0000000000285047
AUTHOR
Gemma Safont
showing 14 related works from this author
Differential serum acute-phase biomarker profile in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
2016
There is a growing interest in inflammation and immune dysfunction in severe psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This dysfunction seems to consist in abnormal blood levels of cytokines and acute-phase proteins, with increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, homocysteine and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Higher levels can be found in acute episodes and in patients with a higher cardiovascular risk.Acute-phase protein serum parameters were determined in a sample of 100 outpatients with schizophrenia (n = 50) or bipolar disorder (n = 50) so as to assess differences in pro-inflammatory state. Metabolic state was assessed through BMI, waist c…
A clinical staging model for bipolar disorder: longitudinal approach
2020
AbstractBipolar disorder (BD) has been identified as a life-course illness with different clinical manifestations from an at-risk to a late stage, supporting the assumption that it would benefit from a staging model. In a previous study, we used a clustering approach to stratify 224 patients with a diagnosis of BD into five clusters based on clinical characteristics, functioning, cognition, general health, and health-related quality of life. This study was design to test the construct validity of our previously developed k-means clustering model and to confirm its longitudinal validity over a span of 3 years. Of the 224 patients included at baseline who were used to develop our model, 129 (…
Sex differences in bipolar disorder: Impact of lifetime cannabis use on clinical course, functioning, and quality of life in bipolar disorder.
2020
Cannabis use is markedly prevalent among patients with bipolar disorder (BD). However, to date, there have been no studies on this issue with a sex-based approach. This study examines if lifetime cannabis use (LCU) is differently associated with clinical course, functioning, and quality of life (QoL) in patients with BD by sex.Secondary analysis of a cross-sectional, naturalistic, multicentre study. LCU was defined as having had at least one day of use per month for at least 12 consecutive months in a patient's life.A total of 224 patients with BD were included (65.2% women). Patients with LCU were younger (p = 0.001) and had their first hospitalization earlier (p0.005) than those without L…
Classification of patients with bipolar disorder using k-means clustering.
2019
Introduction Bipolar disorder (BD) is a heterogeneous disorder needing personalized and shared decisions. We aimed to empirically develop a cluster-based classification that allocates patients according to their severity for helping clinicians in these processes. Methods Naturalistic, cross-sectional, multicenter study. We included 224 subjects with BD (DSM-IV-TR) under outpatient treatment from 4 sites in Spain. We obtained information on sociodemography, clinical course, psychopathology, cognition, functioning, vital signs, anthropometry and lab analysis. Statistical analysis: k-means clustering, comparisons of between group variables, and expert criteria. Results and discussion We obtain…
Spanish validation of the Empirically Developed Clinical Staging Model (EmDe-5) for patients with bipolar disorder
2021
Abstract Introduction Bipolar disorder (BD) has been reconceptualised as a progressive disorder that develops from mild to severe presentations. An empirical staging model – the Empirically Developed Clinical Staging Model for BD (EmDe-5) – was developed in a previous study. This study aims to further validate that model using a larger and more representative Spanish sample. Material and methods 183 BD outpatients were recruited at 11 sites in Spain. Assessment included clinical characteristics of the BD (number of hospitalisations, number of suicide attempts, comorbid personality disorders), physical health (BMI, metabolic syndrome, number of physical illnesses), cognition (SCIP), function…
Utility of the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II in schizophrenia.
2011
The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS II) was developed for assessing disability. This study provides data on the validity and utility of the Spanish version of the WHODAS II in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia.The sample included 352 patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. They completed a comprehensive assessment battery including measures of psychopathology, functionality and quality-of-life. A sub-sample of 36 patients was retested after six months to assess its temporal stability.Participation in society (6.3%) and Life activities (4.0%) were the domains with the highest percentage of missing data. The internal consistency (Cronba…
Are affective temperaments determinants of quality of life in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder?
2018
Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a disabling illness that is associated with low quality of life (QoL). This low QoL goes further than mood episodes, which suggests that stable traits, such as affective temperaments, can cause functional impairment. Objective: Our study analyses the impact of affective temperaments on the Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) of QoL in euthymic BD patients. Methods: A multicentre study was conducted in 180 euthymic BD patients and 95 healthy controls. Firstly, statistical analyses were performed to compare QoL and affective temperaments between the two groups. Secondly, Adaptive Lasso Analysis was carried out to identify th…
Gender differences in C-reactive protein and homocysteine modulation of cognitive performance and real-world functioning in bipolar disorder.
2018
Background: Cognitive and psychosocial impairment has been associated with increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and homocysteine in bipolar disorder, but gender differences have seldom been studied. Methods: Two hundred and twenty-four bipolar outpatients were included. Cognitive performance was assessed through the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP). Psychosocial functioning was evaluated using the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) and the General Assessment of Functioning (GAF). Homocysteine and CRP levels were determined. Separate analyses were performed by gender. Partial correlations were calculated to test for associations between biomarkers and cognit…
P-1294 - Utility of the world health organization disability assessment schedule II in schizophrenia
2012
Aim The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II (WHODAS II) was developed for assessing disability. This study provides data on the validity and utility of the Spanish version of the WHODAS II in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia. Methods The sample included 352 patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. They completed a comprehensive assessment battery including measures of psychopathology, functionality and quality-of-life. A sub-sample of 36 patients was retested after six months to assess its temporal stability. Results Participation in society (6.3%) and Life activities (4.0%) were the domains with the highest percentage of missing data. The intern…
Association between neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-lymphocyte ratio, and C-reactive protein levels and metabolic status in patients with a bip…
2022
OBJECTIVES Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and C-Reactive Protein (CRP) are markers of inflammation that are elevated in bipolar disorder (BD) and are also related to a higher risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS). This study aimed at investigating for the first time the association between NLR, PLR, and CRP and the metabolic status in BD. METHODS We assessed the association between biomarkers and the metabolic status: number of metabolic risk factors, presence of MetS, insulin sensitivity (Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index, QUICKI) and insulin resistance (Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance, HOMA-IR index), in a sample of 219 outpa…
Disability in bipolar I disorder: the 36-item World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0.
2014
Abstract Background The WHODAS 2.0 is an ICF-based multidimensional instrument developed for measuring disability. The present study analyzes the utility of the 36-item interviewer-administered version in a sample of patients with bipolar disorder. There is no study to date that analyses how the scale works in a sample that only comprises such patients. Methods A total of 291 patients with bipolar disorder (42.6% males) according to DSM-IV-TR criteria from a cross-sectional study conducted in outpatient psychiatric clinics were enrolled. In addition to the WHODAS 2.0, patients completed a comprehensive assessment battery including measures on psychopathology, functionality and quality of li…
1st International Experts' Meeting on Agitation: Conclusions Regarding the Current and Ideal Management Paradigm of Agitation
2018
Este artículo se encuentra disponible en la página web de la revista en la siguiente URL: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00054/full En este artículo científico participan los siguientes autores: Mario Amore, Guido Di Sciascio, Radu Ioan Florea, Marina Garriga, Gabriel Gonzalez, Kai G. Kahl, Per-Axel Karlsson, Jens Kuhn, Maria Margariti, Bruno Pacciardi, Konstantinos Papageorgiou, Maurizio Pompili, Fabrice Rivollier, Ángel Royuela, Gemma Safont, Joachim Scharfetter, Bo Skagen, Kazuhiro Tajima-Pozo y Pierre Vidailhet. Agitation is a heterogeneous concept without a uniformly accepted definition, however, it is generally considered as a state of cognitive and motor hype…
The screen for cognitive impairment in psychiatry: diagnostic-specific standardization in psychiatric ill patients
2013
Abstract Background The Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP) is a simple and easy to administer scale developed for screening cognitive deficits. This study presents the diagnostic-specific standardization data for this scale in a sample of schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder patients. Methods Patients between 18 and 55 years who are in a stable phase of the disease, diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, or bipolar I disorder were enrolled in this study. Results The SCIP-S was administered to 514 patients (57.9% male), divided into two age groups (18–39 and 40–55 years) and two educational level groups (less than and secondary or…
Sexual Dysfunction and Mood Stabilizers in Long-Term Stable Patients With Bipolar Disorder.
2020
Abstract Background In addition to factors intrinsic to bipolar disorder (BD), sexual functioning (SF) can be affected by extrinsic causes, such as psychotropic drugs. However, the effect of mood stabilizers on SF and quality of life (QoL) is an underexplored research area. Aim To analyze SF in BD outpatients in euthymia for at least 6 months treated only with mood stabilizers and the association between SF and QoL. Methods A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted in 114 BD outpatients treated with (i) lithium alone (L group); (ii) anticonvulsants alone (valproate or lamotrigine; A group); (iii) lithium plus anticonvulsants (L+A group); or (iv) lithium plus benzodiazepines (L+B gro…