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Query: UMLS:C0036341 (schizophrenia)
 60,220 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Knowledge concerning temperament factors involved in vulnerability to schizophrenia is limited. We hypothesized that temperament and self-variables (emotional distress, coping styles, self-efficacy and self-esteem) might present a complex trait marker for underlying vulnerability to schizophrenia. We sought to (1) assess temperament dimensions and types in schizophrenia patients and healthy controls using the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), and (2) explore their association with symptom dimensions, emotional distress, coping styles, self-constructs, demographic and background variables. We evaluated 90 consecutively recruited DSM-IV schizophrenia patients and 136 healthy controls matched for gender and age. We found that the harm avoidance (HA) factor was higher, while reward dependence (RD) was lower in schizophrenia patients than in healthy controls. Relationships of negative symptoms to novelty seeking (NS) and general psychopathology with both NS and HA show a confounding relation to self-variables. TPQ temperament types were defined by dichotomization into high and low according to medians of the three TPQ temperament dimensions. The odds ratios for the HA and HA/NS temperament types were significantly higher, while the NS/RD type was lower in schizophrenia patients than in healthy controls. HA/NS, HA/RD and high-HA/NS/RD types revealed higher scores for emotional distress, emotion-oriented coping and lower scores on self-constructs. No links were found between temperament types and schizophrenia symptom dimensions, task and avoidance oriented coping, or demographic and background variables. Thus, our findings strengthen the hypothesis that temperament types, when associated with elevated emotional distress, emotion-oriented coping and weak self-constructs, might represent a complex trait marker for underlying vulnerability to schizophrenia.
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PMID:Temperament types are associated with weak self-construct, elevated distress and emotion-oriented coping in schizophrenia: evidence for a complex vulnerability marker? 1554 78

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) scores were examined for 50 parents of children with an onset of schizophrenia prior to 14 years of age, 153 parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and 168 parents of community comparison children. The parents were participants in the UCLA Family Study. The mean scores on all standard MMPI scales were within normal limits for all three groups of participants. Parents of schizophrenia probands were significantly higher on scale Sc than parents of community comparison children. Previous research has shown that scale Sc may be associated with a genetic liability to developing schizophrenia. Thus, scale Sc shows promise as an indicator of a heightened risk for the development of schizophrenia. The parents of the ADHD probands were significantly higher on standard clinical scale Pd than community comparison parents. Mothers of both schizophrenia and ADHD probands shared some personality indicators of stress reactivity. Although this study, like all non-adoptee family studies, cannot disentangle genetic effects on the development of these personality characteristics from environmental effects, we speculate that the emotional distress resulting in higher levels of the MMPI characteristics seen in the patients' mothers reflects the impact of raising a psychiatrically ill offspring.
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PMID:MMPI vulnerability indicators for schizophrenia and attention deficit disorder: UCLA family study of biological parents of offspring with childhood-onset schizophrenia or ADHD. 1568 29

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) or their sulfate conjugate (DHEAS) (together abbreviated DHEA(S)) exert multiple effects in the central nervous system, and may be involved in the pathophysiological processes in schizophrenia. This prospective study aimed to investigate whether serum cortisol/DHEA(S) molar ratios are associated with response to antipsychotic treatment during the exacerbation of schizophrenia. Serum DHEA(S) and cortisol were determined at baseline, and 2 and 4 weeks later for 43 medicated schizophrenia inpatients with acute exacerbation. The patients were treated with stable doses of antipsychotic agents up to 2 weeks prior to entering the study and for the 4-week duration of the study after which they were classified as either responders or nonresponders to treatment. Findings suggest that responders had significantly higher serum cortisol levels and cortisol/DHEA(S) ratios compared with nonresponders. These differences remained significant at three time points controlling for gender, age, severity of symptoms and emotional distress, benzodiazepines, type or dosage of antipsychotic agents, and background variables. The logistic regression model shows advantages of both cortisol/DHEA(S) molar ratios vs serum cortisol and DHEA(S) concentrations for prediction of responsivity to antipsychotic treatment. No significant canonical correlations were observed between changes from baseline through end-of-study in hormonal values and severity of symptoms and emotional distress among responders and nonresponders. Thus, these data provide evidence that elevated serum cortisol and cortisol/DHEA(S) ratios may serve as markers of biological mechanisms that are involved in responsivity of schizophrenia patients to antipsychotic treatment.
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PMID:Cortisol/dehydroepiandrosterone ratio and responses to antipsychotic treatment in schizophrenia. 1587 Aug 35

The Quality of Life Scale (QLS(21)) is widely used in clinical trials involving schizophrenia patients. This study aimed to identify a core subset of QLS(21) items that maintains the validity and psychometric properties of the complete version. A parsimonious subset of items from the QLS(21) that can accurately predict the total scale score was sought and evaluated in 133 schizophrenia patients, using the heuristic algorithm for a regression model. Two additional data sets were used for model validation: a subset of 124 patients who participated in the model construction and who completed the QLS(21) 1 year later as well as a new sample of 40 inpatients. Patients were examined with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q), the Talbieh Brief Distress Inventory (TBDI), the Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale (ESRS) and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale (GAF). Using only five QLS items (social initiatives, adequacy, acquaintances, motivation, and time utilization; QLS(5)) as predictors, the correlation was 0.9805 between the predicted and true QLS totals. Two validation samples confirmed this finding. Additional analyses indicate that the QLS(5) exhibited similar performance to the QLS(21) regarding construct validity, test-retest reliability and responsiveness to changes over time. Thus, the five-item condensed Quality of Life Scale for schizophrenia maintains the validity of the full QLS, and has the advantage of shorter administration time. Utilization of the revised QLS(5) in routine care and clinical trials may potentially facilitate evaluation of treatment outcomes in schizophrenia.
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PMID:Condensed version of the Quality of Life Scale for schizophrenia for use in outcome studies. 1589 Apr 13

This study included a sample of 57 Anglo-American, Latino American, and African American patients with schizophrenia and their family members. Findings indicate that for patients, as hypothesized, increasing perceptions of family cohesion was associated with less general emotional distress and fewer psychiatric symptoms. For family members of Latino and African American descent, greater self-reported family cohesion also appeared to have a protective effect against emotional distress, as hypothesized. However, no association was found between family cohesion and general emotional distress for Anglo-American family members. Interestingly, no relationship was found between patients' and their relatives' views of their family environment. Thus, researchers and clinicians working with families are encouraged to attain separate assessments of the family environment from each individual member. Contrary to expectations, religiosity was not associated with patient or family member emotional distress or with patient psychiatric symptoms. Study implications are discussed.
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PMID:Ethnicity, family cohesion, religiosity and general emotional distress in patients with schizophrenia and their relatives. 1592 Mar 76

We sought to identify a core subset of Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q) items that maintains the validity and psychometric properties of the basic version. A parsimonious subset of items from the Q-LES-Q that can accurately predict the basic Q-LES-Q domain mean scores was sought and evaluated in 339 inpatients meeting DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and mood disorders. Three additional data sets were used for validation. Assessments included Q-LES-Q, Quality of Life Scale, Lancashire Quality of Life Profile, rating scales for psychopathology, medication side effects, and self-reported emotional distress, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and social support. We found that 18-items predicted basic Q-LES-Q domains (physical health, subjective feelings, leisure time activities, social relationships) and general index scores with high accuracy. Q-LES-Q-18 showed high reliability, validity, and stability of test-retest ratings. Thus, Q-LES-Q-18, a brief, self-administered questionnaire may aid in monitoring quality of life outcomes of schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and mood disorder patients.
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PMID:Validity of an abbreviated quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction questionnaire (Q-LES-Q-18) for schizophrenia, schizoaffective, and mood disorder patients. 1611 81

Caregivers burden is an important area of clinical work that is often neglected, particularly in relatives of patients with psychosis. The aim of the present study is to examine if some demographic factors and symptoms of illness bear a relationship with burden and distress levels in their caregivers. This cross-sectional study involved patients with chronic schizophrenia and their relatives. The Carer Burden Index and the 30-item General Health Questionnaire was used to assess burden and distress in relatives, and positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia in the patients were rated using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms, respectively. High levels of emotional distress and burden were observed in the caregivers and they were significantly associated with some demographic variables. They were also significantly associated with positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Because Nigerian families continue to play a primary caregiving role for their relatives experiencing schizophrenia, there is a need to focus on specific interventions that will reduce their high levels of distress and burden.
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PMID:Demographic factors and clinical correlates of burden and distress in relatives of service users experiencing schizophrenia: a study from south-western Nigeria. 1649 91

This study aimed to identify factors that influence changes in satisfaction with quality of life (QOL) of schizophrenia patients. Baseline and follow up data for 148 schizophrenia patients were obtained at hospital admission and 16 months later. Relationships between changes over time in the general QOL index, and various factors were investigated using factor, multiple regression, and partial correlation analyses. Findings indicate that baseline levels of activation symptoms, emotional distress, task oriented coping, self-esteem and friend support together explain 41% of the variability in the general QOL index 16 months later. Changes in the general QOL of schizophrenia patients over time is associated with anergia, and paranoid symptoms, emotional distress, side effects, self-esteem, emotion and avoidance related coping styles, expressed emotion, and other social support. Determinants of change in QOL of patients were different being in hospital or out of hospital in the real world. No significant association of age, education, and follow up duration, with general QOL. Based on obtained data three types of overlapping factors were defined: (1) distressing, and protective; (2) primary and secondary; and (3) factors that remained constant or changed over time. Presented data are discussed within the framework of the Distress/Protection model of QOL. The conceptualization of three types of factors influencing QOL outcomes in this model demonstrates their predictive value, and may assist investigators and mental health workers in the interpretation of QOL data that may be used to improve patients' QOL outcomes.
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PMID:Determinants of changes in perceived quality of life in the course of schizophrenia. 1654 90

This study aimed to identify coping patterns used by schizophrenia inpatients in comparison with those used by healthy individuals, and to explore their association with selected clinical and psychosocial variables. The Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) was used to assess coping strategies among 237 inpatients who met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia and 175 healthy individuals. Severity of psychopathology and distress, insight into illness, feelings of self-efficacy and self-esteem (self-construct variables), social support, and quality of life were also examined. Factor analysis, analysis of covariance and correlations were used to examine the relationships between the parameters of interest. Using dimensional measures, we found that emotion-oriented coping style and emotional distress were significantly higher in the schizophrenia group, whereas the task-oriented coping style, self-efficacy, perceived social support and satisfaction with quality of life were lower compared with controls. When eight CISS coping patterns were defined, the results revealed that patients used emotion coping patterns 5.5 times more frequently, and task and task-avoidance coping patterns significantly less often than healthy subjects. Coping patterns have different associations with current levels of dysphoric mood and emotional distress, self-construct variables, and satisfaction with quality of life. Thus, the identified coping patterns may be an additional useful presentation of the diversity of coping strategies used by schizophrenia patients. Coping patterns may be considered an important source of knowledge for patients who struggle with the illness and for mental health professionals who work with schizophrenia patients.
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PMID:Coping patterns as a valid presentation of the diversity of coping responses in schizophrenia patients. 1701 33

There is some evidence that emotional reactivity to daily life stress is related to a genetic or familial liability to develop schizophrenia. However, it is unclear whether the emotional distress is elevated in schizophrenia patients with positive compared to negative family history. The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that a persistent higher level of emotional distress in schizophrenia subjects is associated with a positive family history of schizophrenia. This study used the Talbieh Brief Distress Inventory (TBDI), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS; including dysphoric mood, positive and negative subscales), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), and the Distress Scale for Adverse Symptoms (DSAS) to investigate the difference in the magnitude of emotional distress scores between schizophrenia subjects with and without a positive family history of schizophrenia over time. Data were recorded for 69 multiplex family and 79 singleton patients at admission and about 16 months thereafter. No between-group differences were obtained in PANSS and DSAS scores. With regard to the TBDI: (a) both group of patients had no significant differences in emotional distress scores at admission; (b) patients with negative family history reported improvement in distress severity and depression severity (MADRS) 16 months after admission, while those with positive family history experienced persistent elevated emotional distress, mainly, on obsessiveness, and depression subscales; and (c) both groups of patients are characterized by elevated emotional distress at follow-up examination compared to healthy subjects. Thus, it appears that there is a strong association between positive family history and persistent elevated emotional distress. Because patients with positive and negative family history are likely to differ in genetic risk, our results suggest that long-term elevated levels of emotional distress may be related to a familial (environmental)/genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia.
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PMID:Positive family history is associated with persistent elevated emotional distress in schizophrenia: evidence from a 16-month follow-up study. 1767 46


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