The combination of cognitive behavioral interventions and art therapy provides a unique tool for image transformation as a strategy for managing distress in extremely stressful situations. Previous studies offer evidence of the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral- and art-based (CB-ART) interventions in reducing stress related to community crises such as wars and earthquakes.

This study aimed to extend current knowledge by investigating the effectiveness of CB-ART interventions in the Covid-19 context, and the mechanisms underlying them.

Online CB-ART interventions were implemented during the first national lockdown in Israel with 15 women. The intervention included drawing three pictures related to: (1) Covid-19-related emotions and thoughts; (2) resources that may help them cope with the pandemic outcomes; and (3) integration of the stressful image and the resource picture. To examine the intervention effect, participants’ Subjective Units of Distress (SUDs) values were measured using a pre-post design.

Participants’ initial distress levels decreased on completion of the intervention. Another key finding is the reduction of the initial size of the stressful image and enlargement of the resource images within the integrated drawing. This may be the proposed mechanisms underlying the reduction of the SUDs values.

The new perspective derived from the compositional transformations performed by the participants may have increased their sense of control and competence, enabling them to perceive the Covid-19-related stressors as less threatening. The described art-based tool can be easily implemented online by mental health professionals with diverse populations in times of community crises.

No significant relationships.

Since the outbreak of the 2019 coronavirus, healthcare workers found themselves on the front lines of an unprecedented battle. Being characterized by adversity, this experience represents a fertile ground for the study of resilience.

Our study aims to clarify the phenomenon of resilience through its influence on perceived stress level and its connection with coping strategies.

A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 254 healthcare professionals in the region of Sousse during the pandemic. In addition to socio-demographic and professional characteristics, Resilience, perceived stress, and coping strategies were assessed using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the PSS10 scale, and the Brief Cope questionnaire, respectively.

The overall mean [±standard deviation (SD)] age of the participants was 32.9 ± 8.76 years with a sex ratio (M / F) of 0.51. The assessment of resilience among participants revealed a mean score of 64.99 ± 14.72. The majority of participants evinced a score> 50 (82.68%) and 39.76% had a score >70. Our results revealed that, on the one hand, problem-focused coping strategies were positive predictors of resilience (p<10-3), accounting for 3.6% of its variance. On the other hand, coping strategies (problem-focused strategies and avoidance strategies) are also an integral part of the process by which resilience significantly influences the level of perceived stress (mediating factor).

Despite its complexity, the relationship between resilience and coping strategies is undeniable and it is a part of an important line of intervention opening the way to better identifications and care.

No significant relationships.

There is limited research in adolescent at risk for psychosis. The new criteria of Attenuated Psychosis Syndrome (APS) of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- 5 (DSM-5) have not been validated.

The aims of this study were to: 1) characterize adolescent’s profile with APS (DSM-5 APS) compared to adolescents with early onset psychosis (EOP) and with other psychiatric disorders (non-APS); 2) to estimate their long-term risk of transition to psychosis and prognostic accuracy of DSM-5 APS.

243 adolescents, aged 12-17, were included (October 2012- July 2019) and dived in three sub-groups (110 DSM-5 APS, 31 EOP, 102 non-APS). All underwent a comprehensive assessment evaluating: sociodemographic characteristics, family and personal history of any DSM-5 psychiatric disorders, psychopathological assessment and level of functioning. An annual follow-up evaluation was carried out (up to 7 years) including a clinical interview to investigate DSM-5 criteria for transition to psychosis.

DSM-5 APS adolescents had on average higher comorbid disorders (2.3) and intermediate psychopathological and functioning profile between non-APS/EOP. The cumulative risk of transition at 1,2,3, 4-5 years was 13%, 17%, 24.2%, 26.8% and 26.8% in DSM-5 APS group, 0%, 0%, 3.2%, 3.2% and 3.2% in the non-APS. The 5-year prognostic accuracy of the DSM-5 APS in adolescent was adequate (Area Under the Curve=0.77) with high sensitivity (91.3%) and suboptimal specificity (63.2%).

The DSM-5 APS diagnosis can be used to detect help-seeking adolescents at risk of psychosis and predict their long-term outcomes, leading the way to new preventive approaches.

The authors declare that they do not have a significant financial interest, consultancy or other relationship with products, manufacturer(s) of products or providers of services related to this abstrac.

Menstrual psychosis was first described in the 18th century. Brockington defined its characteristics: acute onset; brief duration with full recovery; confusion, stupor and mutism, delusions, hallucinations, or a manic syndrome and periodicity in temporal association with the menstrual cycle.

Description of a clinical case of menstrual psychosis and review of the literature.

Description of a clinical case. Non systematic review of the literature, searching the terms “psychosis”; “menstrual”; “catamenial” in the databases Pubmed, Medline and Cochrane.

Female, 39-year-old patient. No psychiatric history until the postpartum period of a traumatic vaginal birth, when she developed stupor and mutism which lasted for two days. During the following 2 years, she progressively presented with sadness, asthenia, anhedonia, insomnia and incapacity for self-care. She was prescribed paroxetine and olanzapine, with partial recovery. Subsequently, she had at least 6 episodes with about 3-day duration of asthenia, food refusal, insomnia, incapacity for self-care, disorganization of thought and behavior and mystical and persecutory delusions, coincident with the beginning of menstruation. She was hospitalized in two of them and received treatment with venlafaxine 75mg and paliperidone 6mg, with psychotic symptoms remission after a week.

This case presents the characteristics of menstrual psychosis. This is a rare condition, with only 30 reported cases worldwide. According to current classification systems, this condition fulfills diagnostic criteria for brief psychotic disorder. Nonetheless, studying in more detail this disorder could be interesting, with the goal of deepening the knowledge of the neurobiology of psychosis, particularly the effects of estrogen on this disorder.

No significant relationships.

Social dysfunction is a significant feature of schizophrenia leading to deminution of quality of life (QoL).

To explore the correlation between social functioning and quality of life in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The study sample comprised 32 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (24 males and 8 females) recruited from the Clinic for mental disorders “Dr Laza Lazarevic” in Belgrade, with a mean age of 41.28 years (min 24, max 62), assessed by the Social Functioning Scale (SFS) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF).

There were two significant quasi-canonical positive correlations between social functioning and QoL (1: f-test=16.4, p=.001; 2: f-test=23, p=0.0001.) The first structure is formed through the set of SFS subscales- Recreation, Independence-performance and Independence-competence and set of QoL subscales- Mental health, Physical health, Environment and General assessment of QoL. The second structure is formed through the set of SFS subscales- Interpersonal functioning and Social engagement/withdrawal and the set of QoL subscales- General assessment of QoL and Environment. Furthermore, the first canonical component indicates a greater overlap of the opposition set by social functioning (23%) which leads to the assumption that the direction of influence goes from social functioning to QoL. Due to the equality of redundancy in the second canonical component, the direction of influence can only be inferred on the basis of the first canonical component.

Social functioning and quality of life are related in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia, and this relationship is based on specific subfactors within those areas.

No significant relationships.

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) can be directly measured and assessed by the cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) or estimated from different field tests as the Modified Shuttle Walking Test (MSWT). The CRF in schizophrenia (SP) population may be altered due to sex, age, body composition and core symptoms variables. However, the extent to which each domain influences CRF in this pathology is still unknown.

To analyze the predictive value of body composition and core symptoms in SP for CRF.

Participants (N = 144, 41.7 ± 10.3 yr old) with SP were assessed with (1) body mass index and fat percentage; (2) upright bicycle ergometer using an incremental ramp protocol and the MSWT; and (3) positive and negative symptoms of the disease [“Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale” (PANSS) and “The Brief Negative Symptom Scale” (BNSS)]. In the Stepwise Multiple Regression analyses, those variables which correlated (Spearman’s Rho) significantly with each CFR scores were included

Lower negative symptoms (P<0.001) and positive PANSS (P=0.035) predicted V̇O2peak (L·min−1) (R2=28.3%). Lower negative symptoms (P<0.001), positive PANSS (P=0.006) and fat body mass (P<0.001) explained V̇O2peak (mL·kg−1·min−1) (R2=46.5%). MSWT was predicted (R2=58.9%) by lower negative symptoms (P=0.001), body mass (P<0.001) and total PANSS (P=0.004).

In patients with SP significantly higher CRF was detected in those with lower negative and positive symptoms, as well as lower body mass. Exercise interventions for improving CRF should be promoting in this population for a better control of core symptoms.

No significant relationships.

Aggression and violent incidents are a major concern in psychiatric inpatient care. Nutritional supplementation was found to reduce aggressive incidents and rule violations in forensic populations and in children with behavioral problems.

To assess whether multivitamin, mineral, and n-3 PUFA supplementation would reduce the number of aggressive incidents among long-stay psychiatric inpatients.

The trial was a pragmatic, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Data were collected from 25 July 2016 through 29 October 2019 at 8 local sites for mental healthcare in the Netherlands and Belgium. Participants were randomized (1:1) to receive either three supplements containing multivitamins, minerals, and n-3 PUFA or placebo for 6 months. The primary outcome was the number of aggressive incidents using the Staff Observation Aggression Scale – Revised (SOAS-R). Secondary outcomes were the patients’ quality of life, affective symptoms, and adverse events.

In total, 176 participants were randomized (supplements, n = 87; placebo, n = 89). Participants were on average 49.3 years old (SD = 14.5), and 64.2% were male. Most patients had a psychotic disorder (60.8%). The primary outcome of SOAS-R incidents was similar in those assigned to supplements (1.03 incidents per month; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.74-1.37) and placebo (0.90; 95% CI: 0.65-1.19), with a rate ratio of 1.08 (95% CI: 0.67-1.74; p = .75). Differential effects were not found in sensitivity analyses on the SOAS-R or on secondary outcomes.

Six months of nutritional supplementation did not reduce aggressive incidents among long-stay psychiatric inpatients.

No significant relationships.

Apart from the psychiatric symptoms, cognitive deficits are also the core symptoms of schizophrenia. Brain network control theory provided information on the role of a specific brain region in the cognitive control process, helping understand the neural mechanism of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.

To characterize the control properties of functional brain network in first-episode untreated patients with schizophrenia and the relationships between controllability and psychiatric symptoms, as well as exploring the predictive value of controllability in differentiating patients from healthy controls (HCs).

Average and modal controllability of brain networks were calculated and compared between 133 first-episode untreated patients with schizophrenia and 135 HCs. The associations between controllability and clinical symptoms were evaluated using sparse canonical correlation analysis. Support vector machine (SVM) and SVM-recursive feature elimination combined with the controllability were performed to establish the individual prediction model.

Compared to HCs, the patients with schizophrenia showed increased average controllability and decreased modal controllability in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Brain controllability predominantly in somatomotor, default mode, and visual networks was associated with the positive symptomatology of schizophrenia. The established model could identify patients with an accuracy of 0.68. Furthermore, the most discriminative features were located in dACC, medial prefrontal lobe, precuneus and superior temporal gyrus.

Altered controllability in dACC may play a critical role in the neuropathological mechanisms of cognitive deficit in schizophrenia, which could drive the brain function to different states to cope with varied cognitive tasks. As symptom-related biomarkers, controllability could be also beneficial to individual prediction in schizophrenia.

No significant relationships.

Stress caused by childhood adversity (CA) is known to contribute to schizophrenia risk and symptoms. Its effects might be mediated by epigenetic mechanisms, specifically DNA methylation (meDNA) within relevant genes, and predominantly influence the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex (PFC). CYP17A1 is a candidate, as it situates within a schizophrenia risk locus and is involved in glucocorticoid synthesis.

To explore meDNA within CYP17A and its relations to hippocampus- and PFC-dependent schizophrenia symptoms: depression and deficits of declarative memory and executive functions.

We assessed meDNA at each CpG within a CYP17A fragment (chr10:104594471-104595887, hg19) in blood of 66 schizophrenia patients using the third-generation sequencing. Immediate memory, depression, cognitive shifting and cognitive inhibition (CI) were assessed with the RAVLT, PANSS, TMT-B and Stroop word-color test, respectively. ANCOVA and regression models adjusted for sex and age were applied to explore the relations between the phenotypes, local haplotype, meDNA and CA, defined as the presence of parental alcoholism or psychiatric illness.

MeDNA at CpG-SNP rs3781286 correlated with CI (corrected p=0.01). However, there were no main or interaction effects of CA either on meDNA at this site or on CI. Both CI and meDNA associated with haplotype, but subsequent analysis showed that meDNA did not mediate the relation between haplotype and CI.

Our findings suggest that CYP17A associates with PFC-dependent cognitive deficits in schizophrenia but did not support the hypothesis that CA plays a role in this association via meDNA or any other mechanism. Grant support: 21-15-00124/Russian Science Foundation https://rscf.ru/project/21-15-00124/.

No significant relationships.

Oxytocin is considered as potential treatment targeting social dysfunctions in psychoses. However, results of clinical trials are inconsistent which may be due to genetic variation in the oxytocin system involved in social information processing.

To examine the effect of the OXTR polymorphism and its interaction with childhood adversity (CA) on facial affect recognition (FAR) in psychotic patients.

Patients with schizophrenic and affective psychotic disorders (n=934) completed a task that required labeling six basic and three social emotions. The polymorphisms rs53576 and rs7632287 within the OXTR locus were genotyped and dichotomized based on prior research. For 65% of the sample, information on CA defined as parental alcoholism or psychiatric illness was collected. The polymorphisms’ role in FAR was assessed using ANCOVAs adjusted for sex, age, and diagnosis.

After Bonferroni correction, there was a significant effect of rs53576, mainly driven by the difference between genotypes in the affective patients. GG-homozygotes recognized emotions better than A-allele carriers. A nominally significant effect in the expected direction was also found for rs7632287. CA influenced FAR but did not interact with any genotype.

The results provide further evidence that OXTR impacts social cognition and behavior in diverse cohorts, including psychotic patients, with rs53576 GG-homozygotes having enhanced social competencies. However, we have failed to confirm that OXTR modulates the relations between CA and FAR in psychosis. The difference in FAR between genotypes was more pronounced in affective patients, which might be due to more severe FAR deficits in schizophrenia.

No significant relationships.

Ever since the end of the 19th century that descriptions of acute and transient psychosis (ATP) have been found in the literature. Psychiatrists from different countries gave different names for these types of episodes, throughout the ages. Those early descriptions were an important part of the development of the concept of acute and transient psychotic disorders (F23: ICD-10).

This review aims to provide historical background of the development of different concepts to describe ATP.

Non-systematic review of literature on acute and transient psychotic disorders, bouffee delirante, brief psychotic disorder, atypical psychosis.

In 1876, K.Westphal introduced the term akute primäre Verruckheit, refering to a sudden paranoia associated with delusion ideas and hallucinations. In 1895, Magnan described Bouffée delirante, characterized by a recorrent, sudden psychosis with polymorphic symptoms. Later (1924), the term cycloid psychosis was introduced by K.Kleist: phasic psychosis with good prognosis. Different concepts appeared throughout history: psychogenic psychosis (Wimmer,1916); atypical psychosis (Mitsuda,1942), holodisfrenia (Barahona,1957). Nowadays, the classification systems include many of these concepts in the same categories: Schizophreniform disorder, Brief psychotic disorder (DSM-5), and ATP (F23 in ICD-10).

All throughout the History of Psychiatry, there was an evolution of concepts associated to ATP. They were strongly influenced by different time epochs. It is important to have context on the historical background of the concepts used in the contemporaneous Psychiatry. Diagnosis is challenging due to their heterogeneous presentation. There are not many studies available, because of ATP’s low diagnostic stability.

No significant relationships.

Clinical relapses in schizophrenia remain a frequent event. Long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics enhance adherence, but low blood levels can sometimes be observed despite an adequate posology. Nonetheless, the evaluation of this parameter is uncommon in clinical practice.

To explore the potential advantages of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of LAIs as a predictor of relapse in clinically stable outpatients with schizophrenia.

44 individuals who had reached the pharmacokinetic steady state of LAI treatment (paliperidone, olanzapine, aripiprazole) underwent an anamnestic and psychopathological assessment. LAI blood levels were measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and classified as “in range” or “under range” according to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Neuropsychopharmakologie und Pharmakopsychiatrie (AGNP) guideline values. Individuals who relapsed during the one-year follow-up were compared to non-relapsers (Fisher’s exact test, χ2 or Mann-Whitney U). An exploratory binary logistic regression tested the role of other possible relevant predictors of relapse.

No differences were observed in baseline use of mood stabilisers (p=0.211), antidepressants (p=0.530), or prescribed LAI (p=0.563). Other comparisons are presented in the table: among these variables, in-range LAI levels were the only significant predictor of relapse (F=5.95, p=0.015; OR 0.04, 95%CI 0.02-0.56).

TDM of LAIs may optimise the clinical management of schizophrenia by highlighting a suboptimal dosage and a consequent higher relapse risk. Large-scale, drug-specific assessments are needed to confirm these findings.

No significant relationships.

People with serious mental illness exhibit higher morbidity and mortality rates of chronic diseases than the general population.

The aim of this study was to establish a dedicated clinic for patients with chronic mental illness to monitor physical health in accordance with best practice guidelines.

Patients were invited to attend the metabolic clinic. The following areas were examined: Personal and family history of cardiovascular disease, diet, exercise, smoking. Mental state examination, waist circumference, BP, pulse, ECG and BMI. Laboratory tests including U+E, LFTs, HbA1c, Lipid profile and other tests as appropriate such as serum lithium. AIMS scale, HoNOS and WHOQOL-BREF scales as additional indicators of global health.

A total of 80 patients attended during 3.5 years of clinic. Mean age was 54.9 years (SD:13.81) at first contact and 45% were females. Mean years in the service was 19.66 (SD:11.54) and mean number of previous hospital admissions was 4.4 (SD:5.63). Metabolic syndrome was present in 42% at first assessment and 20% had at least one new physical abnormality identified during the clinic. A statistically significant difference was found for the psychological domain of the WHOQOL-BREF and the HoNOs particularly at third assessment. (β=4.64, Wald x2=7.38, df:1, p=0.007, CI:1.3-8.1, β=-.889, Wald x2=4.08, df:1, p=0.043, CI: -1.752 to-.026) respectively.

The results show a high prevalence of physical health conditions in this cohort, some of which represent a new diagnosis. This implicates better allocation of existing resources for screening and early detection, and potential to run joint clinics with primary care.

No significant relationships.

Theory of Mind is the ability to attribute mental states to others. Investigations have distinguished implicit and explicit forms of ToM. It is known, that patients with schizoprenia have deficits in their explicit ToM, and they also show altered brain activations during examining explicit ToM.

In this study our aim was to investigate the underlying neural substrates of implicit ToM in patients with schizophrenia with fMRI.

Seven healthy subjects and two patients with first episode schizophrenia were involved. We used: false belief condition and control condition. All movies consisted of a belief formation phase and an outcome phase. The belief formation phase started with an agent placing a ball on a table in front of an occluder. Then the ball rolled behind the occluder. The movies could continue in different ways leading to a true or false belief. At the end of each movie, the agent reentered the scene and the occluder was lowered. In the outcome phase the ball was either present or absent behind the occluder. The control conditions started with a ball rolled behind the occluder on a table ended up with two different ways as the ball was either present or absent behind the occluder. There was no agent in the control movies.

We found that healthy subjects activated significantly stronger the left lingual gyrus as well as the right temporoparietal junction.

Our findings suggest deficits in implicit ToM in schizophrenia and our findings also might help to clarify the underlying neural substrates of implicit ToM.

This research project was supported by the KTIA-13-NAP-A-II/12 (2018–2022) and the Hungarian National Excellence Centrum Grant 2018–2019.

Surrey and Borders NHS Foundation Trust’s AVATr (Augmented Virtual-reality Avatar in Training) is a unique ground-breaking Virtual Patient simulation system, which uses the Xenodu platform to train learners in essential clinical and complex communication skills. Over 30 patient scenarios have been developed after identifying learner-specific development needs, including exploration of overt psychosis, assessment of capacity, sharing bad news, and neglect in care home residents.

During the session, the trainee is projected on to a large screen, using a camera and video special effects, which results in a life-like interaction with the Virtual Patient. Trainees can view themselves interacting with the Virtual Patient in real-time, from a unique ’out-of-body’ perspective, immersed in a customdesigned interactive virtual environment. This is different to a first-person perspective used in virtual or augmented-reality systems in several clinical specialties. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we evolved the AVATr model to remote or hybrid sessions, where simulations were digitally enhanced, and have been run through Microsoft Teams. The simulation facilitator is connected to a multi-user video call, enabling the Virtual Patient to be projected as an attendee using Microsoft Teams.

To evaluate the feedback from Doctors in training taking part on the education sessions.

We collected qualitiative and quanttaive infromation from participants after the teaching session.

We received strongly positive reults in all parameters measured. the presenters will show a detailed breakdoen in the session.

The digitalised delivery of the virtual patient simulation, has been pivotal in limiting interruptions to communication skills training in mental health.

The NHS trust has co produced the simulation platform with a private software firm Xenadu Virtual Environments

There is increased migration of patients and physicians worldwide. In Norway, psychiatry is the medical discipline with highest proportion of foreign doctors (24%). We need empirical studies on transcultural clinical challenges among doctors training in psychiatry.

What perceived clinical challenges do foreign and native Norwegian young doctors meet when they treat patients from another culture, and what independent factors are associated with such challenges?

We developed a new 6-item instrument (alpha=0.80), Clinical Transcultural Challenges (CTC), with items about assessing psychosis, risk of suicide, violence etc. The doctors were recruited at mandatory training courses, and they filled in questionnaires about individual factors (age, gender, foreign/native) and work-related factors (training stage, frequency of transcultural meetings, number of working hours, work stress). Associations with CTC were analyzed by linear multiple regression.

The response rate was 93% (216/233), of whom 83% were native and 17% were foreign doctors, 68% were women. Native doctors reported higher levels of CTC than did foreign doctors, 28.8 (6.2) vs 23.8 (7.2), p<0.001, d=0.73. Both native and foreign doctors rated “assessing psychosis” and “lack of helping tools” as most demanding. Independent factors associated with CTC were being a native doctor, Beta 3.9, p<0.01, and high levels of work-home stress, Beta 0.29, p<0.05.

Native doctors training in psychiatry report higher levels of transcultural clinical challenges than foreign doctors do. Both groups of doctors may need more training in transcultural assessment of psychotic disorders. They also report needs for more helping tools, and we should explore this further.

No significant relationships.

As a reaction to growing number of COVID-19 cases in Quebec, the government issued a lockdown to prevent further spread of the virus in March 2020. The novelty of the imposed restrictions warranted an assessment of adult coping and potential effects on anxiety and depressive symptoms.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate methods of coping employed during Quebec’s lockdown and their potential ramifications on anxiety and depressive symptoms post-lockdown in Quebec.

In a retrospective longitudinal design, two-hundred and twenty-three (n = 223) adults (65.5% female; 34.5% male) completed the study online. They were asked to fill out several questionnaires and provide demographic information.

Analysis revealed significant improvement in anxiety symptoms post-lockdown relative to during lockdown across the entire sample. Depressive symptoms also improved significantly across the sample, but the difference was less pronounced among 18–34-year-olds than those 35 and above. Male adults aged 18-34 utilized maladaptive coping strategies to the greatest extent. Moreover, maladaptive coping was significantly associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms and predicted depressive symptoms post-lockdown. Further investigation revealed that young adult males differed from females in their use of substances and self-blame to cope.

Overall, the data suggest that the lockdown adversely affected anxiety and depressive symptoms among the general population. Furthermore, young adults, particularly males, were most susceptible to depressive symptomatology due in part to their methods of coping with the novel context. A follow-up study is warranted. Future studies should also seek to recruit individuals whose self-identified gender is non-traditional (e.g., non-binary).

No significant relationships.

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently need support due to the elevated prevalence of psychiatric and medical comorbidities. The Covid-19 outbreak has severely affected the routinary functioning of healthcare services, thus causing severe consequences for autistic people and their caregivers, an already fragile population prone to mental health diseases.

1. To compare the levels of psychological well-being, insomnia, and family distress perceived by caregivers of autistic people to those perceived by caregivers of people with other types of disability. 2. To evaluate predictors of individual and family distress reported by caregivers of autistic individuals.

We collected data through a cross-sectional web-based observational study from April 19 to May 3, 2020. Socio-demographic information were collected, and psychopathological variables were assessed using the General Health Questionnaire-12, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Brief Resilient Coping Scale, and the Family Distress Index.

No significant differences emerged between the two groups of caregivers in terms of well-being, sleep quality, family distress, and level of resilience. The risk of individual distress during the pandemic was higher in people caring for younger autistic people. Lower levels of resilience predicted higher levels of individual distress among caregivers of autistic people.

Our study confirmed that caregivers’ mental health is worthy of attention and that people with disabilities may benefit for well-organized healthcare support networks (e.g. in-home services). The non-significant differences found between caregivers of ASD and non-ASD individuals may be related to the severe distress that Covid pandemic caused on the entire population.

No significant relationships.

The ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has made a serious public threat worldwide. The first case in the Republic Croatia was reported on 25th February 2020 and the first case in Psychiatric hospital Ugljan was diagnosed on 3rd December 2020. To maximize protection and prevent spreading to other patients, COVID-infected-individuals were isolated. This poster will describe treatment outcomes of COVID 19 in Psychiatric hospital Ugljan.

This rapid review summarizes outcomes of COVID-19 infected psychiatric patients with mild disease severity to provide synthesized evidence to support policy decision making.

PubMed, Medline, PsychINFO were systematically searched from January 2021 for COVID-19, with studies describing epidemiology, treatment and outcomes in various long-term care facilities. Studies were excluded if they did not report clinical evidence.

In the time of COVID-19 breakthrough in psychiatric hospital, in December 2020 328 patients were hospitalized of whom 44 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection: of 307 hospitalized patients in January 2021 36 tested positive for SARS CoV-2. By that time, there were no treatment options available, so we focused on repurposing efficacy of the currently used drugs. Five patients needed admission to ICU, we reported one death from coronavirus disease 2019 in that period.

The COViD-19 pandemic has highlighted extreme vulnerability of psychiatric patients who reside in long-term care psychiatric hospitals and there is an urgent need for evidence-based policy that can protect adequately psychiatric patients.

No significant relationships.

Vulnerable groups like patients suffering from alcohol use disorders (AUD) are expected to be particularly affected by the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a prior study (N=127), we found that psychosocial COVID-19 factors and living alone elevated the probability for relapse during the initial stage of the pandemic, whereas long-term effects on mental health have yet to be investigated.

Here we aimed to investigate the risk of PTSD, as well as levels and developments in depression, anxiety and stress symptomatology as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic among patients with AUD.

Data was collected from a clinical sample of patients with AUD (N=136) in late 2020 and early 2021. PTSD symptoms due to the pandemic were assessed using an adapted version of the impact of event scale (IES-R). Levels in clinical symptoms were collected on the depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS-21), and changes since the onset of the pandemic were assessed additionally.

The high-risk PTSD-group showed higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress, and reported more severe deteriorations in these symptoms, when compared to the low-risk group. A binary logistic regression model revealed psychological and social aspects of the pandemic to increase the probability for PTSD, whereas sociodemographic and other COVID-19 related factors showed no significant effects.

About 30% of patients with AUD indicated an elevated risk of PTSD due to the pandemic, as well as deteriorations in levels of depression, anxiety and stress. These concerning findings should be especially considered in current and future treatment settings.

No significant relationships.