Better IQ but worse Premorbid Academic Adjustment in cannabis-users psychotic patients: another brick in the intuition

Purpose: several studies report that patients with psychosis who used cannabis in their lifetime have a better cognitive performance than those who did not and this association is most likely due to a better premorbid functioning. We aimed to test the hypothesis of a better premorbid functioning in First Episode Psychosis (FEP) cannabis-using and non-using patients coming from different European countries. Materials and Methods: 1.745 people (746 cases; 999 healthy controls) completed the assessment for Intellectual Quotient (IQ) (WAIS-brief version) premorbid adjustment (Premorbid Adjustment Scale – PAS) and cannabis use (CEQ-Revised). We first obtained two main factors from PAS: “Premorbi…

EXPLORING SPECIFIC EFFECTS OF TYPE AND TIMING OF EXPOSURE TO CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY AND SYMPTOM DOMAINS IN FIRST EPISODE OF PSYCHOSIS: PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM THE EUGEI PROJECT

ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS DIFFERENCES AMONG DIAGNOSTIC CATEGORIES IN EU-GEI STUDY

Perceived major experiences of discrimination, ethnic group, and risk of psychosis in a six-country case-control study

AbstractBackgroundPerceived discrimination is associated with worse mental health. Few studies have assessed whether perceived discrimination (i) is associated with the risk of psychotic disorders and (ii) contributes to an increased risk among minority ethnic groups relative to the ethnic majority.MethodsWe used data from the European Network of National Schizophrenia Networks Studying Gene-Environment Interactions Work Package 2, a population-based case−control study of incident psychotic disorders in 17 catchment sites across six countries. We calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the associations between perceived discrimination and psychosis using mixed-…

Profilo neuropsicologico dei pazienti al first-episode: variabilità della performance cognitiva tra sintomi positivi e negativi

Effetti dell’uso di cannabis e sintomi psicopatologici in un campione di primi episodi psicotici

Introduction: Cannabis is one of the most common substances used by patients with a first episode of psychosis. The aim of the study was to investigate the most frequent effects of cannabis use, their relationship with psychotic symptoms and characteristics of the consumption. Methods: 116 first episode psychosis were recruited, 50% of which (n=58) used cannabis lifetime. We investigated the characteristics of the consumption and the effects of cannabis using the Cannabis Experience Questionnaire-mv (CEQmv) and the psychotic symptoms using the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS). Results: The effects more often experienced by cannabis users were slowed down thinking and feeling to …

CAN PRS FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA, BIPOLAR DISORDER AND MAJOR DEPRESSION DISTINGUISH AFFECTIVE PSYCHOSIS DIAGNOSTIC CATEGORIES? THE EU-GEI STUDY

COGNITION, METACOGNITION AND SOCIAL COGNITION AFTER A FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOSIS. PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM A 5-YEAR-FOLLOW-UP STUDY

The relationship of symptom dimensions with premorbid adjustment and cognitive characteristics at first episode psychosis: Findings from the EU-GEI study

Premorbid functioning and cognitive measures may reflect gradients of developmental impairment across diagnostic categories in psychosis. In this study, we sought to examine the associations of current cognition and premorbid adjustment with symptom dimensions in a large first episode psychosis (FEP) sample. We used data from the international EU-GEI study. Bifactor modelling of the Operational Criteria in Studies of Psychotic Illness (OPCRIT) ratings provided general and specific symptom dimension scores. Premorbid Adjustment Scale estimated premorbid social (PSF) and academic adjustment (PAF), and WAIS-brief version measured IQ. A MANCOVA model examined the relationship between symptom di…

Profilo neuropsicologico in pazienti al first episode psychosis e nei familiari di primo grado: un'ipotesi di vulnerabilità genetica

Social disadvantage and psychosis: a case control study on italian First-Episodes of Psychosis (FEP)

Introduction: A growing body of literature suggests that people affected by psychotic disorders are more likely to be unemployed, tend to live alone, have a poor social network, and are not able to establish long-term relationships (Morgan et al., 2008). Aims: To investigate social disadvantage in a sample of first-episode of psychosis patients and geographically matched controls. Methods: The study sample consists of 52 healthy controls and 37 FEP who were assessed using the MRC Sociodemographic Schedules. Results: Preliminary results suggest that, consistently with the literature, cases are more exposed than controls to social disadvantage. They tend to reach a lower education degree (OR …

First-Episode Psychosis Patients Who Deteriorated in the Premorbid Period Do Not Have Higher Polygenic Risk Scores Than Others: A Cluster Analysis of EU-GEI Data

Abstract Cluster studies identified a subgroup of patients with psychosis whose premorbid adjustment deteriorates before the onset, which may reflect variation in genetic influence. However, other studies reported a complex relationship between distinctive patterns of cannabis use and cognitive and premorbid impairment that is worthy of consideration. We examined whether: (1) premorbid social functioning (PSF) and premorbid academic functioning (PAF) in childhood and adolescence and current intellectual quotient (IQ) define different clusters in 802 first-episode of psychosis (FEP) patients; resulting clusters vary in (2) polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for schizophrenia (SCZ_PRS), bipolar dis…

Premorbid social adjustment is better in cannabis-using than non-using psychotic patients across Europe

IntroductionA number of authors have hypothesized that psychotic patients who consume cannabis constitute a differentiated subgroup of patients that have better cognitive and social skills, necessary to engage in illegal drug consumption, than non-using patients.ObjectivesGiven that the prevalence, and patterns, of cannabis use are culturally driven, we wanted to study first-episode psychosis (FEP) cannabis-using and non-using patients coming from different European countries as part of the EUGEI-STUDY.AimsWe tested the hypothesis of better premorbid social adjustment in cannabis-using FEP patients, by comparing them to FEP non cannabis users and to their respective healthy controls.Methods…

Internet addiction e comorbilità psichiatrica

Evaluating the feasibility of the Italian version of the computerized interactive remediation of cognition training for schizophrenia (circuits)

Background: Circuits is a computerized cognitive remediation program for individuals with schizophrenia. this study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of the italian version of circuits. MethODs: Feasibility was measured through ad-hoc questionnaires in a non-clinical sample (N.=30; target-score 70%; study 1); in patients with schizophrenia (N.=5; target-score 60%; study 2) and cr therapists (N.=3; target-score 60%; study 2). study 3 was a pilot study investigating: 1) enrolment, compliance, and retention rates; 2) satisfaction; 3) potential post-treatment and follow-up improvements in patients with schizophrenia (N.=20). these results were used to estimate sample size and feasibility for a …

Working Memory, Jumping to Conclusions and Emotion Recognition: a Possible Link in First Episode Psychosis (Fep)

Introduction A large body of literature has demonstrated that people affected by psychotic disorders show deficits in working memory, in Emotion Recognition (ER) and in data-gathering to reach a decision (Jumping To Conclusions – JTC). Aims To investigate a possible correlation between working memory, JTC and ER in FEP. Methods 41 patients and 89 healthy controls completed assessments of working memory using WAIS shortened version, JTC using the 60:40 Beads Task and ER using Degraded Facial Affect Recognition Task. Results According to the literature, cases had poorer performance in working memory tasks (Digit Span: μ7,72 [ds=2,98] vs μ10,14 [ds=3,10], U=865,00, p=0,00; Digit Symbol: μ5,36 …

DOES CANNABIS USE WORSEN PSYCHOTIC SYMPTOM PRESENTATION?

Background: While the relationship between cannabis and psychosis is well established, there is a lack of studies into whether cannabis use is associated with a particular pattern of symptoms at psychosis onset. Moreover, there is much evidence that psychotic experiences are common in the healthy population, and again their relationship with exposure to cannabis has been scarcely studied. We hypothesized that psychopathology in first-episode psychosis patients (FEP), and psychotic experiences in controls, would be qualitatively and quantitatively affected by pattern of cannabis use. Methods: The Operational CRITeria (OPCRIT) system, the CAPE (Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences), an…

Differences between female and male gamers and gender-specific risk-factors for internet gaming disorder (IGD)

Introduction: Videogames have become more popular across females, although their widespread diffusion among males. How- ever, few studies have examined differences between female and male gamers and gender-specific risk factors for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Objectives: The study aimed to describe males and females’ differ- ences in a sample of gamers, and to identify gender-specific risk- factors for IGD, accounting for alexithymia, playing habits, and other perceived stressors. Methods: Participants were gamers joining online communities, tested by IGDS-SF9 and TAS-20 for alexithymia. To explore isk-factors for IGD (outcome: IGD>=21), we set a binary logistic regression stratified…

Identifying gene-environment interactions in schizophrenia: contemporary challenges for integrated, large-scale investigations

European Community Recent years have seen considerable progress in epidemiological and molecular genetic research into environmental and genetic factors in schizophrenia, but methodological uncertainties remain with regard to validating environmental exposures, and the population risk conferred by individual molecular genetic variants is small. There are now also a limited number of studies that have investigated molecular genetic candidate gene-environment interactions (G x E), however, so far, thorough replication of findings is rare and G x E research still faces several conceptual and methodological challenges. in this article, we aim to review these recent developments and illustrate h…

DNA METHYLATION PROFILING MIGHT SHED LIGHT ON THE BIOLOGY OF CANNABIS ASSOCIATED PSYCHOSIS

Daily use of high-potency cannabis is associated with more positive symptoms in first-episode psychosis patients: The EU-GEI case-control study

The work was supported by: Clinician Scientist Medical Research Council fellowship (project reference MR/M008436/1) to MDF; the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care South London at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to DQ; DFG Heisenberg professorship (no. 389624707) to UR. National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The EU-GEI Project is funded by t…

The role of different game-genres in predicting internet gaming disorder (IGD)

Introduction: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is a new diagnosis in DSM 5 worth of research. New potentially addictive features are emerging in pay- and free-to-play videogames, involving different at-risk populations of gamers. However, few studies have examined whether and how different game-genres can contribute to the risk of IGD. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate how game-genres can predict IGD, accounting for alexithymia scores, time-related play- ing habits, and other predictors. Methods: Participants were gamers joining online communities, surveyed about which games they played more than 20 hours in their lifetime, time-variables, other stressors and alexithymia scores. A s…

GENE AND ENVIRONMENT INTERPLAY AMONG DIAGNOSTIC CATEGORIES IN THE EUGEI STUDY

Ruolo della working memory e dello stile di risposta Jumping To Conclusions in un campione di pazienti al first episode psychosis