Assessing Functioning across Common Mental Disorders in Psychiatric Emergency Patients: Results from the WHODAS-2.

OBJECTIVE: Assessing global functioning in psychiatric emergency settings is important for clinicians to estimate severity of mental disorders, devise a treatment plan, and assess the evolution of their patients' progression over time. The World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule-2.0 (WHODAS-2) measures psychological, social, and professional functioning and is recommended as a standardized instrument of choice for use in psychiatric settings. Yet, studies investigating disability profiles of mental disorders using the WHODAS-2 are scarce, and psychometric properties have not been evaluated in a psychiatric emergency context. We describe and compare WHODAS-2 (12-item version) scores across mental disorders (anxiety, mood, psychotic, personality, and substance abuse) in adults admitted to psychiatric emergency. METHODS: Data from the Signature Bank were used. Participants admitted to psychiatric emergency completed the WHODAS-2 at admission (n = 1,125). Mental disorders were evaluated by psychiatrists, and WHODAS-2 scores were compared across groups. Psychometric properties were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). RESULTS: Higher mean WHODAS-2 scores were reported by those with anxiety, mood, and personality disorders (P < 0.001) compared to other psychopathologies. The measure showed good internal consistency (global score α = 0.88; domain subscores α = 0.59 to 0.85) and acceptable goodness of fit indices in CFA confirming the original structure of WHODAS-2. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this large-scale study could assist clinicians in interpreting WHODAS-2 scores in psychiatric populations and provide a more detailed portrait of disability profiles associated with different clinical diagnoses.

Altered brain processing of decision-making in healthy first-degree biological relatives of suicide completers.

Suicidal behavior is heritable, with the transmission of risk being related to the transmission of vulnerability traits. Previous studies suggest that risky decision-making may be an endophenotype of suicide. Here, we aimed at investigating brain processing of decision-making in relatives of suicide completers in order to shed light on heritable mechanisms of suicidal vulnerability. Seventeen healthy first-degree biological relatives of suicide completers with no personal history of suicidal behavior, 16 relatives of depressed patients without any personal or family history of suicidal behavior, and 19 healthy controls were recruited. Functional 3 T magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired while participants underwent the Iowa Gambling Task, an economic decision-making test. Whole-brain analyses contrasting activations during risky vs safe choices were conducted with AFNI and FSL. Individuals with a family history of suicide in comparison to control groups showed altered contrasts in left medial orbitofrontal cortex, and right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. This pattern was different from the neural basis of familial depression. Moreover, controls in comparison to relatives showed increased contrast in several regions including the post-central gyrus, posterior cingulate and parietal cortices, and cerebellum (culmen) in familial suicide; and inferior parietal, temporal, occipital, anteromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, and cerebellum (vermis) in familial depression. These findings most likely represent a complex combination of vulnerability and protective mechanisms in relatives. They also support a significant role for deficient risk processing, and ventral and dorsal prefrontal cortex functioning in the suicidal diathesis.

First-degree relatives of suicide completers may have impaired decision-making but functional cognitive control.

BACKGROUND: The heritability of suicide is well established. Transmission of risk appears to follow traits more than disorders like depression. In the present project, we aimed at investigating the potential for transmission of cognitive deficits previously observed in suicide attempters, specifically impaired decision-making and cognitive control. METHODS: Seventeen healthy first-degree relatives of suicide completers with no personal history of suicidal act were compared to 18 first-degree relatives of individuals with major depressive disorder but no family history of suicidal act, and 19 healthy controls. Decision-making was assessed with the Iowa Gambling Task, and cognitive control with the Stroop Task, the Hayling Sentence Completion Test, and the Trail-Making Test. RESULTS: Both suicide and depressed relatives showed lower gambling task net scores than healthy controls. However, there were trends toward lower learning abilities in suicide than depressed relatives (interaction: p = 0.07), with more risky choices at the end of the test. Suicide relatives also showed a higher number of self-corrected errors relative to the total number of errors in the Stroop colour test compared to both control groups, with no difference in interference scores. There was no group-difference for any other cognitive tests. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that decision-making impairment may be found in healthy relatives of suicides and represent a cognitive endophenotype of suicidal behaviour. Normal cognitive control (or self-corrected deficits) may protect relatives against suicidal acts. Impairments in value-based and control processes may, therefore, be part of the suicide vulnerability and represent potential targets of preventative interventions.

Relationships between intramuscular fat content, selected carcass traits, and fatty acid profile in bulls using a F2-population.

The quality and nutritional value of beef is related to the amount of intramuscular fat (IMF) as well as to its fatty acid composition. In this study the relations between the IMF content and the total fatty acid composition, the fatty acids (FA) of triacylglycerols (TG) and the FA of phospholipids (PL) in longissimus muscle of F(2) Charolais×German Holstein crossbred bulls have been analysed. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA, C18:2n-6; C18:3n-3) and stearic acid (C18:0) are strongly positively correlated to IMF in longissimus muscle at the quantitative level (mg/100g fresh tissue), but there are negative correlation coefficients for the relative proportion of these fatty acids to IMF. The relationships between IMF and the fatty acid profile of the subfractions TG and PL are lower compared to total muscle fat. Selected carcass fat traits are positively correlated to most of the fatty acids.

Validation of a simplified physical activity record by doubly labeled water technique.

INTRODUCTION: For obtaining reliable information about physical activity in epidemiological studies, validated and easy-to-use instruments are required. Therefore, a new simplified physical activity record based on 15-min recording intervals was developed and validated. SUBJECTS: Nonobese volunteers (n = 31). MEASUREMENTS: Physical activity was recorded over a 7-day period without detailed instructions. Energy expenditure was calculated (EE(sPAR)) and compared to energy expenditure measured by doubly labelled water technique (EE(DLW)). RESULTS: A good agreement between EE(sPAR) (12.1+/-3.0) and EE(DLW) (11.7+/-3.3) with a mean difference of 0.33+/-1.55 MJ (r = 0.880, P < 0.001) was observed. The absolute difference between EE(sPAR) and EE(DLW) was < 10% in 65% of the subjects. The difference between EE(sPAR) and EE(DLW) was independent of gender, age, body weight, and body mass index. A weak positive association between the difference and total body fat was observed (r = 0.618, P < 0.001), suggesting a slight tendency to overestimate EE(sPAR) with increasing total body fat. CONCLUSION: The new simplified physical activity protocol needs no detailed instructions, provides valid estimates of physical activity in nonobese free-living adults and can be used in epidemiological studies to assess total daily energy expenditure and physical activity level.