The nature of the relationship between duration of the pre-diagnostic interval in schizophrenia and better outcomes remains unclear.

To re-examine data from one of the earliest studies suggesting an association between long pre-treatment interval and compromised outcome, assessing the relationship between symptomatic and social variables and increased relapse risk at 1 year.

Symptomatic, social and demographic data from participants in the Northwick Park Study of First Episodes who completed 12-month follow-up (n = 101) were re-analysed in the context of duration of untreated illness (DUI).

At admission, those with long DUI were more likely to have lower scores on tension derived from the Present State Examination, exhibited more behaviour threatening to others and more bizarre behaviour, were more likely to be single, to live alone or dependently, to be unemployed and to have experienced more adverse life events prior to admission. Logistic regression showed that diminished tension, bizarre behaviour and unemployed status independently increased the risk of relapse, bizarre behaviour making the single biggest contribution. Tension did not remain significant with log-transformation of data.

Findings are consistent with the conclusion that long DUI can reflect characteristics of the psychosis itself rather than delay in treatment.

There is no long-term prospective study (> 20 years) of the mental health of any refugee group.

To investigate the long-term course and predictors of psychological distress among Vietnamese refugees in Norway.

Eighty Vietnamese refugees, 57% of the original cohort previously interviewed in 1982 (T1) and 1985 (T2), completed a self-report questionnaire prior to a semi-structured interview. Mental health was measured using the Symptom Checklist–90–Revised (SCL–90–R).

The SCL–90–R mean Global Severity Index (GSI) decreased significantly from T1 to T3 (2005–6), but there was no significant change in the percentage reaching threshold scores (GSI =1.00). Trauma-related mental disorder on arrival and the trajectory of symptoms over the first 3 years of resettlement predicted mental health after 23 years.

Although the self-reported psychological distress decreased significantly over time, a substantial higher proportion of the refugee group still remained reaching threshold scores after 23 years of resettlement compared with the Norwegian population. The data suggest that refugees reaching threshold scores on measures such as the SCL–90–R soon after arrival warrant comprehensive clinical assessment.

Hearing voices occurs in middle childhood, but little is known about prevalence, aetiology and immediate consequences.

To investigate prevalence, developmental risk factors and behavioural correlates of auditory vocal hallucinations in 7- and 8-year-olds.

Auditory vocal hallucinations were assessed with the Auditory Vocal Hallucination Rating Scale in 3870 children. Prospectively recorded data on pre- and perinatal complications, early development and current problem behaviour were analysed in children with auditory vocal hallucinations and matched controls.

The 1-year prevalence of auditory vocal hallucinations was 9%, with substantial suffering and problem behaviour reported in 15% of those affected. Prevalence was higher in rural areas but auditory vocal hallucinations were more severe and had greater functional impact in the urban environment. There was little evidence for associations with developmental variables.

Auditory vocal hallucinations in 7- and 8-year-olds are prevalent but mostly of limited functional impact. Nevertheless, there may be continuity with more severe psychotic outcomes given the serious suffering in a subgroup of children and there is evidence for a poorer prognosis in an urban environment.

Morphological abnormalities of the superior temporal gyrus have been consistently reported in schizophrenia, but the timing of their occurrence remains unclear.

To determine whether individuals exhibit superior temporal gyral changes before the onset of psychosis.

We used magnetic resonance imaging to examine grey matter volumes of the superior temporal gyrus and its subregions (planum polare, Heschl's gyrus, planum temporale, and rostral and caudal regions) in 97 antipsychotic-naive individuals at ultra-high risk of psychosis, of whom 31 subsequently developed psychosis and 66 did not, and 42 controls.

Those at risk of psychosis had significantly smaller superior temporal gyri at baseline compared with controls bilaterally, without any prominent subregional effect; however, there was no difference between those who did and did not subsequently develop psychosis.

Our findings indicate that grey matter reductions of the superior temporal gyrus are present before psychosis onset, and are not due to medication, but these baseline changes are not predictive of transition to psychosis.

Early improvement with treatment is thought to be important in patients with first-episode schizophrenia, yet a valid definition is still outstanding.

To develop a valid definition of early improvement and test its predictive validity regarding response and remission.

We examined 188 in-patients with first-episode schizophrenia. Early improvement was defined as improvement in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score at week 2, response as a 40% PANSS total score improvement at end-point, and remission according to consensus criteria.

Reasonable predictive validity of early improvement was found for a 46% PANSS total score improvement at week 2 and a 50% improvement for remission (area under the curve: response 0.707, remission 0.692). Estimated confidence intervals ranged from 26 to 62% PANSS reduction for response and remission.

Patients with a first episode of schizophrenia should improve by at least 30% in PANSS total score at week 2 to achieve response and remission.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the three leading causes of burden of disease in 2030 are projected to include HIV/AIDS, unipolar depression and ischaemic heart disease.

To estimate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) losses associated with mental disorders and chronic physical conditions in primary healthcare using data from the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders in primary care (DASMAP) study, an epidemiological survey carried out with primary care patients in Catalonia (Spain).

A cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of 3815 primary care patients. A preference-based measure of health was derived from the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF–12): the Short Form–6D (SF–6D) multi-attribute health-status classification. Each profile generated by this questionnaire has a utility (or weight) assigned. We used non-parametric quantile regressions to model the association between both mental disorders and chronic physical condition and SF–6D scores.

Conditions associated with SF–6D were: mood disorders, β =−0.20 (95% CI −0.18 to −0.21); pain, β = −0.08 (95%CI −0.06 to −0.09) and anxiety, β =−0.04 (95% CI −0.03 to −0.06). The top three causes of QALY losses annually per 100 000 participants were pain (5064), mood disorders (2634) and anxiety (805).

Estimation of QALY losses showed that mood disorders ranked second behind pain-related chronic medical conditions.

The effect of gender, age, and urban versus rural residence on suicide risk among people with different mental disorders is unknown.

To estimate cohort-specific risk of suicide among people with different types of mental disorders using data from China's National Psychological Autopsy Study.

Logistic regression models estimated adjusted odd ratios (OR) in 895 suicides and 701 injury deaths.

The adjusted risk of suicide for mood disorders was highest (OR = 44.2) followed by that for other mental disorders (OR = 10.7), anxiety disorders (OR = 10.2), psychotic disorders (OR = 7.4), substance use disorders (2.7) and organic mental disorders (OR = 1.2). Risk of suicide among urban residents with any mental disorder was more than double that of rural residents (OR = 15.5 v. 7.6, P = 0.008).

The suicide risk associated with mental illness varies by type of illness and by demographic cohort. Lower risk of suicide among rural residents with mental disorders highlights the importance of non-mental health approaches to the prevention and management of suicidal behaviour in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries.

Age at the first psychotic episode and an interval between the onset of epilepsy and that of psychosis reflect developmental processes of interictal psychosis. However, factors relating to these indices remain unknown.

To identify clinical variables that are associated with the timing of the development of interictal psychosis.

In 285 adults with epilepsy with interictal psychosis, effects of epileptic (epilepsy type), organic (intellectual functioning) and genetic (family history of psychosis) variables on timing of the development of psychosis were examined.

The mean interval between the onset of epilepsy and that of psychosis was 14.4 years. Some psychosis occurred within a few years of the first seizure. Generalised epilepsy, normal intellectual function and a positive family history of psychosis were associated with early onset of psychosis.

Early development of interictal psychosis in people with epilepsy may reflect other individual vulnerabilities to psychosis rather than epilepsy-related damage.

There is concern that delaying treatment for psychosis may have a negative impact on its long-term course. A number of countries have developed early intervention teams but there is limited evidence regarding their cost-effectiveness.

To compare the costs and cost-effectiveness of an early intervention service in London with standard care.

Individuals in their first episode of psychosis (or those who had previously discontinued treatment) were recruited to the study. Clinical variables and costs were measured at baseline and then at 6- and 18-month follow-up. Information on quality of life and vocational outcomes were combined with costs to assess cost-effectiveness.

A total of 144 people were randomised. Total mean costs were £11 685 in the early intervention group and £14 062 in the standard care group, with the difference not being significant (95% CI –£8128 to £3326). When costs were combined with improved vocational and quality of life outcomes it was shown that early intervention would have a very high likelihood of being cost-effective.

Early intervention did not increase costs and was highly likely to be cost-effective when compared with standard care.

Although 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) has been implicated in mania, the precise alterations in the 5-HT system remain elusive.

To assess brain 5-HT2 receptors in drug-free individuals experiencing a manic episode in comparison with healthy volunteers using positron emission tomography (PET).

Participants (n = 10) with DSM–IV bipolar I disorder – manic episode and healthy controls (n = 10) underwent [18F]- setoperone scans. The differences in 5-HT2 receptor binding potential between the two groups were determined using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis.

Age was a significant correlate with 5-HT2 receptor binding potential with a similar magnitude of correlation in both groups. The SPM analysis with age as a covariate showed that the individuals with current mania had significantly lower 5-HT2 receptor binding potential in frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital cortical regions, with changes more prominent in the right cortical regions compared with controls.

This study suggests that brain 5-HT∗2 receptors are decreased in people with acute mania.

Research has reported that pregnant women and mothers become forgetful. However, in these studies, women are not recruited prior to pregnancy, samples are not representative and studies are underpowered.

The current study sought to determine whether pregnancy and motherhood are associated with brief or long-term cognitive deterioration using a representative sample and measuring cognition during and before the onset of pregnancy and motherhood.

Women aged 20–24 years were recruited prospectively and assessed in 1999, 2003 and 2007. Seventy-six women were pregnant at follow-up assessments, 188 became mothers between study waves and 542 remained nulliparous.

No significant differences in cognitive change were found as a function of pregnancy or motherhood, although late pregnancy was associated with deterioration on one of four tests of memory and cognition.

The hypothesis that pregnancy and motherhood are associated with persistent cognitive deterioration was not supported. Previous negative findings may be a result of biased sampling.

Abnormal diffusion parameters are reported in specific brain regions and white matter tracts in bipolar disorder.

To investigate whether these abnormalities are generalised, and thus evident in large regions of white matter.

Diffusion parameters were measured at several regions in the corpus callosum and in deep/periventricular white matter in 28 currently euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and controls. White matter hyperintensity loads were assessed.

Comparing the whole data-sets using the sign test, in the group with bipolar disorder, mean diffusivity was greater at all 15 sites (P<0.001) and fractional anisotropy was reduced at 13 (P<0.01). The effect of diagnosis was significant for callosal mean diffusivity and fractional anisotropy and for deep/periventricular mean diffusivity (MANCOVA). Comparing individual regions (Mann–Whitney U-test), prefrontal and periventricular mean diffusivity were significantly increased; callosal and occipital fractional anisotropy were significantly reduced. Former substance use and lithium were possible confounding factors. Periventricular white matter hyperintensities were associated with significantly increased periventricular mean diffusivity in individuals with bipolar disorder.

Generalised white matter microstructural abnormalities may exist in bipolar disorder, possibly exacerbated by past substance use and ameliorated by lithium.

Psychosocial interventions have the potential to enhance relapse prevention in bipolar disorder.

To evaluate a manualised group-based intervention for people with bipolar disorder in a naturalistic setting.

Eighty-four participants were randomised to receive the group-based intervention (a 12-week programme plus three booster sessions) or treatment as usual, and followed up with monthly telephone interviews (for 9 months post-intervention) and face-to-face interviews (at baseline, 3 months and 12 months).

Participants who received the group-based intervention were significantly less likely to have a relapse of any type and spent less time unwell. There was a reduced rate of relapse in the treatment group for pooled relapses of any type (hazard ratio 0.43, 95% CI 0.20–0.95; t343 = −2.09, P = 0.04).

This study suggests that the group-based intervention reduces relapse risk in bipolar disorder.

The epidemiology of rapid-cycling bipolar disorder in the community is largely unknown.

To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of rapid-cycling and non-rapid-cycling bipolar disorder in a large cross-national community sample.

The Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI version 3.0) was used to examine the prevalence, severity, comorbidity, impairment, suicidality, sociodemographics, childhood adversity and treatment of rapid-cycling and non-rapid-cycling bipolar disorder in ten countries (n = 54 257).

The 12-month prevalence of rapid-cycling bipolar disorder was 0.3%. Roughly a third and two-fifths of participants with lifetime and 12-month bipolar disorder respectively met criteria for rapid cycling. Compared with the non-rapid-cycling, rapid-cycling bipolar disorder was associated with younger age at onset, higher persistence, more severe depressive symptoms, greater impairment from depressive symptoms, more out-of-role days from mania/hypomania, more anxiety disorders and an increased likelihood of using health services. Associations regarding childhood, family and other sociodemographic correlates were less clear cut.

The community epidemiological profile of rapid-cycling bipolar disorder confirms most but not all current clinically based knowledge about the illness.

The cost of caring for people with intellectual disability currently makes up a large proportion of healthcare spending in western Europe, and may rise in line with the increasing numbers of people with intellectual disability now living to old age.

To report service use and costs of older people with intellectual disability and explore the influence of sociodemographic and illness-related determinants.

We collected data on receipt and costs of accommodation, health and personal care, physical as well as mental illness, dementia, sensory impairment and disability in a representative sample of adults with intellectual disability aged 60 years and older (n = 212).

The average weekly cost in GBP per older person was £790 (£41 080 per year). Accommodation accounted for 74%. Overall costs were highest for those living in congregate settings. Gender, intellectual disability severity, hearing impairment, physical disorder and mental illness had significant independent relationships with costs. Mental illness was associated with an additional weekly cost of £202.

Older adults with intellectual disability comprise about 0.15–0.25% of the population of England but consume up to 5% of the total personal care budget. Interventions that meet needs and might prove to be cost-effective should be sought.

Brain serotonin2 (5-hydroxytryptamine2; 5-HT2) receptors were considered potential targets for therapeutic efficacy of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), but pre-clinical studies showed that electroconvulsive shock up-regulates 5-HT2 receptors in contrast to antidepressant medications, which down-regulate brain 5-HT2 receptors. Positron emission tomography (PET) studies in individuals with depression confirmed that antidepressant medications reduce brain 5-HT2 receptors, but the effects of ECT on these receptors in individuals with depression are unknown.

To determine if a course of ECT alters brain 5-HT2 receptors in individuals with depression and whether such changes correlate with improvement in symptoms.

Fifteen people with major depression, refractory to antidepressant therapy and referred for a course of ECT, had an [18F]setoperone scan during baseline drug-free washout period and another after a course of ECT. We assessed changes in brain 5-HT2 receptors with ECT and their relationship to therapeutic outcome.

Widespread reduction in brain 5-HT2 receptors was observed in all cortical areas with changes slightly more prominent in the right hemisphere. There was a trend for correlation between reduction in brain 5-HT2 receptors in right parahippocampal gyrus, right lingual gyrus and right medial frontal gyrus, and improvement in depressive symptoms.

Unlike in rodents, and similar to antidepressants, ECT reduces brain 5-HT2 receptors in individuals with depression. The ability of ECT to further down-regulate brain 5-HT2 receptors in antidepressant non-responsive individuals may explain its efficacy in those people with antidepressant refractory depression.

Transference-focused psychotherapy is a manualised treatment for borderline personality disorder.

To compare transference-focused psychotherapy with treatment by experienced community psychotherapists.

In a randomised controlled trial (NCT00714311) 104 female out-patients were treated for 1 year with either transference-focused psychotherapy or by an experienced community psychotherapist.

Significantly fewer participants dropped out of the transference-focused psychotherapy group (38.5% v. 67.3%) and also significantly fewer attempted suicide (d = 0.8, P = 0.009). Transference-focused psychotherapy was significantly superior in the domains of borderline symptomatology (d = 1.6, P = 0.001), psychosocial functioning (d = 1.0, P = 0.002), personality organisation (d = 1.0, P = 0.001) and psychiatric in-patient admissions (d = 0.5, P = 0.001). Both groups improved significantly in the domains of depression and anxiety and the transference-focused psychotherapy group in general psychopathology, all without significant group differences (d = 0.3–0.5). Self-harming behaviour did not change in either group.

Transference-focused psychotherapy is more efficacious than treatment by experienced community psychotherapists in the domains of borderline symptomatology, psychosocial functioning, and personality organisation. Moreover, there is preliminary evidence for a superiority in the reduction of suicidality and need for psychiatric in-patient treatment.