25. Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys. By D. B. Rubin. ISBN 0 471 08705 X. Wiley, Chichester, 1987. 258 pp. £30.25.

Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys

The concept of schizophrenia only covers the 30% poor outcome fraction of a much broader multidimensional psychotic syndrome, yet paradoxically has become the dominant prism through which everything 'psychotic' is observed, even affective states with mild psychosis labelled 'ultra-high risk' (for schizophrenia). The inability of psychiatry to frame psychosis as multidimensional syndromal variation of largely unpredictable course and outcome - within and between individuals - hampers research and recovery-oriented practice. 'Psychosis' remains firmly associated with 'schizophrenia', as evidenced by a vigorous stream of high-impact but non-replicable attempts to 'reverse-engineer' the hypothesized biological disease entity, using case-control paradigms that cannot distinguish between risk for illness onset and risk for poor outcome. In this paper, the main issues surrounding the concept of schizophrenia are described. We tentatively conclude that with the advent of broad spectrum phenotypes covering autism and addiction in DSM5, the prospect for introducing a psychosis spectrum disorder - and modernizing psychiatry - appears to be within reach.

/pdf/the-slow-death-of-the-concept-of-schizophrenia-and-the-3a7i752z0s.pdf

The slow death of the concept of schizophrenia and the painful birth of the psychosis spectrum

Background The treatment gap between the number of people with mental disorders and the number treated represents a major public health challenge. We examine this gap by socio-economic status (SES; indicated by family income and respondent education) and service sector in a cross-national analysis of community epidemiological survey data. Methods Data come from 16 753 respondents with 12-month DSM-IV disorders from community surveys in 25 countries in the WHO World Mental Health Survey Initiative. DSM-IV anxiety, mood, or substance disorders and treatment of these disorders were assessed with the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Results Only 13.7% of 12-month DSM-IV/CIDI cases in lower-middle-income countries, 22.0% in upper-middle-income countries, and 36.8% in high-income countries received treatment. Highest-SES respondents were somewhat more likely to receive treatment, but this was true mostly for specialty mental health treatment, where the association was positive with education (highest treatment among respondents with the highest education and a weak association of education with treatment among other respondents) but non-monotonic with income (somewhat lower treatment rates among middle-income respondents and equivalent among those with high and low incomes). Conclusions The modest, but nonetheless stronger, an association of education than income with treatment raises questions about a financial barriers interpretation of the inverse association of SES with treatment, although future within-country analyses that consider contextual factors might document other important specifications. While beyond the scope of this report, such an expanded analysis could have important implications for designing interventions aimed at increasing mental disorder treatment among socio-economically disadvantaged people.

/pdf/socio-economic-variations-in-the-mental-health-treatment-gap-2n6c73bkgy.pdf

Socio-economic variations in the mental health treatment gap for people with anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders: results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys

The stagnation in drug development for schizophrenia highlights the need for better translation between basic and clinical research. Understanding the neurobiology of schizophrenia presents substantial challenges but a key feature continues to be the involvement of subcortical dopaminergic dysfunction in those with psychotic symptoms. Our contemporary knowledge regarding dopamine dysfunction has clarified where and when dopaminergic alterations may present in schizophrenia. For example, clinical studies have shown patients with schizophrenia show increased presynaptic dopamine function in the associative striatum, rather than the limbic striatum as previously presumed. Furthermore, subjects deemed at high risk of developing schizophrenia show similar presynaptic dopamine abnormalities in the associative striatum. Thus, our view of subcortical dopamine function in schizophrenia continues to evolve as we accommodate this newly acquired information. However, basic research in animal models has been slow to incorporate these clinical findings. For example, psychostimulant-induced locomotion, the commonly utilised phenotype for positive symptoms in rodents, is heavily associated with dopaminergic activation in the limbic striatum. This anatomical misalignment has brought into question how we assess positive symptoms in animal models and represents an opportunity for improved translation between basic and clinical research. The current review focuses on the role of subcortical dopamine dysfunction in psychosis and schizophrenia. We present and discuss alternative phenotypes that may provide a more translational approach to assess the neurobiology of positive symptoms in schizophrenia. Incorporation of recent clinical findings is essential if we are to develop meaningful translational animal models.

/pdf/dopamine-psychosis-and-schizophrenia-the-widening-gap-4phkrkkds1.pdf

Dopamine, psychosis and schizophrenia: the widening gap between basic and clinical neuroscience

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/wps.20330

Childhood adversities and psychosis: evidence, challenges, implications

Objective:While it is now recognized that psychotic experiences are associated with an increased risk of later mental disorders, we lack a detailed understanding of the reciprocal time-lagged relationships between first onsets of psychotic experiences and mental disorders. Using data from World Health Organization World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys, the authors assessed the bidirectional temporal associations between psychotic experiences and mental disorders.Method:The WMH Surveys assessed lifetime prevalence and age at onset of psychotic experiences and 21 common DSM-IV mental disorders among 31,261 adult respondents from 18 countries. Discrete-time survival models were used to examine bivariate and multivariate associations between psychotic experiences and mental disorders.Results:Temporally primary psychotic experiences were significantly associated with subsequent first onset of eight of the 21 mental disorders (major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia,...

/pdf/the-bidirectional-associations-between-psychotic-experiences-49fcx57hgj.pdf

The bidirectional associations between psychotic experiences and DSM-IV mental disorders

Objective:The age-at-onset criterion for separation anxiety disorder was removed in DSM-5, making it timely to examine the epidemiology of separation anxiety disorder as a disorder with onsets spanning the life course, using cross-country data.Method:The sample included 38,993 adults in 18 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health Surveys. The WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview was used to assess a range of DSM-IV disorders that included an expanded definition of separation anxiety disorder allowing onsets in adulthood. Analyses focused on prevalence, age at onset, comorbidity, predictors of onset and persistence, and separation anxiety-related role impairment.Results:Lifetime separation anxiety disorder prevalence averaged 4.8% across countries (interquartile range [25th–75th percentiles]=1.4%−6.4%), with 43.1% of lifetime onsets occurring after age 18. Significant time-lagged associations were found between earlier separation anxiety disorder and subsequent onset...

https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.14091185

Evelyn J. Bromet

Papers

The bidirectional associations between psychotic experiences and DSM-IV mental disorders

Pediatric-Onset and Adult-Onset Separation Anxiety Disorder Across Countries in the World Mental Health Survey