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ObjectiveA major limitation of current suicide research is the lack of power to identify robust correlates of suicidal thoughts or behaviour. Variation in suicide risk assessment instruments used across cohorts may represent a limitation to pooling data in international consortia.MethodHere, we examine this issue through two approaches: (i) an extensive literature search on the reliability and concurrent validity of the most commonly used instruments; and (ii) by pooling data (N∼6,000 participants) from cohorts from the ENIGMA-Major Depressive Disorder (ENIGMA-MDD) and ENIGMA-Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviour (ENIGMA-STB) working groups, to assess the concurrent validity of instruments currently used for assessing suicidal thoughts or behaviour.ResultsOur results suggested a pattern of moderate-to-high correlations between instruments, consistent with the wide range of correlations, r=0.22-0.97, reported in the literature. Two common complex instruments, the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) and the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (SSI), were highly correlated with each other (r=0.83), as were suicidal ideation items from common depression severity questionnaires.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that multi-item instruments provide valuable information on different aspects of suicidal thoughts or behaviour, but share a core factor with single suicidal ideation items found in depression severity questionnaires. Multi-site collaborations including cohorts that used distinct instruments for suicide risk assessment should be feasible provided that they harmonise across instruments or focus on specific constructs of suicidal thoughts or behaviours.Key pointsQuestion: To inform future suicide research in multi-site international consortia, it is important to examine how different suicide measures relate to each other and whether they can be used interchangeably.Findings: Findings suggest detailed instruments (such as the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale and Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation) provide valuable information on suicidal thoughts and behaviour, and share a core factor with items on suicidal ideation from depression severity rating scale (such as the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale or the Beck Depression Inventory).Importance: Results from international collaborations can mitigate biases by harmonising distinct suicide risk assessment instruments.Next steps: Pooling data within international suicide research consortia may reveal novel clinical, biological and cognitive correlates of suicidal thoughts and/or behaviour.

Objective The period immediately after the onset of first-episode psychosis (FEP) may present with high risk for suicidal ideation (SI) and attempts, although this risk may differ among patients. Thus, we aimed to identify trajectories of SI in a 2-years follow-up FEP cohort and to assess baseline predictors and clinical/functional evolution for each trajectory of SI. Methods We included 334 FEP participants with data on SI. Growth mixture modeling was used to identify trajectories of SI. Putative sociodemographic, clinical, and cognitive predictors of the distinct trajectories were examined using multinomial logistic regression. Results We identified three distinct trajectories: Non-SI trajectory (85.53% sample), Improving SI trajectory (9.58%), and Worsening SI trajectory (6.89%). Multinomial logistic regression model revealed that greater baseline pessimistic thoughts, anhedonia, and worse perceived family environment were associated with higher baseline SI followed by an Improving trajectory. Older age, longer duration of untreated psychosis, and reduced sleep predicted Worsening SI trajectory. Regarding clinical/functional evolution, individuals within the Improving SI trajectory displayed moderate depression at baseline which ameliorated during the study period, while the Worsening SI subgroup exhibited persistent mild depressive symptoms and greater functional impairment at follow-up assessments. Conclusion Our findings delineated three distinct trajectories of SI among participants with FEP, one experiencing no SI, another in which SI might depend on acute depressive symptomatology, and a last subset where SI might be associated with mild but persistent clinical and functional impairments. These data provide insights for the early identification and tailored treatment of suicide in this at-risk population.

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Introduction: The present retrospective study investigated clinical correlates of the revolving door (RD) phenomenon in a population of subjects affected by Bipolar Disorders (BDs). Subjects and methods: Medical records of subjects with BDs admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit over a 5-year period of time were retrospectively reviewed and clinical data were extracted into an electronic dataset. “Revolving Door Subjects” (RDS) were defined as those who presented three or more “Revolving Door Hospitalizations” (RDH) during twelve months. Features of RDH were compared with non-RDH in order to identify characteristics associated with RD phenomenon and possible risk factors for readmission. To explore predictors of RDH, a stepwise backword logistic regression model was built, including the variables that were significantly associated with RDH in the bivariate analyses. Results: In our sample of 176 subjects affected by BDs, 53 (19.9%) RDH were identified. In the RDH group, a higher prevalence of mixed episodes (p=0.029) and medical co-morbidities (p=0.004) was detected. Subjects with repeated hospitalizations were more often committed to psychiatric residential facilities at discharge (p=0.002). Treatment features related to RDH were represented by a higher prescription rate of atypical antipsychotics (p=0.030), benzodiazepines (p=0.001) and antidepressants (p=0.048). Conclusions: Findings from the present study suggest that the early identification and treatment of medical comorbidities and specific clinical features of BDs may help reducing the RD phenomenon in this population of subjects.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify predisposing factors and clinical features at baseline that might help predict diagnosis of bipolar disorder vs schizophrenia in a first-episode psychosis (FEP) cohort. Methods: In this prospective, naturalistic study, we evaluated a cohort of 335 subjects with FEP recruited from April 2009 to April 2012. Baseline features were compared between subjects with a final DSM-IV diagnosis of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia at 12-month follow-up. A binary logistic regression model was used to assess predictors of diagnosis of bipolar disorder at follow-up. Results: At 12-month follow-up, 47 of the 335 subjects included in the study received the diagnosis of bipolar disorder and 105, of schizophrenia. Subjects with a final diagnosis of bipolar disorder had a higher prevalence of family history of mood disorders (38.2% vs 18.0%, P = .02), better baseline premorbid adjustment (Premorbid Adjustment Scale [PAS]: 38.4 vs 50.6, P < .01) and psychosocial functioning (Functional Assessment Short Test [FAST]: 23.6 vs 33.7, P = .001), better cognitive flexibility (number of perseverative errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test [WCST]: 14.2 vs 19.7, P = .01), more manic symptoms (Young Mania Rating Scale [YMRS]: 14.1 vs 7.3, P < .01), lesser negative symptoms (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale negative scale [PANSS-N]: 15.0 vs 22.3, P < .001), and shorter duration of untreated psychosis (144.2 vs 194.7 days, P < .01) than subjects with a schizophrenia diagnosis. Binary logistic regression model revealed that lower FAST scores (odds ratio [OR] = 0.956; P = .015), lower PANSS-N scores (OR = 0.93; P = .048), and lower number of perseverative errors on the WCST (OR = 0.946; P = .035) were significantly related to diagnosis of bipolar disorder at follow-up. Conclusions: In our FEP cohort, better psychosocial functioning, lesser negative symptoms, and better cognitive flexibility were related to diagnosis of bipolar disorder at 12-month follow-up. (C) 2020 Copyright Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.

Aims: Patients with a first episode of psychosis (FEP) often display different metabolic disturbances even independently of drug therapy. However, antipsychotic (AP) treatment, especially with second-generation APs, is strongly linked to weight gain, which increases patients' risk of developing obesity and other metabolic diseases. There is an important genetic risk component that can contribute to the appearance of these disturbances. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of polymorphisms in selected candidate genes on obesity and other anthropometric and metabolic traits in 320 AP-treated FEP patients over the course of a 2-year follow-up. Methods: These patients were recruited in the multicentre PEPs study (Phenotype-genotype and environmental interaction; Application of a predictive model in first psychotic episodes). A total of 127 validated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 18 candidate genes were included in the genetic analysis. Results: After Bonferroni correction, SNPs in ADRA2A, FTO, CNR1, DRD2, DRD3, LEPR and BDNF were associated with obesity, abdominal circumference, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and/or percentage of glycated haemoglobin. Conclusions: Although our results should be interpreted as exploratory, they support previous evidence of the impact of these candidate genes on obesity and metabolic status. Further research is required to gain a better knowledge of the genetic variants that can be considered relevant metabolic risk factors. The ability to identify FEP patients at higher risk for these metabolic disturbances would enable clinicians to better select and control their AP treatment.

Objective: The primary aim is to verify the efficacy of long-acting injectable (LAI) and oral antipsychotics (AP) in terms of rehospitalisation rate of patients with psychotic disorders. The second aim is to evaluate socio-demographic and clinical differences in patients that were re-hospitalised after the index discharge compared to patients that were not re-hospitalised. Finally, socio-demographic and clinical differences of re-hospitalised patients that were prescribed at discharge with oral or LAI AP were analysed. Methods: A retrospective observational study including all patients discharged with diagnosis of psychotic disorders from July 2011 to July 2013 was conducted. Patients discharged with LAI or with oral AP were included. Re-hospitalisations occurred during a followup period of 24 months after the index discharge were considered. Chi-square test or Student’s t-test were used for comparisons. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the incidence of re-hospitalisation for LAI or oral AP were provided. Results: No significant differences between LAI and oral AP in terms of re-hospitalisation rate in a 24-month period were found. Clinical and socio-demographic characteristics did not significantly differ between the groups. Conclusions: LAI seemed to be similar to oral AP in terms of prevention of re-hospitalisation in psychotic patients.