Incidence rates and employment trends in schizophrenia spectrum disorders, bipolar affective disorders and recurrent depression in the years 2000-2013: a Danish nationwide register-based study.

AIMS: The study aimed to investigate time trends in incidence rates in schizophrenic spectrum disorders (ICD-10: F20-F29), bipolar affective disorder (ICD-10: F30, F31), and recurrent depression (ICD-10: F33) and to investigate the rates of employment for all incident cases. METHOD: We used nationwide longitudinal data from 2000 to 2013 on all psychiatric inpatients and outpatients contacts in Denmark. Age-adjusted incidence rate ratios were calculated for the three diagnostic groups, and rates of employment, education, and disability pension were measured 1 year before and 2 years after the diagnosis for all the incident cases. RESULTS: The incidence rates increased significantly in all diagnostic groups and both sexes. Comparing the incidence rates in 2013 with 2000 yielded an incidence rate ratio of 1.67 (95% CI 1.51-1.84) for schizophrenic spectrum disorders, 3.82 (95% CI 3.23-4.52) for bipolar affective disorder, and 2.80 (95% CI 2.58-3.04) for recurrent depression. During the same observation period, the employment rates decreased, both 1 year before and 2 years after diagnosis in all three subgroups. In the year 2002, employment rates, 2 years after diagnosis, were 24.6% for schizophrenia spectrum disorder, 35.0% for bipolar affective disorder and 47.1% for recurrent depression. These rates had declined to 15.8%, 26.8%, and 34.7%, respectively, in 2013. CONCLUSION: This study of three severe mental illness subgroups shows significant increasing incidence rates and decreasing employment rates both before and after the diagnosis between 2000 and 2013, highlighting the importance of timely and correct volume of the psychiatric treatment and vocational rehabilitation programs.

Predictors of work and education among people with severe mental illness who participated in the Danish individual placement and support study: findings from a randomized clinical trial.

PURPOSE: People with severe mental illness experience disproportionately high rates of unemployment. Nonetheless, a substantial amount of research has demonstrated vocational benefits of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model and IPS supplemented with cognitive remediation (IPSE). The present study sought to examine demographic and clinical predictors of employment or education among people with severe mental illness and to investigate if IPS or IPSE can compensate for risk factors for unemployment. METHODS: Seven hundred twenty participants were randomly assigned to IPS, IPSE or Service as Usual. During the 18-month follow-up period participants in the two experimental groups obtained significantly more work or education. A series of univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the predictive power of demographic and clinical factors for the total population and for the three groups individually. RESULTS: The strongest predictor for vocational recovery, besides treatment allocation, was previous work history (OR = 1.78; 95% CI = 1.28-2.47). Men had a lower probability for vocational recovery compared to women (OR = 0.71; 95% CI = 0.50-0.99) and higher age was also negatively associated with work or education (OR = 0.79; 95% CI = 0.67-0.93). Moreover, vocational recovery was predicted by higher readiness for change, measured on the readiness for change scale (OR = 1.42; 95% CI = 1.19-1.70). Participation in IPS or IPSE could not compensate for negative risk factors such as low cognitive function or negative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: In a multiple logistic regression analysis age, previous work history and motivation for change were statistically significant predictors of obtaining work or education among people with severe mental illness who participated in the Danish IPS trial.

30-Month Follow-Up of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) and Cognitive Remediation for People with Severe Mental Illness: Results from a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Background: The individual placement and support (IPS) model for persons with severe mental illness has proven to be more effective than traditional vocational approaches in improving competitive work over 18 months. In this study, the longer-term effects of IPS over 30 months were investigated in a Danish setting. Method: In a randomized clinical trial, we compared the effects of IPS, IPS enhanced with cognitive remediation and work-related social skills training (IPSE), and service as usual (SAU). At three locations in Denmark, 720 patients with serious mental illnesses were randomly assigned to the three groups. Competitive employment, education, and hospital admissions were tracked for 30 months using Danish national registers. Results: The beneficial effects of IPS on competitive employment and education at the 18-month follow-up were sustained over the 30-month follow-up period. Participants receiving IPS or IPSE were more likely to obtain competitive employment or education than those who received service as usual (IPS 65%, IPSE 65%, SAU 53%, p = 0.006), and they worked on average more weeks competitively (IPS 25 weeks, IPSE 21 weeks, SAU 17 weeks; IPS vs. SAU p = 0.004 and IPSE vs. SAU p = 0.007). Moreover, participants in the two IPS groups had fewer outpatient visits during the 30-month follow-up. However, this was only statistically significant when comparing IPSE with SAU p = 0.017. Conclusion: In conclusion, IPS and IPS enhanced with cognitive remediation and work-related skills training demonstrated that the vocational effects of the interventions are retrained over 30 months in a Danish context.

Effects of Individual Placement and Support Supplemented With Cognitive Remediation and Work-Focused Social Skills Training for People With Severe Mental Illness: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Individual placement and support (IPS) seems to be an effective vocational intervention for people with severe mental illness, but its effects have not yet been shown in the Danish welfare model. Also, effects may be enhanced by adding cognitive remediation and work-focused social skills training (IPS with enhancements [IPSE]). Objectives: To investigate the effects of IPS vs IPSE vs service as usual (SAU) on a population of individuals with severe mental illness in Denmark. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was an investigator-initiated, 3-group, parallel, assessor-blinded randomized clinical trial that used early-intervention teams or community mental health services in 3 Danish cities to recruit participants with severe mental illness. Participants were randomly assigned to receive IPS, IPSE, or SAU from November 2012 to February 2016, and follow-up continued until August 2017. Interventions: Participants allocated to the IPS intervention received vocational support per the principles of the IPS model. Participants in the IPSE arm received cognitive remediation and social skills training in addition to IPS. The group receiving SAU received vocational rehabilitation at the Danish job centers. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was the number of hours in competitive employment or education during the 18-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes included intergroup differences in employment or education at any point during follow-up; time to employment or education; and cognitive and social functioning, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. Results: Of the 720 included participants (mean [SD] age, 32.8 [9.9] years; 276 [38.3%] women), 243 received IPS, 238 received IPSE, and 239 received SAU. Most participants (551 [76.5%]) were diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder. During the 18-month follow-up, the IPSE group worked or studied a mean (SD) of 488.1 (735.6) hours, compared with 340.8 (573.8) hours in the group receiving SAU (success-rate difference [SRD], 0.151 [95% CI, 0.01-0.295]; P = .016). The mean (SD) in the IPS group was 411 (656.9) (SRD, 0.127 [95% CI, -0.017 to 0.276]; P = .004). There was no difference between IPS and IPSE in any vocational outcomes, and the 3 groups showed no differences in any nonvocational outcomes, except that the IPS and IPSE groups were more satisfied with the services received than the group receiving SAU (IPS vs SAU: SRD, 0.310 [95% CI, 0.167-0.445]); IPSE vs SAU: SRD, 0.341 [95% CI, 0.187-0.478]). Conclusions and Relevance: Compared with SAU, IPS and IPSE seem to be viable routes to increase employment and education rates in people with severe mental illness in Denmark, but no additional effects were observed by enhancing IPS. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01722344.