A mental health needs assessment of children and adolescents in post-conflict Liberia: results from a quantitative key-informant survey.

Between 1989 and 2004, Liberia experienced a devastating civil war that resulted in widespread trauma with almost no mental health infrastructure to help citizens cope. In 2009, the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare collaborated with researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital to conduct a rapid needs assessment survey in Liberia with local key informants (n = 171) to examine the impact of war and post-war events on emotional and behavioral problems of, functional limitations of, and appropriate treatment settings for Liberian youth aged 5-22. War exposure and post-conflict sexual violence, poverty, infectious disease and parental death negatively impacted youth mental health. Key informants perceived that youth displayed internalizing and externalizing symptoms and mental health-related functional impairment at home, school, work and in relationships. Medical clinics were identified as the most appropriate setting for mental health services. Youth in Liberia continue to endure the harsh social, economic and material conditions of everyday life in a protracted post-conflict state, and have significant mental health needs. Their observed functional impairment due to mental health issues further limited their access to protective factors such as education, employment and positive social relationships. Results from this study informed Liberia's first post-conflict mental health policy.

Aripiprazole added to overweight and obese olanzapine-treated schizophrenia patients.

Olanzapine treatment has been associated with clinically meaningful weight increases, hypertriglyceridemia, insulin resistance, and diabetes mellitus. There are few options for olanzapine responders who fail other antipsychotic agents. Aripiprazole is a potent (high-affinity) partial agonist at D2 and 5-HT1A receptors and a potent antagonist at 5-HT2A receptor and is associated with less weight gain than olanzapine. We report the results of a 10-week placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study that examined 15 mg/d aripiprazole's effects on weight, lipids, glucose metabolism, and psychopathology in overweight and obese schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder subjects treated with a stable dose of olanzapine. During the 4 weeks of aripiprazole treatment, there were significant decreases in weight (P = 0.003) and body mass index (P = 0.004) compared with placebo. Total serum cholesterol (P = 0.208), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C; P = 0.99), HDL-2 (P = 0.08), HDL-3 (P = 0.495), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.665) did not change significantly comparing aripiprazole treatment to placebo treatment. However, total serum triglycerides (P = 0.001), total very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C; P = 0.01), and VLDL-1C and VLDL-2C (P = 0.012) decreased significantly during the aripiprazole treatment phase. The VLDL-3C tended lower during aripiprazole, but the decrease was not significant (P = 0.062). There was a decrease in C-reactive protein comparing aripiprazole treatment to placebo, although it did not reach significance (P = 0.087). The addition of aripiprazole to a stable dose of olanzapine was well tolerated and resulted in significant improvements on several outcome measures that predict risk for medical morbidity.

Ziprasidone as an adjuvant for clozapine- or olanzapine-associated medical morbidity in chronic schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to examine the effect of ziprasidone on olanzapine or clozapine-associated medical morbidity such as insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus (DM) and impaired fasting glucose, obesity, and hyperlipidemia in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. METHOD: This was a 6-week, open label trial of ziprasidone 160 mg/day added to a stable dose of olanzapine or clozapine in 21 schizophrenia or schizoaffective patients with DM, impaired fasting glucose, or insulin resistance. RESULTS: Ten olanzapine-treated subjects and 11 clozapine-treated subjects were enrolled in the study. There were no significant differences between the two groups at baseline for age, gender, education, ethnicity, BMI, cholesterol levels, or fasting glucose. At week 6, there were no significant changes in weight, BMI, cholesterol levels, or fasting glucose. There was no significant difference in psychotic, negative, or depressive symptoms. QTc significantly increased at week 2 but not at week 6. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of 160 mg/day of ziprasidone was well tolerated but did not produce significant improvement in fasting glucose, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia or lead to weight loss in olanzapine- or clozapine-treated subjects with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder.

Dietary intake profile of patients with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity has become a priority public health issue in the United States. Forty to 62% of people with schizophrenia are obese or overweight (1, 2). High morbidity and mortality in schizophrenia may be attributed to an unhealthy lifestyle such as poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, and substance abuse (3). Obesity is associated with greater risk of developing hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, death, and reduced quality of life compared with that found in the general population (4, 5). We performed a cross-sectional study evaluating the dietary intake of patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder treated with atypical antipsychotic agents. METHODS: Dietary intake of 88 patients from an urban community mental health clinic was measured using a four-day dietary record. Nutritional variables included total energy intake, fat, protein, carbohydrate, cholesterol, fiber, sucrose, folate, calcium, sodium, zinc, alcohol and caffeine. Data were compared to the general population using data matched for age, gender, and ethnicity from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2000. RESULTS: The Body Mass Index (BMI) of the schizophrenia group (M = 31.3, SD = 12.67) was significantly greater than the NHANES group (M = 28.3, SD = 6.62) (p = .001). The schizophrenia group consumed significantly fewer calories, carbohydrate, protein, total fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), fiber, folate, sodium and alcohol and significantly more caffeine than the NHANES group. CONCLUSIONS: The findings may suggest that obesity in schizophrenia patients is not solely related to food consumption, but perhaps other effects including medication side effects and reduced physical activity. Education and interventions for the schizophrenia population should focus more on overall lifestyle factors such as physical activity and healthy food choices.