Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the sex differences in prescribing patterns of psychotropic drugs and drug-induced side effects in schizophrenia patients in Asia using the data of the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Pattern (REAP) surveys. METHOD: The prescription patterns of 6,441 schizophrenia inpatients in six Asian countries and regions were investigated during the 2001-2009 period. The patients' socio-demographic and clinical characteristics and their prescriptions for psychotropic drugs were recorded using a standardized protocol and data collection procedure. RESULTS: Univariate analyses found the following factors to be significantly associated with the male sex: a younger age, higher doses of antipsychotics, less prominent delusions and hallucinations, more prominent negative symptoms, less likelihood of a prescription for second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), greater use of antipsychotic polypharmacy, mood stabilizers and depot antipsychotics, more frequent tardive dyskinesia (TD), and less weight gain. In multivariate analyses, fewer prescriptions for SGAs, greater use of mood stabilizers, anticholinergics, antipsychotic polypharmacy and depot antipsychotics, extrapyramidal side effects (EPS) and TD, and less weight gain were independently associated with the male sex. Conclusions: Sex is one of the independent contributors to psychotropic prescription and side effects in Asian schizophrenia patients. Psychopharmacological treatment guidelines for schizophrenia should consider the sexes separately

The death of Professor John Wing, one of the giants of 20th-century British and world psychiatry, rightly deserves to be marked by a tribute in the British Journal of Psychiatry. This article has been prepared by four people who knew John personally and through his work, his partner in private and work life, a colleague in Great Britain and one abroad and a pupil, which are set out as four separate contributions. John was born on 22 October 1923. He died on 18 April 2010, aged 87

BACKGROUND: There is little information on the degree to which self-stigma is experienced by individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or depression across Europe. This study describes the levels of self-stigma, stigma resistance, empowerment and perceived discrimination reported in these groups. METHODS: Data were collected from 1182 people with bipolar disorder or depression using a mail survey with members of national mental health non-governmental organisations. RESULTS: Over one fifth of the participants (21.7%) reported moderate or high levels of self-stigma, 59.7% moderate or high stigma resistance, 63% moderate or high empowerment, and 71.6% moderate or high perceived discrimination. In a reduced multivariate model 27% of the variance in self-stigma scores, among people with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or depression, was accounted for by levels of empowerment, perceived discrimination, number of areas of social contact, education and employment. LIMITATIONS: Findings are limited by the use of an unweighted sample of members of mental health charity organisations which may be unrepresentative of the reference population. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that self-stigma occurs among approximately 1 in 5 people with bipolar disorder or depression in Europe. The tailoring of interventions to counteract (or fight against) the elements of self-stigma which are most problematic for the group, be they alienation, stereotype endorsement, social withdrawal or discrimination experience, may confer benefit to people with such disorders

In 2009 the WPA President established a Task Force that was to examine available evidence about the stigmatization of psychiatry and psychiatrists and to make recommendations about action that national psychiatric societies and psychiatrists as professionals could do to reduce or prevent the stigmatization of their discipline as well as to prevent its nefarious consequences. This paper presents a summary of the Task Force's findings and recommendations. The Task Force reviewed the literature concerning the image of psychiatry and psychiatrists in the media and the opinions about psychiatry and psychiatrists of the general public, of students of medicine, of health professionals other than psychiatrists and of persons with mental illness and their families. It also reviewed the evidence about the interventions that have been undertaken to combat stigma and consequent discrimination and made a series of recommendations to the national psychiatric societies and to individual psychiatrists. The Task Force laid emphasis on the formulation of best practices of psychiatry and their application in health services and on the revision of curricula for the training of health personnel. It also recommended that national psychiatric societies establish links with other professional associations, with organizations of patients and their relatives and with the media in order to approach the problems of stigma on a broad front. The Task Force also underlined the role that psychiatrists can play in the prevention of stigmatization of psychiatry, stressing the need to develop a respectful relationship with patients, to strictly observe ethical rules in the practice of psychiatry and to maintain professional competence

There is a growing interest in examining self-stigma as a barrier to recovery from schizophrenia. To date, no studies have examined mental health service user's experiences of self-stigma throughout Europe. This study describes the level of self-stigma, stigma resistance, empowerment and perceived discrimination reported by mental health service users with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder across 14 European countries. Data were collected from 1229 people using a postal survey from members of mental health non-governmental organisations. Almost half (41.7%) reported moderate or high levels of self-stigma, 49.2% moderate or high stigma resistance, 49.7% moderate or high empowerment and 69.4% moderate or high perceived discrimination. In a reduced multivariate model 42% of the variance in self-stigma scores was predicted by levels of empowerment, perceived discrimination and social contact. These results suggest that self-stigma appears to be common and sometimes severe among people with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders in Europe

BACKGROUND: Comorbid depression in diabetes is highly prevalent, negatively impacting well-being and diabetes control. How depression in diabetes is best treated is unknown. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to establish the effectiveness of existing anti-depressant therapies in diabetes. METHODS: Data sources: PubMed, Psycinfo, Embase and Cochrane library. Study eligibility criteria, participants, interventions: randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the outcome of treatment by psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy or collaborative care of depression in persons with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Study appraisal: risk of bias assessment; data extraction. Synthesis methods: data synthesis, random model meta analysis and publication bias analysis. RESULTS: Meta analysis of 14 RCTs with a total of 1724 patients show that treatment is effective in terms of reduction of depressive symptoms: -0.512; 95% CI -0.633 to -0.390. The combined effect of all interventions on clinical impact is moderate, -0.370; 95% CI -0.470 to -0.271; it is large for psychotherapeutic interventions that are often combined with diabetes self management: -0.581; 95% CI -0.770 to -0.391, n=310 and moderate for pharmacological treatment: -0.467; 95% CI -0.665 to -0.270, n=281. Delivery of collaborative care, which provided a stepped care intervention with a choice of starting with psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy, to a primary care population, yielded an effect size of -0.292; 95% CI -0.429 to -0.155, n=1133; indicating the effect size that can be attained on a population scale. Pharmacotherapy and collaborative care aimed at and succeeded in the reduction of depressive symptoms but, apart from sertraline, had no effect on glycemic control. Limitations: amongst others, the number of RCTs is small. CONCLUSION: The treatment of depression in people with diabetes is a necessary step, but improvement of the general medical condition including glycemic control is likely to require simultaneous attention to both conditions. Further research is needed

Somatic illness is frequently associated with depression and anxiety and major depression significantly increases risk of severe medical conditions, e.g. cardiovascular illness. One of the most frequent comorbidities is that of depression and pain. Alterations in noradrenergic and serotonergic neurotransmissions in the central nervous system have been implicated in the joint pathophysiology of depression and chronic pain. Antidepressants, alone or in combination with psychotherapy, are an effective treatment option in such cases. The newer dual action antidepressants (milnacipran, venlafaxine, duloxetine) acting specifically on both noradrenergic and serotonergic neurotransmitter systems are presumably more reliable in pain management. So far, the most extensively studied drug has been duloxetine. Twelve randomized placebo-controlled trials with the total number of 4,108 patients suffering from pain associated with major depressive disorder suggested consistent analgesic efficacy of duloxetine, especially in fibromyalgia and peripheral neuropathic pain