Risk factors for partial adherence to parenteral antipsychotics in outpatients with severe mental disorders

Internet use by Patients with Psychiatric Disorders Searching for Medical Information

Aims:Despite the increasing use of the Internet to seek medical information, little is known about the web search for mental health information among psychiatric patients. We aimed to identify the patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics that better predict the search for medical information, as well as the most consulted aspects of psychiatric disorders.Method:Over a one-month period, a consecutive series of patients followed at one Spanish hospital psychiatric outpatient clinic completed a 13-item questionnaire about their personal Internet use.Results:Among the 144 participating patients (72% women), 61% reported having ever used the Internet, with lower search rates for genera…

Similar subjective response and adherence rates for long-acting risperidone and conventional depots

Background and Aims:Amongst oral antipsychotics, tolerance and adherence are thought to be higher with atypicals versus conventional agents. Fewer data exist for parenteral antipsychotics regarding the atypical–conventional comparison.Aim:to compare adherence rates and subjective response between long-acting risperidone (LAR) and conventional depots.Methods:Cross-sectional, naturalistic, one-site study of all outpatients with severe mental disorders treated with injectable antipsychotics over a 12–month period at one Spanish mental health unit. Different sets of broadly– and narrowly–defined criteria for adherence were calculated from mental health nurse´s registry data. Patients´ subjectiv…

Smoking and neurocognition in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

IntroductionSeveral studies have suggested that nicotine could have beneficial effects on cognitive functioning.ObjectiveTo explore the association between smoking and cognitive functioning in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.MethodsObservational study. We analyzed data from 184 participants in 3 groups (61 healthy controls, 47 euthymic patients with bipolar-I disorder, 76 patients with clinically stable schizophrenia) assessed by a neuropsychological battery. Statistical analysis was performed comparing subgroups of smokers and non-smokers data. Both groups were demographic and clinically comparable.ResultsSmoking rate was higher in participants with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia (X…