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Particulate matters with a diameter of less than 10 µm (PM10) or less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) are major air pollutants. Their relationship to psychiatric disorders has not yet been extensively studied. We aimed to explore the relationship between PM10 and PM2.5 air pollution peaks and the daily number of emergency visits for psychotic and mood disorders. Clinical data were collected from the Emergency Department of a Paris suburb (Créteil, France) from 2008 to 2018. Air pollution data were measured by the Paris region air quality network (Airparif) and collected from public databases. Pollution peak periods were defined as days for which the daily mean level of PM was above nationally predefined warning thresholds (20 µg/m3 for PM2.5, and 50 µg/m3 for PM10), and the 6 following days. Multivariable analyses compared the number of daily visits for psychotic and mood (unipolar and bipolar) disorders according to pollution peak, using negative binomial regression. After adjustment on meteorological variables (temperature, humidity, amount of sunshine in minutes), the daily number of emergency visits for psychotic disorders was significantly higher during PM2.5 and PM10 air pollution peak periods; while the number of visits for unipolar depressive disorders was higher only during PM10 peak periods (β = 0.059, p-value = 0.034). There were no significant differences between peak and non-peak periods for bipolar disorders. Differences in the effects of PM air pollution on psychotic and mood disorders should be analyzed in further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In line with the psychotic continuum theory, the study of psychometric schizotypy in non-clinical samples has been proposed as a convenient yet powerful method for studying the etiology of psychosis. Based on this paradigm, several studies explored the association between season of birth (SoB) and schizotypy but led to inconsistent results. Building on the analysis of the previous studies, in the present study, we aimed to advance our understanding by improving the methodology (using a homogeneous group, eliminating unreliable respondents, taking into account potential confounders) and the reporting.Subjects were recruited among undergraduate students from 3 Romanian Universities. To limit the potential influence of invalid response, we applied methods for detecting unreliable and/or biased questionnaires and excluded subjects with unreliable/ biased answers from the analyses. Schizotypal dimensions were measured using the Romanian translation of the 22-items Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B). The association between schizotypy scores and season of birth was explored using linear regression.In a sample of 484 undergraduate students from Romania, we found that being born in late winter/early spring (February and March) was associated to higher total schizotypy score and disorganization. Furthermore, we found that restricting the sample to subjects born in an urban environment increased the strength of the association.This study is consistent with an association between SoB and the risk of psychotic disorders.Methods: In line with the psychotic continuum theory, the study of psychometric schizotypy in non-clinical samples has been proposed as a convenient yet powerful method for studying the etiology of psychosis. Based on this paradigm, several studies explored the association between season of birth (SoB) and schizotypy but led to inconsistent results. Building on the analysis of the previous studies, in the present study, we aimed to advance our understanding by improving the methodology (using a homogeneous group, eliminating unreliable respondents, taking into account potential confounders) and the reporting.Subjects were recruited among undergraduate students from 3 Romanian Universities. To limit the potential influence of invalid response, we applied methods for detecting unreliable and/or biased questionnaires and excluded subjects with unreliable/ biased answers from the analyses. Schizotypal dimensions were measured using the Romanian translation of the 22-items Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B). The association between schizotypy scores and season of birth was explored using linear regression.In a sample of 484 undergraduate students from Romania, we found that being born in late winter/early spring (February and March) was associated to higher total schizotypy score and disorganization. Furthermore, we found that restricting the sample to subjects born in an urban environment increased the strength of the association.This study is consistent with an association between SoB and the risk of psychotic disorders.Results: In line with the psychotic continuum theory, the study of psychometric schizotypy in non-clinical samples has been proposed as a convenient yet powerful method for studying the etiology of psychosis. Based on this paradigm, several studies explored the association between season of birth (SoB) and schizotypy but led to inconsistent results. Building on the analysis of the previous studies, in the present study, we aimed to advance our understanding by improving the methodology (using a homogeneous group, eliminating unreliable respondents, taking into account potential confounders) and the reporting.Subjects were recruited among undergraduate students from 3 Romanian Universities. To limit the potential influence of invalid response, we applied methods for detecting unreliable and/or biased questionnaires and excluded subjects with unreliable/ biased answers from the analyses. Schizotypal dimensions were measured using the Romanian translation of the 22-items Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B). The association between schizotypy scores and season of birth was explored using linear regression.In a sample of 484 undergraduate students from Romania, we found that being born in late winter/early spring (February and March) was associated to higher total schizotypy score and disorganization. Furthermore, we found that restricting the sample to subjects born in an urban environment increased the strength of the association.This study is consistent with an association between SoB and the risk of psychotic disorders.Conclusion: In line with the psychotic continuum theory, the study of psychometric schizotypy in non-clinical samples has been proposed as a convenient yet powerful method for studying the etiology of psychosis. Based on this paradigm, several studies explored the association between season of birth (SoB) and schizotypy but led to inconsistent results. Building on the analysis of the previous studies, in the present study, we aimed to advance our understanding by improving the methodology (using a homogeneous group, eliminating unreliable respondents, taking into account potential confounders) and the reporting.Subjects were recruited among undergraduate students from 3 Romanian Universities. To limit the potential influence of invalid response, we applied methods for detecting unreliable and/or biased questionnaires and excluded subjects with unreliable/ biased answers from the analyses. Schizotypal dimensions were measured using the Romanian translation of the 22-items Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQ-B). The association between schizotypy scores and season of birth was explored using linear regression.In a sample of 484 undergraduate students from Romania, we found that being born in late winter/early spring (February and March) was associated to higher total schizotypy score and disorganization. Furthermore, we found that restricting the sample to subjects born in an urban environment increased the strength of the association.This study is consistent with an association between SoB and the risk of psychotic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The EUropean Network of National Schizophrenia Networks Studying Gene-Environment Interactions (EU-GEI) study contains an unparalleled wealth of comprehensive data that allows for testing hypotheses about (1) variations in incidence within and between countries, including by urbanicity and minority ethnic groups; and (2) the role of multiple environmental and genetic risk factors, and their interactions, in the development of psychotic disorders.Methods: Between 2010 and 2015, we identified 2774 incident cases of psychotic disorders during 12.9 million person-years at risk, across 17 sites in 6 countries (UK, The Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, and Brazil). Of the 2774 incident cases, 1130 cases were assessed in detail and form the case sample for case-control analyses. Across all sites, 1497 controls were recruited and assessed. We collected data on an extensive range of exposures and outcomes, including demographic, clinical (e.g. premorbid adjustment), social (e.g. childhood and adult adversity, cannabis use, migration, discrimination), cognitive (e.g. IQ, facial affect processing, attributional biases), and biological (DNA via blood sample/cheek swab). We describe the methodology of the study and some descriptive results, including representativeness of the cohort.Conclusions: This resource constitutes the largest and most extensive incidence and case-control study of psychosis ever conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current medical research has focused on diseases and their associated risk factors. As such, these factors are assumed to have a deleterious effect. An alternative hypothesis is that some of these risk factors would also increase the chance for an opposite, positive outcome. To test this hypothesis, we considered exceptional social achievement and schizophrenia as opposite outcomes. Sixty years ago, researchers in France collected data on socio-demographic factors associated with exceptional social achievement. As the number of female subjects in the original database was very limited, we restricted our analyses to men. We tested the odds of achieving prominence in the presence of factors known to be associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia, namely migration, urbanicity, seasonality of birth, birth order, and paternal age. Three of the five factors tested significantly increased the odds for exceptional social achievement (urban birth, being the first-born and father's age over 35). Our findings suggest that some of the factors that are currently considered as risk factors for schizophrenia could diversifying factors. Widening the focus of research to include all potential effects of factors associated with disease could have important consequences on our understanding of causal mechanisms and for designing public health interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]