Satu Viertiö - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Satu Viertiö

Schizophrenia Research, 2008

Psychosis is an aetiologically complex disorder for which increasing evidences suggest an interac... more Psychosis is an aetiologically complex disorder for which increasing evidences suggest an interaction between genetic risk factors and environment. Recent studies demonstrated social factors can influence the posibility of developing psychosis (Morgan et al., 2006). Furthermore, certain style of life like smoking cannabis could increase the risk of developing this disorder (Arseneault et al., 2004; Henquet et al., 2005; Caspi et al., 2005). We hyphothesize that level of education might be associated with cannabis use in first-episode psychosis. Methods: We collected clinical and demographic data in 158 firstepisode psychosis individuals and 75 matched healthy volunteers. Subjects were recruited as part of GAP study (Genetic and Psychosis) which included cases who presented to the South London Maudsley Trust.Of the above sample, 32 cases and 43 healthy volunteers were assessed with the Working Memory Scale III to analyze any possible diff erences in cognitive functions. Results: 63.3% of cases and 62.7% of controls are cannabis users. 48.73% of cases and 90.67% of controls achieved high level of education (greater than GCSES). Patients have significantly lower education th an controls (p<0.001). We found that cannabis users in both groups have lower education than non users (p=0.032).There is not significant evidence in neuropsychological function between cases and controls. Conclusions: We demonstrated that a t highest level of education corresponds lower use of cannabis. No significant difference in cognitive functions was found between patients and controls and cannabis use.

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 2009

Background There are few reports on mobility limitations in persons with psychotic disorder altho... more Background There are few reports on mobility limitations in persons with psychotic disorder although restrictions in mobility may aggravate the general functional limitations of these patients. Our aim was to investigate mobility limitations among subjects with psychotic disorder in a general population-based sample. Methods A nationally representative sample of 6,927 persons aged 30 and older self-reported mobility limitations in an interview and was examined in performance tests. Diagnostic assessment of DSM-IV psychotic disorders combined SCID interview and case note data. Lifetime-ever diagnoses of psychotic disorder were classified into schizophrenia, other nonaffective psychotic disorders and affective psychoses. Results Self-reported mobility limitations were highly prevalent in persons with schizophrenia and other nonaffective psychosis, but not in the affective psychosis group. After adjusting for age and sex, persons with schizophrenia and other nonaffective psychoses but not affective psychoses had significantly increased odds of having both self-reported and test-based mobility limitations as well as weak muscle strength. Schizophrenia remained an independent predictor of mobility limitations even after controlling for lifestyle-related factors and chronic medical conditions. Among persons with nonaffective psychoses, higher levels of negative symptoms predicted mobility limitations. Conclusion Self-reported mobility limitations are prevalent already at a young age in persons with schizophrenia and other nonaffective psychotic disorders, and among older persons with these disorders both self-reported limitations and measured performance tests show lower capacity in mobility. Difficulties in mobility are associated with negative symptoms. Mental health care professionals should pay attention to mobility limitations in persons with psychotic disorder.

European Psychiatry

Background: It would be important to be able to detect subjects with prodromal syndrome for psych... more Background: It would be important to be able to detect subjects with prodromal syndrome for psychosis in the general population. We constructed a setting within the Northern Finland Birth 1986 Cohort (NFBC 1986 to detect subjects vulnerable for psychosis. Methods: The NFBC1986 consists of 9,332 subjects. We used various data collected in earlier phases of the study together with register data. With this data we defined a group of subjects At Risk for Psychosis (ARP): subjects having familial risk for psychosis and subjects having prodromal symptoms of psychosis. Two patient comparison groups were formed: subjects with psychosis and subjects with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD. A random sample of the rest of the NFBC1986 were also invited. Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS) was used to detect index cases. The field study was conducted between 2007-2009. Of the invited 743 subjects 280 (38%) participated the field study. Results: The participation rate of the subjects having familial risk for psychosis 28% (77/272) and 49% (57/117) in the group with prodromal symptoms. Respective figures for psychosis, ADHD and controls were 22 %, 51 % and 42 %. Of the participants 27 (9 %) had current prodromal syndrome according to the SIPS interview. Discussion: Even thought the setting was established to detect participants with prodromal syndrome for psychosis, it appeared that actually only few were ARP subjects.. The detection of prodromal cases of psychosis in the general population may be difficult.

Psychiatry Research, 2011

We investigated inflammatory markers in psychotic disorders and their association with metabolic ... more We investigated inflammatory markers in psychotic disorders and their association with metabolic comorbidity, antipsychotic medication, smoking, alcohol use, physical condition, and mood. From the population-based Finnish Health 2000 study, we identified all persons with schizophrenia (n = 45), other nonaffective psychosis (ONAP) (n = 57), affective psychosis (n = 37) and chose controls matched by age, sex, and region of residence. We found that persons with schizophrenia had significantly higher sIL-2Rα, IL-1RA and C-reactive protein (CRP), persons with ONAP significantly higher IL-1RA and CRP and persons with affective psychosis almost significantly higher TNF-α compared to their matched controls. Current antipsychotic use was associated with elevated IL-1RA and CRP. After taking metabolic and lifestyle-related variables that associated with inflammatory markers into account, only antipsychotic medication remained associated with elevated IL-1RA and TNF-α which are markers related to the activation of innate immune system. CRP was influenced by both antipsychotic medication and nonaffective psychosis. sIL-2Rα, a marker of T-cell activation, was associated with depressive symptoms, schizophrenia, and affective psychosis. We conclude that in persons with psychotic disorders, activation of mononuclear phagocyte system was mostly related to metabolic comorbidity and antipsychotic medication use, whereas T-cell activation had a more direct relationship with both psychotic disorders and depressive symptoms.

Schizophrenia Research, 2010

Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 2007

Background Persons with psychotic disorder may have poorer visual acuity (VA). The aim of the stu... more Background Persons with psychotic disorder may have poorer visual acuity (VA). The aim of the study is to investigate in a general population the prevalence of impaired habitual VA and self-reported difficulties in vision among persons with different psychotic disorders. Method A nationally representative sample of 6,663 persons aged 30 or older whose binocular VA for distance and for near vision was measured with current spectacles, if any. Diagnostic assessment of DSM-IV psychotic disorders used both SCID interview and case note data. Life-time ever diagnoses of psychotic disorders were classified into schizophrenia, other non-affective psychotic disorders and affective psychoses. Results After adjusting for age and sex, schizophrenia was associated with significantly increased odds of having visual impairment for distance (OR 5.04, P < 0.0001) and for near vision (OR 6.22, P < 0.0001), while other psychotic disorders were not. Self-reported problems in VA were more common in persons with schizophrenia and other non-affective psychotic disorders than in the remaining study sample. Only 43.9% of persons with schizophrenia, compared with 69.7% in the total sample (χ2 = 13.79, d.f. 1, P = 0.0002), had had their vision examined during the 5 years before the VA measurement. Conclusions Because persons with schizophrenia attend vision examinations substantially less frequently than others, and their vision is notably weaker, regular ocular evaluations should be included in physical health monitoring in psychotic disorders.