Owe Bodlund

SCID II interviews and the SCID Screen questionnaire as diagnostic tools for personality disorders in DSM-III-R

A modified version of the SCID Screen questionnaire covering 103 criteria by means of 124 questions was compared with SCID II interviews in 69 psychiatric patients. The correlation between the number of criteria fulfilled in the SCID II interviews or the questionnaires was 0.84. In the SCID interviews, 54% of the patients had a personality disorder. When the SCID Screen questionnaire was used, 73% had a personality disorder. When the cut‐off level for diagnosis was adjusted, the frequency found by means of the SCID screen questionnaire or the interviews was roughly the same, 58% and 54%, respectively. The overall kappa for agreement between the SCID II interviews and questionnaire with adjusted cut‐off was 0.78.

Sex steroid-related genes and male-to-female transsexualism.

Transsexualism is characterised by lifelong discomfort with the assigned sex and a strong identification with the opposite sex. The cause of transsexualism is unknown, but it has been suggested that an aberration in the early sexual differentiation of various brain structures may be involved. Animal experiments have revealed that the sexual differentiation of the brain is mainly due to an influence of testosterone, acting both via androgen receptors (ARs) and--after aromatase-catalyzed conversion to estradiol--via estrogen receptors (ERs). The present study examined the possible importance of three polymorphisms and their pairwise interactions for the development of male-to-female transsexualism: a CAG repeat sequence in the first exon of the AR gene, a tetra nucleotide repeat polymorphism in intron 4 of the aromatase gene, and a CA repeat polymorphism in intron 5 of the ERbeta gene. Subjects were 29 Caucasian male-to-female transsexuals and 229 healthy male controls. Transsexuals differed from controls with respect to the mean length of the ERbeta repeat polymorphism, but not with respect to the length of the other two studied polymorphisms. However, binary logistic regression analysis revealed significant partial effects for all three polymorphisms, as well as for the interaction between the AR and aromatase gene polymorphisms, on the risk of developing transsexualism. Given the small number of transsexuals in the study, the results should be interpreted with the utmost caution. Further study of the putative role of these and other sex steroid-related genes for the development of transsexualism may, however, be worthwhile.

Axis V--Global Assessment of Functioning Scale. Evaluation of a self-report version.

The present study examines a self‐report version of the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale according to Axis V (GAF self‐report). The sample (n= 73) was a psychiatric outpatient population from a catchment area clinic. Patients with psychotic and organic mental disorders were not included. The diagnostic distribution on Axis I was similar to the findings from previous studies. Axis II disorders were identified among 47%, of whom a majority also had a concomitant Axis I disorder. The mean GAF expert score was 66.5 (range: 48–86). High complexity and severity of disorders and a high number of fulfilled Axis II criteria were significantly associated with low GAF scores. Independent expert ratings on GAF were correlated with the GAF self‐report overall at r= 0.62, varying from 0.45 to 0.91 between different diagnostic groups. In general, the patients scored themselves lower (mean: ‐ 4.4 units) than expert ratings. Patients with depressive symptoms from an adjustment disorder or mood disorder were most prone to underestimation. Women also tended to score themselves lower than experts did. Conclusively, the GAF self‐report turned out to be a valid and reliable unidimensional instrument measuring psychological, social and occupational functioning. The GAF is easy to handle, and with a self‐report version as a complement, Axis V could be more frequently used in future clinical practice and research.

Transsexualism--general outcome and prognostic factors : a five-year follow-up study of nineteen transsexuals in the process of changing sex.

Ninetten transsexuals, approved for sex reassignment, were followed-up after 5 years. Outcome was evaluated as changes in seven areas of social, psychological, and psychiatric functioning. At baseline the patients were evaluated according to axis I, II, V (DSM-III-R), SCID screen, SASB (Structural Analysis of Social Behavior), and DMT (Defense Mechanism Test). At follow-up all but 1 were treated with contrary sex hormones, 12 had completed sex reassignment surgery, and 3 females were waiting for phalloplasty. One male transsexual regretted the decision to change sex and had quit the process. Two transsexuals had still not had any surgery due to older age or ambivalence. Overall, 68% (n=13) had improved in at least two areas of functioning. In 3 cases (16%) outcome were judged as unsatisfactory and one of those regarded sex change as a failure. Another 3 patients were mainly unchanged after 5 years. Female transsexuals had a slightly better outcome, especially concerning establishing and maintaining partnerships and improvement in socioeconomic status compared to male transsexuals. Baseline factors associated with negative outcome (unchanged or worsened) were presence of a personality disorder and high number of fulfilled axis II criteria. SCID screen assessments had high prognostic power. Negative self-image, according to SASB, predicted a negative outcome, whereas DMT variables were not correlated to outcome.

DSM-IV and ICD-10 personality disorders: a comparison of a self-report questionnaire (DIP-Q) with a structured interview.

OBJECTIVE Diagnosing personality disorders according to structured expert interviews is time-consuming and costly. For epidemiological studies, self-report instruments have several advantages. The DSM-IV and ICD-10 personality questionnaire (DIP-Q) is a selfreport questionnaire constructed to identify personality disorder according to DSM-IV and ICD-10. METHOD The DIP-Q is validated vs a structured expert interview in a clinical sample of 138 individuals. In addition, prevalence rates yielded by DIP-Q among 136 healthy volunteers are assessed and compared to expected prevalence. RESULTS For DSM-IV the agreement for any personality disorder as measured by Cohens Kappa was 0.61 and 0.56 for ICD-10. Overall sensitivity for any personality disorder was for DSM-IV 0.84 and for ICD-10 0.85. However, specificity was lower: 0.77 and 0.70, respectively. When dimensional scores between self-report and interview for each personality disorder were compared, the intraclass correlation for the DSMIV entities was 0.37-0.87 and for the ICD-10 entities 0.33-0.73. Among healthy volunteers the base rate of personality disorders was found to be 14%. CONCLUSION DIP-Q can be used as a screening instrument for personality disorders according to DSM-IV and ICD-10. Self-report questionnaires such as DIP-Q will probably play an increasingly important role in future epidemiological studies.

Comparison of two self-rating scales to detect depression: HADS and PHQ-9

BACKGROUND More than half of patients with depression go undetected. Self-rating scales can be useful in screening for depression, and measuring severity and treatment outcome. AIM This study compares the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) with regard to their psychometric properties, and investigates their agreement at different cut-off scores. METHOD Swedish primary care patients and psychiatric outpatients (n = 737) who reported symptoms of depression completed the self-rating scales. Data were collected from 2006 to 2007. Analyses with respect to internal consistency, factor analysis, and agreement (Cohens kappa) at recommended cut-offs were performed. RESULTS Both scales had high internal consistency (alpha = 0.9) and stable factor structures. Using severity cut-offs, the PHQ-9 (> or =5) diagnosed about 30% more patients than the HADS depression subscale (HADS-D; > or =8). They recognised the same prevalence of mild and moderate depression, but differed in relation to severe depression. When comparing recommended screening cut-offs, HADS-D > or =11 (33.5% of participants) and PHQ-9 > or =10 (65.9%) agreement was low (kappa = 0.35). Using the lower recommended cut-off in the HADS-D (> or =8), agreement with PHQ-9 > or =10 was moderate (kappa = 0.52). The highest agreement (kappa = 0.56) was found comparing HADS-D > or =8 with PHQ-9 > or =12. This also equalised the prevalence of depression found by the scales. CONCLUSION The HADS and PHQ-9 are both quick and reliable. The HADS has the advantage of evaluating both depression and anxiety, and the PHQ-9 of being strictly based upon the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The agreement between the scales at the best suitable cut-off is moderate, although the identified prevalence was similar. This indicates that the scales do not fully identify the same cases. This difference needs to be further explored.

The DSM-IV and ICD-10 personality questionnaire (DIP-Q): Construction and preliminary validation

This paper describes the construction and preliminary validation of a new selport inventory for personality disorders — DSM-IV and ICD-10 Personality Disorder Questionnaire (DIP-Q). In a consensus process the criteria sets of DSM-IV and ICD-10 were scrutinized. Twenty-seven criteria were judged completely identical in both systems. In addition, 20 criteria were close to identical. The total number of different criteria could thus be reduced from 161 to 114. Since 24 criteria could not be covered by a single statement, the final version of the DIP-Q includes 135 statements reflecting the criteria and additionally 5 statements reflecting the general criteria. The questionnaire is generally completed within 20 min. In the preliminary validation among 33 psychiatric patients Cronbachs alpha coefficients within each personality disorder were acceptable for most personality disorders and somewhat higher for the DSM-IV personality disorders than for those in the ICD-10. The criteria set of Dissocial disorder in...

Personality traits and disorders among transsexuals.

A group of transsexuals, 9 biological men and 10 women, was assessed according to clinical DSM‐III‐R diagnosis and a self‐report instrument for Axis II diagnoses based on the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM‐III‐R (SCID screen). A control group of 133 individuals was assessed by the same instrument. Combined with a functional criterion according to the Global Assessment of Functioning, the SCID screen showed good agreement with clinical Axis II diagnoses. The overall proportion of Axis II criteria fulfilled, proportion of criteria fulfilled for every single personality disorder and number of personality disorders were calculated from the modified version of the SCID screen. Personality disorders, mainly within cluster B, were identified among 5 of 19 transsexuals, and a majority had multiple personality disorders. Among controls, no personality disorder was identified. Personality traits as measured by the SCID screen revealed significantly more subthreshold pathology among transsexuals than controls in 8 of 12 personality categories. The proportion of overall Axis II criteria fulfilled was 29% among transsexuals versus 17% among controls. Sex differences among transsexuals, the usefulness of the SCID screen and diagnostic problems in DSM‐III‐R with respect to gender identity disorders are discussed.

Altered neural correlates of affective processing after internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy for social anxiety disorder

Randomized controlled trials have yielded promising results for internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy (iCBT) for patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD). The present study investigated anxiety-related neural changes after iCBT for SAD. The amygdala is a critical hub in the neural fear network, receptive to change using emotion regulation strategies and a putative target for iCBT. Twenty-two subjects were included in pre- and post-treatment functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3T assessing neural changes during an affective face processing task. Treatment outcome was assessed using social anxiety self-reports and the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) scale. ICBT yielded better outcome than ABM (66% vs. 25% CGI-I responders). A significant differential activation of the left amygdala was found with relatively decreased reactivity after iCBT. Changes in the amygdala were related to a behavioral measure of social anxiety. Functional connectivity analysis in the iCBT group showed that the amygdala attenuation was associated with increased activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex and decreased activity in the right ventrolateral and dorsolateral (dlPFC) cortices. Treatment-induced neural changes with iCBT were consistent with previously reported studies on regular CBT and emotion regulation in general.

Every third patient in primary care suffers from depression, anxiety or alcohol problems

The aims of the study were to explore the prevalence of patients with depression and anxiety in primary care, its co-occurrence with hazardous/harmful alcohol use, and its relation to gender, age and reason for visit. A questionnaire, including the self-rating Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale and the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, was consecutively distributed to 1800 patients at 11 primary healthcare centres in the county of Västerbotten, Sweden. The response rate was 77.3% (1392 patients), 38% men and 62% women. A total of 31.9% showed symptoms of depression and/or anxiety, with no gender differences. Harmful/hazardous alcohol use was found in 11.9% of the patients, 17.3% in men and 8.8% in women, although the region in Sweden has relatively low alcohol consumption among the population. Age was an important factor. Incidences of the conditions often occurred simultaneously. About half (51%) of those with harmful/hazardous alcohol use also showed symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. The most common causes for patients with symptoms of depression, anxiety or risk consumption of alcohol to seek care were the same as for the general population, namely complaints of pain or infection. Only 7.8% visited the primary care for psychiatric reasons, according to their own given reasons. In all, 38% of the patients showed signs of psychiatric symptoms and/or alcohol problems or a combination of these. The fact that every third patient showed symptoms of depression, anxiety and/or alcohol problems underlines the strategic position for early identification, intervention and treatment within primary healthcare.