Poverty and inequality in real-world schizophrenia: a national study

BackgroundSchizophrenia has high socioeconomic impact among severe psychiatric disorders.AimsTo explore clinician-reported and patient-reported inequities between patients under the poverty threshold vs. the others.Method916 patients consecutively recruited in 10 national centers received a comprehensive standardized evaluation of illness severity, addictions and patient-reported outcomes.Results739 (80.7%) of the patients were classified in the poverty group. This group had poorer objective illness outcomes (lower positive, negative, cognitive, excitement/aggressive and self-neglect symptoms and lifetime history of planned suicide) in multivariate analyses. While they had similar access to treatments and psychotherapy, they had lower access to socially useful activities, couple’s life, housing and parenthood. They had also more disturbed metabolic parameters. On the contrary, the poverty group reported better self-esteem. No significant difference for depression, risky health behavior including addictions and sedentary behavior was found.InterpretationThe equity in access to care is attributed to the French social system. However, mental and physical health remain poorer in these patients, and they still experience poor access to social roles independently of illness severity and despite healthcare interventions. These patients may have paradoxically better self-esteem due to decreased contact with society and therefore lower stigma exposure (especially at work). Schizophrenia presents itself as a distinct impoverished population concerning health-related outcomes and social integration, warranting focus in public health initiatives and improved treatment, including tailored interventions, collaborative care models, accessible mental health services, housing support, vocational training and employment support, community integration, education and awareness, research and data collection, culturally competent approaches, and long-term support

Removing Compliance: Interpersonal and Social Factors Affecting Insight Assessments

This paper probes the format and underlying assumptions of insight conceptualizations and assessment procedures in psychiatry. It does so with reference to the often- neglected perspective of the assessed person. It delineates what the mental steps involved in an insight assessment are for the assessed person, and how they become affected by the context and dynamics of the clinical setting. The paper examines how expectations of compliance in insight assessment tools and procedures extend far beyond treatment adherence, to compliance with diagnostic language and the assessment relationship. Such compliance can be ethically problematic and not in line with human rights standards, notably the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Most importantly, it can be counterproductive in supporting an individual to gain better insight in the sense of self-knowledge. The paper concludes with guidelines for a new approach to insight. This new approach requires taking into account currently neglected components of insight, in particular its relational and social dimensions, through which a person’s insight operates and develops, and through which it could be supported. Concretely, this would mean removing the condition of compliance and reflecting on the influence of the clinician-patient relationship and assessment situation on insight

Handedness as a neurodevelopmental marker in schizophrenia: Results from the FACE-SZ cohort

Objectives: High rates of non-right-handedness (NRH) including mixed-handedness have been reported in neurodevelopmental disorders. In schizophrenia (SZ), atypical handedness has been inconsistently related to impaired features. We aimed to determine whether SZ subjects with NRH and mixed-handedness had poorer clinical and cognitive outcomes compared to their counterparts. Methods: 667 participants were tested with a battery of neuropsychological tests, and assessed for laterality using the Edinburg Handedness Inventory. Clinical symptomatology was assessed. Learning disorders and obstetrical complications were recorded. Biological parameters were explored. Results: The prevalence of NRH and mixed-handedness was high (respectively, 42.4% and 34.1%). In the multivariable analyses, NRH was associated with cannabis use disorder (p = 0.045). Mixed-handedness was associated with positive symptoms (p = 0.041), current depressive disorder (p = 0.005)), current cannabis use (p = 0.024) and less akathisia (p = 0.019). A history of learning disorder was associated with NRH. No association was found with cognition, trauma history, obstetrical complications, psychotic symptoms, peripheral inflammation. Conclusions: Non-right and mixed-handedness are very high in patients with SZ, possibly reflecting a neurodevelopmental origin. NRH is associated with learning disorders and cannabis use. Mixed-handedness is associated with positive symptoms, current depressive disorder, cannabis use and less akathisia. However, this study did not confirm greater cognitive impairment in these patients. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Sorbonne Universités à Paris pour l'Enseignement et la RechercheFondaMental-Cohorte

Overlap and Mutual Distinctions between Clinical Recovery and Personal Recovery in People with Schizophrenia in a One-Year Study

Recovery is a multidimensional construct that can be defined either from a clinical perspective or from a consumer-focused one, as a self-broadening process aimed at living a meaningful life beyond mental illness. We aimed to longitudinally examine the overlap and mutual distinctions between clinical and personal recovery. Of 1239 people with schizophrenia consecutively recruited from the FondaMental Advanced Centers of Expertise for SZ network, the 507 present at one-year did not differ from those lost to follow-up. Clinical recovery was defined as the combination of clinical remission and functional remission. Personal recovery was defined as being in the rebuilding or in the growth stage of the Stages of Recovery Instrument (STORI). Full recovery was defined as the combination of clinical recovery and personal recovery. First, we examined the factors at baseline associated with each aspect of recovery. Then, we conducted multivariable models on the correlates of stable clinical recovery, stable personal recovery, and stable full recovery after one year. At baseline, clinical recovery and personal recovery were characterized by distinct patterns of outcome (i.e. better objective outcomes but no difference in subjective outcomes for clinical recovery, the opposite pattern for personal recovery, and better overall outcomes for full recovery). We found that clinical recovery and personal recovery predicted each other over time (baseline personal recovery for stable clinical recovery at one year; P =. 026, OR = 4.94 [1.30-23.0]; baseline clinical recovery for stable personal recovery at one year; P =. 016, OR = 3.64 [1.31-11.2]). In short, given the interaction but also the degree of difference between clinical recovery and personal recovery, psychosocial treatment should target, beyond clinical recovery, subjective aspects such as personal recovery and depression to reach full recovery. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. All rights reserved.Sorbonne Universités à Paris pour l'Enseignement et la RechercheFondaMental-Cohorte

Schizophrenia Bulletin Open

Treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) affects around 30% of patients with schizophrenia (SZ) resulting in poor functioning, relapses, and reduced quality of life. Convergent findings show that inflammation could contribute to resistance. We thus search for immune signatures of patients with TRS/ultra TRS (UTRS) in a sample of community-dwelling outpatients with SZ. In total, 195 stabilized SZ patients (mean age = 31.2 years, 73% male gender) were consecutively included in the network of the FondaMental Expert Centers for Schizophrenia in France and received a thorough clinical assessment. At inclusion, psychotic symptomatology was evaluated by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) for schizophrenia. Circulating serum/plasma levels of a large panel of markers reflecting the main inflammatory pathways were evaluated. TRS was defined by current treatment by clozapine (CLZ) and UTRS by current CLZ treatment + PANSS total score ≥ 70. The frequency of TRS and UTRS patients was, respectively, 20% and 7.7% and was defined using multivariable analysis elevated by high levels of interleukin (IL)-12/IL-23p40, IL-17A, IL-10, and beta 2 microglobulin (B2M) and IL-12/IL-23p40, IL-17A, IL-6, IL-10, IFNγ, and B2M, respectively. These observations suggest that resistance and ultra resistance to CLZ treatment are underpinned by pro-inflammatory molecules mainly belonging to the T helper 17 pathway, a finding making sense given the interplay between inflammation and antipsychotic treatment responses. If confirmed, our findings may allow us to consider IL-23/IL-17 pathway as a therapeutic target for patients with resistance to antipsychotics.Sorbonne Universités à Paris pour l'Enseignement et la RechercheFondaMental-Cohorte

Precision-medicine findings from the FACE-SZ cohort to develop motivation-enhancing programs in real-world schizophrenia

Background: In people with schizophrenia, major areas of everyday life are impaired, including independent living, productive activities, social relationships and overall quality of life. Enhanced understanding of factors that hinder real-life functioning is vital for treatments to translate into more positive outcomes. Aim: The goal of the present study was to identify factors associated with motivation deficits in real-life schizophrenia, and to assess its contribution to impaired functioning and quality of life. Methods: Based on previous literature and clinical experience, several factors were selected and grouped into factors potentially explaining motivation deficits. Some of these variables were never investigated before in relationship with motivation deficits. Results: In 561 patients with schizophrenia of the national FACE-SZ cohort living in the community, 235 (41.9%) reported severe motivation deficits. These deficits were found to be significantly associated with impaired socially useful activities, psychological and physical quality of life (in almost all domains), alcohol use disorder (aOR = 2.141, p = 0.021), severe nicotine dependence (aOR = 2.906, p < 0.001) independently of age and sex. No significant association was found for body mass index, metabolic syndrome or physical activity level. In the second model, we identified the following modifiable factors associated with motivation deficits: history of suicide attempt (aOR = 2.297, p = 0.001), positive symptoms (aOR = 1.052, p = 0.006), current major depressive episode (aOR = 2.627, p < 0.001), sleep disorders (aOR = 1.474, p = 0.024) and lower medication adherence (aOR = 0.836, p = 0.001) independently of gender, current alcohol use disorder, second-generation antipsychotics and akathisia. No significant association was found for negative symptoms, childhood trauma and inflammation. These results were maintained after removing patients with schizoaffective disorders or those with major depressive disorder. Interpretation: Motivation deficits are frequent and remain persistent unmet need in real-world schizophrenia that should be addressed in future guidelines. Based on our results, literature and clinical experience, we recommend to address in priority major depression, sleep, suicide, positive symptoms (when present and as early as possible) and medication adherence to improve motivation deficits of schizophrenia. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Sorbonne Universités à Paris pour l'Enseignement et la RechercheFondaMental-Cohorte

Targeting the problem of treatment non-adherence among mentally ill patients: the impact of loss, grief and stigma

The present study examined the factor structure of the Hungarian version of the Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) and analyzed its association with socio-demographics, insight, internalized stigma, and the experience of loss and grief as a result of the mental illness diagnosis, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with a series of one covariates at a time. Mentally ill patients (N=200) completed self-report questionnaires. CFA supported the original three-factor structure although one item was moved from its original factor to another. Lower insight, higher internalized stigma, loss, and grief were significant predictors of lower treatment adherence. Lower adherence was found to be significantly associated with lower quality of life. No difference in adherence was found between different diagnostic groups, which stresses the need to examine non-adherence in the wider spectrum of mental diagnosis. The study also stresses the importance of patients’ subjective experience in promoting better adherence, and raises the need to address the experience of stigma but also of less studied experiences, such as patients‘ feelings of loss and grief. Integrating these experiences in intervention programs might have meaningful implications for the improvement of treatment adherence and patients’ quality of life

Etude des liens entre les différentes caractéristiques de l'insight et le risque suicidaire dans la schizophrénie

Ce travail explore les liens entre insight et risque suicidaire dans la schizophrénie. Son objectif est double : réaliser une synthèse des données de la littérature et exposer les résultats de notre étude clinique. Le manque d'insight apparaît d'emblée comme un trait caractéristique des patients souffrant de schizophrénie. Selon Beck, ces patients présenteraient une altération de l'insight cognitif, c'est-à-dire de la capacité à contrôler et à critiquer leurs propres perceptions et leurs pensées. La population de patients souffrant de schizophrénie constitue par ailleurs un groupe particulièrement exposé au suicide, le risque étant vingt fois supérieur à celui de la population générale. Il serait majoré au cours des phases précoces de la maladie, en particulier la première année qui suit le diagnostic après la phase de rémission. De surcroît, un fléchissement thymique apparaît le plus souvent dans les suites du premier épisode psychotique, période de forte vulnérabilité pour l'émergence d'idées suicidaires. Des études ont recherché quelle place tenait l'insight dans cette vulnérabilité suicidaire. Certains travaux mettent en évidence que l'amélioration de l'insight et une prise de conscience douloureuse de la réalité seraient liés à un sentiment de désespoir, à une humeur dépressive voire à une plus forte suicidalité. Notre hypothèse de travail est que l'insight et plus précisément certaines de ses composantes cliniques ou cognitives pourraient être liées au sentiment de désespoir ou à une symptomatologie dépressive et par ce biais là aux vélléités suicidaires. Les principaux résultats obtenus dans notre étude mettent en évidence que les patients qui présentent un bon insight clinique et de bonnes capacités d'introspection ont des scores de dépression plus élevés. Un lien significatif apparaît également entre le fait de présenter des scores élevés à l'échelle d'intentionnalité suicidaire et un bon insight.BORDEAUX2-BU Santé (330632101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Influence de l'observance thérapeutique sur le syndrome de la porte tournante dans une population de patients souffrant de schizophrénie

BORDEAUX2-BU Santé (330632101) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF