Seasonality in Major Depressive Disorder: Effect of Sex and Age

Background: Aside from the concept of seasonal affective disorder, the evidence for a seasonal pattern (SP) of major depressive disorder (MDD) is controversial. Furthermore, the effect of sex and age is still unclear. Methods: This is a nationwide, registry-based study assessing all inpatient admissions in mental health hospitals due to MDD episodes according to ICD-10 (moderate (F32/33.1), severe (F32/33.2) and severe with psychotic features (F32/33.3)) in Austria across 14 years. Calculations were based on deviations from expected monthly admissions. Results: The sample comprised 231,824 hospitalisations (36.8% men) for MDD. A significant SP (p=0.001) in moderate and severe depressive episodes in both women and men with decreased admission rates in the summer months and December was detected. In psychotic depression a significant SP was only evidenced in women (p = 0.002, men: p = 0.291). Patients older than 55 years had a reduced SP compared to those being younger. Limitations: Only anonymised admission data of inpatient treatments were available. Hospitalization rates cannot fully be equated to the occurrence of MDD. Conclusions: The current study indicates a seasonal variation in MDD symptoms that may go beyond seasonal affective disorder. Knowledge about the predictability of depressive symptoms in patients should encourage preventive strategies

Diagnose eines 22q11.2-Mikrodeletionssyndroms im Rahmen einer neu aufgetretenen psychotischen Symptomatik: Diagnosis of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome in the context of newly developed psychosis

22q11.2 deletion syndrome (clinically also known as velocardiofacial or DiGeorge syndrome) is the most common human microdeletion syndrome and can be associated with a multitude of clinical features. In this article we report the case of a 22-year-old patient from Austria who was diagnosed with previously unknown 22q11.2 deletion syndrome in the context of newly developed psychosis. Using this case as an example, we then discuss the implications of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome for clinical psychiatric practice.Das 22q11.2-Mikrodeletionssyndrom (klinisch auch bekannt als velokardiofaziales Syndrom oder DiGeorge-Syndrom) gilt als das häufigste beim Menschen auftretende Mikrodeletionssyndrom und kann mit einer Vielzahl an klinischen Auffälligkeiten einhergehen. Wir berichten in diesem Artikel über den Fall eines 22 Jahre alten Patienten aus Österreich, bei dem im Rahmen einer psychotischen Erstmanifestation ein bis dahin unbekanntes 22q11.2-Mikrodeletionssyndrom diagnostiziert wurde, und diskutieren anhand dieses Falles die Implikationen dieser genetischen Erkrankung für die psychiatrische Praxis

Diagnose eines 22q11.2-Mikrodeletionssyndroms im Rahmen einer neu aufgetretenen psychotischen Symptomatik: Diagnosis of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome in the context of newly developed psychosis

22q11.2 deletion syndrome (clinically also known as velocardiofacial or DiGeorge syndrome) is the most common human microdeletion syndrome and can be associated with a multitude of clinical features. In this article we report the case of a 22-year-old patient from Austria who was diagnosed with previously unknown 22q11.2 deletion syndrome in the context of newly developed psychosis. Using this case as an example, we then discuss the implications of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome for clinical psychiatric practice.Das 22q11.2-Mikrodeletionssyndrom (klinisch auch bekannt als velokardiofaziales Syndrom oder DiGeorge-Syndrom) gilt als das häufigste beim Menschen auftretende Mikrodeletionssyndrom und kann mit einer Vielzahl an klinischen Auffälligkeiten einhergehen. Wir berichten in diesem Artikel über den Fall eines 22 Jahre alten Patienten aus Österreich, bei dem im Rahmen einer psychotischen Erstmanifestation ein bis dahin unbekanntes 22q11.2-Mikrodeletionssyndrom diagnostiziert wurde, und diskutieren anhand dieses Falles die Implikationen dieser genetischen Erkrankung für die psychiatrische Praxis

Psychotic-like experiences in non-clinical subgroups with and without specific beliefs

Abstract Background Assuming a transdiagnostic and extended psychosis phenotype, psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) and psychotic symptoms are on a phenomenological and temporal continuum between clinical and non-clinical populations. Recent research points towards differences in PLE proneness in different subgroups and clinical impact of different PLE subtypes. This study examines the prevalence of PLEs in three groups of individuals with and without specific sets of beliefs aiming to elucidate the question whether proneness to PLEs varies according to traditional versus less traditional supernatural beliefs. Methods The anonymized 16-item version of the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16) was used to assess PLEs in three groups including individuals with religious beliefs (RB), belief in esoterism and paranormal phenomena (EB), and those embedded in scientific evidence approach and scepticism towards para-scientific theories (non-believers, NB). Male and female participants between 18 and 90 years were eligible for participation. Results The sample comprised 159 individuals including 41 RB individuals, 43 EB individuals, and 75 NB individuals. The mean PQ-16 score of the EB individuals (6.86 ± 4.13) was significantly higher compared to NB individuals (3.43 ± 2.99) and to RB individuals (3.38 ± 3.23) with almost twice the score (both p-values < 0.001). There was no significant difference between the PQ-16 scores of the NB group and the RB group (p = 0.935). No significant impact of age (p = 0.330) and gender (p = 0.061) was found on the PQ16-Score. Group affiliation to esoterism was associated with a higher PQ-16 score compared to group affiliation to religious beliefs (p < 0.001) and group affiliation to scepticism (p = 0.011), while the latter two did not differ significantly (p = 0.735). No significant difference was found between the three groups in the degree of distress related to the affirmatively answered PQ-16 items (p = 0.74). Conclusion Under the assumption of a transdiagnostic psychosis phenotype, our findings provide more insight which subgroups within non-clinical samples have a higher likelihood of reporting PLEs

Psychotic-like experiences in esoterism: A twilight zone?

Over the past decades, research has suggested the existence of a psychosis continuum ranging from psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) in the general population to psychotic symptoms in patients with affective and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Especially individuals interested in esoterism were more often reported having experienced PLEs. However, there is little information on the extent of PLEs in this subculture. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of PLEs in a non-clinical population with interest in esoterism by means of an anonymized clinically used screening questionnaire.The 16-item version of the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ-16), a self-report screening questionnaire assessing the presence of PLEs was administered to individuals with interest in esoterism (IE) and a control group without interest in esoterism (NI).The sample included 402 individuals. 224 subjects (55.7%) reported interest in esoterism and 178 subjects (44.3%) showed no such interest. In an ANCOVA, interest in esoterism was shown to have a significant impact on the PQ-16 score (<0.001). Also, age (p=0.022) and the interaction between age and interest in esoterism had a significant impact on the PQ-16 score (p=0.004). Specifically, younger individuals interested in esoterism showed increased PQ-16 scores, whereas scores decreased with increasing age. In individuals without interest in esoterism, age had no relevant impact on the score.Younger individuals interested in esoterism seem to be more prone to reporting psychotic-like experiences compared to individuals without interest in esoterism and compared to their older counterparts