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Supplemental material, Supplementary_Materials for Prolonged grief in refugees, parenting behaviour and children’s mental health by Richard A Bryant, Ben Edwards, Mark Creamer, Meaghan O’Donnell, David Forbes, Kim L Felmingham, Derrick Silove, Zachary Steel, Alexander C McFarlane, Miranda Van Hooff, Angela Nickerson and Dusan Hadzi-Pavlovic in Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry

Supplemental material, Supplementary_material for Identifying distinctive psychological symptom profiles among a nationally representative sample of refugees resettled in Australia by Angela Nickerson, Dusan Hadzi-Pavlovic, Ben Edwards, Meaghan O’Donnell, Mark Creamer, Kim L Felmingham, David Forbes, Alexander C McFarlane, Derrick Silove, Zachary Steel, Miranda van Hoof and Richard A Bryant in Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry

Background: Problem anger is increasingly identified as an important issue, and may be associated with suicidality and violence. This study investigates the relationship between problem anger, suicidality, and violence amongst veterans and military personnel. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data from n = 12,806 military personnel and veterans were subject to analyses. These considered the weighted prevalence of problem anger, while further analyses of veterans (n = 4326) considered risk factors and co-occurrence with other psychiatric conditions. Path analyses examined inter-relationships involving anger, violence and suicidality. Results: There were 30.7% of veterans and 16.4% of military personnel that reported past month problem anger, while 14.9% of veterans and 7.4% of military personnel reported physical violence. There were higher levels of suicidality among veterans (30.3%), than military personnel (14.3%). Logistic regression models indicated that PTSD was the strongest risk factor for problem anger (PCL-5, OR = 21.68), while there were small but substantial increases in anger rates associated with depression (OR = 15.62) and alcohol dependence (OR = 6.55). Path models indicated that problem anger had an influence on suicide attempts, occurring primarily through suicidal ideation, and an influence on violence. Influences of problem anger on suicidal ideation and violence remained significant when controlling for co-occurring mental health problems. Conclusions: Problem anger, violence, and suicidality are common and inter-related issues among military personnel and veterans. Problem anger is a unique correlate of suicidality, supporting the need for anger to be included as part of violence and suicide risk assessment, and clinician training. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Refereed/Peer-reviewed This study examined the prevalence of somatic symptoms in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a population-based military sample (N = 14,445). Descriptive statistics explored somatic symptom endorsement in the entire sample. A latent class analyses was conducted on participants with a posttraumatic stress checklist (PCL) score ≥29 (n = 2433), with class differentiated by somatic symptom endorsement. Multinomial logistic regression explored correlates of latent class. Somatic disorder was more prevalent in probable-PTSD (59.6%) and subsyndromal-PTSD (26.5%) than no-PTSD (5.0%) groups, supporting an intersection of pathophysiological processes between somatic and PTSD symptoms. A 3-class solution of Syndromal (26.7%), Psychological (17.7%), and Somatic (55.5%) classes provided the optimal representation of latent somatic symptom typologies in probable PTSD and subsyndromal PTSD. Differences between classes on key characteristics supported potentially meaningful class distinctions. Class was not predicted by number of deployments nor whether a member had ever deployed. However, class was predicted by life-time trauma, indicating that the PTSD somatic symptom relationship is not confined to combat related PTSD or the effect of toxic exposures on deployment, but that pre-existing pathophysiology related to life-time trauma may drive the relationship. The high degree of coincidence between PTSD and somatic symptoms and the high prevalence of somatic distress in the Syndromal and Somatic classes support somatic symptoms are a ubiquitous aspect of the clinical presentation and should be considered a central characteristic of PTSD and therefore included in the diagnostic criteria, as suggested by the original formulations of PTSD.

Objective Among military personnel posttraumatic stress disorder is strongly associated with non-specific health symptoms and can have poor treatment outcomes. This study aimed to use machine learning to identify and describe clusters of self-report health symptoms and examine their association with probable PTSD, other psychopathology, traumatic deployment exposures, and demographic factors. Method Data were from a large sample of military personnel who deployed to the Middle East (n = 12,566) between 2001 and 2009. Participants completed self-report measures including health symptoms and deployment trauma checklists, and several mental health symptom scales. The data driven machine learning technique of self-organised maps identified health symptom clusters and logistic regression examined their correlates. Results Two clusters differentiated by number and severity of health symptoms were identified: a small ‘high health symptom cluster’ (HHSC; n = 366) and a large ‘low health symptom cluster’ (LHSC; n = 12,200). The HHSC had significantly higher proportions of (Gates et al., 2012 [ 1 ]) scaled scores indicative of PTSD (69% compared with 2% of LHSC members), Unwin et al. (1999a) [ 2 ] scores on other psychological scales that were indicative of psychopathology, and (Graham et al., n.d. [ 3 ]) deployment trauma. HHSC members with probable PTSD had a stronger relationship with subjective (OR 1.25; 95% CI 1.12, 1.40) and environmental (OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.03, 1.13) traumatic deployment exposures than LHSC members with probable PTSD. Conclusion These findings highlights that health symptoms are not rare in military veterans, and that PTSD is strongly associated with health symptoms. Results suggest that there may be subtypes of PTSD, differentiated by health symptoms.

Objective: Somatic hypervigilance describes a clinical presentation in which people report more, and more intense, bodily sensations than is usual. Most explanations of somatic hypervigilance implicate altered information processing, but strong empirical data are lacking. Attention and working memory are critical for information processing, and we aimed to evaluate brain activity during attention/working memory tasks in people with and without somatic hypervigilance. Method: Data from 173 people with somatic hypervigilance and 173 controls matched for age, gender, handedness, and years of education were analyzed. Event-related potential (ERP) data, extracted from the continuous electroencephalograph recordings obtained during performance of the Auditory Oddball task, and the Two In A Row (TIAR) task, for N1, P2, N2, and P3, were used in the analysis. Between-group differences for P3 amplitude and N2 amplitude and latency were assessed with two-tailed independent t tests. Between-group differences for N1 and P2 amplitude and latency were assessed using mixed, repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) with group and Group × Site factors. Linear regression analysis investigated the relationship between anxiety and depression and any outcomes of significance. Results: People with somatic hypervigilance showed smaller P3 amplitudes—Auditory Oddball task: t(285) = 2.32, 95% confidence interval, CI [3.48, 4.47], p = .026, d = 0.27; Two-In-A-Row (TIAR) task: t(334) = 2.23, 95% CI [2.20; 3.95], p = .021, d = 0.24—than case-matched controls. N2 amplitude was also smaller in people with somatic hypervigilance—TIAR task: t(318) = 2.58, 95% CI [0.33, 2.47], p = .010, d = 0.29—than in case-matched controls. Neither depression nor anxiety was significantly associated with any outcome. Conclusion: People with somatic hypervigilance demonstrated an event-related potential response to attention/working memory tasks that is consistent with altered information processing. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

A widely held belief within the clinical community is that chronic pain is associated with cognitive impairment, despite the absence of a definitive systematic review or meta-analysis on the topic. The current systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to establish the current evidence concerning the difference in executive function between people with chronic pain and healthy controls. Six databases were searched for citations related to executive function and chronic pain from inception to June 24, 2013. Two reviewers independently assessed studies for eligibility and extracted relevant data according to the Cochrane Collaboration and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Twenty five studies were included in the review and twenty two studies in the meta-analysis. A small to moderate impairment in executive function performance was found in people with chronic pain across cognitive components, although all studies had a high risk of bias. The current evidence suggests impairment of executive function in people with chronic pain, however, important caveats exist. First, executive function involves many cognitive components and there is no standard test for it. Second, moderators of executive function, such as medication and sleep, were seldom controlled for in studies of executive function performance. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

We applied a covariance-based multivariate analysis to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to investigate abnormalities in working memory (WM) systems in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Patients (n = 13) and matched controls (n = 12) were scanned with fMRI while updating or maintaining trauma-neutral verbal stimuli in WM. A multivariate statistical analysis was used to investigate large-scale brain networks associated with these experimental tasks. For the control group, the first network reflected brain activity associated with WM updating and principally involved bilateral prefrontal and bilateral parietal cortex. Controls' second network was associated with WM maintenance and involved regions typically activated during storage and rehearsal of verbal material, including lateral premotor and inferior parietal cortex. In contrast, PTSD patients appeared to activate a single fronto-parietal network for both updating and maintenance tasks. This is indicative of abnormally elevated activity during WM maintenance and suggests inefficient allocation of resources for differential task demands. A second network in PTSD, which was not activated in controls, showed regions differentially activated between WM tasks, including the anterior cingulate, medial prefrontal cortex, fusiform and supplementary motor area. These activations may be linked to hyperarousal and abnormal reactivity, which are characteristic of PTSD. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

People with chronic pain commonly report impaired cognitive function. However, to date, there has been no systematic evaluation of the body of literature concerning cognitive impairment and pain. Nor have modern meta-analytical methods been used to verify and clarify the extent to which cognition may be impaired. The objective of this study was to systematically evaluate and critically appraise the literature concerning working memory function in people with chronic pain. The study was conducted along Cochrane collaboration and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement guidelines. A sensitive search strategy was designed and conducted with the help of an expert librarian using 6 databases. Twenty-four observational studies evaluating behavioural and/or physiological outcomes in a chronic pain group and a control group met the inclusion criteria. All studies had a high risk of bias, owing primarily to lack of assessor blinding to outcome. High heterogeneity within the field was found with the inclusion of 24 papers using 21 different working memory tests encompassing 9 different working memory constructs and 9 different chronic pain populations. Notwithstanding high heterogeneity, pooled results from behavioural outcomes reflected a consistent, significant moderate effect in favour of better performance by healthy controls and, with the exception of one study, pooled results from physiological outcomes reflected no evidence for an effect. Future research would benefit from the use of clearly defined constructs of working memory, as well as standardised methods of testing. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

PhD Doctorate Investigation of assistance Australian firefighters want to assist recovery following exposure to traumatic stressors. Results demonstrated firefighters want to exercise control in how they recover, employing personal choice regarding information, sources and forms of support they use. Interventions provided to operational firefighters within five Australian fire service agencies were documented.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is characterised by disturbances in concentration and memory, symptoms which are a source of further distress for patients. Related to this, abnormalities in underlying working memory (WM) systems have been identified [Clark, C.R., McFarlane, A.C., Morris, P., Weber, D.L., Sonkkilla, C., Shaw, M.E., Marcina, J., Tochon-Danguy, H.J., Egan, G.F., 2003. Cerebral function in posttraumatic stress disorder during verbal working memory updating: a positron emission tomography study. Biological Psychiatry 53, 474-481.], indicating dysfunction in left hemisphere brain regions. In this study, we performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 13 patients with severe PTSD and matched non-traumatized Controls, during performance of visuo-verbal tasks that involved either maintenance or continual updating of word stimuli in WM. The PTSD group failed to show differential activation during WM updating, and instead appeared to show abnormal recruitment of WM updating network regions during WM maintenance. These regions included the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the inferior parietal lobe (IPL). Several other regions were significantly more activated in Controls than in PTSD during WM updating, including the hippocampus, the anterior cingulate (AC), and the brainstem pons, key regions that are consistently implicated in the neurobiology of PTSD. These findings suggest compensatory recruitment of networks in PTSD normally only deployed during updating of WM and may reflect PTSD patients' difficulty engaging with their day-to-day environment. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. Refereed/Peer-reviewed