An increasing number of young people in Sweden are diagnosed with mental disorders and there appears to be significant gender differences in disease pattern.

To more thoroughly characterize the increase in mental disorders among young people with focus on gender differences.

To increase the knowledge of age and sex-specific trends in incidence and prevalence rates of mental disorders among children and adolescents.

Data on psychiatric diagnoses for the last 10 years were obtained from Swedish national registers held by the National Board of Health and Welfare in Sweden.

Neuropsychiatric, depressive and anxiety disorders have increased markedly among young people the last decade. In addition, men are increasingly diagnosed with substance-related disorders whereas women with borderline personality disorder.

The increase in mental disorders among young people is marked and disease affects men and women differently. Because of greater awareness today, some conditions like ADHD are more frequently diagnosed. However, the increase in depressive and anxiety disorders appears genuine and represents an additional challenge.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Compared to 16–40-year-olds, 8–15-year-olds of the community reported higher frequencies of perceptual and lesser clinical significance of non-perceptual attenuated psychotic symptoms (APS).

We examined if a similar age effect is present in a clinical never-psychotic sample (n = 133) referred to a specialized service for clinical suspicion of developing psychosis.

APS and brief intermittent psychotic symptoms (BIPS) were assessed using items P1-3 and P5 (non-perceptual) and P4 (perceptual) of the structured interview for psychosis-risk syndromes, current axis-I disorders with the mini-international neuropsychiatric interview and psychosocial functioning with the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (score < 71 indicative of at least some difficulty in social, occupational, or school functioning).

Overall, 64% reported APS (61%) or BIPS (7%); any perceptual APS/BIPS was reported by 43% and any non-perceptual APS/BIPS by 44%. In correspondence to the results of the community study, perceptual but not non-perceptual APS/BIPS were significantly more frequent in younger age groups below the age of 16 (8–12 yrs: OR = 4.7 (1.1–19.5); 13–15 yrs: OR = 2.7 (0.9–7.7); 20–24-year-olds as reference group). An age effect of APS/BIPS on presence of any current axis-I disorder (59%) or functional difficulties (67%) could not be detected. Yet, when APS onset requirements were met, the likelihood of a psychiatric diagnosis increased significantly with advancing age.

Overall, the replicated age effect on perceptual APS in this clinical sample highlights the need to examine ways to distinguish clinically relevant perceptual APS from perceptual aberrations likely remitting over the course of adolescence.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Limited clinical relevance of attenuated psychotic symptoms before the turn from early to late adolescence, i.e., age 15/16, was reported.

This emphasizes the potentially important role of neurodevelopmental aspects in the early detection of psychoses.

We examined the age effect on prevalence and clinical relevance of 14 cognitive and perceptive basic symptoms (BS) included in risk criteria of psychosis in a random representative 8–40-year-old community sample (n = 689).

Participants underwent clinical interviews for BS, psychosocial functioning and current mental disorder on the telephone.

BS were reported by 18% of participants, mainly cognitive BS (15%). Age seemed to affect perceptive and cognitive BS differently, indicating an age threshold for perceptive BS in late adolescence (around age 18) and for cognitive BS in young adulthood (early twenties) – with higher prevalence, but a lesser association with functional deficits and the presence of mental disorder in the below-threshold groups. Thereby, effects of the interaction between age and BS on functioning and mental disorder were commonly stronger than individual effects of age and BS.

Differential age effects of perceptual and cognitive BS seem to follow normal brain maturation processes, in which they might occur as infrequent and temporary nonpathological disturbances. Their persistence or occurrence after the conclusion of main brain maturation processes, however, might signify aberrant maturation processes. Thus, BS might provide important insight into the pathogenesis of psychosis and into potential neuroprotective targets.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents.

To investigate suicidal behaviors among Italian adolescents.

To assess the rates of suicidal ideation (SI) and suicide attempts (SA) and the associated risk factors in patients admitted to emergency department (ED) of the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital.

Retrospective study based on data of patients admitted to the ED from 1 January 2011 to 30 May 2016 who required a neuropsychiatric (NPI) consultation. We analyzed:

– outcome of the NPI consultation (hospitalization or discharge);

– risk factors for SA and SI;

– methods employed for SA.

The number of NPI consultations for SI and SA increased from 6.45% in 2011 to 13.3% in 2015. More than 90% of consultations recommended hospitalization in the psychiatric unit (137 patient [66% female]; mean age of 15.5 ± 1.6 years) with average length of stay of 13.64 ± 10.63 days. Risk factors for SI and SA were non-suicidal self-injury, family conflicts and previous suicide attempts. Subjects evaluated for a SA reported a significantly higher frequency of family history of mood disorder (χ2 = 5.94; P = 0.02) and a comorbid substance abuse (χ2 = 4.49; P = 0.03) when compared with SI group. The method most frequently used to attempt suicide was ingestion of medications (52.83%).

There was an increasing demand of NPI consultation of SA and SI in the last years. A family history of mood disorder and a history of substance abuse are risk factors able to differentiate between SI and SA.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Substantial evidence supports association between childhood maltreatment and suicidal behaviour, however, a limited number of studies have examined psychological mechanisms mediating the relationship among patients with mood disorders.

To investigate directly the potential intermediating mechanisms between childhood maltreatment and suicidal behaviour among patients with mood disorders.

We examine by formal mediation analyses, if:

– the effect of childhood maltreatment on suicidal behaviour is mediated through borderline personality disorder traits;

– the mediation effect differs between lifetime suicidal ideation and lifetime suicide attempts.

Depressive disorder and bipolar disorder (ICD-10-DCR) patients (n = 287) from the Helsinki university psychiatric consortium (HUPC) Study were surveyed on self-reported childhood experiences, current depressive symptoms, borderline personality disorder traits and lifetime suicidal behaviour. Psychiatric records served to complement the information on suicide attempts.

The influence of childhood maltreatment on lifetime suicidal ideation and lifetime suicide attempts showed comparable total effects. In formal mediation analyses, borderline personality disorder traits mediated all of the total effect of childhood maltreatment on lifetime suicide attempts, but only 21% of the total effect on lifetime suicide ideation. The mediation effect was stronger for lifetime suicide attempts compared to ideation (P = 0.002) and independent of current depressive symptoms.

The mechanisms of the effect of childhood maltreatment on suicidal ideation and attempts may diverge among psychiatric patients with mood disorders. Borderline personality disorder traits may contribute to these mechanisms, although the influence appears considerably stronger for suicide attempts than for suicide ideation.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Some studies show that more expressed spirituality and some dimensions of personality have protective role from suicidality.

The aim of our study is to examine the influence of the spiritual quality of life (QoL) and dimensions of personality on course of suicidality in patients with depression.

Ninety-nine patients were assessed with self-report measures of suicidality (BHS), personality (TCI), spirituality (WHOQOL-SRPB) during a yearlong follow-up.

Spirituality was inversely linked with suicidality at baseline and during follow-up and more expressed spirituality influenced faster recovery from suicidality. Dimensions of temperament harm avoidance and self-directedeness show as significant predictors of recovery from suicidality.

In our sample, spirituality, harm avoidance and self directedeness are significant predictors of recovery from suicidality. This finding is stimulus for further researching of protective factors from suicidality.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

This record linkage study explores the suicide risk of people engaged in caregiving and volunteering. Theory suggests opposing risks as volunteering is associated with better mental health and caregiving with a higher prevalence and incidence of depression.

A 2011 census-based study of 1,018,000 people aged 25–74 years (130,816 caregivers and 110,467 volunteers; 42,099 engaged in both). All attributes were based on census records. Caregiving was categorised as either light (1–19 hours/week) or more intense (20+ hours/week). Suicide risk was based on 45 months of death records and assessed using Cox proportional hazards models with adjustment for and stratification by mental health status at census.

More intense caregiving was associated with worse mental health (ORadj = 1.15: 95%CI = 1.12, 1.18); volunteering with better mental health (OR 0.87; 95%CIs 0.84, 0.89). The cohort experienced 528 suicides during follow-up. Both volunteering and caregiving were associated with a lower risk of suicide though this was modified by baseline mental ill-health (P = 0.003), HR 0.66; 95%CIs 0.49, 0.88 for those engaged in either activity and with good mental health at baseline and HR 1.02; 95%CIs 0.69, 1.51 for their peers with poor mental health. There was some indication that those engaged in both activities had the lowest suicide risk (HR 0.34; 95%CIs 0.14, 0.84).

Despite the poorer mental health amongst caregivers they are not at increased risk of suicide. The significant overlap between caregiving and volunteering and the lower risk of suicide for those engaged in both activities may indicate a synergism of action.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Although suicidal behavior is very common in bipolar disorder (BD), few long-term studies have investigated incidence and risk factors of suicide attempts (SAs) specifically related to illness phases of BD.

We examined incidence of SAs during different phases of BD in a long-term prospective cohort of bipolar I (BD-I) and II (BD-II) patients and risk factors specifically for SAs during major depressive episodes (MDEs).

In the Jorvi bipolar study (JoBS), 191 BD-I and BD-II patients were followed using life-chart methodology. Prospective information on SAs of 177 patients (92.7%) during different illness phases was available up to five years. Incidence of SAs and their predictors were investigated using logistic and Poisson regression models. Analyses of risk factors for SAs occurring during MDEs were conducted using two-level random-intercept logistic regression models.

During the five-year follow-up, 90 SAs per 718 patient-years occurred. Compared with euthymia the incidence was highest, over 120-fold, during mixed states (765/1000 person-years [95% confidence interval (CI) 461–1269]) and also very high in MDEs, almost 60-fold (354/1000 [95%CI 277–451]). For risk of SAs during MDEs, the duration of MDEs, severity of depression and cluster C personality disorders were significant predictors.

In this long-term study, the highest incidences of SAs occurred in mixed phases and MDEs. The variations in incidence rates between euthymia and illness phases were remarkably large, suggesting that the question “when” rather than “who” may be more relevant for suicide risk in BD. However, risk during MDEs is likely also influenced by personality factors.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The Oswin unit located in the North East of England is commissioned primarily for offenders screened on the offender personality disorder (OPD) pathway based on measures of personality disorder being linked to moderate to high risks to other persons.

The Oswin Unit was re-designed in early 2014 meeting commissioning specifications to meet objectives based on access, measuring quality and reducing. The primary objective of this pathway is to ensure personality Disorder offenders have access to “community-to-community”, joint-up care and monitoring of risks. The Oswin unit implemented a re-designed service offering individuals formulation based assessments and risk management embedded in the OPD pathway. The overall objective of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness and risk amelioration of this hospital-based service.

As part of a broader service development and evaluation project, the cost-effectiveness of the current model of the unit was compared to that of the unit prior to the redesign of the service.

Collection of data on number of admission and length of stay and calculation of expenses per capita. Retrospective analysis of costs of care.

Analysis of comparative figures post-implementation of this new model of care found 41% more episodes of care. Cost-analysis indicated a saving of £200,000.

The new Oswin Model meets commissioning objectives in offering access to hospital-based care and focused treatments for prisoners ‘stuck’ in prison pathways. This finding led to further investigation using thematic measures of quality of care to evaluate the effectiveness of this service and risk amelioration.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Despite several guidelines recommend the use of psychoeducational family interventions (PFIs) as add-on in the treatment of patients with bipolar I disorder (a), their implementation on a large scale remains limited (b).

To identify benefits and obstacles in implementing a PFI in the clinical routine care.

This was a multicentre, real-world, controlled, outpatient trial, carried out in 11 randomly recruited Italian mental health centres. Mental health professionals received a training on PFI and provided the intervention to patients with bipolar I disorder and their relatives. Difficulties and benefits in performing PFI were collected through an ad-hoc schedule, which was administered at baseline and 5 times during the different stages of the intervention.

Mental health professionals report significant improvements in the intervention-related benefits over time (T0 = 5.3 ± 2.0 vs. T5 = 7.9 ± 0.9; P < .0001), in particular in their professional skills (T0 = 6.5 ± 2.3 vs. T5 = 8.0 ± 0.8; P < .01). They also report to be more satisfied with their own work (T0 = 6.6 ± 2.3 vs. T5 = 8.0 ± 1.3; P < .05). The most relevant difficulties were related to the need to integrate the PFI with other work responsibilities and to the lack of time, which did not decrease overtime.

PFIs are feasible in routine care for the treatment of patients with bipolar I disorder and their relatives, and main obstacles are related to the organization of mental health centres, and not to the characteristics of the intervention itself.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

In this decade in the Italian context, there has been a significant increase of the immigration phenomenon. Consistent data indicated higher risk of psychotic experiences among migrants. Poor work investigated clinical variables associated with stronger subthreshold psychotic experiences among this population of adolescents. Aberrant salience, the biased assignment of significance to otherwise innocuous stimuli, and alexithymia, the difficulty identifying/describing feelings are believed to have a role in the onset and maintenance of psychotic symptoms. No study evaluated whether they could moderate the relation between migrant status and psychotic experiences among in adolescence.

The current study investigated whether salience and alexithymia predicted more intense subthreshold psychotic experiences and moderated the effect of migrant status among migrant and native Italian adolescents.

Seventy-three adolescents born in other countries than Italy and 75 native Italian adolescents (mean age = 17.57, SD = 2.08, 47.30% females) completed the aberrant salience inventory, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 and the screening for psychotic experiences.

Migrant adolescents had higher levels of subthreshold psychotic experiences (F = 10.65, P < 0.01), alexithymia (F = 8.93, P < 0.01) and salience (F = 4.38, P < 0.05) than native Italian adolescents. A main effect of aberrant salience and alexithymia on subthreshold psychotic experiences emerged. An interaction effect between migrant status and alexithymia was found: migrant adolescents with stronger alexithymia had more intense subthreshold psychotic experiences.

Public health policies should consider migrant adolescents as a group at risk for stronger subthreshold psychotic experiences. Prevention programs could take into account alexithymia as a target of intervention for this population of adolescents.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Suicide takes a great toll on both individuals and societies. Successful preventive measures would require a careful understanding of the scope of suicidal ideation as well as its associated factors. Amongst mental disorders, anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate due to suicide.

Studying the prevalence of suicidal ideation and its associated factors in adolescents (13–19 years old) affected by disordered eating (DE).

Logistic regression was employed to study associations between suicidal ideation and age, gender and disordered eating in adolescents from a population-based prospective study, The Young-HUNT 3 cohort, 2006-8. DE cases were defined using the self-reported questionnaire (Eating Attitude Test-7) and then grouped into two subscales, poor appetite/under-eating and uncontrolled appetite/overeating.

A total of 3933(boys 49% and 51% girls) were included. In total, 177 poor appetite/under-eating and 365 uncontrolled appetite/overeating cases were identified. Prevalence of suicidal ideation was 24.5% in total sample with girls being more affected (27.1%). Prevalence of suicidal ideation amongst poor appetite/under-eating case group and uncontrolled appetite/overeating cases was respectively 43.5 and 39.2%. The odds-ratio of suicidal ideation amongst poor appetite/under-eating cases compared to control group was 2.56 (95% CI, 1.85 to 3.42, P-value < 0.001) whilst the odds-ratio of suicidal ideation amongst uncontrolled appetite/overeating cases compared to control group was 2.19 (95% CI, 1.75 to 2.74, P-value < 0.001). Results remained significant after adjusting for anxiety and depression symptoms.

Focus on high risk groups such as DE seems important in taking suicide preventive measures.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The new channels of communication as social media (e.g. Facebook and Twitter) and the social marketing campaign (i.e. campaign focused on enabling, encouraging and supporting behavioural changes among target audiences) can represent useful strategies to challenge stigma attached to mental disorders.

To evaluate the efficacy of the social marketing campaign of the time to change (SMC-TTC) anti-stigma programme on the target population in England during 2009–2014.

To assess the impact of the SMC-TTC anti-stigma programme in terms of:

– use of the social media channels;

– levels of awareness of the SMC-TTC;

– changes in knowledge, attitude, and behaviour related to mental disorders.

Participants completed the mental health knowledge schedule (MAKS), the community attitudes toward mental illness (CAMI) and the reported and intended behaviour scale (RIBS), together with an ad-hoc schedule on socio-demographic characteristics.

In total, 10526 people were interviewed, it was found a growing usage of the SMC-TTC media channels and of the level of awareness of the campaign (P < 0.001). Being aware of the SMC-TTC was found to be associated with higher score at MAKS (OR = .95, CI = .68 to 1.21; P < .001), at “tolerance and support” CAMI subscale (OR = .12, CI = .09 to .16; P < .001) and RIBS (OR = .71, CI = .51 to .92; P < .001), controlling for confounders.

In the general population, SMC-TTC has been found to be effective in improving attitudes and behaviours towards people with mental disorders.

Considering these promising results obtained in England, social media can represent the possible way forward for challenging stigma. The future on-going evaluation of the SMC-TTC may further shed light on the essential role of social media in reducing of stigma and discrimination.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

People seeking information and news regarding suicide are likely to use the Internet. There is contrasting evidence about the relationship between the cyclicity of suicide-related search volumes and national suicide-rates in different countries.

The objectives were to investigate first the cyclicity of Italian suicides and online suicide-related searches carried out by the Italian population in the same time frame (2008–2012) and analyze the correlation between the two cyclicities.

The study aimed to gain further insights on suicide-related internet use and its relationships to completed suicides.

Italian mortality database provided monthly national data concerning suicides (2008–2012). Google trends provided data of online monthly search-volumes of the term “suicide”; “commit suicide”; “how to commit suicide” in Google search (2008–2014).

Seasonal AR model suits the trend of Italian suicides with a periodic 1-year cycle. No specific cyclicity for Google search volumes for “how to commit suicide” and “to commit suicide” was found (ARIMA [0,1,1] and ARIMA [1,0,1] respectively). Google search time series for “suicide” performed with ARIMA (1,1,1) and the cross correlation analysis showed that it lags national suicides of three months (ρ = 0.482, P-value < 0.001).

Online searches for suicide-related terms in Italy are more linked to factors other than suicidality such as personal interest and bereavement. To our knowledge, no previous study reported a lag of three months between online searches for “suicide” and national suicides. This may shed further light on the grieving process being of help in organizing effective supportive strategies for the survivors.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Pregnancy and postpartum are sensitive unique moments in women's life. Perinatal psychiatry is focused on depression and psychosis, but personality issues is often neglected as well as risk factors for personality disorders instead of being considered causative of onset or recrudescence of psychiatric symptoms in perinatal.

In total, 129 women were referred to perinatal psychiatric department during their pregnancy or postpartum in the last three years. They were administered SCID II, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories (BDI and BAI), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL). Their interaction with babies was monitored at birth and during follow up. Children's behavioral development is under evaluation through structured tests.

BDI and BAI scored moderate or severe in 31 and 27% of women, EPDS was significant in 36%, while SCID II highlighted 24% of borderline, 17% narcissistic, 4% schizoid, 4% paranoid and 9% obsessive/compulsive PD. Nineteen of them suffered physical abuse during childhood, 26 sexual abuse, 89 emotional neglect and only 15 out of 129 were negative to any kind of abuse during childhood.

Personality disorders appears to influence maternal adjustment to pregnancy and motherhood. Abuses suffered during childhood confirm their role as potential risk factor in personality issues which clearly express their effect in adaptation to change in personal role and in emphatic interactions.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Motivation and ability to engage with treatment may deteriorate or falter if a patient is not satisfied with their protocols or provider. Improving patient satisfaction may more effectively strengthen treatment engagement.

1) Determining what patients want from their provider relationship; and 2) identifying means for a provider to effectively assess and evaluate patient satisfaction in relation to treatment engagement.

A systematic review of published meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and literature reviews between 1996 and 2016 was conducted across three databases (Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL). Using variations of the search terms patient; satisfaction; medication, medical and psychiatric treatment; and engagement/adherence, a total of 1667 articles were identified. After removing duplications, 1582 articles were independently screened for eligibility (e.g. conceptual focus, methodological limitations) by two research assistants, resulting in the final inclusion of 50 meta-analysis, systematic review, or literature review articles that focused on predictors or barriers to patient satisfaction and/or predictors or barriers affecting engagement/adherence.

Barriers and predictors of patient satisfaction centered on two fundamental domains:

– relationship with Provider (sub-factors: multicultural competence, shared decision making, communication skills, continuity of care, empathy) and;

– outcomes (sub-factors: therapeutic outcome, patient expectations).

Eight treatment engagement/adherence barrier and predictor domains were identified, specifically treatment regimens; illness beliefs, emotional/cognitive factors; financial and logistic; social support; symptom/illness characteristics; demographics and patient-provider relationship.

Key findings highlight actions psychiatrists and other clinical providers may consider in addressing barriers and highlighting promoters to improve patient satisfaction and overall engagement and adherence.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Lurasidone is an atypical antipsychotic that demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of adults with schizophrenia in the dose range of 37–148 mg/day.

The objective of this analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of lurasidone in adolescent patients with schizophrenia.

Adolescents (13–17 years old) diagnosed with schizophrenia were randomly assigned to six weeks of double-blind treatment with lurasidone 37 mg/day, 74 mg/day or placebo. Changes from baseline to week 6 in PANSS total and subscale (positive, negative, general psychopathology, excitability) scores were evaluated using mixed-model repeated-measures analysis.

A total of 326 patients (mean age, 15.4 years) were randomized and received lurasidone 37 mg/day (n = 108), 74 mg/day (n = 106), or placebo (n = 112). The PANSS total score at week 6 demonstrated a placebo-adjusted, least-squares (LS) mean improvement of –8.0 (P < 0.001; effect size [ES], 0.51) for the 37 mg/day group and –7.7 (P < 0.001; ES = 0.48) for the 74 mg/day group. Placebo-adjusted LS mean change for lurasidone 37 mg/day and 74 mg/day, respectively, was –3.2 (P < 0.001; ES = 0.62) and –3.2 (P < 0.001; ES = 0.60) on the PANSS positive subscale, –1.7 (P = 0.011; ES = 0.41) and –1.6 (P = 0.022; ES = 0.35) on the PANSS negative subscale, –2.8 (P = 0.012; ES = 0.38) and –2.8 (P = 0.011; ES = 0.37) on the PANSS general psychopathology subscale, and –1.1 (P = 0.016; ES = 0.36) and –1.8 (P < 0.001; ES = 0.53) on the PANSS excitability subscale.

In adolescent patients with schizophrenia, lurasidone (37 mg/day and 74 mg/day) demonstrated statistically significant efficacy and clinically meaningful improvement across a wide spectrum of symptoms associated with schizophrenia. Sponsored by Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01911429.

Dr Correll reports being a consultant and/or advisor for Alkermes, Forum Pharmaceuticals Inc., Gerson Lehrman Group, IntraCellular Therapies, Janssen/J&J, Lundbeck, Medavante, Medscape, Otsuka, Pfizer Inc, ProPhase, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., Supernus, Takeda, and Teva providing expert testimony for Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Janssen, and Otsuka serving on a Data Safety Monitoring Board for Lundbeck and Pfizer Inc and receiving grant support from Takeda. Drs Goldman, Cucchiaro, Deng and Loebel are employees of Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.