OBJECTIVE: Adverse childhood experiences are linked to the development of a number of psychiatric illnesses in adulthood. Our study examined the pattern of adverse childhood experiences and their relation to the age of onset of major psychiatric conditions in individuals from families that had ⩾2 first-degree relatives with major psychiatric conditions (multiplex families), identified as part of an ongoing longitudinal study. METHODS: Our sample consisted of 509 individuals from 215 families. Of these, 268 were affected, i.e., diagnosed with bipolar disorder (n = 61), obsessive-compulsive disorder (n = 58), schizophrenia (n = 52), substance dependence (n = 59) or co-occurring diagnoses (n = 38), while 241 were at-risk first-degree relatives who were either unaffected (n = 210) or had other depressive or anxiety disorders (n = 31). All individuals were evaluated using the Adverse Childhood Experiences - International Questionnaire and total adverse childhood experiences exposure and severity scores were calculated. RESULTS: It was seen that affected males, as a group, had the greatest adverse childhood experiences exposure and severity scores in our sample. A Cox mixed effects model fit by gender revealed that a higher total adverse childhood experiences severity score was associated with significantly increased risk for an earlier age of onset of psychiatric diagnoses in males. A similar model that evaluated the interaction of diagnosis revealed an earlier age of onset in obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance dependence, but not in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that adverse childhood experiences were associated with an earlier onset of major psychiatric conditions in men and individuals diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance dependence. Ongoing longitudinal assessments in first-degree relatives from these families are expected to identify mechanisms underlying this relationship.
Adult Survivors of Child Adverse Events/psychology , Adverse Childhood Experiences , Mental Disorders/psychology , Adult , Age of Onset , Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Female , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Male , Middle Aged , Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder/psychology , Substance-Related Disorders/psychology
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to discuss the prevalence of polycystic ovary (PCO) and Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in women with epilepsy (WWE) on valproate (VPA), carbamazepine (CBZ), or phenobarbitone (PB), drug naive WWE and women with bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) on VPA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study included 190 women aged 18-45 years, who had epilepsy or BPAD (on VPA), and consented for study. Patients were grouped as Group 1 (n = 40): WWE on VPA, Group 2 (n = 50): WWE on CBZ, Group 3 (n = 50): WWE on PB, Group 4 (n = 30): drug naïve WWE, and Group 5 (n = 20): women with BPAD on VPA. All women were interviewed for medical, menstrual, drug and treatment history, nature of epilepsy, and seizure control. Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were done to compare results between the groups. RESULTS: Fifty-two women (52/190; 27.4%) had menstrual disturbances, in which oligomenorrhea was the most common (55.8%). There was a significant difference in the occurrence of PCOS in patients on VPA versus normal population (P = 0.05) and patients on other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) (P = 0.02). There was, however, no significant difference in the occurrence of PCO between patients on VPA and the untreated epileptic women. VPA group (Epilepsy + BPAD) had a significantly higher occurrence of obesity than other treatment groups (P = 0.043, OR = 2.11). CONCLUSIONS: The study observed significantly higher occurrence of PCO in patients on VPA compared to other AEDs and the normal population. The importance of proper clinical evaluation before initiating VPA is highlighted.
