Mark Weiser: Influence Statistics

BACKGROUND: Symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), diagnosed mainly in children, often persist into adulthood. Adults in this group have a high rate of other psychiatric problems and functional difficulties in a number of key areas such as academic achievement, interpersonal relationships, and employment. Although the usefulness of immediate-release methylphenidate in children has been extensively studied, studies in adults, which are few, demonstrate varying ...

OBJECTIVE: The Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) is the most widely used instrument for measuring negative symptoms in schizophrenia. The validity of its factor structure has not been established. Congruence of the SANS and its subscales to the negative subscale of the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS-N) and the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) were never explored. The current study revised SANS's structure and examined its correlations with ...

BACKGROUND: No established treatment algorithm exists for patients with schizophrenia. Whether switching antipsychotics or early use of clozapine improves outcome in (first-episode) schizophrenia is unknown.

METHODS: This three-phase study was done in 27 centres, consisting of general hospitals and psychiatric specialty clinics, in 14 European countries and Israel. Patients aged 18-40 years who met criteria of the DSM-IV for schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, or schizoaffective ...

OBJECTIVE: The premorbid intellectual, language, and behavioral functioning of patients hospitalized for schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or nonpsychotic bipolar disorder was compared with that of healthy comparison subjects.

METHOD: The Israeli Draft Board Registry, which contains measures of intellectual, language, and behavioral functioning for the unselected population of 16- to 17-year-olds, was merged with the National Psychiatric Hospitalization Case Registry, which ...

CONTEXT: Maternal and paternal ages are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between advancing paternal age at birth of offspring and their risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

DESIGN: Historical population-based cohort study.

SETTING: Identification of ASD cases from the Israeli draft board medical registry.

PARTICIPANTS: We conducted a study of Jewish persons born in Israel during 6 consecutive years. Virtually all men and about three ...

Although most studies find low socioeconomic status (SES) to be associated with prevalence of schizophrenia, incidence studies do not generally support this, and some even report an inverse association. The objective of the current historical prospective study was to examine the relationship between SES, cognitive functioning, and risk of hospitalization for schizophrenia in a population-based sample of Israeli adolescents. Subjects were 811 487 adolescents, assessed by the Israeli ...

BACKGROUND: Evidence indicates an association between older parents at birth and increased risk for schizophrenia and autism. Patients with schizophrenia and autism and their first-degree relatives have impaired social functioning; hence, impaired social functioning is probably an intermediate phenotype of the illness. This study tested the hypothesis that advanced father's age at birth would be associated with poorer social functioning in the general population. To test this hypothesis, ...

BACKGROUND: Unbearable mental pain, depression, and hopelessness have been associated with suicidal behavior in general, while difficulties with social communication and loneliness have been associated with highly lethal suicide attempts in particular. The literature also links aggression and impulsivity with suicidal behavior but raises questions about their influence on the lethality and outcome of the suicide attempt.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relative effects of aggression and ...

BACKGROUND: This study examined the role of mental pain, communication difficulties, and suicide history in predicting the medical severity of follow-up suicide attempts.

METHODS: The cohort included 153 consecutive psychiatric in-patients who participated in earlier studies 1-9 years previously. Fifty-three had a history of a medically serious suicide attempt (MSSA), 64 had a history of a medically non-serious suicide attempt (MNSSA), and 36 had no history of suicide. A MSSA was defined ...

BACKGROUND: The association between cannabis use and mood disorders is well documented, yet evidence regarding causality is conflicting. This study explored the association between cannabis use, major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BPD) in a 3-year prospective study.

METHODS: Data was drawn from waves 1 and 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). MDD and BPD were controlled at baseline and defined as meeting full criteria in the ...

The cross-sectional association between cannabis use and anxiety disorders is well documented, yet less is known about the longitudinal association between the two. This study explored the association between cannabis use, cannabis use disorders (CUDs) and anxiety disorders in a 3-year prospective study. Data was drawn from waves 1 and 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, social ...

OBJECTIVE: Subtle behavioral and intellectual abnormalities are often present in apparently healthy adolescents who later develop schizophrenia. The authors investigated whether these abnormalities can predict vulnerability for schizophrenia before the first psychotic manifestation.

METHOD: The study consisted of linking the Israeli Draft Board Registry with the National Psychiatric Hospitalization Case Registry. The draft board tests measure intelligence, social functioning, ...

CONTEXT: The clinical and etiologic relation between autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and schizophrenia is unclear. The degree to which these disorders share a basis in etiology has important implications for clinicians, researchers, and those affected by the disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a family history of schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorder is a risk factor for ASD.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We conducted a case-control evaluation of histories of schizophrenia ...

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of cigarette smoking among schizophrenia patients is significantly higher than in the general population; this may reflect self-medication of symptoms and/or adverse effects of neuroleptics. The authors examined the prevalence of cigarette smoking in apparently healthy adolescents later hospitalized for schizophrenia.

METHOD: Each year, a random sample of male Israeli military recruits, who have been screened and found not to be suffering from major ...

Recapturing meaning in life has been described as an essential element in the process of recovery from severe mental illness (SMI), but limited quantitative research still restricts our understanding of this phenomenon. The purpose of the current study was to explore the meaning in life among people with SMI and variables that may influence it such as internalized stigma and insight into the mental illness. We expected a significant negative correlation between internalized stigma and ...