Personality disorders predict onset of Axis I disorders and impaired functioning among homosexual men with and at risk of HIV infection.

BACKGROUND: A longitudinal study was conducted to investigate whether personality disorders (PDs) increase risk for the development of future Axis I disorders and serious functional impairment among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive and HIV-seronegative homosexual men. METHOD: Baseline assessments of PDs, Axis I disorders and symptoms, and Global Assessments of Functioning were conducted with a community sample of 107 (66 HIV-positive and 41 HIV-negative) homosexual men participating in a longitudinal study with semiannual interviews over 3 years. RESULTS: Logistic regression analysis indicated that PDs predicted onset of subsequent Axis I disorders after controlling for both HIV status and lifetime Axis I history (adjusted odds ratio, 4.31; P=.01; 95% confidence interval, 1.39 to 13.32). Of the 21 participants with PDs, 16 (76%) were subsequently diagnosed with Axis I disorders on at least one occasion. By contrast, only 36 (42%) of the 86 participants without PDs were subsequently diagnosed with Axis I disorders. Further, 33% of the participants with PDs, in comparison with only 8% of those without PDs, were assigned Global Assessments of Functioning scores of 50 or lower, indicating serious impairment during the postbaseline study period (adjusted odds ratio, 5.70; P<.005; 95% confidence interval, 1.66 to 19.53). CONCLUSION: Personality disorders may contribute to increased risk for onset of Axis I disorders and serious impairment among homosexual men regardless of HIV serologic status.

Psychopathology in male and female HIV-positive and negative injecting drug users: longitudinal course over 3 years.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of HIV illness on psychiatric and psychosocial functioning over 3 years in a sample of male and female HIV-positive injecting drug users (IDU), with a comparison group of HIV-negative male and female IDU. DESIGN: As part of a multidisciplinary study, 121 men (69 HIV-positive, 52 HIV-negative) and 66 women (36 HIV-positive, 30 HIV-negative) were evaluated semiannually for seven visits. Attrition, unrelated to sex or serostatus, was 33%. RESULTS: At baseline, rates of major depression and dysthymia ranged from 15% (HIV-negative men) to 33% (HIV-positive men and HIV-negative women). Global impairment was in the range found in psychiatric patients (mean Global Assessment of Functioning scores, 46-51). Higher levels of social support and less social conflict were independently associated with decreased distress and improved global functioning among both men and women. For both HIV-positive groups, degree of improvement over time was related to degree to HIV progression: those who remained healthier in terms of CD4 count and illness stage showed more improvement. HIV-seronegative status was associated with less distress for men but not for women. Overall, women reported higher levels of psychiatric distress than men. CONCLUSIONS: High rates of psychopathology were found in this IDU cohort, independent of HIV status and sex. Although rates of psychopathology, injecting drug use and distress declined slightly during the study, they remained elevated; accordingly, psychiatric services are indicated for this population.

Open trial of interpersonal psychotherapy for the treatment of social phobia.

OBJECTIVE: Interpersonal psychotherapy is a time-limited treatment initially developed to treat depression. It has not been studied for the treatment of anxiety disorders. METHOD: Interpersonal psychotherapy was modified and tested in a 14-week, open trial of nine patients with DSM-IV social phobia. RESULTS: At termination, seven (78%) were independently rated as much or very much improved on overall social phobia symptoms. Nearly all clinician ratings and self-ratings of social phobia symptoms significantly improved. Changes approximated those of established treatments for social phobia. CONCLUSIONS: Interpersonal psychotherapy may have efficacy for the treatment of social phobia. Further study in a comparison trial is warranted.

Social competence and positive and negative symptoms: a longitudinal study of children and adolescents at risk for schizophrenia and affective disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The authors longitudinally examined social competence and positive and negative symptoms in children at risk for schizophrenia, children at risk for affective disorder, and matched normal subjects. METHOD: The subjects were offspring of parents with schizophrenia or affective disorder and normal comparison subjects matched on age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Ratings of social competence (Premorbid Adjustment Scale), affective flattening and poverty of speech (Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms), and positive formal thought disorder (Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms) were based on videotaped psychiatric interviews conducted in childhood (N = 144), early adolescence (N = 127), and adolescence (N = 106). RESULTS: In childhood, there were no significant group differences. In early adolescence, the subjects at risk for schizophrenia had poorer social competence than those at risk for affective disorder and the normal subjects. In early adolescence, the subjects at risk for schizophrenia also had greater positive thought disorder than those at risk for affective disorder but did not differ significantly from the normal subjects; there were no differences in negative symptoms. In adolescence, the subjects at risk for schizophrenia had poorer social competence and greater positive and negative symptoms than the adolescents at risk for affective disorder and the normal subjects. CONCLUSIONS: During early adolescence and adolescence, poor social competence may be more characteristic of children at risk for schizophrenia than those at risk for affective disorder. Higher levels of positive and negative symptoms may also be specific to subjects at risk for schizophrenia, but only during adolescence.

Psychopathology in male and female intravenous drug users with and without HIV infection.

OBJECTIVE: The authors report on results of systematic clinical assessment of psychopathology among HIV-positive and HIV-negative intravenous drug users. METHOD: As part of a multidisciplinary baseline assessment, 147 male (85 HIV-positive and 62 HIV-negative) and 76 female (39 HIV-positive and 37 HIV-negative) intravenous drug users were evaluated with the Structural Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R and measures of psychiatric symptom severity, global functioning, and stress. RESULTS: Prevalence of a diagnosis of current depression (26%) and severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms in both HIV-positive and HIV-negative subjects were greater than in the general community, but not greater than in other studies of intravenous drug users. HIV-positive men had a higher prevalence of depressive disorders than HIV-negative men (33% and 16%, respectively), although this pattern was not found among women (26% and 30%). Diagnosis of depressive disorders and severity of depressive and anxiety symptoms were associated with a symptom-based measure of HIV illness stage, but not with indices of immune functioning (CD4+ cell count and CD4+ cell percent). CONCLUSIONS: Despite selective associations between HIV illness variables and depression, high rates of depression across HIV status in this cohort suggest that intravenous drug use and associated factors are more salient than HIV illness factors in understanding psychopathology in this population.

Childhood separation anxiety disorder in patients with adult anxiety disorders.

The authors examined the relation between retrospectively reported childhood separation anxiety disorder and adult DSM-III-R anxiety disorders in 252 outpatients at an anxiety disorders research clinic. The prevalence of childhood separation anxiety disorder was significantly greater among patients with two or more lifetime adult anxiety disorder diagnoses than it was among patients with only one anxiety disorder, suggesting that childhood separation anxiety disorder may be a risk factor for multiple anxiety syndromes in adulthood.

Sodium lactate response and familial risk for panic disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The authors used the family study method to test the hypothesis that sodium lactate response defines two subtypes of panic disorder. METHOD: Rates of panic disorder in 142 first-degree relatives of patients who responded to sodium lactate, 88 first-degree relatives of patients who did not respond to sodium lactate, and 231 first-degree relatives of never mentally ill subjects were compared. RESULTS: No difference in familial transmission of panic disorder was found between the two patient groups. CONCLUSIONS: The findings do not support the notion that panic disorder subtypes are associated with lactate sensitivity.

Stability and change in personality disorder symptomatology: findings from a longitudinal study of HIV+ and HIV- men.

A longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the stability of personality disorders (PDs) over a 2-year interval, as well as the association between change in PD symptomatology and change in psychological distress. Structured clinical interviews and questionnaires assessing PDs and psychological distress were administered to a community sample of 118 gay men (80 HIV seropositive men and 38 HIV seronegative men) at a baseline session and readministered 2 years later. Results indicated that PD symptom levels tended to be moderately stable, that PD diagnoses had low stability and that changes in PD symptom levels were associated with changing levels of psychological distress but not with progression of HIV infection.

Alternative psychotherapy approaches for social anxiety disorder.

Alternative therapies and therapy modalities for SAD are needed because: Established treatments (CBT and pharmacologic) do not help everyone who seeks help. Established treatments provide only partial decrease in symptoms for many patients. Patients may experience recurrence of symptoms in long-term follow-up. CBT does not reach enough patients in need. Alternative treatment approaches and modalities may also be needed to address the successful outcomes of CBT. Success in overcoming social anxiety symptoms can generate a whole new set of challenges. For example, a 31-year-old man who overcomes his fear of dating and begins his first romantic relationship may need a less symptomatically focused therapy to deal with issues that arise in this relationship. Likewise, a woman whose decreased social anxiety enables her to get a long-awaited promotion may need to deal with the stress of adjusting to her new responsibilities. An individual who overcomes phobia of public speaking and still has mild anxiety may need to graduate to a forum such as Toastmasters to provide continued exposure to further develop confidence and skills in public speaking.

Social phobia. Epidemiology and cost of illness.

Social phobia is a prevalent and debilitating psychiatric disorder. It entails significant economic costs in the form of educational underachievement, increased financial dependency, decreased work productivity, social impairment and poorer quality of life. It is associated with increased prevalence of other psychiatric disorders including depression and alcohol dependence. Its onset is early and typically precedes onset of comorbid disorders. Despite its debilitating effects, social phobia is often unrecognised and is undertreated. The availability of efficacious pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments for social phobia makes it imperative to carefully consider the impact of this disorder and to consider the cost effectiveness of available treatments.

Pain responsivity in major depression and bipolar disorder.

Signal detection theory measures of thermal pain responsivity were examined in patients with major depression and bipolar disorder and in control subjects. Patients with major depression had significantly poorer sensory discrimination of painful thermal stimuli than control subjects, but they did not differ from the control subjects in their sensory discrimination of warm thermal stimuli of lower intensity. Patients with bipolar disorder did not differ significantly in sensory discrimination from either the patients with major depression or the control subjects. Patients with major depression had significantly higher (i.e., more stoical) response criteria than the control subjects for the painful thermal stimuli and also for the lower intensity stimuli; patients with bipolar disorder had significantly higher criteria than control subjects for only the lower intensity stimuli. The results suggest that reduced responsivity to pain in major depression may reflect sensory as well as affective abnormalities. Complaints of pain are very common in mood disorders, and continued examination of experimental pain in individuals with these disorders has the potential to enhance our understanding of this phenomenon.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder and separation anxiety co-morbidity in early onset panic disorder.

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to examine the relationship between anxiety co-morbidity and age of onset of panic disorder. METHODS: Age of onset of panic disorder and co-morbid anxiety disorders were assessed among 201 panic disorder probands with childhood separation anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, social phobia and specific phobia as part of a clinician-administered lifetime diagnostic interview. A generalized linear model was used to test the association between each anxiety co-morbidity and age of panic disorder onset while simultaneously controlling for the potential confounding effects of sociodemographic characteristics and other psychiatric co-morbidity. RESULTS: Earlier onset of panic disorder was found in patients with co-morbid obsessive-compulsive disorder, obsessive-compulsive symptoms and separation anxiety disorder, but not simple phobia or social phobia. Patients with both childhood separation anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder had an even earlier panic onset than those with either childhood separation anxiety disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The association between anxiety co-morbidity and earlier onset of panic disorder is specific to obsessive-compulsive disorder and childhood separation anxiety disorder.

Emetophobia: preliminary results of an internet survey.

Through electronic mail, we surveyed members of an internet support group for emetophobia (fear of vomiting). Respondents were 50 women and 6 men with a mean age of 31 years. Results suggest that, for this sample, emetophobia is a disorder of early onset and chronic course, with highly persistent and intrusive symptoms. Emetophobia is implicated in social, home-marital, and occupational impairment and it causes significant constriction of leisure activities. Nearly half of women avoided or delayed becoming pregnant. About three quarters of respondents have eating rituals or significantly limit the foods they eat. Respondents describe other problems such as depression, panic attacks, social anxiety, compulsions, and frequent history of childhood separation anxiety.

Specific phobia 10-16 years after treatment.

Twenty eight participants, initially treated for specific phobia as part of a comparative treatment study, were evaluated 10 to 16 years (X = 12 years) later. A comprehensive, in-person, semi-structured diagnostic interview was utilized, which also assessed comorbid disorders. Of 21 patients who had been rated as responders (much improved or very much improved) at treatment termination, 13 (62%) had clinically significant avoidance or endurance with dread subsequent to treatment. Among a subgroup of these responders who had been considered completely recovered (n = 11), 5 (45%) had clinically significant symptoms following treatment. None of the seven subjects who had been considered unimproved at treatment termination recovered from phobia symptoms in the intervening years. Positive response to treatment was associated with better long term outcome. Clinical characteristics, such as phobia subtype, age of onset, baseline severity, and lifetime comorbidity of other psychiatric disorders were not associated with long term outcome in this sample. Type of treatment was not associated with long term outcome. Results challenge the notion that recovery from specific phobia following treatment is characterized by complete and enduring cessation of symptoms.

Recurrent major depressive disorder among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive and HIV-negative intravenous drug users: findings of a 3-year longitudinal study.

A longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the association between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, history of major depressive disorder (MDD), and persistent or recurrent MDD among intravenous drug users. Psychiatric disorders were assessed in a sample of HIV-positive (HIV+) and HIV-negative (HIV-) intravenous drug users every 6 months for 3 years. Results indicated that HIV status and baseline MDD independently predicted persistent or recurrent episodes of MDD after gender, drug use, ethnicity, income, and the presence other psychiatric disorders were controlled statistically. Among HIV+ intravenous drug users with baseline MDD, 90% experienced at least one subsequent episode of MDD and 47% experienced at least three subsequent episodes of MDD. However, less than 40% of intravenous drug users with current MDD received treatment for emotional problems. These findings indicate that intravenous drug users with HIV infection and a history of MDD are at considerable risk for future episodes of MDD or recurrent MDD, and that increased provision of treatment for intravenous drug users with MDD may be necessary.