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Biomedical subjects

Carlo Faravelli

Publications and source records attributed to Carlo Faravelli.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Threshold and subthreshold bipolar disorders in the Sesto Fiorentino Study.

BACKGROUND: The DSM IV lifetime prevalence for bipolar affective disorders is reported to be between 0.4% and 1% in most surveys. DSM IV, however, fails to identify the cases clinically significant described as bipolar spectrum. The few researches that have attempted to evaluate the prevalence of these disorders in the community report lifetime prevalence figures of 5% to 10% for the whole spectrum. METHOD: The data from the Sesto Fiorentino Study, a community survey conducted by clinical interviewers using a typically clinical instrument, have been re-analysed. 2363 people out of the 2500 randomly selected in order to be representatives of the population aged 14 or more living in Sesto Fiorentino (44,000 inhabitants, Central Italy) could be evaluated according to a two-phase design. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence rates were 0.47% for bipolar I disorder, 0.38% for bipolar II (0.85% for DSM IV bipolar disorders). A much greater number of subjects had clinically significant hypomanic symptoms that failed to fully satisfy the diagnostic criteria, totalling to 4.66% of the population. Compared with depressives without any sign of bipolarity (N=297), these "subthreshold bipolar" cases had significantly greater comorbidity for Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders and Anorexia Nervosa, as well as with Obsessive-Compulsive Passive-Aggressive, Paranoid, Borderline personality disorders. Their depressive symptom pattern cases differed from that of the "pure" unipolar cases for a significantly greater frequency of psychic agitation, psychotic symptoms and hyperphagia. LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS: The main limitation of the study is its retrospective nature, whereas it confirms the clinical relevance of even softer forms of bipolarity on epidemiological grounds.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Increased nitric oxide production in eating disorders.

Animal studies showed that nitric oxide (NO)/cyclic-GMP (cGMP) pathway is involved in the modulation of eating behavior. To address its role in eating disorders (ED), plasma nitrite and cGMP levels were studied in 50 ED patients (25 with Anorexia Nervosa, AN; 25 with Bulimia Nervosa, BN) and 20 sex- and age-matched controls (C). Nitrites (nmol/mg protein, mean+/-S.E.M.: any ED 1.01+/-0.29; AN 1.15+/-0.47; BN 0.88+/-0.36; C 0.25+/-0.07; p<0.01) and cGMP (nmol/ml plasma, mean+/-S.E.M.: any ED 2.58+/-0.60; AN 2.81+/-1.10; BN 2.41+/-0.70; C 0.11+/-0.05; p<0.01) were significantly higher in ED patients than in C. Nitrite and cGMP levels inversely correlated with BMI in AN patients (nitrites: r=-0.62 p<0.01; cGMP r=-0.45 p<0.05) but not in BN patients (nitrites: r=-0.15 p=0.49; cGMP: r=-0.05 p=0.13) or in control subjects (nitrites: r=0.11 p=0.98; cGMP r=0.37 p=0.32). Significant correlations were also present in bulimic patients between nitrite levels, frequency of binges and several psychopathological dimensions, as assessed through the EDE. This is the first evidence of an alteration of the NO pathway in ED patients. Further studies are needed to ascertain whether an increase in NO levels plays a possible role in the pathogenesis of ED.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Aggressiveness, anger and eating disorders: a review.

Anger and aggressive behaviours, especially those self-directed, are frequent in subjects suffering from anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. They increase the complexity of the clinical features, change the prognosis and cause a more difficult management of these disorders. In order to elucidate the complex relationships between eating disorders, anger and aggressiveness, the history of traumatic experiences, the prevalence of dissociative, obsessive, impulsive and compulsive symptoms, as well as the role of severe personality disorders in subjects suffering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and self-injurious behaviours are considered. In the final section of this paper, a model exploring such a relationship in the light of the undefined sense of self is described.

Anger↗
PubMed2006

Gender role, eating disorder symptoms, and body image concern in ballet dancers.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to evaluate the relationships between gender role, eating behavior, and body image in nonprofessional female ballet dancers. METHODS: One hundred ten female ballet dancers and 59 controls were administered the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT), and the Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Ballet dancers scored higher than controls in most of the items evaluating body image and eating behaviors; a high number of ballet dancers with undifferentiated gender role were also observed. In the dancers group, male-typified subjects showed higher median scores of EDE and BUT scales, while in the control group, the highest median scores of EDE and BUT scales were found in undifferentiated subjects. CONCLUSION: Ballet schools' cultural pressure towards an ideal of leanness could interfere with the process of gender role acquisition. Ballet dancers appear to be overconcerned with performance; this could reinforce the internalization of several constructs that are generally considered as typically male.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Psychopathology after rape.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the psychopathological consequences of a single rape occurring in adult women. METHOD: The psychiatric symptoms reported by 40 women who were victims of rape during the previous 9 months as decided by a court of law were compared with the symptoms of 32 women who underwent severe, nonsexual, life-threatening events (car accidents, physical attacks, or robberies). None of the raped women had experienced previous sexual abuse during childhood or adolescence. RESULTS: The raped women showed a significantly greater prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as sexual, eating, and mood disorders. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that the psychopathological consequences of a rape could be specific and may warrant particular attention.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The Sesto Fiorentino study: background, methods and preliminary results. Lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorders in an Italian community sample using clinical interviewers.

BACKGROUND: This paper presents lifetime prevalences and estimated risks of DSM-IV psychiatric disorders from a community survey conducted in Sesto Fiorentino, Italy, using psychiatric interviewers with clinical experience and clinical instruments. METHODS: Two thousand five hundred subjects aged 14 or more were randomly selected from the lists of 15 general practitioners (GPs) regardless of whether or not they had consulted the GP. A three-phase design was adopted, with the GPs using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) for the first stage. All positive cases at the MINI and a probability sample of 123 negative cases were re-interviewed by psychiatrists or trained residents in psychiatry using the Florence Psychiatric Interview (FPI) at the second stage. During phase III, the subjects were administered the rating scales specific to the pathology detected by the FPI. RESULTS: Two thousand three hundred and sixty-three subjects were interviewed (response rate 94.5%) by their own GP; 623 were found positive for any psychiatric disorder. The psychiatrists could re-interview 605 of these, along with a random sample of 123 negatives. Almost twenty-five percent (24.4%; 15.7% males, 31.7% females) of the population was found positive for any DSM-IV disorder during their lives. The most common diagnosis was major depressive episode, followed by anxiety not otherwise specified. Women had higher rates for most disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence rates for most of the disorders considered are generally comparable with the range identified by previous studies conducted in other Western countries, even though they were using different methodologies. Exceptions are represented by the high prevalence of residual categories and the lower prevalence of phobias.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The Sesto Fiorentino study: point and one-year prevalences of psychiatric disorders in an Italian community sample using clinical interviewers.

BACKGROUND: It has been argued that lay interviewers' use of fully-structured interviews could lead to a diagnostic pattern different to that by treating physicians. Clinical interviewers in community samples should probably identify cases that are closer to those seen in clinical settings. The greatest advantage of using clinical interviewers consists of the immediate assessment of a possible psychopathology, i.e. the evaluation of current disorders. METHODS: Two thousand three hundred and sixty-three citizens from the community of Sesto Fiorentino, Italy, were interviewed by their own general practitioners using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Positive cases for any lifetime psychiatric disorder as well as a random sample of the negative cases were re-interviewed by psychiatrists or trained residents in psychiatry using the Florence Psychiatric Interview (FPI). RESULTS: The point prevalence for any current disorder was 8.7%; the two disorders with the highest prevalence were generalised anxiety disorder (2.9%) and major depressive episode (2.7%). The figures increase about 50% when the sub-threshold sequelae of previous disorders are considered. Current comorbidity was generally high. The one-year prevalence of any disorder was 10.6%. Ninety-two percent of the cases sought help, 82% were being treated at the moment of interview. Social impairment was considerable. CONCLUSIONS: The period prevalence rates for most of the disorders considered were generally comparable with the range defined by previous studies conducted in other Western countries, despite using different methodologies. Conversely, the use of health facilities, the treatment received and the social impairment were much higher than those reported by the other studies, suggesting a greater similarity with the clinical samples.

Adolescent↗