Evidence suggests that autism and schizophrenia share similarities in genetic, neuropsychological and behavioural aspects. Although both disorders are associated with theory of mind (ToM) impairments, a few studies have directly compared ToM between autism patients and schizophrenia patients. This study aimed to investigate to what extent high-functioning autism patients and schizophrenia patients share and differ in ToM performance.

Thirty high-functioning autism patients, 30 schizophrenia patients and 30 healthy individuals were recruited. Participants were matched in age, gender and estimated intelligence quotient. The verbal-based Faux Pas Task and the visual-based Yoni Task were utilised to examine first- and higher-order, affective and cognitive ToM. The task/item difficulty of two paradigms was examined using mixed model analyses of variance (ANOVAs). Multiple ANOVAs and mixed model ANOVAs were used to examine group differences in ToM.

The Faux Pas Task was more difficult than the Yoni Task. High-functioning autism patients showed more severely impaired verbal-based ToM in the Faux Pas Task, but shared similar visual-based ToM impairments in the Yoni Task with schizophrenia patients.

The findings that individuals with high-functioning autism shared similar but more severe impairments in verbal ToM than individuals with schizophrenia support the autism–schizophrenia continuum. The finding that verbal-based but not visual-based ToM was more impaired in high-functioning autism patients than schizophrenia patients could be attributable to the varied task/item difficulty between the two paradigms.

While risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) is correlated in twins, siblings and parent-offspring pairs, we know little of how this syndrome is transmitted across three generations.

We examined 685 172 individuals born in Sweden from 1980 to 1990 with four grandparents, and both parents alive in 1980. AUD was assessed in all these individuals from nationwide medical, criminal and pharmacy registries.

AUD was stably transmitted across three generations. Parent-child and grandparent-grandchild tetrachoric correlations equaled +0.25 and +0.12, respectively. Grandchild AUD risk did not vary as a function of the sex of the parent or grandparent. However, from grandparents and parents, transmission to grandchildren was stronger in same-sex than opposite-sex pairs. Compared with a grandchild with unaffected parents and grandparents, risk for AUD with a grandparent but no parent affected, a parent but no grandparent affected or both affected increased approximately 70% and 3 and 4-fold, respectively. Grandchildren with ⩾2 grandparents affected had a 40% greater AUD risk than those with only one affected. Tetrachoric correlations for AUD between offspring and great-aunts/uncles, and aunts/uncles equaled +0.06 and +0.13, respectively.

The transmission of AUD in Sweden across three generations is relatively stable. An orderly pattern of resemblance is seen with correlations declining by approximately 50% between first and second, and second and third-degree relatives. While the transmission of risk from affected male and female relatives does not differ, we find consistent evidence for greater resemblance in same-sex v. opposite-sex across generational pairs of relatives.

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder associated with disrupted connectivity within the thalamic-cortico-cerebellar network. Resting-state functional connectivity studies have reported thalamic hypoconnectivity with the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex as well as thalamic hyperconnectivity with sensory cortical regions in SZ patients compared with healthy comparison participants (HCs). However, fundamental questions remain regarding the clinical significance of these connectivity abnormalities.

Resting state seed-based functional connectivity was used to investigate thalamus to whole brain connectivity using multi-site data including 183 SZ patients and 178 matched HCs. Statistical significance was based on a voxel-level FWE-corrected height threshold of p < 0.001. The relationships between positive and negative symptoms of SZ and regions of the brain demonstrating group differences in thalamic connectivity were examined.

HC and SZ participants both demonstrated widespread positive connectivity between the thalamus and cortical regions. Compared with HCs, SZ patients had reduced thalamic connectivity with bilateral cerebellum and anterior cingulate cortex. In contrast, SZ patients had greater thalamic connectivity with multiple sensory-motor regions, including bilateral pre- and post-central gyrus, middle/inferior occipital gyrus, and middle/superior temporal gyrus. Thalamus to middle temporal gyrus connectivity was positively correlated with hallucinations and delusions, while thalamus to cerebellar connectivity was negatively correlated with delusions and bizarre behavior.

Thalamic hyperconnectivity with sensory regions and hypoconnectivity with cerebellar regions in combination with their relationship to clinical features of SZ suggest that thalamic dysconnectivity may be a core neurobiological feature of SZ that underpins positive symptoms.

Literature has shown that obesity, metabolic syndrome and inflammation are associated with depression, however, evidence suggests that these associations are specific to atypical depression. Which of the atypical symptoms are driving associations with obesity-related outcomes and inflammation is unknown. We evaluated associations between individual symptoms of depression (both atypical and non-atypical) and body mass index (BMI), metabolic syndrome components and inflammatory markers.

We included 808 persons with a current diagnosis of depression participating in the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety (67% female, mean age 41.6 years). Depressive symptoms were derived from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology. Univariable and multivariable regression analyses adjusting for sex, age, educational level, depression severity, current smoking, physical activity, anti-inflammatory medication use, and statin use were performed.

Increased appetite was positively associated with BMI, number of metabolic syndrome components, waist circumference, C-reactive protein and tumor necrosis factor-α. Decreased appetite was negatively associated with BMI and waist circumference. Psychomotor retardation was positively associated with BMI, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides, and insomnia with number of metabolic syndrome components.

Increased appetite – in the context of a depressive episode – was the only symptom that was associated with both metabolic as well as inflammatory markers, and could be a key feature of an immuno-metabolic form of depression. This immuno-metabolic depression should be considered in clinical trials evaluating effectiveness of compounds targeting metabolic and inflammatory pathways or lifestyle interventions.

Being bullied by a sibling has been recently identified as a potential risk factor for developing depression and self-harm. It is unknown whether this risk extends to other serious mental health problems such as psychosis. We investigated whether sibling bullying victimization or perpetration in middle childhood was prospectively associated with psychotic disorder in early adulthood.

The current study investigated 6988 participants of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a UK community-based birth cohort. Sibling bullying was reported at 12 years and psychotic disorder was assessed via a semi-structured interview at 18 years.

Involvement in sibling bullying was associated with psychotic disorder in a dose-response fashion, even after controlling for a range of confounders. Those involved several times a week were 2–3 times more likely to meet criteria for a psychotic disorder [odds ratio (OR); 95% confidence interval (CI)]: victimization (OR 2.74; CI 1.28–5.87); perpetration (OR 3.16; CI 1.35–7.41). Categorical analysis indicated that particularly victims (OR 3.10; CI 1.48–6.50) and bully-victims (OR 2.66; CI 1.24–5.69) were at increased risk of psychotic disorder. Involvement in both sibling and peer bullying had a dose-effect relationship with a psychotic disorder, with those victimized in both contexts having more than four times the odds for a psychotic disorder (OR 4.57; CI 1.73–12.07).

Parents and health professionals should be aware of the adverse long-term effects of sibling bullying.

Cardiovascular fitness in late adolescence is associated with future risk of depression. Relationships with other mental disorders need elucidation. This study investigated whether fitness in late adolescence is associated with future risk of serious non-affective mental disorders. Further, we examined how having an affected brother might impact the relationship.

Prospective, population-based cohort study of 1 109 786 Swedish male conscripts with no history of mental illness, who underwent conscription examinations at age 18 between 1968 and 2005. Cardiovascular fitness was objectively measured at conscription using a bicycle ergometer test. During the follow-up (3–42 years), incident cases of serious non-affective mental disorders (schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like disorders, other psychotic disorders and neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders) were identified through the Swedish National Hospital Discharge Register. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the influence of cardiovascular fitness at conscription and risk of serious non-affective mental disorders later in life.

Low fitness was associated with increased risk for schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like disorders [hazard ratio (HR) 1.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29–1.61], other psychotic disorders (HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.27–1.56), and neurotic or stress-related and somatoform disorders (HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.37–1.54). Relationships persisted in models that included illness in brothers.

Lower fitness in late adolescent males is associated with increased risk of serious non-affective mental disorders in adulthood.

The duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) has been widely studied. However, for individuals with attenuated psychosis syndrome (APS), it is unclear whether the duration of untreated prodromal symptoms (DUPrS) also has a negative effect on the progression of psychosis. Our aim was to identify demographic and clinical factors contributing to the DUPrS in a large sample of individuals with APS, and to evaluate the association between DUPrS and the conversion to psychosis.

A sample of 391 individuals with APS, who were identified through a structured interview for prodromal syndromes, were included in this study, of whom a total of 334 patients had completed at least a 1-year clinical follow-up. A total of 57 individuals had converted to psychosis.

The average DUPrS was 4.8 months for the whole sample. Individuals with a longer DUPrS were likely to be men, non-local residents, with abnormal thought symptoms, a higher severity level of negative symptoms, the lower severity level of general symptoms, and lower level of general function before the onset of attenuated positive symptoms. A DUPrS of less than 2 months, or more than 6 months, lowered the risk for conversion to psychosis.

Our data suggested that the association between the DUPrS and outcome in individuals with APS were likely to be different, which is either long or short DUPrS was not related to future psychosis onset. Individuals with APS were more likely to have a group of features associated with a longer DUPrS.

Schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD) are heritable, polygenic disorders with shared clinical and genetic components, suggesting a psychosis continuum. Cannabis use is a well-documented environmental risk factor in psychotic disorders. In the current study, we investigated the relationship between SZ genetic load and cannabis use before illness onset in SZ and BD spectrums. Since frequent early cannabis use (age <18 years) is believed to increase the risk of developing psychosis more than later use, follow-up analyses were conducted comparing early use to later use and no use.

We assigned a SZ-polygenic risk score (PGRS) to each individual in our independent sample (N = 381 SZ spectrum cases, 220 BD spectrum cases and 415 healthy controls), calculated from the results of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) SZ case–control study (N = 81 535). SZ-PGRS in patients who used cannabis weekly to daily in the period before first illness episode was compared with that of those who never or infrequently used cannabis.

Patients with weekly to daily cannabis use before illness onset had the highest SZ-PGRS (p = 0.02, Cohen's d = 0.33). The largest difference was found between patients with daily or weekly cannabis use before illness onset <18 years of age and patients with no or infrequent use of cannabis (p = 0.003, Cohen's d = 0.42).

Our study supports an association between high SZ-PGRS and frequent cannabis use before illness onset in psychosis continuum disorders.

Acting on harmful command hallucinations is a major clinical concern. Our COMMAND CBT trial approximately halved the rate of harmful compliance (OR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.23–0.88, p = 0.021). The focus of the therapy was a single mechanism, the power dimension of voice appraisal, was also significantly reduced. We hypothesised that voice power differential (between voice and voice hearer) was the mediator of the treatment effect.

The trial sample (n = 197) was used. A logistic regression model predicting 18-month compliance was used to identify predictors, and an exploratory principal component analysis (PCA) of baseline variables used as potential predictors (confounders) in their own right. Stata's paramed command used to obtain estimates of the direct, indirect and total effects of treatment.

Voice omnipotence was the best predictor although the PCA identified a highly predictive cognitive-affective dimension comprising: voices’ power, childhood trauma, depression and self-harm. In the mediation analysis, the indirect effect of treatment was fully explained by its effect on the hypothesised mediator: voice power differential.

Voice power and treatment allocation were the best predictors of harmful compliance up to 18 months; post-treatment, voice power differential measured at nine months was the mediator of the effect of treatment on compliance at 18 months.

Investigations of drinking behavior across military deployment cycles are scarce, and few prospective studies have examined risk factors for post-deployment alcohol misuse.

Prevalence of alcohol misuse was estimated among 4645 US Army soldiers who participated in a longitudinal survey. Assessment occurred 1–2 months before soldiers deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 (T0), upon their return to the USA (T1), 3 months later (T2), and 9 months later (T3). Weights-adjusted logistic regression was used to evaluate associations of hypothesized risk factors with post-deployment incidence and persistence of heavy drinking (HD) (consuming 5 + alcoholic drinks at least 1–2×/week) and alcohol or substance use disorder (AUD/SUD).

Prevalence of past-month HD at T0, T2, and T3 was 23.3% (s.e. = 0.7%), 26.1% (s.e. = 0.8%), and 22.3% (s.e. = 0.7%); corresponding estimates for any binge drinking (BD) were 52.5% (s.e. = 1.0%), 52.5% (s.e. = 1.0%), and 41.3% (s.e. = 0.9%). Greater personal life stress during deployment (e.g., relationship, family, or financial problems) – but not combat stress – was associated with new onset of HD at T2 [per standard score increase: adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.20, 95% CI 1.06–1.35, p = 0.003]; incidence of AUD/SUD at T2 (AOR = 1.54, 95% CI 1.25–1.89, p < 0.0005); and persistence of AUD/SUD at T2 and T3 (AOR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.08–1.56, p = 0.005). Any BD pre-deployment was associated with post-deployment onset of HD (AOR = 3.21, 95% CI 2.57–4.02, p < 0.0005) and AUD/SUD (AOR = 1.85, 95% CI 1.27–2.70, p = 0.001).

Alcohol misuse is common during the months preceding and following deployment. Timely intervention aimed at alleviating/managing personal stressors or curbing risky drinking might reduce risk of alcohol-related problems post-deployment.

Scholars continue to argue about whether bipolar disorders (BD) and unipolar depression (UD) are distinguishable with regard to neurocognitive function. This study aims to explore the cognitive profiles of UD and BD by applying the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Affective Disorders (BAC-A) for neuropsychological assessment.

This cross-sectional study included 68 patients with UD, 67 patients with BD, and 135 healthy control subjects. We evaluated the participants’ cognitive functions at euthymic status using the BAC-A, which is made up of six traditional cognitive subtests and the Affective Processing Test. We then used a discriminant function analysis (DFA) to determine whether cognitive performance can be used to distinguish these participant groups.

Healthy controls demonstrated better performance in all subtests of the BAC-A than both the UD and BD patients, with the exception of delayed recognition of affective interference. Compared with the BD group, the UD group exhibited better performance in working memory and emotion inhibition. Furthermore, using all BAC-A indexes, a total of 70% of participants could be correctly classified using a DFA model, and the discriminating validity between UD and BD was superior to using either the traditional cognitive domains or the Affective Processing Test alone.

We have found that UD patients may exhibit an intermediate performance between healthy subjects and BD patients in working memory and emotional inhibition tests. The BAC-A can potentially assist in differentiating BD patients from UD patients at euthymic status in clinical settings.

Cognitive remediation (CR) training has emerged as a promising approach to improving cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and related psychosis. The limited availability of psychological services for psychosis is a major barrier to accessing this intervention however. This study investigated the effectiveness of a low support, remotely accessible, computerised working memory (WM) training programme in patients with psychosis.

Ninety patients were enrolled into a single blind randomised controlled trial of CR. Effectiveness of the intervention was assessed in terms of neuropsychological performance, social and occupational function, and functional MRI 2 weeks post-intervention, with neuropsychological and social function again assessed 3–6 months post-treatment.

Patients who completed the intervention showed significant gains in both neuropsychological function (measured using both untrained WM and episodic task performance, and a measure of performance IQ), and social function at both 2-week follow-up and 3–6-month follow-up timepoints. Furthermore, patients who completed MRI scanning showed improved resting state functional connectivity relative to patients in the placebo condition.

CR training has already been shown to improve cognitive and social function in patient with psychosis. This study demonstrates that, at least for some chronic but stable outpatients, a low support treatment was associated with gains that were comparable with those reported for CR delivered entirely on a 1:1 basis. We conclude that CR has potential to be delivered even in services in which psychological supports for patients with psychosis are limited.

Serious mental illness (SMI, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder) is associated with worse general health. However, admissions to general hospitals have received little investigation. We sought to delineate frequencies of and causes for non-psychiatric hospital admissions in SMI and compare with the general population in the same area.

Records of 18 380 individuals with SMI aged ⩾20 years in southeast London were linked to hospitalisation data. Age- and gender-standardised admission ratios (SARs) were calculated by primary discharge diagnoses in the 10th edition of the World Health Organization International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes, referencing geographic catchment data.

Commonest discharge diagnosis categories in the SMI cohort were urinary conditions, digestive conditions, unclassified symptoms, neoplasms, and respiratory conditions. SARs were raised for most major categories, except neoplasms for a significantly lower risk. Hospitalisation risks were specifically higher for poisoning and external causes, injury, endocrine/metabolic conditions, haematological, neurological, dermatological, infectious and non-specific (‘Z-code’) causes. The five commonest specific ICD-10 diagnoses at discharge were ‘chronic renal failure’ (N18), a non-specific code (Z04), ‘dental caries’ (K02), ‘other disorders of the urinary system’ (N39), and ‘pain in throat and chest’ (R07), all of which were higher than expected (SARs ranging 1.57–6.66).

A range of reasons for non-psychiatric hospitalisation in SMI is apparent, with self-harm, self-neglect and/or reduced healthcare access, and medically unexplained symptoms as potential underlying explanations.

Difficulties in regulating emotions are linked to the core symptoms of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). We therefore investigated the neural substrates of emotion-regulation problems in women with PMDD.

On the basis of self-evaluations over 2 months on the Daily Record of Severity of Problems, eligible participants were assigned to two groups: PMDD and control (18 per group). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a well-validated task were used to assess brain function during emotion regulation. Participants were tested twice, once during the follicular (asymptomatic) and once in the late luteal (symptomatic) phase of the menstrual cycle.

Women with PMDD gave higher ratings of negative affect in the luteal phase than in the follicular phase, and compared with healthy control participants during the luteal phase. A region-of-interest fMRI analysis indicated that during the late luteal phase, women with PMDD had hypoactivation in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during all conditions of the emotion-regulation task, not only in the contrast that isolated emotion regulation. An exploratory whole-brain, voxel-wise analysis showed that women with PMDD had less activation in the precentral gyrus during the luteal phase than the follicular phase, and less activation in the postcentral gyrus compared with control participants.

During the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, women with PMDD experience difficulty regulating emotions. Hypoactivation in the right dlPFC may contribute to this problem, but may be related more generally to other affective symptoms of PMDD. Hypofunction in the right pre- and postcentral gyri warrants additional study.

Previous studies find that both schizophrenia and mood disorder risk alleles contribute to adult depression and anxiety. Emotional problems (depression or anxiety) begin in childhood and show strong continuities into adult life; this suggests that symptoms are the manifestation of the same underlying liability across different ages. However, other findings suggest that there are developmental differences in the etiology of emotional problems at different ages. To our knowledge, no study has prospectively examined the impact of psychiatric risk alleles on emotional problems at different ages in the same individuals.

Data were analyzed using regression-based analyses in a prospective, population-based UK cohort (the National Child Development Study). Schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD) polygenic risk scores (PRS) were derived from published Psychiatric Genomics Consortium genome-wide association studies. Emotional problems were assessed prospectively at six time points from age 7 to 42 years.

Schizophrenia PRS were associated with emotional problems from childhood [age 7, OR 1.09 (1.03–1.15), p = 0.003] to mid-life [age 42, OR 1.10 (1.05–1.17), p < 0.001], while MDD PRS were associated with emotional problems only in adulthood [age 42, OR 1.06 (1.00–1.11), p = 0.034; age 7, OR 1.03 (0.98–1.09), p = 0.228].

Our prospective investigation suggests that early (childhood) emotional problems in the general population share genetic risk with schizophrenia, while later (adult) emotional problems also share genetic risk with MDD. The results suggest that the genetic architecture of depression/anxiety is not static across development.

The study aim was to establish and quantify suicide risk following acute admissions for all major physical illnesses, for confirmatory purposes, from two independent information sources from different countries.

Record linkage of inpatient and death certificate data for 11 004 389 acute admissions for physical illnesses in England and 713 496 in Wales. The main outcome measure was standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) for suicide at 1 year following discharge from hospital.

There were 1781 suicides within 1 year of discharge in England (SMR = 1.7; 95% = 1.6–1.8) and 131 in Wales (SMR = 2.0; 1.7–2.3). Of 48 major physical illnesses that were associated with at least eight suicides in either country, there was high consistent suicide mortality (significant SMR >3) in both countries for constipation (SMR = 4.1 in England, 7.5 in Wales), gastritis (4.4 and 4.9) and upper gastrointestinal bleeding (3.4 and 4.5). There was high suicide mortality in one country for alcoholic liver disease, other liver disease and chronic pancreatitis; for epilepsy and Parkinson's disease; for diabetes, hypoglycaemia and hypo-osmolality & hyponatraemia; and for pneumonia, back pain and urinary tract infections.

There is little or no increased suicide mortality following acute admissions for most physical illnesses. Much of the increased suicide mortality relates to gastrointestinal disorders that are often alcohol related or specific chronic conditions, which may be linked to side effects from certain therapeutic medications. Acute hospital admissions for physical illnesses may therefore provide an opportunity for targeted suicide prevention among people with certain conditions, particularly alcohol related disorders.

Mental stress is associated with higher mortality, but it remains controversial whether the association is causal or a consequence of a higher physical disease burden in those with a high mental stress load. Understanding causality is important when developing targeted interventions. We aimed to estimate the effect of mental stress on mortality by performing a ‘natural’ experiment using spousal bereavement as a disease-independent mental stressor.

We followed a population-based matched cohort, including all individuals in Denmark bereaved in 1997–2014, for 17 years. Prospectively recorded register data were obtained for civil and vital status, 39 mental and physical diagnoses, and socioeconomic factors.

In total, 389 316 bereaved individuals were identified and 137 247 died during follow-up. Bereaved individuals had higher all-cause mortality than non-bereaved references in the entire study period. The relative mortality in the bereaved individuals was highest shortly after the loss (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), first month: 2.50, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.37–2.63; aHR, 6–12 months: 1.38, 95% CI 1.34–1.42). The excess mortality rate associated with bereavement rose with increasing number of physical diseases (1.33 v. 7.00 excess death per 1000 person-months for individuals with 0 v. ⩾3 physical conditions during the first month) and was exacerbated by the presence of mental illness. The excess mortality among bereaved individuals was primarily due to death from natural causes.

Bereavement was associated with increased short-term and long-term mortality, even after adjustment for morbidities, which suggests that mental stress may play a causal role in excess mortality.