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Background: Psychotic experiences are reported by 5-10% of young people, although only a minority persist and develop into psychotic disorders. It is unclear what characteristics differentiate those with transient psychotic experiences from those with persistent psychotic experiences that are more likely to be of clinical relevance.Aims: To investigate how longitudinal profiles of psychotic experiences, created from assessments at three different time points, are influenced by early life and co-occurring factors.Method: Using data from 8045 individuals from a birth cohort study, longitudinal profiles of psychotic experiences based on semi-structured interviews conducted at 12, 18 and 24 years were defined. Environmental, cognitive, psychopathological and genetic determinants of these profiles were investigated, along with concurrent changes in psychopathology and cognition.Results: Following multiple imputations, the distribution of longitudinal profiles of psychotic experiences was none (65.7%), transient (24.1%), low-frequency persistent (8.4%) and high-frequency persistent (1.7%). Individuals with high-frequency persistent psychotic experiences were more likely to report traumatic experiences, other psychopathology, a more externalised locus of control, reduced emotional stability and conscientious personality traits in childhood, compared with those with transient psychotic experiences. These characteristics also differed between those who had any psychotic experiences and those who did not.Conclusions: These findings indicate that the same risk factors are associated with incidence as with persistence of psychotic experiences. Thus, it might be that the severity of exposure, rather than the presence of specific disease-modifying factors, is most likely to determine whether psychotic experiences are transient or persist, and potentially develop into a clinical disorder over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Community studies have found a relatively high prevalence of hallucinations, which are associated with a range of (psychotic and non-psychotic) mental disorders, as well as with suicidal ideation and behaviour. The literature on hallucinations in the general population has largely focused on adolescents and young adults.Aims: We aimed to explore the prevalence and psychopathologic significance of hallucinations across the adult lifespan.Method: Using the 1993, 2000, 2007 and 2014 cross-sectional Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey series (N = 33 637), we calculated the prevalence of past-year hallucinations in the general population ages 16 to ≥90 years. We used logistic regression to examine the relationship between hallucinations and a range of mental disorders, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts.Results: The prevalence of past-year hallucinations varied across the adult lifespan, from a high of 7% in individuals aged 16-19 years, to a low of 3% in individuals aged ≥70 years. In all age groups, hallucinations were associated with increased risk for mental disorders, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, but there was also evidence of significant age-related variation. In particular, hallucinations in older adults were less likely to be associated with a cooccurring mental disorder, suicidal ideation or suicide attempt compared with early adulthood and middle age.Conclusions: Our findings highlight important life-course developmental features of hallucinations from early adulthood to old age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many studies have reported associations between prenatal stress and the development of psychotic, anxiety and depressive disorders; however, to date no studies have investigated potential associations with personality disorders.Aims: This study investigated potential associations between exposure to prenatal stress and personality disorder in offspring.Method: In a subsample (N = 3626) of a large Finnish birth cohort, we used logistic regression models to examine associations between self-reported maternal stress during pregnancy, collected monthly during antenatal clinic appointments, and personality disorder in offspring. Familial and outcome information were obtained by linking data from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register and the Finnish Population Register.Results: Compared with those unexposed, children exposed to any maternal stress during gestation had three times the odds of developing a personality disorder (odds ratio 2.76, 95% CI 1.59-4.80, P = 0.000). Those exposed to moderate stress had three times the odds (odds ratio 3.13, 95% CI 1.42-6.88, P = 0.005) and those exposed to severe stress had seven times the odds (odds ratio 7.06, 95% CI 2.10-23.81, P = 0.002) of developing a personality disorder. These associations remained after adjusting for parental psychiatric history, comorbid psychiatric diagnoses, prenatal smoking and antenatal depression.Conclusions: Exposure to stress during gestation increases the odds of personality disorder in offspring, independent of other psychiatric disorders. These results suggest the assessment of maternal stress and well-being during pregnancy may be useful in identifying those at greatest risk of developing personality disorder, and highlight the importance of prenatal care for good maternal mental health during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor and a reply by the author to the article "Clinicopathological Significance of Psychotic Experiences in Non-Psychotic Young People: Evidence From Four Population-Based Studies" that was published in a 2012 issue is presented.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Psychotic symptoms in the general population--an evolutionary perspective," by I. Kelleher and M. Cannon.