aims to establish the concordant validity of the “Checklist per la valutazione dell’Esordio Psicotico” (CVEP) in an Italian help-seeking population. The CVEP is the Italian adaptation of the early detection Primary Care Checklist (PCCL), a 20 item tool specifically designed to assist primary care practitioners in identifying young people in the early stages of psychosis (Table I). Methods. The checklist was completed by the referring practitioners of 102 young people referred to the “Reggio Emilia At Risk Mental States” Project (ReARMS) in the Reggio Emilia Department of Mental Health and Addiction. The concordant validity of the CVEP was established by comparing screen results with the outcome of the Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental States (CAARMS), a gold standard assessment for identifying young people who may be at risk of developing psychosis. Results. The simple checklist as originally conceived had excellent sensitivity (97.9%), but lower specificity (55.6%) (Table II). Using only a CVEP total score of 20 or above as cut-off, the tool showed a substantial improvement in specificity (87%) (Table II). Simple cross-tabulations of the individual CVEP item scores against CAARMS outcome to identify the more discriminant items in terms of sensitivity and specificity were carried out (Table III). Conclusions. In comparison to other much longer screening tools, the CVEP performed well to identify young people in the early stages of psychosis. Therefore, the CVEP is well suited to optimize appropriate referrals to specialist services, building on the skill and knowledge already available in primary care settings

Two methods of measuring frailty among people aging with HIV

The two most common methods of assessing frailty are via the frailty phenotype and the frailty index. We assessed and compared their cross-sectional characteristics in the same sample of people aging with HIV in northern Italy