We need to be more critical toward digital interventions for eating disorders: A commentary on McClure et al. (2023).

Over the past two decades, numerous digital interventions (also referred to as "e-mental health" interventions) have been developed for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders and several meta-analyses have summarized the existing evidence on the efficacy and effectiveness of such interventions. Based on the present systematic review of McClure and Colleagues, the question of how and for whom digital interventions for eating disorders actually work, remains unanswered. In the absence of reliable mediators and moderators of outcome, priorities for future research are discussed (e.g., a need for more rigorous RCTs with credible comparators). The resulting research agenda is expansive. However, even though this process will take time and might seem slow (especially, in contrast to the rapidity of technological developments), we should not accept a lowering of the quality bar in research on digital interventions compared to other intervention research.

Predictors of the 10 year course of mental health and quality of life for trauma-affected refugees after psychological treatment.

Background: Trauma-affected refugee patients benefit from psychological treatment to different degrees. Only a handful of studies has investigated potential predictors of treatment outcome that could throw light on the great variability in outcomes reported for this group. Such knowledge may be vital to better tailor prevention and treatment efforts to the needs of different individuals and subgroups among these patients. Objective: In a naturalistic and longitudinal study, the aim was to analyse demographics and traumatic exposure as potential predictors of the participants' long-term trajectories of mental health symptoms and quality of life. Method: A group of 54 multi-origin adult refugee patients with complex traumatic exposure, such as armed conflicts, persecution, torture, and childhood adversities, were interviewed face to face over up to 10 years; at therapy admittance, and at varying points in time during and after psychotherapy. Checklists of war-related and childhood trauma, mental health symptoms, and quality of life were included in the interviews. In linear mixed effects analyses, interaction was analysed with potential predictors included separately because of the sample size. Time was modelled as continuous from inclusion into the study. Results: Gender predicted the course of symptoms of post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and depression, and of quality of life in physical health and social relationships. Childhood family violence and experiences of torture predicted the course of depression, whereas the extent of exposure to war-related trauma events and having experienced torture predicted the course of anxiety. Conclusions: The results indicated greater chronicity in male refugees, in refugees who had experienced domestic violence during childhood, in refugees who had experienced torture, and in refugees with more numerous types of potentially traumatic war-related experiences. The findings highlight the need for gender-sensitive research, rehabilitative efforts, and treatment. HIGHLIGHTS In a 10 year longitudinal and naturalistic therapy follow-up study of traumatized refugees, female gender, childhood trauma, war trauma, and torture predicted mental health and quality of life outcomes.Male participants responded less than females to therapy.

Antecedentes: Los pacientes refugiados afectados por el trauma se benefician del tratamiento psicológico en diferentes grados. Sólo un puñado de estudios han investigado los posibles predictores del resultado del tratamiento que podrían arrojar luz sobre la gran variabilidad de los resultados registrados en este grupo. Este conocimiento puede ser vital para adaptar mejor los esfuerzos de prevención y tratamiento a las necesidades de los diferentes individuos y subgrupos de estos pacientes.Objetivo: En un estudio naturalista y longitudinal, el objetivo fue analizar los datos demográficos y la exposición traumática como posibles predictores de las trayectorias a largo plazo de los síntomas de salud mental y la calidad de vida de los participantes.Método: Un grupo de 54 pacientes adultos refugiados de múltiples orígenes con exposición traumática compleja, como conflictos armados, persecución, tortura y adversidades en la infancia, fueron entrevistados cara a cara durante un período de hasta 10 años; al ingreso en la terapia, y en diferentes momentos durante y después de la psicoterapia. En las entrevistas se incluyeron listas de comprobación de traumas relacionados con la guerra y la infancia, síntomas de salud mental y calidad de vida. En los análisis lineales de efectos mixtos, se analizó la interacción con los posibles predictores incluidos por separado debido al tamaño de la muestra. El tiempo se modeló como continuo desde la inclusión en el estudio.Resultados: El género predijo la evolución de los síntomas de estrés postraumático, ansiedad y depresión, y de la calidad de vida en cuanto a salud física y relaciones sociales. La violencia familiar en la infancia y las experiencias de tortura predijeron el curso de la depresión, mientras que el grado de exposición a eventos traumáticos relacionados con la guerra y el haber experimentado la tortura predijeron el curso de la ansiedad.Conclusiones: Los resultados indicaron una mayor cronicidad en los refugiados varones, en los refugiados que habían sufrido violencia doméstica durante la infancia, en los refugiados que habían sufrido tortura y en los refugiados con más tipos de experiencias potencialmente traumáticas relacionadas con la guerra. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto la necesidad de realizar investigaciones, esfuerzos de rehabilitación y tratamientos que tengan en cuenta el género.

Attention to Face as a Predictor of Developmental Change and Treatment Outcome in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The beneficial effect of early intervention is well described for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Response to early intervention is, however, highly heterogeneous in affected children, and there is currently only scarce information about predictors of response to intervention. Based on the hypothesis that impaired social orienting hinders the subsequent development of social communication and interactions in children with ASD, we sought to examine whether the level of social orienting modulates treatment outcome in young children with ASD. We used eye-tracking technology to measure social orienting in a group of 111 preschoolers, comprising 95 young children with ASD and 16 children with typical development, as they watched a 29 s video of a woman engaging in child-directed speech. In line with previous studies, we report that attention to face is robustly correlated with autistic symptoms and cognitive and adaptive skills at baseline. We further leverage longitudinal data in a subgroup of 81 children with ASD and show that the level of social orienting at baseline is a significant predictor of developmental gains and treatment outcome. These results pave the way for identifying subgroups of children who show a better response to early and intensive intervention, a first step toward precision medicine for children with autism.

The therapeutic alliance in cognitive-behavioral therapy for school-aged children with autism and clinical anxiety.

Little is known about the alliance between therapists and children with autism spectrum disorder who are receiving psychological therapies in outpatient treatment settings. This study examined the therapeutic alliance in children with autism spectrum disorder and clinical anxiety, who were receiving cognitive behavioral therapy in a randomized, controlled trial. The Therapeutic Alliance Scale for Children was administered to a sample of children and youth with autism spectrum disorder and anxiety (N = 64; aged 7-14) as well as to their parents and therapists. A comparison sample of typically developing youth with clinical anxiety (N = 36; aged 5-12) was included. The child-therapist alliance was more positive among typically developing children than among children with autism spectrum disorder; correspondingly, the parent-therapist alliance was also more positive among parents of typically developing children. Therapist reports of positive child-therapist alliance predicted post-treatment reductions in anxiety among children with autism spectrum disorder, although child reports of this alliance did not. Parent reports of positive parent-therapist alliance also predicted post-treatment reductions in the child's anxiety in the group with autism spectrum disorder. A strong therapeutic alliance appears to be associated with better treatment outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder receiving cognitive behavioral therapy, although a thoughtful and diagnostically sensitive approach is advisable to promote a positive alliance with children with autism spectrum disorder.

Empirical evidence of the effect of personality pathology on the outcome of panic disorder.

BACKGROUND: Treatment resistant disorders are a significant clinical problem. Impediments to good outcome need to be identified and addressed. Personality pathology has been hypothesized to be one such factor in panic disorder. There is no consensus as to the effects of personality pathology on the outcome of panic disorder. This study examined empirical evidence. The hypothesis was that personality pathology would cause poorer outcome of panic disorder. METHODS: A literature search was conducted that winnowed 2627 articles down to 27 based on 1) longitudinal design; 2) validated measures of personality; 3) validated outcome measures; and 4) the presence of effect size or data to calculate effect size. All effect sizes were translated into odds ratios (ORs) for ease of comparison. RESULTS: An overall median OR of 2.7 was found, indicating personality pathology negatively affected outcome. This finding persisted even when adjusted for baseline severity of illness. The effects were found for both clinical outcomes (OR = 2.7) and for social adjustment (OR = 2.9). There was a tendency for more dropouts in the personality pathology group. More highly structured drug therapy regimens and highly structured psychotherapy seemed to partially mitigate this outcome. CONCLUSION: The negative effect of personality pathology was confirmed in well-designed longitudinal studies. This was not related to initial clinical severity. Clinical implications are that patients with personality pathology require the therapist to stick more closely to treatment protocols and to mitigate the tendency of these patients to drop out of treatment.

Evaluation of a Hepatitis C Patient Management Program at a University Specialty Pharmacy.

BACKGROUND: The University of Rochester (UR) Specialty Pharmacy hepatitis C patient management program offers a unique advantage of being integrated within the same health system as the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) Gastroenterology and Hepatology division. OBJECTIVE: The primary purpose of this study was to assess treatment success through the incidence of achieving a sustained virological response (SVR) in patients served by the UR Specialty Pharmacy versus other nonintegrated pharmacies. METHODS: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study in adult patients of URMC Gastroenterology and Hepatology prescribed hepatitis C treatment between January 1, 2014, and July 15, 2015. The incidence of SVR, adherence, delay in therapy initiation, early treatment discontinuation, rate of attainment of viral load measurement post-therapy completion, and predictors associated with treatment outcome were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 414 patients were prescribed hepatitis C virus treatment during the study period; 137 did not initiate therapy. The rate of SVR was 93% among patients at the UR Specialty Pharmacy and 89% at nonintegrated pharmacies ( P = 0.357). Adherence to therapy was 100% and 97% at the UR Specialty Pharmacy and nonintegrated pharmacies, respectively ( P = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: The UR Specialty Pharmacy was associated with a 93% SVR rate and significantly greater adherence compared with nonintegrated pharmacies. Larger studies are needed to determine if a significant difference in SVR exists between integrated and nonintegrated pharmacies. This study provides a framework for other institutions to justify developing integrated hepatitis C specialty pharmacy services and evaluate their success.

The impact of alcohol use severity on anxiety treatment outcomes in a large effectiveness trial in primary care.

OBJECTIVE: The presence of anxiety disorders is associated with poorer alcohol use disorder treatment outcomes, but little is known about the impact of alcohol use problems on anxiety disorder treatment outcomes despite their high comorbidity. The current study examined the impact of alcohol use symptom severity on anxiety disorder treatment outcomes in a multi-site primary care effectiveness study of anxiety disorder treatment. METHOD: Data came from the Coordinated Anxiety Learning and Management (CALM) effectiveness trial. Participants (N=1004) were randomized to an evidence-based anxiety intervention (including cognitive behavioral therapy and medications) or usual care in primary care. Participants completed measures of alcohol use, anxiety, and depression at baseline, 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow-up periods. Patients with alcohol dependence were excluded. RESULTS: There were no significant moderating (Treatment Group × Alcohol Use Severity) interactions. The majority of analyses revealed no predictive effects of alcohol use severity on outcome; however, alcohol problems at baseline were associated with somewhat higher anxiety and depression symptoms at the 18-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that patients with alcohol problems in primary care can be effectively treated for anxiety disorders. Baseline alcohol problems were associated with some poorer long-term outcomes, but this was evident across CALM and usual care. These findings provide preliminary evidence that there may be no need to postpone treatment of anxiety disorders until alcohol problems are addressed, at least among those who have mild to moderate alcohol problems. Replication with more severe alcohol use disorders is needed.

Treatment outcome of the teeth with cemental tears.

INTRODUCTION: A cemental tear is a special type of surface root fracture noted in combination with periodontal and/or periapical bony destruction. We hypothesized that clinical characteristics and treatment techniques may affect the prognosis of teeth with cemental tears. METHODS: Treatment outcome for the teeth with a cemental tear was assessed in a multicenter cemental tear study project. Of the 71 teeth with cemental tears, 38 teeth (53.5%) were extracted. The remaining 33 teeth (46.5%) were examined for a treatment outcome of healed, questionable, or failed. RESULTS: Outcome assessment found that 51.5% (17/33), 42.4% (14/33), and 6.1% (2/33) of teeth were classified as healed, questionable, and failed, respectively. Additive bivariate analysis indicated a significant difference between treatment outcome and the length (P = .01) and apicocoronal location (P = .02) of the separated root fragments. Logistic regression analysis found that treatment technique and apicocoronal location of cemental tears may affect the treatment outcome. The percentage of healed cemental tear cases located in the apical, middle, and cervical third of roots was 11.1%, 66.7%, and 60.0%, respectively. By surgical management, 57.7% of cemental tears were healed, whereas only 28.6% cases were healed after nonsurgical treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Most teeth with cemental tears can be retained to function by nonsurgical and surgical periodontal and endodontic treatment. Clinical diagnosis and treatment of cemental tears should also consider the apicocoronal location and the type of treatment technique to improve outcomes.