Cj Slooff

Relationship between symptomatology and social disability

SummaryThe relationship between symptomatology and social functioning was investigated. Data were derived from a Dutch cohort of 82 patients with a first life-time episode of non-affective, functional psychosis, who participated in the WHO Collaborative Study on the Assessment and Reduction of Psychiatric Disability. Correlations between scores on two unidimensional, hierarchical rating scales in the 3 years after onset of illness were examined and a comparison was made between course of symptomatology and social disability. The relationship was found to be rather weak, a conclusion that is somewhat in variance with earlier studies. It is conjectured that this may partly be explained by the fact that different study methods were used.

The effectiveness of lithium prophylaxis in bipolar and unipolar depressions and schizo-affective disorders

The effectiveness of lithium prophylaxis in bipolar affective disorders is generally supported in the literature. The effects in this group, as well as in unipolar depressions and schizo-affective disorders were studied, using an individual retrospective control method, and the Life Table method. Lithium prophylaxis resulted in a substantial decrease in the number of episodes and hospital admissions in bipolar and schizo-affective disorders. In addition, these two groups showed frequent relapses after termination of the prophylaxis. The number of episodes preceding the prophylaxis and the absence of unipolar depression are found to be predictors of effectiveness. The consequences of patient selection and of inconclusive diagnostic criteria are pointed out.

A 12-month follow-up study of treating overweight schizophrenic patients with aripiprazole

Objective:  To investigate the feasibility of switching overweight schizophrenic patients to aripiprazole and to assess the impact of 12 months of aripiprazole treatment on weight in routine practice.

Schizofrenie en verwante stoornissen

Schizofrenie en verwante psychotische stoornissen behoren tot de ernstigste en meest chronische psychiatrische ziekten. Dit katern behandelt de consequenties daarvan voor het functioneren in arbeidssituaties. Het gaat daarbij in het bijzonder over schizofrenie. De beschreven zorgprogramma’s en interventies zijn echter ook geschikt voor patienten met allerlei andere psychische stoornissen (bijvoorbeeld bipolaire stoornissen; ernstige en recidiverende depressies; andere psychotische stoornissen).

355 – Stigmatising attitudes of mental health care professionals, forensic psychiatric professionals and general practitioners: a pilot study

Objective Studying stigma in health care professionals may be helpful to address stigma in people with mental illness. The purpose of this study is to assess (stigmatising) attitudes of mental health care professionals (MHC), forensic psychiatric professionals (FP) and general practitioners (GP) in the Netherlands. Method The Mental Illness Clinicians Attitude (MICA) questionnaire is used to assess stigmatising attitudes in three different groups of health care professionals. Scores range from 16 (minimum stigma) to 96 (maximum stigma). Additionally, background information was obtained including gender, age, work and personal experience. Results All three groups of health care professionals had a positive attitude towards psychiatry and patients with a mental health problem. However, the total MICA score differed significantly between the three groups (p Conclusion General practitioners showed in comparison to mental health care professionals a significantly higher stigmatising attitude. The scores still represent a mild positive attitude towards psychiatry and psychiatric patients. Although all three groups have a relatively positive attitude, there is still room for improvement.