ICD-10 Symptom Checklist Research Articles

Psychological Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Freelance Professional Musicians

With the onset of public life restrictions in the COVID 19 pandemic in March 2020, freelance professional musicians were exposed to significant pandemic-related restrictions in exercising their profession. Due to the particular working conditions, this professional group was already considered high at risk in terms of mental health before the pandemic. The present study investigates the level of mental distress among professional musicians during the pandemic in relation to basic mental health needs and help-seeking behaviour. In July and August 2021, psychological distress was measured in a nationwide sample of N=209 professional musicians using the ICD-10 Symptom Checklist (ISR). In addition, the extent to which the musicians' basic psychological needs are met and whether they would seek professional psychological help was determined. Compared to various control groups before and during the pandemic, professional musicians showed significantly higher levels of psychological symptoms than the general population before and during the pandemic. Regression analyses support the assumption that pandemic-related changes in the basic psychological needs of pleasure or displeasure avoidance, self-esteem enhancement or self-esteem protection and attachment have a significant influence on the expression of depression symptoms. The musicians' help-seeking behaviour, on the other hand, decreases with an increase in depression symptoms. Due to the high overall psychological stress among freelance musicians, there is a need for action, especially in the provision of specially adapted psychosocial support services.

Psychiatric morbidity and quality of life in infertile females: a cross-sectional, case-controlled hospital-based study

BackgroundInfertility is a huge global problem with a significant mental health burden. Infertility could become a source of continuous stress leading to psychosocial issues including stress, anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem in these women. A cross-sectional, case-controlled study was conducted between January 2021 and November 2021 to study the effect of infertility on mental health and quality of life. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for sociodemographic and clinical variables. The Oslo Social Support Scale-3 and FertiQol were used to study social support and quality of life respectively. Psychiatric morbidity was assessed using ICD-10 symptom checklist. A total of 56 cases and 102 controls were studied.ResultsThe mean age of cases and controls was 30.4 ± 3.5 years and 31.9 ± 2.9 years, respectively. Young infertile females, primary infertility, and female factor for infertility were associated with higher psychiatric morbidity. Psychiatric morbidity was seen in 46.4% of infertile women. FertiQoL score for the infertile group was 64.61 ± 5 with the lowest score in the emotional domain (45.10) and mind-body domain (54.86) (p < 0.0001). The scores in the relational domain and social domain were higher (85.2 and 73.3, respectively). The scores in the mind-body domain and emotional domain were poor among the infertile women regardless of the presence of psychiatric morbidity (48.27 vs 59.80 and 43.57 vs 46.57) (p < 0.0001–0.04).ConclusionsOur study emphasizes the role of more qualitative instruments like FertiQoL in studying the well-being of infertile women. Even in the absence of psychiatric morbidity, the QoL score could still predict mental well-being in fertility-related issues.

Adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder among patients with substance use disorders

BackgroundAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a childhood neurodevelopmental disorder that persists into adulthood. ADHD is a well-known risk factor for substance use disorder (SUD). However, the actual contribution of comorbidity is largely unknown. The current study investigated the prevalence of ADHD in a sample of abstinent patients compared to healthy controls.Compared to 51 healthy controls, 51 patients seeking medical treatment for SUD were abstinent from any substance for at least 1 month, interviewed by the use of the ICD-10 symptom checklist, the Social Classification Scale, the Addiction Severity Index, Conners adult ADHD Rating Scales Self-Report (CAARS-S:L), and the Kiddie-Sads-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL).ResultsUsing CAARS-S:L, the ADHD index showed that 9 subjects (17.6%) were diagnosed with adult ADHD. Using K-SADS-PL, 8 of the participants (15.7%) were found to have an adult ADHD diagnosis. Lower scores of the ADHD index are related to increased patients’ age, while increased scores of the ADHD index are related to more alcohol-related problems of the patients. The strongest predicting factors of increased ADHD index were drug problems and legal status.ConclusionsThe current study provides evidence of an increased diagnosis of adult ADHD in patients with substance use disorder, regardless of the type of substance abuse.

Studying the relationship between tobacco use and depression between Egyptian patients

Abstract Background Although much attention has been drawn to trends in smoking and smoking related diseases in the general population, increasing evidence suggests that patients with mental illness are at a high risk for tobacco use and nicotine addiction. Cigarette smokers usually state the antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of smoking, but evidence reports that cigarette smoking may promote negative effect, so that the causal direction of this association still mysterious. It was reported that there is a cause effect relationship between cigarette smoking and depression as multiple studies mentioned that tobacco use increases the risk of symptoms of depression. The relationship between smoking and depression was attributed to genetic predisposition, low level of dopamine, low self-esteem, and coping styles. Aim of the Work The current study aimed to study the pattern of tobacco use among patients with depression, to study the degree of motivation to quit in patients with depression, and to assess severity of suicidal behavior among patients with depression using tobacco. Patients and Methods This is a case control study conducted in patients with the diagnosis of depression attending the outpatient clinic or inpatient of the institute of psychiatry Ain Shams University Hospitals during the academic year 2018-2019. The sample size was consisted of 100 patients and the patients were selected randomly. The relationship between tobacco use and depression between Egyptian patients was assessed using Socioeconomic status scale (SES), Hamilton Rating scale for Depression (HRSD), FagerströmTest for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), Lebanon Waterpipe Dependence Scale-11 (LWDS-11), Reason for quitting scale (RFQ), Columbia–Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), and ICD-10 symptom checklist for mental disorders. Results The present study showed a statistical significant association between the following scales; Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS), Difference score of Reason for quitting scale (RFQ) and Hamilton depression rating scale (HDRS), and Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and Columbia–Suicide Severity Rating Scale (CSSRS). Conclusion Compared to non-depressive persons, the results showed that depressive groups were less desired for quitting smoking.

Social, psychological, and sexual aspects among couples seeking marital therapy in a sample in Cairo 2013-2014

Aim The aim of the study was to describe and reveal an association of social, psychological, and sexual aspects among couples seeking marital therapy. Background There are scanty data in Egypt on social, psychological, and sexual aspects among couples seeking marital therapy. Participants and methods Fifty couples attending the marital counseling clinic in the psychological medicine hospital in Cairo between June 2013 and June 2014 were assessed. Informed consent was given by couples, who were assessed on the basis of the following: (a) psychiatric interview; (b) General Health Questionnaire (GHQ); (c) ICD-10 symptom checklist (positive score on GHQ); (d) structured assessment of personality (negative score on GHQ); (e) sexual function questionnaire; (f) marital silence scale; (g) marital conflicts scale. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS version 16. Results At least one or both partners of all couples had a positive score on GHQ. Women showed higher rates of positive score on GHQ than did men. Personality disorders and accentuated traits were highly prevalent in the study sample. Women showed higher rates of depressive episodes, whereas men showed higher rates of substance abuse. Marital conflicts are directly associated with education level and inversely associated with age; marital silence is inversely associated with education level and directly associated with age. Conclusion Marital conflicts and silence are associated with the presence of psychiatric morbidity. Age and level of education are associated with marital conflict and silence.

Schizophrenia-related disability in China: prevalence, gender, and geographic location.

This study estimated the prevalence of schizophrenia-related disability in the Chinese population and explored factors that may contribute to differences in prevalence rates between women and men and across geographic regions. Data for 1,909,205 noninstitutionalized adults (age 18 and older) from a representative national sample were obtained from the Second China National Sample Survey on Disabilities in 2006 (participation rate of 99.8%). The sample was first screened for disability (activities of daily living and social participation adversely affected by the disorder) via in-person household interviews. Trained clinical psychiatrists then administered the ICD-10 Symptom Checklist for Mental Disorders and the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule Version II to all individuals who screened positive for a psychiatric disability. The prevalence of schizophrenia disability was .41% in China. It was higher in rural areas (.45%) than in urban areas (.32%). In rural areas, the prevalence was higher among women than among men (.51% versus .38%), but in urban areas, the rates were similar for women and men (.30% versus .35%). The results of logistic regression analysis showed that after adjustment for variables related to socioeconomic status, the likelihood of having schizophrenia disability was slightly lower among rural residents than among urban residents (odds ratio [OR]=.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]=.86-.98), although the disparity between rural women and rural men remained (OR=1.9, CI=1.78-2.02). Socially disadvantaged rural women were disproportionately affected by schizophrenia-related disability. Limited access to health services may have contributed to the increased disease burden among rural women.

Clinical profile of cannabis-induced psychosis in comparison to schizophrenia

The question whether substance-induced psychotic disorders can be differentiated from schizophrenia on the basis of clinical and psychological tests performance remains inconclusive. We hypothesize that cannabis-induced psychosis and schizophrenia have different cognitive, premorbid, and clinical features. The main objective of this study was to investigate and describe clinical profile of cannabis-induced psychosis and to plot a comparative study between patients with cannabis-induced psychosis and schizophrenic with regard to cognitive abilities, different personality traits as well as phenomenological differences between both groups. This was a cross-sectional comparative study in which 60 patients were recruited; 30 patients with diagnosed cannabis-induced psychosis and 30 patients with diagnosed schizophrenia. The patients were selected from inpatient units and outpatient psychiatric clinics at the Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University, over a period of 6 months. The recruited samples were assessed by a semistructured interview on the basis of the interview (questionnaire) sheet of the Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University Hospital, and the diagnosis was made on the basis of ICD-10 symptom checklist. They were also assessed by the following scales: Wechsler Intelligence Scale, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, and Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale. We found that cannabis-induced psychosis patients have statistically significant better cognitive functioning in the object assembly, less lie and correction, more psychopathic deviation, more antisocial and borderline traits, and less negative and general psychopathology symptoms compared with schizophrenic patients. Results from the present study support previous evidence that tasks of cognitive functions, personality assessment, and clinical evaluation distinguish cannabis-induced psychosis and schizophrenia even in the earliest stages of illness and that the two disorders can be differentiated on the basis of areas of selective deficit. However, the present results also support the hypothesis of a continuum of illness severity, in which significant deficits are evident in all diagnostic groups, but with different severity.

Prevalence of schizophrenia disability and associated mortality among Chinese men and women

Schizophrenia is a major cause of psychiatric disability in China. In the present study, we estimated total and age-specific prevalence of both schizophrenia disability and associated mortality among Chinese women and men. We further examined whether sex differences in prevalence were attributable to mortality differences between men and women. Data from the Second China National Sample Survey on Disability (2006) and the 2007–2010 follow-up studies were utilized. Possibly psychiatrically disabled individuals were administered the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule, Version II and the ICD-10 Symptom Checklist for Mental Disorders by trained clinical psychiatrists. In total, 0.37% of men and 0.44% of women were living with schizophrenia disability in China. We did not find statistically significant differences in the 4-year cumulative mortality between men and women. Overall standardized mortality ratios for the age groups of 18–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, and 70+ years were 120.89, 29.56, 15.06, 9.16, 10.57, and 4.95, respectively. In conclusion, mortality differences between men and women were unlikely to be a major contributor to sex differences in prevalence. Premature death among younger individuals experiencing schizophrenia disability warrants urgent attention.

Psychiatric morbidity, pain perception, and functional status of chronic pain patients in palliative care

Context:Psychological factors, such as that exist when we experience pain, can profoundly alter the strength of pain perception.Aim:The study aims to estimate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders, and its association with perception of pain and functional status in chronic patients in palliative care.Materials and Methods:The sample was selected via simple randomisation and post consent were assessed using (1) a semi- structured questionnaire to elicit socio-demographic information and medical data (2) Brief Pain Inventory (3) ICD-10 Symptom Checklist (4) ICD-10-Diagnostic Criteria for Research (DCR) (5) Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) (6) Covi Anxiety Rating Scale (7) Karnofsky Performance Status Scale. Data was analysed using independent sample t test and chi square test.Results:The psychiatric morbidity was 67% with depression and adjustment disorders being the major diagnosis. There was a significant association between psychiatric morbidity pain variables (P = 0.000). Psychiatric morbidity significantly impaired activity, mood, working, walk, sleep, relationship, and enjoyment. There was no association between aetiology of pain, type of cancer, treatment for primary condition and treatment for pain and psychiatric morbidity. The functional status of cancer patients was also poorer in patients with psychiatric morbidity (P = 0.008).Conclusion:There is a high prevalence of psychiatric illness in chronic pain patients of any aetiology. Psychiatric morbidity is associated with increased pain perception, impairment in activity and poor functional status.

Illiteracy and schizophrenia in China: a population-based survey

Illiterate people may frequently experience social discrimination and exclusion in our modern society. It has been suggested that social adversity increases risk of schizophrenia. The current study examines the relation between illiteracy and schizophrenia. We utilized data on 1,909,205 representative Chinese people of age 18 years or older collected by the Second China National Sample Survey on Disability in 2006 (participation rate 99.8%). Experienced clinical psychiatrists diagnosed schizophrenia among those who were psychiatrically disabled with the ICD-10 symptom checklist. Strikingly high prevalence of schizophrenia was observed among the young illiterates aged 18-29 years (prevalence 1.64%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.35, 1.93) and 30-39 years (prevalence 1.51%, 95% CI 1.34, 1.68), much higher than the prevalence estimates for general Chinese population of similar age reported by any of the previous studies in mainland China. Among people aged less than 40 years, we found that the illiterates were 2.08 times more likely to develop schizophrenia than the literates with no school or primary school education (odds ratio (OR) = 2.08, 95% CI 1.84, 2.36). The association remained statistically significant after adjustment for age, gender, marital status, household income, and location of residence. Consistently, a strong association between illiteracy and schizophrenia (OR = 2.8, 95% CI 1.28, 6.11) was found in conditional logistic regression analysis among matched sibling sets aged less than 40 years that further adjusted for genetic confounding. The risk of schizophrenia may have increased among the socially disadvantaged illiterate people.

Comorbidities of mental and behavioral disorders in chemically dependent patients in different periods of abstinence

OBJECTIVE: To assess the frequency of comorbidities of mental and behavioral disorders (CMBD) in psychoactive substance (PAS)-dependent patients with different periods of abstinence cared for at Alcohol and Other Drug Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS-ad). METHOD: All patients under treatment in the two CAPS-ad of the city of Uberlândia-MG, between April and September 2010, were consecutively assessed. The ICD-10 symptom checklist was used to diagnose CMBD; additional information was obtained from interviews and medical records. The patients were divided according to duration of abstinence: &lt; 1 week (Group 1); 1-4 weeks (Group 2); and &gt; 4 weeks (Group 3). RESULTS: Of all patients assessed, 62.8% were diagnosed with CMBD, which were more frequent (p &lt; 0.05) in Group 1 (72%) than Group 3 (54.2%), and both groups were similar to Group 2 (61%). Depressive and anxiety disorders were more frequent among patients of Group 1. Mood disorders were more frequent (p &lt; 0.05) in women [22/34 (65%) vs. 54/154 (35.1%)], whereas psychotic disorders were more frequent (p = 0.05) in men [16/154 (10.4%) vs. 0]. The presence of CMBD was associated with more severe clinical conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The higher frequency of diagnosis of CMBD in patients of Group 1 may have resulted from the difficulties in distinguishing mental disorders that are due to PAS intoxication or withdrawal from those that are not. However, to make the diagnosis of CMBD, even during detoxification, can increase the likelihood of better response to treatment.

Schizophrenia Psychopathology in a Kuwaiti Arab Sample

Background: The heterogeneity of schizophrenia psychopathology has led to a search for symptom clusters that could be related to broad features of the disease. The objectives of the study were to: (1) highlight the pattern of symptoms among Kuwaiti subjects with schizophrenia, using the ICD-10 symptom checklist; (2) assess the factor structure of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale 18 (BPRS-18) and BPRS-24, and (3) evaluate the relationship of the resulting factors with sociodemographic characteristics, age at onset of illness, family history of mental illness, objective indicators of quality of life, self-esteem, affect balance, family caregiver burden, patient’s perceptions of service satisfaction and needs for care. Method: Consecutive outpatients in stable condition were assessed with the BPRS and ICD-10 symptom checklist, as well as measures of quality of life, needs for care, service satisfaction and family caregiver burden. Results: There were 130 patients (66.1% men, mean age = 36.8 years, age at onset of illness = 24.2 years, duration of illness = 12.9 years). Of the ICD-10 symptoms, the commonest positive symptoms were hallucinations (58.5%) and delusions (72%). Catatonic symptoms were rare (2.9%). About a quarter of the subjects experienced 4 of the negative symptoms. In exploratory factor analysis, we broadly replicated the known syndromes for BPRS-24 (disorganization, positive, activation, manic, negative and depression) and BPRS-18 (negative, positive, activation and affect). In regression analyses, the variables independently associated with psychopathology were family income, negative affect, self-esteem, duration of illness, age, lack of money for enjoyment, met needs for care and caregiver tension. The negative syndrome had more significant associations with the variables investigated than the positive syndrome. Psychopathological scores were separable from indices of psychological well-being. Conclusion: In this first study of schizophrenia psychopathology from the Arab world, the clinical manifestations were similar to the data from the developed countries. The persistence of psychotic symptoms despite freely available antipsychotic treatment and the impact on caregiver burden call for attention to the perennial issue of treatment resistance and underscore the need for continued interaction with family members after the acute inpatient phase of treatment, in order to address the impact of symptoms.

Dementia and mortality in persons with Down’s syndrome

Numerous studies have documented that persons with Down's syndrome (DS) are at an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, at present it is still not clear whether or not all persons with DS will develop dementia as they reach old age. We studied 506 people with DS, aged 45 years and above. A standardized assessment of cognitive, functional and physical status was repeated annually. If deterioration occurred, the patients were examined and the differential diagnosis of dementia was made according to the revised Dutch consensus protocol and according to the ICD-10 Symptom Checklist for Mental Disorders. We compared our findings with those reported in the literature. The overall prevalence of dementia was 16.8%. Up to the age of 60, the prevalence of dementia doubled with each 5-year interval. Up to the age of 49, the prevalence is 8.9%, from 50 to 54, it is 17.7%, and from 55 to 59, it is 32.1%. In the age category of 60 and above, there is a small decrease in prevalence of dementia to 25.6%. The lack of increase after the age of 60 may be explained by the increased mortality among elderly demented DS patients (44.4%) in comparison with non-demented patients (10.7%) who we observed during a 3.3-year follow-up. There was no decrease in incidence of dementia in the age group of 60 and above. Our findings are very similar to those published in the literature. Patients with dementia were more frequently treated with antiepileptic, antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs. The history of depression was strongly associated with dementia. Our study is one of the largest population-based studies to date. We found that despite the exponential increase in prevalence with age, the prevalence of dementia in the oldest persons with DS was not higher than 25.6%.

Assessing dimensional and categorical aspects of depression Validation of the AMDP Depression Scale

A new observer depression scale which is based on the descriptive operationalized classification principles of ICD-10 is introduced. The AMDP Depression Scale (AMDP-DS), a 22-item clinician-rated inventory, provides the opportunity of dimensional as well as categorical depression severity assessment. A sample of 50 patients with depressive symptoms were assessed with the AMDP-DS by two raters in a joint rater session. A number of widely used depression scales were applied separately by an independent rater. The ICD-10 symptom checklist was used for categorical assessment of depressive disorders. The inter-rater reliability for the total score of the AMDP-DS was excellent (Intraclass coefficient: 0.97). There were high correlations with the sum scores of the other scales under study. The correlations between the ICD-10 symptom-checklist and the AMDP-DS ranged from 0.75 to 0.89 for the total sample and 0.44 to 0.51 for patients with acute depressive episode. The results are limited by the method of a joint rater setting and the relatively small subsample of patients with depressive episode. The AMDP-DS satisfies the requirements of psychometric criteria with a sufficient degree. A new depression scale designed to cover dimensional as well as categorical aspects has successfully been developed.

Affective (depressive) morbidity in puerperal Nigerian women: validation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

To determine the rate of depression in a group of postpartum Nigerian women and to validate the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in this group. Between April and August 2000, all postpartum women who remained in the maternity ward for up to 7 days, and those who attended the postnatal clinics of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital were recruited. Translated local language versions of the EPDS and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale were used to screen the subjects. A structured interview schedule was adapted from the depression section of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview and affective module of the ICD-10 Symptom Check List to assess screened subjects. The total rejection rate was 23%, with 225 women participating in the study. Twenty-four subjects (10.7%) had depression. At the optimal cut-off score of 9, the EPDS had a sensitivity of 0.75, and specificity of 0.97. The EPDS clearly distinguished between depressed and non-depressed postpartum mothers (t = 7.63, P < 0.001, df = 222). Because of its brevity and acceptability, it is recommended that the EPDS be used in routine postnatal screening.

Assessing psychological distress in psychiatric patients: Validation of the Talbieh Brief Distress Inventory

The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Talbieh Brief Distress Inventory (TBDI), a 24-item self-report instrument used to measure psychological distress, for use in psychiatric patients. A case-control and partly longitudinal design was used to test the TBDI among 431 psychiatric outpatients and inpatients and 197 gender- and age-matched nonpatients. All respondents were interviewed using the ICD-10 Symptom Checklist, and patients additionally with psychopathology rating scales. Internal consistency of the TBDI distress index was 0.92. A cutoff of 2.0 was associated with 96% sensitivity and 56% specificity. Mean TBDI scores were significantly lower for nonpatients than for both outpatients and inpatients, and for schizophrenic patients compared with patients suffering from schizoaffective/mood disorders and from neurotic/personality disorders. The TBDI shows good capacity to discriminate levels and symptoms of distress between control subjects and mentally ill patients. The TBDI is a brief, valid, and useful tool for stress-related research that allows comparison of the psychological responsiveness of distinct patients and groups of patients and facilitates assessment of distress levels across cultural or language barriers.

ICD-10 checklists—A tool for clinicians' use of the ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioral disorders

The Tenth Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) checklists are a set of semistructured instruments designed for clinician assessment of mental and behavioral disorders according to ICD-10 criteria. The checklists have been produced as a package consisting of the ICD-10 Symptom Checklist and Glossary and the International Diagnostic Checklists (IDCL) for ICD-10 and Manual. This report describes the main features of the newly released World Health Organization (WHO) instruments and specifies areas of possible application by clinicians.

The ICD-10 symptom checklist: a companion to the ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders.

The ICD-10 Symptom Checklist is a semi-structured diagnostic instrument intended for clinicians' assessment of F0-F6 categories in the ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders. The instrument was preliminarily tested at the St. Louis site during its participation in the field trials of the ICD-10 Diagnostic Criteria for Research. The Checklist was found to be a reliable diagnostic tool (overall kappa 0.72) within the constraints of the interviewer/observer reliability study design. More rigorous tests of the psychometric properties of the instrument are necessary.