Acceptance and commitment therapy for autistic adults: A randomized controlled pilot study in a psychiatric outpatient setting.

LAY ABSTRACT: Autistic adults are often stressed and feel depressed or anxious. However, mental health programs that are suited for autistic adults are few. Acceptance and commitment therapy is a psychotherapy method that seems to help people feel better, although not thoroughly evaluated in autistic individuals. In this study, 20 autistic adults had 14 weeks of acceptance and commitment therapy group treatment suited for autism (NeuroACT), while 19 autistic adults had ordinary care. The acceptance and commitment therapy group treatment program seemed logical and reasonable to the participants. Also, when comparing the participants in the NeuroACT group with those in the ordinary care group, the NeuroACT participants reported less stress and higher quality of life. Compared to the ordinary care group, they could also manage distressing thoughts better, perceived themselves as more flexible, and did not avoid stressful situations as much as before. However, there was no significant difference between the groups in depression, anxiety, sleep problems, social aspects of autism, everyday functioning, or executive challenges. Slightly more NeuroACT participants did not finish the treatment than ordinary care participants. In conclusion, the NeuroACT program may be a treatment for autistic adults who feel stressed and have reduced quality of life. More studies are needed to see how helpful the NeuroACT program is for autistic adults.

Association of Skin Psoriasis and Somatic Comorbidity With the Development of Psychiatric Illness in a Nationwide Swedish Study.

Importance: Psoriasis is a complex systemic disease with skin involvement, somatic comorbidity, and psychiatric illness (PI). Although this view of psoriasis is widely accepted, potential synergies within this triad of symptoms have not been adequately investigated. Objectives: To investigate the independent association of skin psoriasis and somatic comorbidity with the development of PI and to assess whether skin psoriasis and somatic comorbidity act synergistically to produce a risk of PI that is greater than the additive associations. Design, Setting, and Participants: Participants were enrolled between January 2005 and December 2010, in this retrospective matched case-control study using secondary (ie, administrative), population-based registry data from Swedish patients in routine clinical care. The dates of analysis were March 2017 to December 2019. Participants were patients with skin psoriasis and control participants without psoriasis matched on age, sex, and municipality, who were all free of preexisting PI. Exposures: Presence of skin psoriasis and somatic comorbidity (captured through the Charlson Comorbidity Index and the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index). Main Outcomes and Measures: Risk of PI onset (composite of depression, anxiety, and suicidality) is shown using Kaplan-Meier curves stratified by the presence of skin psoriasis and somatic comorbidity. Adjusted associations of skin psoriasis and somatic comorbidity with the development of PI were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards regression models, including interactions to assess synergistic associations. The 3 components of PI were also assessed individually. Results: A total of 93 239 patients with skin psoriasis (mean [SD] age, 54 [17] years; 47 475 men [51%]) and 1 387 495 control participants (mean [SD] age, 54 [16] years; 702 332 men [51%]) were included in the study. As expected, patients with skin psoriasis were more likely to have somatic comorbidity and PI than control participants. Compared with those without skin psoriasis or somatic comorbidity, patients with psoriasis without somatic comorbidity had a 1.32 times higher risk of PI onset (hazard ratio [HR], 1.32; 95% CI, 1.27-1.36; P < .001), whereas patients with psoriasis with somatic comorbidity had a 2.56 times higher risk of PI onset (HR, 2.56; 95% CI, 2.46-2.66; P < .001). No synergistic associations of skin psoriasis and somatic comorbidity with the development of PI were found (HR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.81-1.04; P = .21). Conclusions and Relevance: This study found that somatic comorbidity appeared to alter PI onset even more than skin psoriasis. The observed association of skin psoriasis and somatic comorbidity with the development of PI reinforces the need for proactive, holistic treatment of patients with psoriasis.