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M Gómez-Beneyto

Publications and source records attributed to M Gómez-Beneyto.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

Similar effect of family history of psychosis on Sylvian fissure size and auditory P200 amplitude in schizophrenic and bipolar subjects.

Several cerebral studies point to the non-specificity of structural and functional changes described in schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Furthermore, the origin of these changes is still unclear. The present study investigated the effect of a family history (FH) of psychotic disorders in first-degree relatives on computed tomographic (CT) measures (ventricular, cerebral and Sylvian fissure size) and auditory event-related potentials (amplitudes and latencies of peak components in oddball paradigms) in 30 schizophrenic patients and 24 bipolar type I patients. We found a significant correlation between FH and the size of the right Sylvian fissure, and between FH and auditory P200 amplitude. More specifically, the schizophrenic and bipolar patients with negative FH (n=36) had larger right Sylvian fissures and smaller P200 amplitude than patients with positive FH (n=18). These findings were independent of the specific diagnosis, gender, and age of subjects. Our results suggest some underlying process common to schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder, and they provide support for the continuum view of the nosologic structure of psychotic illness.

Adolescent↗

Early age of onset, brain morphological changes and non-consistent motor asymmetry in schizophrenic patients.

Previous data suggest abnormalities in the consistence of motor dominance in schizophrenia (e.g. mixed-handedness, poor correlation between hand, eye and foot preferences and an increase of hand-eye crossed dominance). The aim of this work is to examine the clinical significance of hand-eye and hand-foot crossed dominance in a sample of 61 right-handed schizophrenic patients. The application of multivariate analysis revealed that 23 right-handed and non-right-eyed patients (crossed hand-eye dominant group) had a significant earlier clinical onset and smaller brain size, global and frontal area, than 38 right-handed and right-eyed schizophrenics (consistent hand-eye dominance group). These findings are discussed within the context of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Adult↗

Prevalence, comorbidity, risk factors and service utilisation of disruptive behaviour disorders in a community sample of children in Valencia (Spain).

BACKGROUND: The importance of cultural and adverse family-environment variables as risk factors for Disruptive Behaviour Disorder has been repeatedly shown, and hence a variation in rates and risk factors between cultures could be expected. Lower rates should be found in countries with strong and stable family ties, such as Spain. OBJECTIVE: Prevalence rate, severity and comorbidity of Disruptive Behaviour Disorder, as well as risk factors and help-seeking behaviour relating to this disorder, were studied in a general population random sample of 387 10 year-old children living in Valencia (Spain). METHODS: DSM-III-R diagnosis was established by means of the KIDDY-SADS (Kiddy Schedule for affective diseases and Schizophrenia (epidemiological version)) interview and severity of the disorder was evaluated with the General Assessment Functioning (GAF) Scale. Other variables measured were: sex, number of siblings, parental occupation, single-parent home, school failure, socioeconomic level, chronic somatic ailments and use of mental health services. RESULTS: Prevalence and severity parameters were low (for GAF70, prevalence = 11.1; for GAF60, prevalence = 4.9), albeit falling within the range reported in other countries. Morbidity profile and use of services did not substantially depart from the findings reported in other cultures. Different risk factors were associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Conduct Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder, thus confirming the validity of considering them as separate dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: The findings did not support the hypothesis of lower rates and different risk factors and morbidity patterns in the Spanish sample studied.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

Mortality among psychiatric patients referred to the mental health services in Valencia.

The rate of survival and causes of mortality in a cohort of 2103 psychiatric patients registered on a psychiatric case register and followed up for 7 years are compared with those of a general population sample (n = 2382) randomly extracted from the municipal census in Valencia (Spain). Using multivariate analysis by Cox regression, patients suffering organic psychoses and those diagnosed with drug abuse or dependency exhibited a greater risk of death than the general population for the total causes of death; no interaction was found between sociodemographic variables and psychiatric pathology. In terms of the causes of death, and controlling for the effect of age and sex, organic psychoses involved a greater risk of death due to cardiovascular and respiratory causes, and a greater risk of non-natural deaths than the general population. Schizophrenia and related conditions, the abuse of alcohol/ other drugs, and neurosis/personality disorders all presented a higher risk of death from liver disease. The major affective disorders involved a greater risk of death due to suicide or accidents. The study concludes with a discussion of the possible explanations of these results.

Adolescent↗

Relationship between empathic family attitude and relapse in schizophrenia: a 2-year followup prospective study.

Empathy plays a central role in social relationships, and lack of empathy has been suggested as part of expressed emotion in the relatives of patients with schizophrenia. The aim of this research is to measure empathy in the relatives of schizophrenia patients and to establish the relationship between lack of empathy and relapse. Eighty schizophrenia patients were followed up in a 2-year prospective cohort study. Relatives' empathy, defined as the ability to perceive the patient's mood state, was measured at the beginning of the study with a questionnaire given after a 10-minute interaction between the patient and his or her relative. Several other attitudinal, clinical, and social variables were also measured. A significant relationship was found between poor empathic attitude and relapse. Lack of treatment compliance, negative symptoms, unemployment, and poor premorbid adjustment were also associated with relapse. In a multivariate analysis, the association between poor empathic attitude and relapse was maintained. Statistical control of the relatives' critical attitude showed that each kind of attitude predicts relapse independently.

Adolescent↗

Social adjustment in schizophrenia: factors predictive of short-term social adjustment in a sample of schizophrenic patients.

A sample of 60 Spanish schizophrenic patients was studied in order to ascertain the relationship between their relatives' expressed emotion (EE) and social adjustment after 2 years of follow-up. The average extent of the disability did not increase over time, and differences in dysfunction rates between the various specific social roles were identified. No differences in social outcome were detected between patients with high EE and low EE families. Three factors which predict social adjustment outcome were obtained using logistic regression analysis, namely clinical conditions, baseline social adjustment and the occurrence of a psychotic relapse during the follow-up period.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Clinical interview skills and identification of emotional disorders in primary care.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research was to study the relationship between the clinical interview skills of primary care physicians and their psychodiagnostic ability during office visits. METHOD: Ten doctors took part in the study, and 233 patients were assessed. The patients were seen and diagnosed by their physicians and interviewed afterward by a psychiatrist using the Present State Examination. All the interviews with the primary care physicians were recorded on videotape, and the Physician's Skills Observation Scale was used to analyze 10 interviews per doctor, five psychiatric cases and five nonpsychiatric cases. RESULTS: The physician's active listening (eye contact, posture, and absence of verbal interruptions) and ability to ask questions with psychological content were associated with the ability to identify the patient's emotional problems. This association was shown to be independent of the physician's characteristics (social, academic, attitudinal, and professional), the sociodemographic characteristics of the patients, the time spent in exploration during the office visit, and the severity of the emotional or somatic disorder. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this research highlight the need to train primary care physicians in specific interview skills, in order to improve their ability to identify mental disorders in their practices.

Adult↗

Prevalence of mental disorders among children in Valencia, Spain.

A 2-stage survey was carried out to establish the point-prevalence of mental disorders and help-seeking behaviour in children aged 8, 11 and 15 living in the city of Valencia. Global prevalence rates, rates by age and rates by sex, as well as rates of specific diagnosis according to DSM-III-R criteria are described. Help-seeking behaviour was found to be related to an interaction between internalizing and externalizing symptoms and sex.

Adolescent↗

Predictors of acute dystonia in first-episode psychotic patients.

Sixty-two first-episode psychotic patients who were neuroleptic-naive were studied to examine predictors of acute dystonia after treatment with haloperidol. Twenty-three patients developed dystonia, two of them despite being treated with biperiden. Biperiden significantly prevented dystonic reactions. Dystonia development was significantly related to younger age, severity of illness, and negative symptoms at baseline and showed a trend to be related to positive symptoms as well. No significant effect of gender or diagnosis was found. The authors suggest that young, severely ill patients in their first psychotic episode who have never been treated with neuroleptics might be at higher risk to develop dystonia.

Adolescent↗

Psychometric properties of the parental bonding instrument in a Spanish sample.

The Parental Bonding Instrument was translated into Spanish and administered to a sample of 205 Spanish primiparae 3 days after childbirth. Reliability, factorial structure and predictive validity for affective disorders were evaluated. The Spanish version of the PBI has psychometric features similar to those described in other cultures. However, the results suggest that in future research the predictive power of the "Control" factor in affective disorders might be improved by splitting it into two subfactors: "Overprotection" and "Restraint".

Adult↗

The influence of family expressed emotion on the course of schizophrenia in a sample of Spanish patients. A two-year follow-up study.

A sample of 60 Spanish schizophrenic patients was studied to ascertain the relationship between their relatives' expressed emotion (EE) and relapse at follow-up. The relatives' EE and patients' relapse were operationalised following Leff & Vaughn's criteria. At nine months a significant association was not found between the relatives' EE and relapse, but this association became significant on reclassifying the relatives' EE scores after decreasing to four points the cut-off point for critical comments. At 24 months no association was found between EE and relapse. There was a tendency for patients who interrupted their medication or who did not work to relapse more frequently, particularly among the high-EE group.

Adult↗

Correlates of symptom dimensions in schizophrenia obtained with the Spanish version of the Manchester scale.

In the last decade, a significant number of studies have been published which suggest a multifactorial psychopathological structure in schizophrenia. Seventy-eight acute and chronic schizophrenic patients diagnosed in accordance with DSM-III-R criteria were studied with the Manchester Scale, Premorbid Adjustment Scale, Family History-RDC Interview, Digit Span, Mini-Mental State and computerized tomography (CT). A factorial analysis of the symptoms as recorded with the Spanish version of the Manchester Scale was carried out. Three factors ('positive', 'negative' and 'disorganization') accounted for 79% of the total variance. Poor premorbid adjustment was associated with high scores for the 'positive' dimension. The 'disorganization' dimension was significantly associated with lower scores in the Mini-Mental and attention test than the rest. However, CT did not differentiate between these symptom dimensions. This study of a sample of mostly outpatients corroborates the hypothesis of three clinical dimensions in schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗

[Study of the prevalence of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in ten-year-old children living in the Valencia metropolitan area].

The point prevalence of Attentional Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity is estimated in a random sample of 387 10-year-old children selected from the municipal census of the city of Valencia (Spain). A number of associated factors are described, along with the utilization of public health services. Diagnosis was established according to DSM-III-R criteria. The instruments used were: K-SADS-E; GAF Scale; Raven Progressive Matrices Test and Sociodemographic, Health and Services Use Information Questionnaire. Prevalence was estimated at 8.01 +/- 2.7% (mild 3.9%; moderate 3.9%; severe 0.3%). The male/female ratio was 2:1. Attentional Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity was significantly associated with low academic performance and the condition of living with only one parent. These children made use of the psychological support services with significantly greater frequency than non hyperactive children, regardless of the degree of severity or academic performance.

Adolescent↗

[Inconsistent motor dominance in schizophrenic patients. Evidence in favor of neurodevelopmental changes].

INTRODUCTION: Motor left lateralization preference and lateralization inconsistencies have often been reported in schizophrenia and interpreted as an expression of a neurodevelopmental deficit in this disorder. However, the reported findings are contradictory and plagued by methodological errors. METHOD: The aim of this work is to examine functional motor lateralization preferences and lateralization inconsistencies in a sample on 78 schizophrenic patients by using a reliable method and comparing them with a nonclinical sample as a control group. We also study the potential associations between lateralization and several clinical, neuropsychological and neuroimage variables. RESULTS: No significant differences are found between schizophrenics and the control group in functional motor preferences. Other relevant finding are: absence of correlation between crural, ocular and hand preference; an association between the severity of negative symptoms and lateralization inconsistency; and an earlier clinical onset and a smaller brain volume in right-handed schizophrenics with ocular crossed lateralization as compared with right-handed schizophrenics with consistent ocular lateralization. CONCLUSION: These findings back up the hypothesis of a neurodevelopmental deficit in schizophrenia.

Adolescent↗