Personality disorders in the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Study

Abstract Personality disorders (PDs) are relatively common mental disorders associating with other psychiatric disorders and disability. The aim of the study was to determine the occurrence of PDs in a general population subsample and psychiatric hospital patients, the associations of PDs with childhood family structure, the co-occurrence of PD with common psychiatric disorders, and the associations between PDs and temperament. The study is part of the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Project (NFBC 1966), consisting of cohort members living in Oulu (N = 1,609) on 1st January 1997 (the Oulu Study). The study consisted of a two-stage psychiatric field survey with questionnaires and a structured clinical interview and analysis of the patient records in public outpatient care. Information concerning psychiatric illness of all cohort members (N = 12,058) was gathered from the Finnish Hospital Discharge register (FHDR). The best-estimate procedure was used for the assessment of psychiatric morbidity including PDs. Childhood family structure and other sociodemographic variables were drawn from questionnaires of the field study conducted during earlier follow-up studies. In this study PDs were classified into three clusters: Cluster A (paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal PD), Cluster B (antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic PD), and Cluster C (avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive, and passive-aggressive PD). The most common PDs in the Oulu Study sample were Cluster C PDs, whereas Cluster B PDs were most common in the hospital-treated sample. PDs were highly associated with mood, anxiety and substance use disorders. Single-parent family type in childhood was associated with PDs, especially Cluster B PDs in adulthood. PD clusters were associated with different profiles of temperament, but the temperament dimensions could not distinguish different PDs very well. These results indicated that it is important to recognize PDs and their comorbid psychiatric disorders. This will have implications in both general outpatient care and psychiatry. These results indicate the importance of recognition of childhood risk factors for PDs for the prevention of severe PDs. The results suggest a need for more studies about the aetiology and development of PDs.Tiivistelmä Persoonallisuushäiriöt ovat yleisiä mielenterveyden ongelmia, joihin liittyy usein psykiatrista oheissairastavuutta ja toimintakyvyn laskua. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli arvioida persoonallisuushäiriöiden yleisyyttä nuorilla aikuisilla. tehtävänä oli arvoida yhteyksiä lapsuuden perherakenteeseen ja yleisimpiin psykiatrisiin häiriöihin sekä arvioida persoonallisuushäiriöiden yhteyksiä temperamenttitekijöihin. Tutkimus on osa Pohjois-Suomen vuoden 1966 syntymäkohortin psykiatrista osaprojektia, Oulu Studyä. Tutkimusaineiston muodostivat Oulu Studyn otokseen kuuluvat kaikki 1. tammikuuta 1997 Oulussa asuneet kohortin jäsenet (N = 1 609) sekä sairaalahoidossa olleiden persoonallisuushäiriö- diagnoosin saaneiden osalta koko alkuperäisen syntymäkohortin (N =  12 058) jäsenet. Tutkimus koostui kaksivaiheisesta psykiatrisesta kenttätutkimuksesta, jossa tietoja tutkittavilta kerättiin sekä kyselylomakkeiden ja haastattelututkimuksen avulla. Lisäksi tutkittavilta kerättiin tiedot heidän elinaikanaan toteutuneesta julkisten psykiatristen sairaala- ja avohoitopalvelujen käytöstä sairauskertomustietojen perusteella. Niin kutsutun best-estimated -menetelmän avulla arvioitiin tutkittavien psykiatrista sairastavuutta mukaan lukien persoonallisuushäiriöt. Tutkittavien lapsuuden perherakennetta ja sosiodemografisia tekijöitä arvioitiin aiempien seurantatutkimusten tietojen avulla. Tutkimuksessa persoonallisuushäiriöt luokiteltiin DSM-III-R-diagnoosiluokituksen mukaisesti kolmeen eri pääryhmään ja niiden mukaisiin alaryhmiin: Ryhmä A (epävakaa, eristäytyvä ja psykoosipiirteinen persoonallisuus), ryhmä B (epäsosiaalinen, epävakaa, huomionhakuinen ja narsistinen persoonallisuus) ja ryhmä C (estynyt, riippuvainen, pakko-oireinen ja passiivis-aggressiivinen persoonallisuus). Oulu Studyn väestöotoksessa yleisimpiä näistä olivat ns. C-ryhmän persoonallisuushäiriöt, kun taas sairaalahoidetuilla henkilöillä B-ryhmän persoonallisuushäiriöt olivat yleisimpiä. Persoonallisuushäiriöiden todettiin liittyvän yleisesti masennus- ja ahdistuneisuushäiriöihin sekä päihteiden käyttöön. Vanhemman yksinhuoltajuuden todettiin liittyvän persoonallisuushäiriöihin, etenkin B-ryhmän persoonallisuushäiriöihin. Persoonallisuushäiriöryhmät erosivat toisistaan temperamenttiprofiilien perusteella. Eri persoonallisuushäiriöistä kärsivillä tutkittavilla ei todettu tyypillisiä temperamenttiprofiileja. Johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että persoonallisuushäiriöiden ja niihin yleisesti liittyvän psykiatrisen oheissairastavuuden tunnistaminen on tärkeää. Havainnot korostavat perusterveydenhuollon ja erikoissairaanhoidon yhteistyön merkitystä persoonallisuushäiriöistä ja psykiatrisista häiriöistä kärsivien henkilöiden tutkimuksessa ja hoidossa. Persoonallisuushäiriöille altistavien lapsuuden tekijöiden tunnistaminen on tärkeää vaikeiden persoonallisuushäiriöiden ehkäisemiseksi. Persoonallisuushäiriöiden etiologian ja kehittymisen selvittämiseksi tarvitaan uusia tutkimuksia

Sex-specific predictors of exposure to hospital-treated assaults among former adolescent psychiatric inpatients

Abstract This study examined the associations of psychiatric disorders, suicidal behavior and family-related characteristics during adolescence, to subsequent experiences of hospital-treated physical, or sexual assaults, among 508 young adults with a history of psychiatric inpatient care at adolescence (aged 13–17 years). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) based adolescent psychiatric disorders were assessed at index hospitalization using Schedule for Affective Disorder and Schizophrenia for School-Age children, Present and Lifetime version (K-SADS-PL). Treatment episodes for assaults were obtained from the health care register, provided by the Finnish National Institute for Health Welfare. About 14.4% of the participants had experienced physical or sexual assault during their lifetime. Results of logistic regression analysis indicated that anxiety disorder (odds ratio [OR] = 9.6) and nonsuicidal self-injury (OR = 3.7) in adolescence for males, and personality disorder (OR = 3.4) for females, were associated with increased likelihood for subsequent assault exposure leading to hospitalization. These findings can be used in targeting vulnerable adolescents and designing primary prevention strategies

Misuse of prescribed psychotropic medication and drug crime offending:a follow-up case-control study of former adolescent psychiatric inpatients

Abstract Background: Various psychotropic prescription drugs are known to have potential for misuse. Among teenagers, non-medical use of prescription drugs may predate illicit drug use or occur concomitantly. Aims: Our aim was to examine prescriptions of psychotropic medications among drug crime offenders and non-criminal controls in a psychiatric inpatient cohort of 13–17-year-olds. Our research question was: were prescribed psychotropic and potentially addictive drugs associated with later drug crime offending. Methods: Our sample was of all 60 adolescents who had been convicted of a drug crime by young adulthood with a twice-sized control group, matched for gender, age and family-type, from a cohort of 508 adolescents consecutively admitted to a psychiatric inpatient care in Finland between April 2001 and March 2006. Adolescence-related information on substance use and psychiatric disorders was obtained by semi-structured interviews. Follow-up information on crimes and medication purchases was obtained from Finnish nationwide registers. The association of studied factors to drug crime offending was examined using stepwise binary logistic regression analysis. Results: 75% of drug crime offenders and 47% of non-criminal controls had used addictive psychotropic medications during the follow-up period (p < 0.001). 74% of all drug crime offenders’ purchases of prescribed addictive drugs occurred within the year preceding drug crimes. Of addictive drugs, the use of clonazepam and gabapentinoids was most likely to associate with drug crime offending (AOR 7.77, p < 0.001). Conduct and substance use disorders diagnosed in adolescence (AOR 3.49, p = 0.010; AOR 2.34, p = 0.050) were predictors for drug crime offending. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that, when treating young adults with conduct disorder and a history of substance use, physicians should prescribe addictive medications with caution, favouring instead non-addictive medications complemented by psychosocial interventions

Bullying involvement in relation to personality disorders:a prospective follow-up of 508 inpatient adolescents

Abstract We examined the association of bullying behavior in adolescence to personality disorder (PD) diagnosed in early adulthood. The study sample consisted of 508 adolescents (300 girls, 208 boys) who were admitted to psychiatric inpatient treatment between April 2001 and March 2006. Data were based on semi-structured K-SADSPL-interviews and hospital treatments extracted from the Care Register for Health Care (CRHC). At the end of 2013, details of psychiatric diagnoses recorded on hospital discharges and outpatient visits were extracted from the CRHC. This study showed that female victims of bullying have an almost fourfold likelihood of developing a PD later in life compared to adolescents with no involvement in bullying behavior. Most of the females had Borderline PD. Female adolescents diagnosed with anxiety disorder during adolescence had an over threefold risk of developing a PD during late adolescence or early adulthood. Conversely, we found no associations between bullying involvement among men in adolescence and subsequent PDs. Bullying victimization may influence the development of PDs among females. Adolescent services should pay particular attention to female victims of bullying and those displaying symptoms of anxiety disorders

Somatic morbidity among borderline and other personality disordered young adults:a register-based follow-up study of former adolescent psychiatric inpatients

Abstract Personality disorders (PDs) are related to increased prevalence of somatic diseases. The objective of this follow-up study was to explore somatic morbidity in subjects with PD diagnosed by early adulthood. The initial study population consisted of 508 former adolescent psychiatric inpatients (n=508). Of them, 63 subjects (39 women, 24 men) had a diagnosis of PD, including borderline PD (BPD) (n=38) and other PD (OPD) (n=25). The K-SADS-PL was used to gather information during the adolescent psychiatric hospitalization. The information on in- and outpatient hospital treatments, until the end of 2016, was extracted from the National Care Register for Health Care. 96.8% of subjects with PDs had somatic morbidity during the follow-up period. In comparison of prevalence between BPD and OPD groups, significant differences were found in Infectious and parasitic diseases (BPD vs. OPD, 63.2% vs. 36.0%, p=0.043), Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (23.7% vs. 0%, p=0.009) and Diseases of the genitourinary system (60.5% vs. 12.0%, <0.001). Symptoms, signs and abnormal findings were more common among BPD than OPD group (89.5% vs. 68.0%, p=0.050). Abdominal pain diagnoses were common among women with PD, especially in those with BPD. Nearly one-fifth of subjects with PD had been diagnosed with acute appendicitis. The findings of this study suggest that subjects with PDs already have high somatic morbidity in young adulthood. This study emphasizes the importance of evaluating the physical health of subjects with PD

Antisocial and borderline personality disorders in the offspring of antenatally depressed mothers:a follow-up until mid-adulthood in the Northern Finland 1966 birth cohort

Abstract Background: Maternal depression is common during pregnancy, affecting 10–15% of mothers. In previous reports, the offspring of antenatally depressed mothers have had an elevated risk for antisocial, criminal and violent behaviour in adolescence, and for borderline personality features in childhood, but long-term outcomes are unknown. Aims: To study whether the adult offspring of antenatally depressed mothers have an elevated risk for antisocial (ASPD) or borderline personality disorder (BPD) when followed until mid-adulthood. Methods: In the general population-based Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort, mothers of 12,058 children were asked during mid-gestation if they felt depressed. Of the mothers, 14% reported being depressed. The offspring were followed for 49 years. The diagnoses of in- and outpatient-treated ASPD and BPD in the offspring were detected using the Finnish Care Register for Healthcare. Maternal antenatal smoking, newborn´s low birthweight or short gestational age, father’s social class, and family type at birth were considered as confounding variables. Logistic regression analyses on the potential confounders were performed. Maternal postnatal depression and paternal ASPD information was not available. Results: In the male offspring of antenatally depressed mothers, the risk for ASPD was elevated (adjusted odds ratio 5.6; 95% confidence interval 1.8–17.8), but not in female offspring. The risk for BPD was not elevated in the offspring of antenatally depressed mothers in this study. Conclusions: The sons of antenatally depressed mothers had an increased risk for ASPD. Prevention and treatment of antenatal depression might present an opportunity to decrease the risk of antisocial personality in the offspring