Pediatric sarcoma survivorship: A call for a developmental cascades approach.

Survivors of pediatric sarcomas often experience greater psychological and psychosocial difficulties than their non-afflicted peers. We consider findings related to poorer outcomes from a developmental cascade perspective. Specifically, we discuss how physical, neurocognitive, psychological, and psychosocial costs associated with pediatric sarcomas and their treatment function transactionally to degrade well-being in long-term pediatric sarcoma survivors. We situate the sarcoma experience as a broad developmental threat - one stemming from both the presence and treatment of a life-imperiling disease, and the absence of typical childhood experiences. Ways in which degradation in one developmental domain spills over and effects other domains are highlighted. We argue that the aggregate effect of these cascades is two-fold: first, it adds to the typical stress involved in meeting developmental milestones and navigating developmental transitions; and second, it deprives survivors of crucial coping strategies that mitigate these stressors. This position suggests specific moments of intervention and raises specific hypotheses for investigators to explore.

Cognitive and psychosocial functioning in bipolar disorder with and without psychosis during early remission from an acute mood episode: a comparative longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: The current investigation aimed to extend previous findings, which linked psychosis in bipolar disorder (BD) to cognitive impairment during hospital discharge and readmission, by examining the recovery of patients with psychosis who were not re-hospitalized. The study compared mood, cognitive and functional outcomes in patients who had, versus had not, experienced psychosis during a recent psychiatric hospitalization. The hypothesis was that patients admitted to the hospital with psychosis would exhibit more residual symptoms, greater cognitive deficits, and lower psychosocial functioning than patients who presented to care without psychosis. Group differences were expected to emerge both at the time of hospital discharge and at a 3-month follow up. METHOD: Fifty-five participants (ages 18-59, 25 women, 20 with psychosis) with BD I disorder completed both assessments, which included a clinical and diagnostic interview, functional evaluation, and the administration of mood measures and a neuropsychological battery. RESULTS: The groups were comparable with respect to illness history (e.g., number of previous hospitalizations, age of onset, employment). At discharge and follow-up, the group with psychosis exhibited more mood symptoms, obtained lower GAF scores, and performed more poorly on measures of memory and executive functioning. At follow-up, participants with psychosis exhibited poorer psychosocial adaptation. LIMITATIONS: It is possible that some of the observed group differences in cognitive functioning emerged due to differences in medication efficacy or side effects. CONCLUSION: The results of this study support the hypothesis that psychosis in BD predicts limited recovery during early remission from mood disturbance, regardless of illness history.

Ecologically valid support for the link between cognitive and psychosocial functioning in bipolar disorder.

Prior research into the link between cognitive and psychosocial functioning in bipolar disorder has examined primarily asymptomatic patients, has measured these domains concurrently, and has failed to establish convergent validity in the assessment of psychosocial dysfunction. The present study examines the relation between cognitive and psychosocial functioning at the time of discharge from hospitalization for acute mood disturbance. We obtained measures of psychosocial functioning that were both close and distant to the time of neuropsychological testing; the former from the discharging psychiatrists, and the latter from reports of formally recognized disability status, determined by persons wholly unrelated to the present research. Sixty-three patients with bipolar I disorder, hospitalized for acute mood disturbance, completed a neuropsychological test battery 24 to 48 h prior to discharge. We compared patients with versus without formal disability status on the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale and on scores of neuropsychological tests. We also tested associations between GAF scores and cognitive test scores. Results supported the convergent validity in the measurement of psychosocial disability, underscored the robust connection between cognitive and psychosocial impairment, and highlighted the presence of this connection during an important clinical state - time of discharge from psychiatric hospitalization.

The duration of inpatient admission predicts cognitive functioning at discharge in patients with bipolar disorder.

Previous studies of cognitive functioning in bipolar disorder generally indicate that a more severe course of illness is associated with greater cognitive impairment. In particular, a history of greater number and longer duration of mood episodes predicts enduring cognitive deficits in euthymic patients. Shifting the focus of this investigation to the cognitive effects of a discrete mood episode, the current study aimed to explore whether patients who require a longer hospitalization to stabilize from an acute episode of mood disturbance present with more compromised cognitive functioning during the phase of early recovery. For this purpose, the study examined the link between the duration of inpatient admission and neuropsychological test scores at the time of discharge in 41 patients with bipolar disorder. Participants were assigned to long (n = 20) and short (n = 21) stay groups using a median split (M = 12). Results indicated that longer admissions were associated with more severe deficits in executive functioning at discharge after controlling for residual mood symptoms and previous number of psychiatric admissions. Findings from the current study may inform discharge planning for patients with bipolar disorder after an extended hospital stay.

Sleep disruption and decline in marital satisfaction across the transition to parenthood.

Despite the joy surrounding the birth of a child, numerous studies have documented a robust decline in marital satisfaction across the transition to parenthood. Various hypotheses, each supported by empirical evidence, have sought to explain this decline. This review considers the additional role of sleep loss in the postpartum decline in marital satisfaction. The authors begin by highlighting the problem of parental sleep disruption in a child's 1st year of life and then outline findings related to the affective and cognitive consequences of sleep deprivation and chronic sleep restriction. The demands brought on by the transition to parenthood are reviewed, and the ways in which the consequences of sleep disruption further exacerbate these stresses are considered. The authors suggest that clinicians working with couples who have recently had a child evaluate the extent of sleep disturbance in the family and educate couples regarding the mood and cognitive changes that co-occur with sleep loss. The authors further suggest that future research into the transition to parenthood assess level of sleep loss and that research into the consequences of sleep loss aim to identify individuals particularly vulnerable to mood and cognition changes.

The characteristics of a discrete mood episode, neuro-cognitive impairment and re-hospitalization in bipolar disorder.

This longitudinal study examined characteristics of a discrete mood episode that predict re-hospitalization for bipolar disorder, highlighting associated cognitive dysfunction as a potential mechanism linking episode severity and relapse. Eighty-two inpatients meeting DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for bipolar I disorder completed the study. Twenty-two of the patients were readmitted to the hospital within 3 months of discharge. The study compared these patients to the remaining 60 patients who were not readmitted to the hospital during this period. Patients were compared on several factors related to the severity of the mood episode and the course of illness more generally. Analysis also compared the groups on measures of mood and neuro-cognitive functioning, assessed 24-48 h before initial hospitalization discharge. Re-hospitalized patients had longer initial hospital stays (t = -3.10, p < 0.01), higher rates of psychosis while in the hospital (Chi square = 5.1, p < 0.02), and lower GAF scores on discharge (t = 2.37, p < 0.05). The groups did not differ in age of illness onset or number of previous psychiatric hospitalizations. With respect to neuro-cognitive functioning, analysis indicated poorer performance for re-hospitalized patients on measures of executive functioning (Wilks' Lambda, F (7, 71) = 9.0, p < 0.001), IQ (Wilks' Lambda, F (2, 76) = 5.06, p < 0.01), and memory (Wilks' Lambda, F (6,72) = 4.19, p < 0.001). Trends in the expected direction emerged for attention/working memory tests (Wilks' Lambda, F (7, 71) = 1.79, p < 0.10). Results highlight features of a discrete mood episode associated with increased rates of re-hospitalization. This study observed connections among episode severity, cognitive dysfunction at hospital discharge and re-hospitalization.