Investigation of markers of allergic sensitization and viral infections in children with allergy and asthma.

BACKGROUND: Allergic diseases are the most prevalent chronic diseases in the developed countries. It is believed that early allergic sensitization and respiratory viral infections play an important role in the development of allergic diseases and asthma. METHODS: The current study investigated the correlation between asthma, allergy, and various markers - allergen-specific IgE, IgG4 and IgA, ECP, IgM, and IgG antibodies against respiratory viruses hRSV and hPIV1-4 - in blood serum samples from 80 children (mean age 5.2 years) recruited from the Lithuanian birth cohort. Children were divided into three groups according to their diagnosis: asthma (n = 25), allergy without asthma (n = 14), and control group (n = 41). RESULTS: Based on retrospective data, airway infections and bronchitis by the age of two years were associated with asthma in later childhood. The presence of IgM and IgG antibodies against hRSV and hPIV1-4 at the age of five years were not associated with asthma and allergy: a high rate of persistent or past respiratory viral infections was revealed in all three groups. Among allergic children, increased levels of allergen-specific IgE and d1-specific IgG4 were determined. CONCLUSION: The current study provides new insights into the relationships between allergic sensitization and respiratory virus infections in children.

Culture and the prevalence of hallucinations in schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: Besides demographic, clinical, familial, and biographical factors, culture and ethnicity may plausibly influence the manifestation of hallucinations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of culture on the frequency of different kinds of hallucinations in schizophrenia. METHOD: Patients with a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia were diagnosed by means of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria. Seven independent samples were consecutively recruited in Austria, Lithuania, Poland, Georgia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Pakistan using identical inclusion/exclusion criteria and assessment procedures (N = 1080 patients total). The association of key demographic factors (sex and age), clinical factors (age at onset and duration of illness), and country of origin with hallucinations of different kinds was examined. RESULTS: The prevalence of various kinds of hallucinations was substantially different in the samples; however, the rank order of their occurrence was similar. Auditory hallucinations were relatively infrequent in Austria and Georgia and more prevalent in patients with an early age at onset of disease. Visual hallucinations were more frequently reported by the West African patients compared with subjects from the other 5 countries. Cenesthetic hallucinations were most prevalent in Ghana and in patients with a long duration of illness. CONCLUSION: We hypothesize that the prevalence of the different kinds of hallucinations in schizophrenia is the result of the interaction of a variety of factors like cultural patterns as well as clinical parameters. According to our study, culture seems to play a decisive role and should be taken into account to a greater extent in considerations concerning the pathogenesis of psychotic symptoms.

Delusions of persecution and poisoning in patients with schizophrenia: sociocultural and religious background.

This article presents data on the phenomenology of delusions of persecution and poisoning in patients with schizophrenia and determines parallels between sociodemographic status and personal religiosity and this type of delusions. We have studied the content of delusions in patients with schizophrenia looking for persecution and poisoning themes using Fragebogen fuer psychotische Symptome (FPS). A total of 295 patients suffering from schizophrenia participated in this study; 74.7% reported delusions of persecution. The proportion of female patients (81.9%) who felt persecuted was almost one-third higher than the proportion of male patients (66.9%). The prevalence of delusions of persecution was lower in the group of persons for whom their faith was personally important (73.4%) than in the atheistic group (86.7%). Delusions of persecution and poisoning were strongly intercorrelated. Delusions of poisoning were reported by 57.8% of respondents: 54.8% by male and 60.6% by female patients. In multivariate analysis, delusions of persecution were more prevalent in women compared to men; in those with a chronic course of illness compared to those with periodic course; in those with small size of family compared to those with large family. The presence of delusions of being poisoned was related to older age of the patient, higher than secondary education, chronic course of schizophrenia, and younger parental age. Personal importance of the faith was not associated with prevalence of delusions of persecution and poisoning in patients with schizophrenia.

Are religious delusions related to religiosity in schizophrenia?

This article attempts to explore the phenomenology of religious delusions in patients suffering from schizophrenia and to determine parallels between personal religiosity and content of religious delusions. We have studied the content of delusions in patients with schizophrenia looking for religious themes using Fragebogen fur psychotische Symptome (FPS)--a semi-structured questionnaire developed by the Cultural Psychiatry International research group in Vienna. A total of 295 patients suffering from schizophrenia participated in this study at Vilnius Mental Health Center in Lithuania, among whom 63.3% reported religious delusions. The most frequent content of religious delusion in women was their belief that they were saints and in men--that they imagined themselves as God. Univariate multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that four factors such as marital status, birthplace, education, and subjective importance of religion were significantly related to the presence of religious delusions. However, multivariate analyses revealed that marital status (divorced/separated vs. married OR (odds ratio)=2.0; 95% CI, 1.1 to 3.5) and education (postsecondary education vs. no postsecondary education OR=2.3; 95% CI, 1.4 to 3.9), but not personal religiosity, were independent predictors of the religious delusions. We conclude that the religious content of delusions is not influenced by personal religiosity; it is rather related to marital status and education of schizophrenic patients.