Patients with affective disorders are at high risk of suicide, especially during inpatient treatment and during the first year after discharge.

A blinded case-control design was used. The study included a total national sample of patients with affective disorder admitted during the period from January 1, 1994 to December 31, 1995, who died because of suicide, either during admission or shortly after discharge.

A history of suicide attempt was a significant risk factor (IRR 4.9; 95% CI 2.1–11.6). Loss of job during the year prior to the index admission was associated with an increase in suicide risk (IRR: 2.9; 95% CI 1.2–7.5). Clinical improvement during the index admission (IRR: 0.3; 95% CI 0.1–0.7), and treatment with antidepressant drugs at the censoring date (IRR: 0.3; 95% CI 0.1–0.7) were associated with a decrease in suicide risk.

Improved treatment may be a key factor in suicide prevention in patients during, and shortly after hospitalisation with affective disorders. Also, there is a need to be especially aware of suicide risk in patients with little or no improvement at discharge.

Childhood trauma and aggressive traits are considered risk factors for suicidal behavior. The hypothesis we aimed to test in this study was the existence of an association between childhood trauma and aggression in two distinct samples of Italian and French suicide attempters.

Study participants comprise 587 subjects with different psychiatric diagnoses according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. Three different samples were analyzed and compared: a group of French suicide attempters (N = 396; mean age 40.47 SD = 13.52; M/F: 110/286); a group of Italian suicide attempters (N = 103; mean age 38.60 SD = 12.04; M/F 27/76) and an Italian psychiatric comparison group (N = 88; mean age: 41.49 SD = 12.05; M/F; 37/51). Patients were interviewed with the Brown–Goodwin Assessment for Lifetime History of Aggression (BGLHA) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) 34-items for Italian data and 28-items for French data.

When compared with the comparison group, Italian suicide attempters had significantly higher scores on the BGLHA scale and reported higher scores on the CTQ scores for physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse. Significant correlations between childhood trauma and aggression were found in both groups, Italian and French, of suicide attempters.

The hypothesis tested was supported as psychiatric patients who had attempted suicide reported significantly more childhood trauma and aggression. Significant correlations were found between aggressive behavior, and childhood trauma in suicidal patients. This finding was replicated in two independently recruited samples in two countries with different prevalence of suicidal behavior.

Higher incidence of mental illnesses and less access to care is previously reported concerning migrants but few studies focus on the needs and care of migrant groups in psychiatry. The aim of this study was to compare differences in needs and care between migrant and nonmigrant groups of severely and persistently mentally ill (SMI) after the 1995 Swedish mental health care reform.

In a Swedish area, inventories were made in 2001 and 2006 of persons considered as SMI. These persons were interviewed and their needs were assessed. In a cross-sectional study in 2006, needs and care were compared between migrants and nonmigrants. In a longitudinal study, migrants and nonmigrants interviewed in both 2001 and 2006 were compared concerning the development of needs and care.

The needs of the migrant group were less taken care of. In 2006, there were more unmet needs in this group concerning accommodation, physical health, psychological distress, basic education and economy.

The improvement of groups considered as SMI concerning functional disability and efforts of care found in the actual area did not seem to include the migrant group, at least not to the same degree.

Fyn tyrosine kinase is a member of the Scr family that phosphorylates the NR2A and NR2B subunits of the NMDA receptors reducing the inhibitory effects of ethanol and therefore may regulate the individual sensitivity to ethanol.

To investigate whether there is any relationship between the polymorphism at position −93 of the Fyn kinase gene and the susceptibility to develop alcoholism.

We studied the distribution of genotypes and alleles of the polymorphism −93A/G (137346 T/C) in the 5′ UTR region of the fyn gene in 207 male heavy drinkers (119 with alcohol dependence and 88 with alcohol abuse) and 100 control subjects from Castilla y León (Spain).

The frequency of G allele carriers was higher in alcohol dependents than in alcohol abusers (47.9% vs 30.6%; p = 0.015; OR = 2.077; 95% CI 1.165–3.704).

Our results show that the −93G allele of Fyn kinase gene is associated with higher risk to develop alcohol dependence in Spanish men.

The effect of minor orthopaedic day surgery (MiODS) on patient’s mood.

A prospective population-based cohort study of 148 consecutive patients with age above 18 and less than 65, an American Society of Anaesthesiology (ASA) score of 1, and the requirement of general anaesthesia (GA) were included. The Medical Outcomes Study – Short Form 36 (SF-36), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used pre- and post-operatively.

The mean physical component score of SF-36 before surgery was 45.3 (SD = ±10.1) and 8 weeks following surgery was 44.9 (SD = ±11.04) [n = 148, p = 0.51, 95% CI = (−1.03 to 1.52)]. For the measurement of the changes in mood using BDI, BAI and SF-36, latent construct modelling was employed to increase validity. The covariance between mood pre- and post-operatively (cov = 69.44) corresponded to a correlation coefficient, r = 0.88 indicating that patients suffering a greater number of mood symptoms before surgery continue to have a greater number of symptoms following surgery. When the latent mood constructs were permitted to have different means the model fitted well with χ2 (df = 1) = 0.86 for which p = 0.77, thus the null hypothesis that MiODS has no effect on patient mood was rejected.

MiODS affects patient mood which deteriorates at 8 weeks post-operatively regardless of the pre-operative patient mood state. More importantly patients suffering a greater number of mood symptoms before MiODS continue to have a greater number of symptoms following surgery.

To illustrate the development of the interface between general and forensic mental health services in Victoria, Australia.

Developing effective cooperation between the general and forensic mental health services requires overcoming a number of barriers. The attitude of general services that antisocial behaviour was none of their business was tackled through ongoing workshops and education days over several years. The resistance to providing care to those disabled by severe personality disorders or substance abuse was reduced by presenting and promoting models of care developed in forensic community and inpatient services which prioritised these areas. The reluctance of general services to accept offenders was reduced by involving general services in court liaison clinics and in prisoner release plans. Cooperation was enhanced by the provision of risk assessments, the sharing of responsibility for troublesome patients, and a problem behaviours clinic to support general services in coping with stalkers, sex offenders and threateners.

Active engagement with general services was promoted at the level of providing education, specialised assessments and a referral source for difficult patients. This generated a positive interface between forensic and general mental health services, which improved the quality of care delivered to mentally abnormal offenders.

Depression after childbirth is a major problem affecting 10–22% of all mothers. In Italy, postnatal depression has not yet been systematically studied.

In this retrospective study we have sought to identify risk factors, assessed during pregnancy, and their importance for postnatal depression symptoms in a sample of 297 Italian women attending ante-natal classes organised by the local Consultorio Familiare Unit of the National Health Service, Italy. The Postpartum Depression Predictors Inventory – revised form (PDPI-Revised), was used to identify risk factors, 8–9 month of pregnancy. A double-test strategy using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12), was administered to screen women with a higher occurrence of symptoms of postnatal depression six–eight weeks after delivery. Women with high EPDS (<8) and high GHQ12 (<3) scores were compared with those who had scored below the EPDS and/or GHQ12 threshold scores.

We found that 13% of the women studied showed high postnatal depressive symptomatology, which is very similar to rates of prevalence of postnatal depression in the first year after the birth of the child reported in other Western World studies. Feeling anxious during pregnancy is a strong predictor of high symptoms of depression at 6–8 weeks after delivery. However, University education and friends' support appear to be important protective factors.

These findings could be useful both for Italian health professionals and for researchers interested in the transcultural aspects of postnatal depression.

There is a growing concern about satisfaction with inpatient psychiatric services. There are currently numerous satisfaction instruments available to psychiatric inpatients, but little guidance on which among them to select.

To provide an overview of the psychometric properties and the content of satisfaction instruments available to psychiatric inpatients.

Systematic searches of Medline database to identify inpatient satisfaction questionnaires. Assessment of the instruments according to relevant psychometric properties.

Fifteen satisfaction instruments were identified. The target population differed according to the instrument. Methods used to generate items were heterogeneous. These instruments were based on a mixed approach including patients’ points of view, expert opinions, and literature reviews, causing the content of questionnaires to vary. Reliability and validity were not systematically tested.

The validation of a common inpatient satisfaction instrument is a major challenge. Recommendations for the future development of satisfaction instruments may include: item generation based exclusively on the patient's point of view; a validation process on a large and representative population; and an instrument combining generic (core questionnaire) and specific (additional modules) approaches.

The consistent association between therapeutic alliance and outcome underlines the importance of identifying factors which predict the development of a positive alliance. However, only few studies have examined the association between pretreatment characteristics and alliance formation in patients with schizophrenia.

The study examined whether symptoms and insight would predict the therapeutic alliance in psychotherapy of schizophrenia. Further, the associations and differences between patient and therapist alliance ratings were studied.

Eighty patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders received manual-based psychotherapy. Assessment of symptoms and insight was conducted at baseline, and questionnaire-based alliance ratings were obtained three weeks into treatment. Patient and therapist alliance ratings were examined separately.

Patient and therapist alliance ratings were not significantly correlated (r = 0.17). Patient ratings of the alliance were significantly higher than the ratings of their therapists (d = 0.73). More insight in psychosis significantly predicted higher patient ratings of the alliance. Less positive and negative symptoms were significant predictors of higher therapist alliance ratings.

The findings indicate that symptoms and insight have an influence on the therapeutic alliance in the treatment of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Patients' and therapists' perceptions of the alliance do not seem to demonstrate much convergence.

Over the past 40 years, a marked deinstitutionalisation in favour of social and community psychiatry has taken place in many countries. During this same period of time, there has been an increase in the number of mentally ill criminals. The purpose of this study is to analyse the correlations between the reorganization of the psychiatric treatment system, the growing number of forensic patients and the increase in serious crime, homicide, arson and violence associated with the mentally ill.

Using registers and other data sources, we estimated the annual positive or negative growth rate of consumed psychiatric beds and in social and community psychiatry (explanatory variables) and in prevalence and incidence of forensic patients, homicide, arson and violence (response variables) from 1980 to 1997 for each of the Danish counties. We analysed the immediate effect of the changing treatment structure by relating response variables to explanatory variables. The long-term effect was analysed in the form of between county analysis with both single and multiple regressions.

Bed closure had no immediate effect on either the number of forensic patients or serious criminality. The between county analysis shows, however, that over time the (negative) growth rate in number of consumed beds is significantly correlated with the (positive) growth rates for forensic patients, homicide and arson. Social and community psychiatry have little effect, if any.

The study is based on historical data, but the results are still valid. We have used two sets of data firstly the number of forensic patients and, secondly the reported number of crimes associated with the mentally ill. The uniformity of the results leads us to consider them for certain: That the decreasing effort invested in inpatient treatment is causing an increase in the crime rate among the mentally ill.

Many forensic patients suffer from schizophrenia. These patients are not only offenders, but also the victims of an inadequate treatment system. Modern inpatient treatment facilities should be established.

Adolescents in residential care are a high-risk population for psychiatric disorders. Due to limited access to outpatient treatment, crises often result in psychiatric hospitalizations. These crises are often accompanied by termination of supportive relationships, which increases the risk for further problems. To minimize hospitalizations and to stabilize the psychological state of these adolescents, we developed and evaluated a home-treatment intervention program based on psychiatric liaison-services and compared it to standard medical care (SMC).

The intervention was applied in 11 German residential group homes (N = 288, M = 14.1 years, SD = 2.7), while adolescents from 15 institutions (N = 336, M = 13.6 years, SD = 3.0) served as a comparison group (CG) (SMC). The frequency and duration of psychiatric inpatient treatment episodes were documented and caregiver-reported behavioural symptoms were assessed at baseline and at 6 and 12 months postintervention.

In both groups, less than 10% of the adolescents were admitted to psychiatric wards. Compared to SMC, hospitalizations were of shorter duration in the intervention group (IG) (1.30 vs 2.47 days per head within 12 months, p < .001). In both groups, behavioural problems decreased overtime.

Applying a home-treatment intervention program to children in residential care helps to stabilize the developmental course of this high-risk population by shortening psychiatric inpatient treatment.

As executive dysfunctions frequently accompany alcohol dependence, we suggest that reports of executive dysfunction in alcoholics are actually due, in some case to a maternal history of alcohol misuse (MHA+). A history of maternal alcohol dependence increases the risk for prenatal alcohol exposure to unborn children. These exposures likely contribute to executive dysfunction in adult alcoholics. To assess this problem, we propose a case-comparison study of alcohol-dependent subjects with and without a MHA.

Ten alcohol-dependent subjects, with a maternal history of alcoholism (MHA) and paternal history of alcoholism (PHA), were matched with 10 alcohol-dependent people with only a paternal history of alcoholism (PHA). Executive functions (cancellation, Stroop, and trail-making A and B tests) and the presence of a history of three mental disorders (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, violent behavior while intoxicated, and suicidal behavior) were evaluated in both populations.

Alcohol-dependent subjects with MHA showed a significant alteration in executive functions and significantly more disorders related to these functions than PHA subjects. The major measures of executive functioning deficit are duration on task accomplishment in all tests. Rates of ADHD and suicidality were found to be higher in MHA patients compared to the controls.

A history of MHA, because of the high risk of PAE (in spite of the potential confounding factors such as environment) must be scrupulously documented when evaluating mental and cognitive disorders in a general population of alcoholics to ensure a better identification of these disorders. It would be helpful to replicate the study with more subjects.