The prevalence of cannabis use disorder in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A clinical epidemiological meta-analysis.

Studies have shown that individuals with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) pose an increased risk for developing substance use disorders. Increased cannabis product accessibility and recent legislative changes have led to increased cannabis consumption, thereby increasing the risk of cannabis use disorder (CUD). The present meta-analysis explored the lifetime and current prevalence of CUD in ADHD. A systematic review was conducted using the following databases: PubMed, PsycINFO and Web of Science. A total of 14 articles were included and used to estimate the aggregate lifetime and current prevalence of CUD in ADHD alongside risk ratios comparing increased risk of CUD in ADHD versus control samples. Mixed and random-effects models indicated that lifetime and current prevalence rates of CUD in ADHD populations were 26.9% and 19.2%, respectively (although prediction intervals ranged from 12.4% to 48.8% and 5.5%-39.1%, respectively). Analysis of the risk ratios indicated that those with ADHD were at 2.85- and 2.91-times greater risk of a lifetime or current diagnosis of CUD, respectively, than those in the general population. Our findings support the need for additional research on the prevalence of CUD in those with ADHD, as well as the inclusion of CUD screening in the treatment of ADHD.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Medical School Curriculum and Textbook Review.

OBJECTIVES: We conducted a curriculum review of Canadian undergraduate medical programs to identify why aggressive obsessions (among those with obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD]) are so often misidentified by primary care physicians and professional students. METHODS: This study involved standardized interviews with representatives from Canadian medical schools regarding the content, time, and teaching styles used to deliver curricula related to OCD. Further, we utilized a set of standardized criteria to assess the OCD content of recommended textbooks from these schools. RESULTS: Canadian medical curricula failed to provide a comprehensive picture of OCD. One-third of medical programs did not provide an example of aggressive obsessions to students, with textbook case examples centered heavily (70%) on contamination or symmetry. Only 25% of programs (and 60% of textbooks) discussed the composition of the Unacceptable Thought Domain to include aggressive, sexual, and religious obsessions. Finally, over half of medical programs failed to indicate that aggressive obsessions are ego-dystonic and do not lead people to harm themselves or others. CONCLUSION: A series of recommendations are provided for medical schools intended to improve the comprehensiveness of OCD-related training.

Item-method directed forgetting is (usually) impaired in clinical populations: A meta-analysis.

The item-method directed forgetting paradigm is a common laboratory task used to measure memory control. While impaired memory control may contribute to the development and/or maintenance of a variety of psychological disorders, comparisons between clinical and nonclinical groups using this paradigm have been inconsistent-even within the same disorder. A systematic search for related articles utilizing clinical populations was conducted revealing 823 articles of which 36 met inclusion criteria. Raw mean differences were calculated and aggregated using Bayesian multilevel random-effects models. These models revealed a significant difference in the magnitude of directed forgetting between clinical and control populations, such that clinical populations (collapsing across all disorders or combining only the critical anxiety and depression clusters) exhibited a reduced directed forgetting effect. This difference tended to be larger in clinical (as opposed to clinical-analog) populations and in older samples. These results support the notion that item-method directed forgetting provides a suitable measure of memory control sensitive to real-world control deficits and further implies that memory control deficits may contribute to mental illness (although causality remains to be determined). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder in individuals with eating disorders: An epidemiological meta-analysis.

The present study aimed to provide a precise, meta-analytic estimate of the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) amongst those with a current primary eating disorder (ED) diagnosis, and to isolate its predictors. An online search of PubMed and PsycINFO was conducted with a Boolean search phrase incorporating keywords related to OCD, EDs, comorbidity, prevalence, and epidemiology, complemented by references coded from related review articles and contact with experts in the field. Articles were included if they (a) reported an observational study examining current ED diagnoses, (b) used a semi-structured or structured diagnostic interview for OCD and ED diagnosis, (c) applied DSM or ICD criteria, (d) included adolescent or adult samples (age > 12), (e) included patient or community samples, and (f) reported lifetime or current OCD comorbidity. From the 846 articles identified, 35 lifetime and 42 current estimates were calculated. OCD prevalence was extracted from each study for each ED diagnostic category, along with eleven additional potential moderators. Analyses revealed an aggregate lifetime OCD prevalence of 13.9% CI95% [10.4 to 18.1] and current OCD prevalence of 8.7% CI95% [5.8 to 11.8] across EDs. Moderator analyses revealed the prevalence of and risk for OCD in EDs to be greatest in anorexia nervosa binge-eating purging type (ANBP). Further, OCD is most prevalent amongst patient samples than samples recruited from the community.

Emotional memories are (usually) harder to forget: A meta-analysis of the item-method directed forgetting literature.

The current meta-analysis explored whether emotional memories are less susceptible to item-method directed forgetting than neutral memories. Basic analyses revealed superior memory for remember (R) than forget (F) items in both the neutral, M = 19.6%, CI95% [16.1, 23.1], and the emotional, M = 15.1%, CI95% [12.4, 17.7], conditions. Directed forgetting in either valence condition was larger for (a) words than for other stimuli; (b) recall than recognition tests; (c) studies that used recall prior to recognition testing; (d) shorter lists; and (e) studies that included buffer items. Direct comparison of the magnitude of the directed forgetting effect across neutral and emotional conditions within studies revealed relatively diminished directed forgetting of emotional items compared to neutral items, with an average difference of 4.2%, CI95% [2.0, 6.4]. However, the nature of this finding varied broadly across studies, meaning that whether - and to what degree - emotional memories are more resilient than neutral memories likely depends on the methodological features of the study in question. Moderator analyses revealed larger differences (a) in studies for which the emotional items were more arousing than the neutral items, and (b) when buffer items were included. Together, these findings suggest that emotional memories are often more resilient to intentional forgetting than neutral memories, although further research is necessary to characterize the circumstances under which these differences emerge.

Women Are at Greater Risk of OCD Than Men: A Meta-Analytic Review of OCD Prevalence Worldwide.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the worldwide prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), examine whether women are at greater risk than men, and explore other potential moderators of OCD prevalence to explain variability in community-based epidemiologic studies. DATA SOURCES: An electronic search of PsycINFO and PubMed was conducted until January 2017, without date or language restrictions, using the keywords OCD, epidemiology, and prevalence. The search was supplemented by articles referenced in the obtained sources and relevant reviews. STUDY SELECTION: Studies were included if they reported current, period, and/or lifetime OCD prevalence (diagnosed according to an interview based on DSM or ICD criteria) in representative community samples of adults aged 18 years or older. A total of 4,045 studies were retrieved, with 34 studies ultimately included. DATA EXTRACTION: OCD prevalence was extracted from each study alongside 9 moderators: gender, year, response rate, region, economic status, diagnostic criteria, diagnostic interview, interviewer, and age. RESULTS: The overall aggregate current, period, and lifetime OCD prevalence estimates were 1.1%, 0.8%, and 1.3%, respectively. In a typical sample, women were 1.6 times more likely to experience OCD compared to men, with lifetime prevalence rates of 1.5% in women and 1.0% in men. There was also a trend toward younger adults' being more likely to experience OCD in their lifetime than older adults. All findings demonstrated moderate heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: Women are typically at greater risk of experiencing OCD in their lifetime than men.

The Prevalence of Anxiety Disorders During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: A Multivariate Bayesian Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of anxiety disorders in pregnant and postpartum women and identify predictors accounting for variability across estimates. DATA SOURCES: An electronic search of PsycINFO and PubMed was conducted from inception until July 2016, without date or language restrictions, and supplemented by articles referenced in the obtained sources. A Boolean search phrase utilized a combination of keywords related to pregnancy, postpartum, prevalence, and specific anxiety disorders. STUDY SELECTION: Articles reporting the prevalence of 1 or more of 8 common anxiety disorders in pregnant or postpartum women were included. A total of 2,613 records were retrieved, with 26 studies ultimately included. DATA EXTRACTION: Anxiety disorder prevalence and potential predictor variables (eg, parity) were extracted from each study. A Bayesian multivariate modeling approach estimated the prevalence and between-study heterogeneity of each disorder and the prevalence of having 1 or more anxiety disorder. RESULTS: Individual disorder prevalence estimates ranged from 1.1% for posttraumatic stress disorder to 4.8% for specific phobia, with the prevalence of having at least 1 or more anxiety disorder estimated to be 20.7% (95% highest density interval [16.7% to 25.4%]). Substantial between-study heterogeneity was observed, suggesting that "true" prevalence varies broadly across samples. There was evidence of a small (3.1%) tendency for pregnant women to be more susceptible to anxiety disorders than postpartum women. CONCLUSIONS: Peripartum anxiety disorders are more prevalent than previously thought, with 1 in 5 women in a typical sample meeting diagnostic criteria for at least 1 disorder. These findings highlight the need for anxiety screening, education, and referral in obstetrics and gynecology settings.

A Bayesian multivariate approach to estimating the prevalence of a superordinate category of disorders.

OBJECTIVE: Epidemiological research plays an important role in public health, facilitated by the meta-analytic aggregation of epidemiological trials into a single, more powerful estimate. This form of aggregation is complicated when estimating the prevalence of a superordinate category of disorders (e.g., "any anxiety disorder," "any cardiac disorder") because epidemiological studies rarely include all of the disorders selected to define the superordinate category. In this paper, we suggest that estimating the prevalence of a superordinate category based on studies with differing operationalization of that category (in the form of different disorders measured) is both common and ill-advised. Our objective is to provide a better approach. METHODS: We propose a multivariate method using individual disorder prevalences to produce a fully Bayesian estimate of the probability of having one or more of those disorders. We validate this approach using a recent case study and parameter recovery simulations. RESULTS: Our approach produced less biased and more reliable estimates than other common approaches, which were at times highly biased. CONCLUSION: Although our approach entails additional effort (e.g., contacting authors for individual participant data), the improved accuracy of the prevalence estimates obtained is significant and therefore recommended.

A meta-analysis of the worldwide prevalence of pica during pregnancy and the postpartum period.

BACKGROUND: Although pica has long been associated with pregnancy, the exact prevalence in this population remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the prevalence of pica during pregnancy and the postpartum period, and to explain variations in prevalence estimates by examining potential moderating variables. SEARCH STRATEGY: PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched from inception to February 2014 using the keywords pica, prevalence, and epidemiology. SELECTION CRITERIA: Articles estimating pica prevalence during pregnancy and/or the postpartum period using a self-report questionnaire or interview were included. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Study characteristics, pica prevalence, and eight potential moderating variables were recorded (parity, anemia, duration of pregnancy, mean maternal age, education, sampling method employed, region, and publication date). Random-effects models were employed. MAIN RESULTS: In total, 70 studies were included, producing an aggregate prevalence estimate of 27.8% (95% confidence interval 22.8-33.3). In light of substantial heterogeneity within the study model, the primary focus was identifying moderator variables. Pica prevalence was higher in Africa compared with elsewhere in the world, increased as the prevalence of anemia increased, and decreased as educational attainment increased. CONCLUSIONS: Geographical region, anemia, and education were found to moderate pica prevalence, partially explaining the heterogeneity in prevalence estimates across the literature.