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In order to improve individual research achievements (IRA), this study investigates which affiliated countries and authors earn the most cited IRAs and whether those types of articles are associated with the number of cited papers on schizophrenia from a leading journal in the field. The Kano model was used for displaying the IRAs. Clusters of medical subject headings (MeSH) were applied to explore the core concepts of a given journal. This study aimed to apply social network analysis (SNA) and an authorship-weighted scheme (AWS) to inspect the association between MeSH terms and IRA. About 2,008 abstracts published between 2012 and 2016 in the journal Schizophrenia Research were downloaded from Pubmed Central using the keyword (Schizophr Res)[Journal] on September 20, 2018. The MeSH terms were clustered by using SNA to separate the core concepts and compare the differences in bibliometric indices (i.e., h, Ag, x and author impact factor or AIF). Visual dashboards were shown on Google Maps. Results indicate that (1) the US, the UK, and Canada earn the highest x-index; (2) the top one author from the US has the highest x-index (= 5.73 with x-core at cited = 16.44 and citable = 2); (3) the article type of schizophrenic psychology shows distinctly higher frequencies than others; and (4) article types are associated with the number of cited papers. Four approaches of the Kano model, SNA, MeSH terms, and AWS can be accommodated to display IRAs, classify article types, and quantify coauthor contributions in the article byline, respectively, and applied to other scientific disciplines in the future, not just in this specific journal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antipsychotic-induced weight gain occurs in a substantial percentage of treated persons. There remains a paucity of naturalistic data that describe relative weight-gain liability with the available novel atypical antipsychotics (NAPs). This investigation describes comparative NAP-induced weight gain in a prospective naturalistic cohort of persons with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders.Methods: The Canadian National Outcomes Measurement Study in Schizophrenia (CNOMSS) is an ongoing prospective, longitudinal, naturalistic study involving 32 academic and community sites across Canada. Persons with DSM-IV-defined schizophrenia, schizophreniform or schizoaffective disorder, and psychosis not otherwise specified were consecutively enrolled. The overarching objectives of this initiative were to collect and compare global effectiveness, tolerability, safety, and humanistic outcomes in persons receiving commercially available NAPs in Canada. This analysis reports only weight change with the respective NAPs. Other outcomes were reported in separate companion papers.Results: A spectrum of weight-gain liability was noted with quetiapine (QUE) (mean 7.55 kg, SD 9.20; P = 0.28), olanzapine (OLZ) (mean 3.72 kg, SD 0.56; P = 0.15), and risperidone (RIS) (mean 1.62 kg, SD 7.72; P = 0.43). Categorically defined weight gain (that is, over 7% of baseline weight) was observed in 55.6% of QUE patients, 24.1% of OLZ patients, and 23.7% of RIS patients. Adjusting for demographic and disease-specific confounding factors, QUE patients had greater odds of gaining over 7% of their baseline weight compared with RIS patients (odds ratio [OR] 3.62; 95% CI, 1.02 to 12.83; P = 0.05). No statistical difference was detected between OLZ patients and RIS patients for over 7% of baseline weight (OR 1.54; 95% CI, 0.63 to 3.75; P = 0.12) or over 10% weight gain (OR 1.44; 95% CI, 0.50 to 4.13; P = 0.58).Conclusion: Clinicians are reminded to monitor anthropometric and metabolic parameters in all NAP-treated persons. Clinically significant differences in weight gain liability exist among the available NAPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the financial burden of schizophrenia in Canada in 1996.Method: Using a prevalence-based approach, all direct health care costs, administrative costs of income assistance plans, and costs of incarceration attributable to schizophrenia were determined. Also included was the value of lost productivity associated with premature mortality and morbidity. In addition to using published papers and documents, direct contact was made with representatives from various provincial and federal programs for estimates of the direct health care and non-health care costs.Results: The estimated number of persons with schizophrenia in Canada in 1996 was 221,000, with equal distribution between males and females. The direct health care and non-health care cost was estimated to be $1.12 billion in 1996. In addition, another $1.23 billion in lost productivity associated with morbidity and premature mortality was attributable to schizophrenia.Conclusions: The total financial burden of schizophrenia in Canada was estimated to be $2.35 billion in 1996. The largest category of cost was morbidity (52%), followed by acute care and psychiatric hospital admissions (14% and 10% respectively). Given the magnitude of these cost estimates, there are large potential cost savings with more effective management and control of this debilitating disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical trials for the treatment of schizophrenia now often include cognitive assessments in addition to clinical ratings of symptoms. Recently, these trials have included cross-national assessments. It is not clear if translated psychological tests produce consistent results across different languages. This paper presents the results of a study of the comparability of the results of cognitive assessments in different English-speaking countries and a number of countries where tests were translated into other languages. Performance on tests of executive functioning, verbal and visuo-spatial learning and memory, language skills, psychomotor speed, and vigilance was compared across the first episode patients with schizophrenia (n=301) assessed in six different languages (English, French, Finnish, German, Hebrew, and Afrikaans), including two different countries where patients were assessed in English and other languages: Canada (French) and South Africa (Afrikaans). The variance in performance across the sites tested in English was as large as the variance between English and non-English speakers when all tests were considered. Performance differences across English and other languages were found only for executive functions, vigilance, and psychomotor speed, with executive functioning differences nonsignificant when education was considered. No differences were found between English and non-English speakers in Canada. These results suggest that the translation of tests of memory and verbal skills can lead to consistent results across translated versions of the tests. Differences between countries were greater than differences between languages, suggesting the need to consider representativeness of patient samples in terms of local educational attainment. In general, these data support the validity of cross-national neuropsychological assessments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To examine the prevalence and profile of people with co-occurring mental and substance use disorders in relation to numerous demographic, diagnostic, and needs-related variables across a comprehensive system of mental health services using a standard methodology.Method: Data were collected on cases (n = 9839) sampled from specialty tertiary inpatient, specialty outpatient, and community-based mental health programs. Status with respect to co-occurring disorders was based on recorded diagnosis of substance use disorder and the substance abuse measure within the Colorado Client Assessment Record. The demographic and needs profile was compared across groups with or without co-occurring disorders within each level of care.Results: Overall, the prevalence of co-occurring disorders was 18.5%, and highest among clients receiving specialty tertiary inpatient care (28%), and within selected subpopulations such as younger adults (55%) and those with personality disorders (34%). There were few differences between groups based on co-occurring disorders in the specialty inpatient programs. For outpatient and community settings, the clients with co-occurring disorders were distinguished by a more impaired and complex needs profile and more likely to be young, single, male, and of low education. Across all levels of care, having a co-occurring disorder was strongly associated with antisocial and challenging behaviour, legal involvement, and risk of suicide or self-harm.Conclusion: The prevalence estimate of co-occurring disorders is likely representative of a multilevel system of care that serves a large, mixed urban and rural population. Results highlight the need to focus on specific subpopulations and sectors in pursuit of more integrated treatment and support for their mental health and addictions problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although schizophrenia onset usually occurs in late adolescence or early adulthood, much research shows that its seeds are planted early in life and that eventual onset occurs at the end of a neurodevelopmental process leading to aberrant brain functioning. This idea, along with the fact that current therapies are far from fully effective, suggests that preventive treatments may be needed to achieve an ideal outcome for schizophrenia patients and those predisposed to the disorder. In this article, we review the methodological challenges that must be overcome before effective preventive interventions can be created. Prevention studies will need to define the target population. This requires the identification of risk factors that will be useful in selecting at-risk people for preventive treatment. We review currently identified risk factors for schizophrenia: genes, psychosocial factors, pregnancy and delivery complications, and viruses. We also review 3 different types of prevention programs: universal, indicated, and selective. For schizophrenia, we distinguish prevention programs that target prodromal cases and those that target the disorder's premorbid precursors. Although those targeting prodromal cases provide a useful framework for early treatment of the disorder, studies of premorbid individuals are needed to design a truly preventive treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine changes in prevalence rates of treated schizophrenia over 10 years in a small urban teaching centre using data from the Kingston Psychiatric Record Linkage System (KPRLS).Method: The KPRLS, a psychiatric case register established in 1984, collects and links demographic, diagnostic, and service use information for all psychiatric inpatients, outpatients and emergency contacts at the 3 hospitals in Kingston, Ontario. A preliminary comparison of first admissions for schizophrenia used chart review (1976-1978) and KPRLS data (1996-1998). The KPRLS data were used to calculate population-based prevalence rates of treated schizophrenia in 3 census years (1986, 1991, 1996) for patients in the 2 counties closest to Kingston.Results: The preliminary comparison showed a 42% decrease in the number of first-admission schizophrenia cases over 20 years. In the main study, the annual inpatient prevalence rates decreased significantly (52%) from 1986 to 1996 with no corresponding change in outpatient rates, regardless of sex. Although total major affective disorders increased, this was due to an increase in major depression, not bipolar disorder.Conclusions: This is the first Canadian case-register study to support the widely reported falling rates of schizophrenia in other parts of the world over the last 40 years. Since this is a geographically limited prevalence study based on only 10 years of data, further research over longer periods of time in other regions of the country is required to support or refute these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare productivity-cost estimates for schizophrenia-related premature mortality in Canada in 1996 using the human-capital (HC) approach and friction-cost (FC) method.Methods: The number of deaths directly attributed to schizophrenia was combined with the estimated number of deaths attributable to schizophrenia from suicide. These premature deaths were valued using 2 methods: 1) the traditional HC approach, based on "potential" lost output to normal age of retirement, and 2) the FC method, based on finding a replacement worker.Results: In 1996, there were 342 male and female preretirement deaths attributed to schizophrenia, directly or indirectly by suicide, in Canada. Most deaths were in males (78%) and by suicide (97%). The productivity cost of these deaths was estimated to be $105 million using the HC approach but only $1.53 million using the FC method.Conclusions: Productivity-cost estimates from the HC approach are substantially higher than those obtained from the FC method (69 times higher). In circumstances of unemployment, the HC approach is an overestimate of future productivity losses for premature mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]