Life Events and Schizophrenia in Nigerians

1988 ◽  
Vol 153 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oye Gureje ◽  
A. Adewunmi
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Sociodemographic Variables ◽  
Male Control ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
The Family ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients ◽  
Event Histories

Forty-two first-episode RDC schizophrenic patients were matched on sociodemographic variables with an equal number of control subjects. The life-event histories of both groups for 6 months before onset or interview were compared. Onset of illness was not preceded by an increase in life events. The only significant observation was that control subjects had experienced more events in the month previous to interview. These were reported mainly by male control subjects, involved the family, and were possibly related to the period when the control subjects were interviewed. The observations are discussed within the context of the Nigerian culture.

Life Events and Schizophrenia

1986 ◽  
Vol 148 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. F. Al Khani ◽  
P. E. Bebbington ◽  
J. P. Watson ◽  
F. House
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Single Women ◽  
Married Women ◽  
Arabic Version ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Acute Schizophrenia ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Event Histories

Using an Arabic version of the PSE, supplemented by CATEGO, we selected 48 patients with acute schizophrenia from the population of the Najd region of Saudi Arabia. Their life-event histories for the six months before onset or relapse were compared with those of 62 control subjects. A postive association between events and onset was established only for married women, although there was a parallel trend for men and single women suffering their first schizophrenic episode. The observed impact of life events was limited to the three weeks before onset. These findings are discussed in the light of Saudi culture.

The Role of Stress as a Precipitating Factor of Psychiatric Illness

1977 ◽  
Vol 130 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur P. Schless ◽  
Alicia Teichman ◽  
J. Mendels ◽  
Joseph N. DiGiacomo
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Psychiatric Illness ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Normal Population ◽  
Surgical Patients ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Event Histories ◽  
Precipitating Factor

SummaryFifty-six psychiatric patients were interviewed to obtain a record of life events preceding admission to hospital, using a modified version of the Schedule of Recent Experiences. Two control groups were studied for comparison: medical and surgical in-patients and a ‘normal’ population studied independently by Myers. Psychiatric patients reported a significantly larger number of events than the medical-surgical patients, who, in turn, reported significantly more events than the ‘normal’ population. There were no significant differences in the specific life event histories between groups.

Life Events and Psychosis

1993 ◽  
Vol 162 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Bebbington ◽  
Soraya Wilkins ◽  
Peter Jones ◽  
Alice Foerster ◽  
Robin Murray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Free State ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Significant Excess ◽  
Life Event ◽  
The Past ◽  
Healthy Sample ◽  
Event Histories

Data from the Camberwell Collaborative Psychosis Study were used to examine the proposition that there is an excess of life events preceding the onset of psychoses of all types. Of 97 patients from the study who had episodes within the past year that were datable, 51 had developed psychotic symptoms from an essentially symptom-free state, 29 had been suffering only from neurotic symptoms, and 17 had experienced a marked exacerbation of psychotic symptoms. DSM–III diagnoses were collapsed into three major groups: 51 cases of schizophrenia; 31 cases of mania; and 14 cases of depressive psychosis. Life-event histories were taken for the six months before onset, and when these were compared with equivalent histories from a psychiatrically healthy sample from the local general population, there was a significant excess of life events, particularly in the three months before onset of psychosis. This was apparent in all groups, and remained even when events were restricted to the independent category. The excess of events began rather earlier than has been found in previous studies. In our view, this study provides some of the strongest evidence for a link between life events and the emergence of psychotic symptoms.

Randomised-Control Trial of Family Intervention for 78 First-Episode Male Schizophrenic Patients

1994 ◽  
Vol 165 (S24) ◽  
pp. 96-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minglian Zhang ◽  
Mingtao Wang ◽  
Jianjun Li ◽  
Michael R. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Status ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Family Intervention ◽  
Randomised Control Trial ◽  
First Episode ◽  
Control Group ◽  
The Family ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients ◽  
Stratified Analysis ◽  
Experimental Group

At the time of discharge from their first stay in psychiatric hospital, 78 male schizophrenic patients were randomly assigned to a family intervention (experimental) group or a ‘standard care’ control group and were followed for the next 18 months. The family intervention consisted of both group and individual counselling sessions every 1–3 months that focused on education about the illness and on methods of dealing with the patient. There was a significantly lower rate of hospital readmission in the family intervention group than in the control group (15.4% versus 53.8%, χ2= 12.75, P<0.01), and the mean hospital-free period for those who were readmitted was significantly longer in the experimental group than in the control group (245 days versus 130 days, t =2.91, P<0.01). Moreover, the clinical status and overall level of functioning in patients who were not readmitted were significantly better in experimental subjects than in control subjects. Stratified analysis showed that family intervention and regular use of medication had independent and additive effects on the outcome. During the 18 months after the index discharge patients who did not take medication regularly and who did not receive family intervention were 7.9 times as likely to be readmitted to hospital as patients who took medication regularly and received family intervention.

Stressful Life Events and Schizophrenia

1993 ◽  
Vol 162 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross M. G. Norman ◽  
Ashok K. Malla
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients ◽  
Stress Models ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Over Time

Empirical research concerning the relationship between life event stressors and schizophrenia is critically reviewed. In accordance with the view that patients suffering from schizophrenia are vulnerable to stress, there is evidence of a relationship between stressors and variation in severity of symptoms over time. There is less indication that schizophrenic patients have had higher levels of stressors than the general population or than patients suffering from other psychiatric disorders. These findings are consistent with vulnerability-stress models of the development of schizophrenia.

Life Events and Personality Traits in Obsessive-Compulsive Neurosis

1984 ◽  
Vol 144 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Mckeon ◽  
Bridget Roa ◽  
Anthony Mann
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Obsessive Compulsive ◽  
Premorbid Personality ◽  
Life Event ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Standard Assessment ◽  
Event Score

SummaryTwenty-five patients with obsessive-compulsive neurosis and matched controls had their life event scores (Paykel's Life Event Schedule) rated for the year prior to the onset of illness and the date of interview, respectively. The Standard Assessment of Personality Schedule, whose high inter-temporal and inter-informant reliability was confirmed, was used to rate the patients' premorbid personality.The obsessive-compulsive patients' mean life event score was significantly higher than the control subjects; and this excess spanned the six months prior to the onset of illness. Patients with abnormal personality traits (obsessional, anxious and self-conscious) experienced significantly fewer life events than those without such traits.

352. Thalamic volumes in first episode schizophrenic patients

2000 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. S106
Author(s):  
A. Gilbert ◽  
S. Spencer ◽  
I. Mankowski ◽  
M.R. Zeigler ◽  
D.M. Montrose ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Episode ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients

Prenatal exposure to maternal stressful life events and earlier age at menarche: the Raine Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
E V Bräuner ◽  
T Koch ◽  
A Juul ◽  
D A Doherty ◽  
R Hart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Stress ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Prenatal Stress ◽  
Stressful Life Events ◽  
Maternal Stress ◽  
Stressful Life Event ◽  
Stressful Life ◽  
Age At Menarche ◽  
Complete Case ◽  
Life Event

Abstract STUDY QUESTION Is there an association between prenatal exposure to stressful life events and age at menarche, and does childhood BMI mediate this association? SUMMARY ANSWER Girls exposed to prenatal stress had a slightly earlier age at menarche, but this association did not show a dose-response effect and was not mediated by childhood offspring BMI. WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN Prenatal stress may impact on reproductive function in females including age at menarche, but human data are very limited. High childhood BMI is known to be associated with earlier age at menarche. Only one small study has measured the association between maternal stress and age at menarche and reported that childhood BMI mediated the association between maternal stress and earlier age at menarche. However, neither maternal stress nor age at menarche was prospectively recorded and the study was limited to 31 mother–daughter pairs. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION The Raine Study is a large prospective population-based pregnancy cohort study (n = 1414 mother–daughter pairs) continuously followed from prenatal life through to adolescence. In the present study, we examined the association between exposure to maternal stressful life events during early, late and total gestation and age at menarche in offspring using 753 mother–daughter pairs with complete case information. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Mothers prospectively reported stressful life events during pregnancy at 18 and 34 weeks using a standardized 10-point questionnaire. Exact date of menarche was assessed using a purpose-designed questionnaire at 8, 10, 14 and 17 years of age. Complete information on exposure, outcome and confounding variables was obtained from 753 mothers–daughter pairs. Multivariate linear regression complete case analysis was used to examine associations between maternal stressful life event exposure and age at menarche. Potential selection bias was evaluated using multiple imputations (50 datasets). The mediating effects of offspring childhood BMI (ages 5, 8, or 10 years) on these associations were measured in separate sub-analyses. MAIN RESULTS AND ROLE OF CHANCE Most (580/753, 77%) daughters were exposed to at least one prenatal stressful life event. Exposure to maternal stressful life events during the entire pregnancy was associated with a non-linear earlier age at menarche. Exposure to one event and two or more psychological stressful events was associated with a 3.5 and 1.7-month earlier onset of puberty, respectively when compared to the reference group with no exposure maternal stressful life events. The estimates from multiple imputation with 50 datasets were comparable with complete case analysis confirming the existence of an underlying effect. No separate significant effects were observed for exposure during early or late gestation. The association between prenatal stressful events and age at menarche was not mediated by childhood BMI in the offspring. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Stressful life events may have affected pregnant women in different ways and self-perceived maternal stress severity may have provided a more precise estimate of gestational psychological stress. The observed non-linear U-shape of the association between maternal psychological stress and age at menarche did not reflect a dose-response. This suggests that the first exposure to prenatal stress exerts a greater effect on fetal reproductive development. A potential mechanism is via dramatic initial activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis following the first stressful life event which is greater than that observed following subsequent exposure to two or more maternal stressful life events. Whilst we adjusted for a priori chosen confounders, we cannot exclude residual confounding or confounding by factors we did not include. Maternal age at menarche was not available so the effects of familial history/genetics could not be assessed. There was a large loss due to the number of girls with no information on date of menarche and missing confounder information implying risk of selection bias and multiple imputation analyses did not fully exclude this risk (similar direction but slightly weaker estimate magnitude). WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Menarche is a sentinel reproductive event and earlier age at menarche carries implications for psychological, social and reproductive health and for long-term risk of common non-communicable diseases. Understanding the factors regulating age at menarche has extensive health implications. This is the first population-based cohort study in humans to demonstrate that prenatal psychological stress might directly modify age at menarche. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) Dr. Bräuner and Trine Koch’s salaries were supported by Doctor Sofus Carl Emil Friis and spouse Olga Doris Friis foundation, The Danish Cancer Society (Kræftens Bekæmpelse, RP15468, R204-A12636, Denmark) and The Danish Health Foundation (Helsefonden, F-22181-23, Denmark). Martha Hickey was funded by NHMRC Practitioner Fellowships. The funding bodies played no role in the design, collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Dr. Hart has received personal fees in his function as the Medical Director of Fertility Specialists of Western Australia and received educational sponsorship grants from MSD, Merck-Serono and from Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Dr Hart has also received personal fees from Shareholders in Western IVF outside the submitted work. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NA.

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