Catatonia in patients with dementia: A descriptive study of clinical profiles and treatment response.

BACKGROUND: Catatonia is a highly prevalent syndrome in patients presenting with major neurocognitive disorders (dementia). In this study, we aim to provide a comprehensive description of the clinical and therapeutic aspects of catatonia in patients with dementia. METHOD: This descriptive study, conducted between September 2015 and June 2022, collected data from 25 patients diagnosed with dementia, out of 143 patients treated for catatonia in our specialized psychiatry department. We collected sociodemographic, clinical and treatment data for each patient. RESULTS: Dementia patients constituted 17% of the catatonic cases. Predominantly female, the cohort had a mean age of 65. Diagnoses included Alzheimer's (4 patients, 17%) and Parkinson's (1 patient, 4%) diseases, Lewy body dementia (5 patients, 21%), vascular dementia (4 patients, 17%) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (10 patients, 41%). The mean Bush-Francis Catatonia Rating Scale score upon admission was 20/69. Overall, complete remission of catatonia was achieved in 75% of patients (n=18), with only 13% (n=3) responding to lorazepam alone, while others required additional interventions such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and/or amantadine. Vascular dementia was predominantly observed in cases resistant to treatment. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate a frequent co-occurrence of catatonia and dementia, highlighting treatability yet suggesting a potential for resistance to lorazepam, which varies by dementia diagnosis. Investigating the mechanisms underlying this resistance and the variability in treatment response is crucial for developing more precise therapeutic strategies.

Risk factors of suicide in prisons: a comprehensive retrospective cohort study in France, 2017-2020.

PURPOSE: Suicide is a leading cause of death in prison and the suicide rates are several times higher in the prison population than in the general population in most countries. Of the studies that have investigated risk factors for suicide in prison, few have controlled for possible confounding factors. The aim of this study is to identify risk factors of suicide among people in French prisons, over a four-year period. METHODS: All incarcerations that occurred in France during 2017-2020 were eligible. Sociodemographic, criminal and prison characteristics were collected for each incarceration from data of the National Prison Service. Survival univariate and multivariate analyses were performed with a Cox regression model. RESULTS: 358,522 incarcerations were included, of which 449 ended in suicide during the follow-up. The median length of prison stay was 5.1 months. The median age at prison entry was 30 years and 95.8% of incarcerations involved men. The overall suicide rate was 173 [157-189] per 100,000 person-years. Factors associated with suicide in the multivariate model (p < 0.05) were the early stage of incarceration and in particular the first week (HR = 7.6 [5.4-10.8]), violent offences and in particular homicide (HR = 3.0 [2.1-4.2]), French (HR = 1.7 [1.2-2.4]) and other European nationalities (HR = 2.1 [1.4-3.3]), age above 40 (HR = 2.0 [1.5-2.6]), pre-trial incarceration (HR = 1.8 [1.4-2.3]), being separated (HR = 1.6 [1.1-2.3] and having a high school diploma (HR = 1.4 [1.0-1.8]). CONCLUSIONS: Factors associated with suicide in prison are complex and involve individuals' criminal history as well as conditions of incarceration. These characteristics may be relevant to focus suicide prevention efforts.

Clinical and neuroimaging predictors of benzodiazepine response in catatonia: A machine learning approach.

Catatonia is a well characterized psychomotor syndrome combining motor, behavioural and neurovegetative signs. Benzodiazepines are the first-choice treatment, effective in 70 % of cases. Currently, the factors associated with benzodiazepine resistance remain unknown. We aimed to develop machine learning models using clinical and neuroimaging data to predict benzodiazepine response in catatonic patients. This study examined a cohort of catatonic patients who underwent standardized clinical evaluation, 3 T brain MRI, and benzodiazepine trial. Based on clinical response, patients were classified as benzodiazepine responders or non-responders. Cortical thickness and regional brain volumes were measured. Two machine learning models (linear model and gradient boosting tree model) were developed to identify predictors of treatment response using clinical, demographic, and neuroimaging data. The cohort included 65 catatonic patients, comprising 30 benzodiazepine responders and 35 non-responders. Using clinical data alone, the linear model achieved 63% precision, 51% recall, a specificity of 61%, and 58% AUC, while the gradient boosting tree (GBT) model attained 46% precision, 60% recall, a specificity of 62% and 64% AUC. Incorporating neuroimaging data improved model performance, with the linear model achieving 66% precision, 57% recall, a specificity of 67%, and 70% AUC, and the GBT model attaining 50% precision, 50% recall, a specificity of 62% and 70% AUC. The integration of imaging data with demographic and clinical information significantly enhanced the predictive performance of the models. The duration of the catatonic syndrome, along with the presence of mitgehen (passive obedience) and immobility/stupor, and the volume of the right medial orbito-frontal cortex emerged as important factors in predicting non-response to benzodiazepines.

Suicide following a conviction, solitary confinement, or transfer in people incarcerated: A comprehensive retrospective cohort study in France, 2017-2020.

INTRODUCTION: Suicide rates are higher in prison than in the general population in most countries. The proximity of some suicides to prison events has only received little attention in comparative studies. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between suicide and four prison events: conviction, disciplinary solitary confinement, nondisciplinary solitary confinement and inter-prison transfer, in a national retrospective cohort study of people in prison. METHODS: All incarcerations in France that occurred during 2017-2020 were eligible. Data were collected from an administrative database of the National Prison Service. Survival bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed with a Cox regression model. RESULTS: Of 358,522 incarcerations were included, among which 469,348 events and 449 suicides occurred. In multivariate analysis, suicide risk was higher the first day of disciplinary solitary confinement (HR = 42.1 [21.5-82.7] and HR = 119.0 [71.5-197.9], before and after a government decree on the disciplinary system, respectively. It was higher within 2 weeks after a transfer (HR = 3.5 [2.3-5.2])) or entry in nondisciplinary solitary confinement (HR = 6.7 [3.4-13.3]) and lower within 2 weeks after a conviction (HR = 0.6 [0.4-1.0]). CONCLUSION: Solitary confinement and transfer were found to be precipitating factors of suicide in people who are incarcerated. These results offer interesting perspectives on prevention.

[Prevalence of mental disorders in French prisons: A systematic review]. / Prévalence des troubles psychiatriques en population carcérale française : une revue systématique de la littérature.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of psychiatric disorders among prisoners remains a major public health issue worldwide. In France, despite the increasing number of persons who are incarcerated (+30% between 1992 and 2002 with a 120% prison overcrowding), and a historical concern about the mental health of persons in detention and its management, no systematic review has been published on this subject. The aim of this article is to present the results of a systematic review of the literature on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in French prisons. METHOD: The reporting of this systematic review conforms to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) checklist. We searched the PubMed and Web of Science databases. We used combinations of keywords relating to prison (prison*, jail*, inmate*), to psychiatry ("mental health", psychiatr*), and to France (France, French). This work was completed with a search through the digital libraries of the École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique (EHESP) and of the Système Universitaire de Documentation (Sudoc) to obtain data from academic works and the gray literature. References cited in studies included in this review were also examined. All references published up to September 2022, written in English or French, presenting the results of original quantitative studies on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in correctional settings were included. Two researchers independently extracted data from included references according to a pre-established protocol. RESULTS: Among 501 records identified, a total of 35 papers based on 24 epidemiological studies met the eligibility criteria for inclusion in this review: 16 were cross-sectional, 7 retrospective and 1 both cross-sectional and retrospective. All papers were published between 1999 and 2022. We found one European study, 5 international studies, 18 regional or local studies. Of these, 21 studies had all-male or mixed gender samples (but when the sample was mixed gender, it was always at least 92% male). Almost half of the studies (n=11) involved a small sample of fewer than 500 persons. Half of the studies involved a sample of recently incarcerated persons: 6 involved a random sample of persons in detention, and 1 involved a sample of people incarcerated for more than 5 years. The last 5 studies focused on persons aged over 50 years and incarcerated for more than one year (n=1), incarcerated for sexual offences (n=2), placed in disciplinary cells (n=1) or in a special wing for radicalized or suspected radicalized individuals (n=1). Nine studies used standardized and validated diagnostic tools. According to the 4 studies involving representative samples and using standardized and validated diagnostic tools, the prevalence of the following psychiatric disorders was: 29.4-44.4% for anxiety disorders, 5-14.2% for PTSD, 28-31.2% for mood disorders, 6.9-17% for psychotic disorders, 32% for personality disorders and 11% for ADHD. CONCLUSION: This systematic review of the literature highlights the high prevalence of psychiatric disorders in French prisons. The data collected are in line with international studies. The great methodological heterogeneity of the papers included in this review calls for further rigorous research to better understand the rates of mental disorders in French prisons and to explore their determinants.

Somatic Symptom Disorder-B criteria scale (SSD-12): Psychometric properties of the French version and associations with health outcomes in a population-based cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: The 12-item Somatic Symptom Disorder-B Criteria Scale (SSD-12) is a self-reported questionnaire designed to assess the B criteria of the DSM-5 somatic symptom disorder. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the SSD-12 French version and associated health outcomes. METHODS: Participants were volunteers from the population-based CONSTANCES cohort who reported at least one new symptom that occurred between March 2020 and January 2021. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale (CES-D). RESULTS: A total of 18,796 participants completed the SSD-12. The scree plot was consistent with a 1-factor structure, while goodness-of-fit indices of the confirmatory factorial analyses and clinical interpretability were consistent with a 3-factor structure (excluding the item 7): 'Perceived severity', 'Perceived impairment', 'Negative expectations'. The Cronbach's α coefficients of the total and factors scores were 0.90, 0.88, 0.84 and 0.877, respectively. The total score was associated with depressive symptoms (Spearmann's rho: 0.32), self-rated health (-0.46), the number of persistent symptoms (0.32), and seeking medical consultation (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] for one interquartile range increase: 1.51 [1.48-1.54]). Among participants seeking medical consultation, those with higher SSD-12 scores were more likely to have their symptoms attributed to "stress/anxiety/depression" (1.32 [1.22-1.43]) and "psychosomatic origin" (1.25 [1.20-1.29]), and less to "COVID-19" (0.89 [0.85-0.93]). CONCLUSION: While the SSD-12 French version can be used as a unidimensional tool, it also has a 3-factor structure, somewhat different from the DSM-5 theoretical structure, with high internal consistency and clinically meaningful associations with other health outcomes.

Exploring seasonality in catatonia diagnosis: Evidence from a large-scale population study.

Catatonia is a severe psychomotor syndrome mainly associated with psychiatric disorders, such as mood disorders and schizophrenia. Seasonal patterns have been described for these psychiatric disorders, and a previous study conducted in South London showed for the first time a seasonal pattern in the onset of catatonia. In this study, we aim to extend those findings to a larger national sample of patients admitted to French metropolitan hospitals, between 2015 and 2022, and to perform subgroup analyses by the main associated psychiatric disorder. A total of 6225 patients diagnosed with catatonia were included. A seasonal pattern for catatonia diagnosis was described, using cosinor models. Two peaks of diagnoses for catatonic cases were described in March and around September-October. Depending on the associated psychiatric disorder, the seasonality of catatonia diagnosis differed. In patients suffering with mood disorders, peaks of catatonia diagnosis were found in March and July. For patients suffering with schizophrenia, no seasonal pattern was found.

Identification of Psycho-Socio-Judicial Trajectories and Factors Associated With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in People Over 15 Years of Age Who Recently Reported Sexual Assault to a Forensic Medical Center: Protocol for a Multicentric Prospective Study Using Mixed Methods and Artificial Intelligence.

BACKGROUND: Sexual assault (SA) can lead to a range of adverse effects on physical, sexual, and mental health, as well as on one's social life, financial stability, and overall quality of life. However, not all people who experience SA will develop negative functional outcomes. Various risk and protective factors can influence psycho-socio-judicial trajectories. However, how these factors influence trauma adaptation and the onset of early posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is not always clear. OBJECTIVE: Guided by an ecological framework, this project has 3 primary objectives: (1) to describe the 1-year psycho-socio-judicial trajectories of individuals recently exposed to SA who sought consultation with a forensic practitioner; (2) to identify predictive factors for the development of PTSD during the initial forensic examination using artificial intelligence; and (3) to explore the perceptions, needs, and experiences of individuals who have been sexually assaulted. METHODS: This longitudinal multicentric cohort study uses a mixed methods approach. Quantitative cohort data are collected through an initial questionnaire completed by the physician during the first forensic examination and through follow-up telephone questionnaires at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after the SA. The questionnaires measure factors associated with PTSD, mental, physical, social, and overall functional outcomes, as well as psycho-socio-judicial trajectories. Cohort participants are recruited through their forensic examination at 1 of the 5 participating centers based in France. Eligible participants are aged 15 or older, have experienced SA in the last 30 days, are fluent in French, and can be reached by phone. Qualitative data are gathered through semistructured interviews with cohort participants, individuals who have experienced SA but are not part of the cohort, and professionals involved in their psycho-socio-judicial care. RESULTS: Bivariate and multivariate analyses will be conducted to examine the associations between each variable and mental, physical, social, and judicial outcomes. Predictive analyses will be performed using multiple prediction algorithms to forecast PTSD. Qualitative data will be integrated with quantitative data to identify psycho-socio-judicial trajectories and enhance the prediction of PTSD. Additionally, data on the perceptions and needs of individuals who have experienced SA will be analyzed independently to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences and requirements. CONCLUSIONS: This project will collect extensive qualitative and quantitative data that have never been gathered over such an extended period, leading to unprecedented insights into the psycho-socio-judicial trajectories of individuals who have recently experienced SA. It represents the initial phase of developing a functional artificial intelligence tool that forensic practitioners can use to better guide individuals who have recently experienced SA, with the aim of preventing the onset of PTSD. Furthermore, it will contribute to addressing the existing gap in the literature regarding the accessibility and effectiveness of support services for individuals who have experienced SA in Europe. This comprehensive approach, encompassing the entire psycho-socio-judicial continuum and taking into account the viewpoints of SA survivors, will enable the generation of innovative recommendations for enhancing their care across all stages, starting from the initial forensic examination. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/46652.

Deinstitutionalization, community-based care and incarceration of people with severe mental illness: Out of sight, out of mind?

Although the international literature points to a number of benefits from deinstitutionalization, such as limiting coercion, more cost-effectiveness of care systems, and better use of community care, it may be helpful to take a broader perspective on where coercion and institutionalization of people with severe mental illnesses (SMI) and/or substance use disorders frequently occur: in prisons and jails. In this comment, we propose to move beyond the inpatient/outpatient dichotomy.

[Isolation and mechanical restraint in psychiatry]. / Isolement et contention mécanique en psychiatrie.

Since 2016, there has been a succession of legal texts aimed at framing the use of seclusion and mechanical restraint in psychiatric services. These legal evolutions are not without consequence on the practice of caregivers. We propose here a practical summary of this issue.

[Soothing spaces and techniques in psychiatry]. / Espaces et techniques d'apaisement en psychiatrie.

The development of alternatives to seclusion and restraint is a priority for psychiatric care services. Among them, the implementation of soothing spaces is currently experiencing considerable growth.

A pilot study investigating affective forecasting biases with a novel virtual reality-based paradigm.

A body of research indicates that people are prone to overestimate the affective impact of future events. Here, we developed a novel experimental paradigm to study these affective forecasting biases under laboratory conditions using subjective (arousal and valence) and autonomic measures (skin conductance responses, SCRs, and heart rate). Thirty participants predicted their emotional responses to 15 unpleasant, 15 neutral, and 15 pleasant scenarios (affective forecasting phase) to which they were then exposed in virtual reality (emotional experience phase). Results showed that participants anticipated more extreme arousal and valence scores than they actually experienced for unpleasant and pleasant scenarios. The emotional experience phase was characterized by classic autonomic patterns, i.e., higher SCRs for emotionally arousing scenarios and greater peak cardiac acceleration for pleasant scenarios. During the affective forecasting phase, we found only a moderate association between arousal scores and SCRs and no valence-dependent modulation of cardiac activity. This paradigm opens up new perspectives for investigating affective forecasting abilities under lab-controlled conditions, notably in psychiatric disorders with anxious anticipations.

Opening the black box of hospitalizations in French high-secure psychiatric forensic units.

INTRODUCTION: Basic epidemiological data are rare concerning the activity of specialized forensic psychiatric facilities in France. Here, we investigated the activity of the ten (640 beds) French "units for difficult patients" (unités pour malades difficiles [UMDs]). METHOD: We used the Programme de médicalisation des systèmes d'information (PMSI) database to describe the characteristics and evolution of psychiatric hospitalisations in UMDs between 2012 and 2021, as well as the age, sex, and principal diagnoses of the patients hospitalized in these facilities. RESULTS: Between 2012 and 2021, 4857 patients were hospitalized in UMDs (6082 stays). Among them, 897 (18.5%) had more than one stay. The number of admissions ranged from a minimum of 434 to a maximum of 632 per year. The number of discharges ranged from a minimum of 473 to a maximum of 609 per year. The mean length of stay was 13.5 (SD: 22.64) months with a median of 7.3 months (IQR: 4.0-14.4). Among the 6082 stays, 5721 (94.1%) involved male patients. The median age was 33 (IQR: 26-41) years. The most frequent principal psychiatric diagnoses were psychotic disorders and personality disorders. CONCLUSION: The number of individuals hospitalized in specialized forensic psychiatric facilities has been stable for 10 years in France and remains lower than in most European countries.

[The transitional mobile team, psychiatric care upon release from prison]. / L'équipe mobile transitionnelle, des soins psychiatriques en sortie de prison.

The "transitional mobile team" has been developed to optimize the management of the transition from prison to the community for people with psychiatric disorders in France. The objectives are to limit the risk of relapse and death during this high-risk period and to ensure the links between psychiatry in prison and community psychiatry.

Persistent physical symptoms after COVID-19 infection and the risk of Somatic Symptom Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Evidence shows that many patients with COVID-19 present persistent symptoms after the acute infection. Some patients may be at a high risk of developing Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD), in which persistent symptoms are accompanied by excessive and disproportionate health-related thoughts, feelings and behaviors regarding these symptoms. This study assessed the frequency of persistent physical symptoms and SSD and their associated factors in patients with confirmed COVID-19. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal retrospective study after the first two French lockdowns at the Lille University Hospital (France), including all patients with confirmed COVID-19. Persistent physical symptoms and excessive preoccupations for these symptoms were measured 8 to 10 months after the onset of COVID-19. The combination of the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 and the Somatic Symptom Disorder-B Criteria Scale was used to identify the individuals likely to present with SSD. Two linear regression models were performed to identify sociodemographic and medical risk factors of SSD. RESULTS: Among the 377 patients with a laboratory-confirmed diagnosis, 220 (58.4%) completed the questionnaires. Sixty-five percent of the 220 included patients required hospitalization, 53.6% presented at least one persistent physical symptom and 10.4% were considered to present SSD. Female sex, older age, infection during the second wave and having probable PTSD were significantly associated with the severity of SSD and SSD was associated with a significantly higher healthcare use. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of SSD should encourage clinicians to move beyond the artificial somatic/psychiatric dualism and contribute to a better alliance based on multi-disciplinary care.

Admission to jail and psychotic symptoms: a study of the psychotic continuum in a sample of recently incarcerated men.

PURPOSE: We sought to measure the prevalence of psychotic symptoms (PSs) and psychotic disorders (PDs) in a sample of men entering jail and to compare these prevalences with those observed in the general population. We also aimed to explore the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with PSs and PDs. METHODS: The Mental Health in the Prison Population (MHPP) survey interviewed 630 incarcerated men upon admission to jail, using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview. We looked for associations between sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and the presence of lifetime PSs and PDs in the MHPP and Mental Health in the General Population (MHGP) surveys, which used the same methodology to collect data from the jail and general populations of the same geographical area. RESULTS: A higher proportion of PSs without PDs was found in the MHGP group (25.3% vs. 17.8%, p < 0.001), whereas a higher prevalence of PDs was found in the MHPP group (7.0% vs. 2.6%, p < 0.001). The multivariable model indicated that subjects who were single or separated/divorced/widowed and had a history of trauma exposure were at joint risk of PSs and PDs, whereas entering jail was not associated with either PSs or PDs after adjustment for all covariates. CONCLUSION: The present study shows that PDs, but not PSs, are more prevalent in men entering jail than in the general population. This overrepresentation could be further explained by the exposure to vulnerability factors found in this population rather than by any specificity related to entering jail.

Attentional bias toward negative stimuli in PTSD: an eye-tracking study.

BACKGROUND: Research on biased processing of aversive stimuli in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has produced inconsistent results between response time (RT) and eye-tracking studies. Recent RT-based results of dot-probe studies showed no attentional bias (AB) for threat while eye-tracking research suggested heightened sustained attention for this information. Here, we used both RT-based and eye-tracking measures to explore the dynamics of AB to negative stimuli in PTSD. METHODS: Twenty-three individuals diagnosed with PTSD, 23 trauma-exposed healthy controls, and 23 healthy controls performed an emotional dot-probe task with pairs of negative and neutral scenes presented for either 1 or 2 s. Analyses included eye movements during the presentation of the scenes and RT associated with target localization. RESULTS: There was no evidence for an AB toward negative stimuli in PTSD from RT measures. However, the main eye-tracking results revealed that all three groups showed longer dwell times on negative pictures than neutral pictures at 1 s and that this AB was stronger for individuals with PTSD. Moreover, although AB disappeared for the two groups of healthy controls with prolonged exposure, it persisted for individuals with PTSD. CONCLUSION: PTSD is associated with an AB toward negative stimuli, characterized by heightened sustained attention toward negative scenes once detected. This study sheds light on the dynamics of AB to negative stimuli in PTSD and encourages us to consider optimized therapeutic interventions targeting abnormal AB patterns.