The Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, formerly “Nordisk Psykiatrisk Tidsskrift”, is an international journal that publishes excellent psychiatric research with a broad scope. It is the official journal for the eight psychiatric associations in the Nordic and Baltic countries. It is a main source of information about current Nordic psychiatry and related fields, The journal is distributed to members of the Nordic and Baltic Psychiatric Associations as well as to members of Associations for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. This gives access to all articles published in the journal from 1946.
Somatic diseases in adoptees with high or low genetic risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders
There is some evidence that offspring of patients with schizophrenia have higher somatic morbidity. This study explored differences in somatic diseases and conditions of adoptees with high genetic risk (HR) or low genetic risk (LR) for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The study is part of the Finnish Adoptive Family Study of Schizophrenia. The only statistically significant difference found was in genitourinary diseases, the likelihood being twofold higher in HR adoptees compared to LR adoptees. Adoptees who were female and aged over 40 had a higher prevalence of genitourinary illnesses than non-adoptees.
The authors conclude that the significant prevalence of genitourinary diseases in adoptees at risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders suggests that some specific somatic diseases and schizophrenia may have a shared hereditary etiology.
Karjalainen E, Niemelä M, Hakko H, Wahlberg KE, Räsänen S. The Finnish Adoptive Family Study of Schizophrenia: differences in somatic diseases and conditions between adoptees with high or low genetic risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Nord J Psychiatry 2024 Mar 8:1-7. doi: 10.1080/08039488.2024.2322495. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38456792
Smoking cessation therapy in patients with mental illness: a randomized controlled trial
Smoking is the single factor with the highest impact on reducing life expectancy of patients with mental illness. Patients experience difficulty in participating in smoking cessation programs but are concerned about the impact of tobacco on their health and finances. Smoking cessation advice via videoconferencing might be an alternative to an ordinary in-person consultation. The authors report a randomized controlled trial with follow-up at 6 months. Patients with diagnoses of schizophrenia and affective disorder from psychiatric outpatient clinics were recruited. Intervention 1 involved daily video consultations; intervention 2 was treatment as usual. For both interventions, rates of smoking cessation were 45% and predictors for a 50% reduction in smoking were antipsychotic medication load and number of nicotine patches. Predictors for a reduction in the number of cigarettes to < 10 were antipsychotic medication, load number of nicotine patches and number of cigarettes at baseline. Patients prevented weight gain during the cessation period.
The authors conclude that the smoking cessation rate was high. One of the reasons for the high cessation rate was that the intervention was carried out by highly experienced and professionally qualified staff. In addition, free nicotine patches to increase the patients' motivation to quit smoking was used.
Kaasgaard DM, Sørensen MK, Christiansen RB, Breum UN, Asiamah N, Friis LBT, Hjorth P. Video consultation and treatment in the community smoking cessation therapy success rates in patients with mental illness: a randomized controlled trial. Nord J Psychiatry. 2024 Feb 22:1-9. doi: 10.1080/08039488.2024.2318305. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38385357
Perceived advantages and disadvantages of substance use in a dual diagnosis population with severe mental disorders and severe substance use disorder. Considering the self-medication hypothesis
The aim of this study was to quantify the patient-perceived problems and advantages of their substance use and relate the quantity of problems to the substance type and psychiatric diagnosis. Data comes from a naturalistic cohort admitted to an in-patient facility in Denmark specialized in integrated dual diagnosis treatment. Participants completed 607 DrugCheck and 130 DUDIT-E questionnaires. The three most common substance related problems according to the DrugCheck questionnaire were: feeling depressed, financial problems, and losing interest in daily activities. From DUDIT-E, the highest-ranking negative substance related effects were financial ruin, deterioration of health, and problems at work. Effects on social life relationships were also evident with more than 40% of participants. The top three positive substance related effects reported were relaxation, improved sleep, and control over negative emotions. The number of problems listed varied significantly with the type of preferred substance. Patients using pain medication, sedatives, central stimulants, and alcohol reported most problems. Diagnosis did not differentiate the problems experienced.
The authors conclude that the results partially support the broad self-medication hypothesis for patients with severe mental illness, but also points out that patients are well aware of negative effects.
Düring SW, Austin SF, Mårtensson S, Johansen KS. Perceived advantages and disadvantages of substance use in a dual diagnosis population with severe mental disorders and severe substance use disorder. Considering the self-medication hypothesis Nord J Psychiatry. 2024 Feb 21:1-9. doi: 10.1080/08039488.2024.2318649. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38380582
Depressive symptom profiles and serum C-reactive protein levels: data from the Northern Finland 1966 birth cohort
Individuals with depression exhibit significantly higher levels of systemic inflammation than those without depression, particularly among those with atypical depression. However, this association has been less convincing at the population level among individuals without a formal depression diagnosis but with suggestive symptoms. The aim of this study was to clarify this association. In a large birth cohort sample of the Finnish general population, the cross-sectional association between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels in venous blood samples and atypical/non-atypical depressive symptoms was examined using the Beck Depression Inventory-II to screen 5443 middle-aged participants. Depressive symptoms associated to elevated hsCRP-levels compared to non-depressed. Participants with the atypical subtype of depressive symptoms had an odds ratio (OR) of 2.59 for elevated hsCRP levels compared to the non-depressed group. Similarly, the findings indicate that participants with non-atypical symptoms also showed an OR of 1.42 when compared to the non-depressed group.
The authors conclude that the results provide additional support for research linking depression and inflammation. Furthermore, the results support the notion that different types of depressive symptoms may be associated with inflammatory markers in slightly different ways.
Moilanen P, Liukkonen T, Jokelainen J, Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi S, Puukka K, Timonen M, Auvinen J, Eskola P. Cross-sectional analysis of depressive symptom profiles and serum C-reactive protein levels: data from the Northern Finland 1966 birth cohort. Nord J Psychiatry. 2024 Feb;78(2):95-102. doi: 10.1080/08039488.2023.2274341. Epub 2024 Jan 31. PMID: 37905346 □