Erick Messias | University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (original) (raw)

Papers by Erick Messias

American Journal of Public Health, 2003

 RESEARCH AND PRACTICE  Objectives. The link between income disparities and health has been stu... more  RESEARCH AND PRACTICE  Objectives. The link between income disparities and health has been studied mostly in developed nations. This study assesses the relationship between income disparities and life expectancy in Brazil and measures the impact of illiteracy rates on the association.

Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 2003

Problems with alcohol are a common and important comorbidity in patients with schizophrenia. Prev... more Problems with alcohol are a common and important comorbidity in patients with schizophrenia. Previous studies showed an association between depression and alcohol abuse in patients with schizophrenia. Suspiciousness has been shown to be associated with depression. In a population-based study, the authors tested the hypothesis that suspiciousness is associated with alcohol problems in patients with schizophrenia. Data came from the first wave of the five-site Epidemiological Catchment Area study. Baseline clinical and demographic data were analyzed to assess associations between symptoms and an alcohol abuse or dependence diagnosis in patients with a Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) diagnosis of schizophrenia. Suspiciousness was associated with an alcohol dependence or abuse diagnosis in male DIS-DSM-III schizophrenia patients, after accounting for demographic and other clinical variables. There were no associations between alcohol problems and either conceptual disorganization or hallucinations and nonsuspicious delusions. Suspiciousness appears to be associated with alcohol abuse and dependence in men with schizophrenia. Further studies should attempt to investigate the temporal relationship between suspiciousness and alcohol problems. Interventions that address suspiciousness may decrease the risk of alcohol problems in this population.

Psychiatric Services, 2007

Population-based studies of prevalence have been used to approximate the amount of need for treat... more Population-based studies of prevalence have been used to approximate the amount of need for treatment of mental disorders. This study aimed to estimate need for treatment of alcohol dependence, major depression, panic disorder, agoraphobia, and social phobia. Psychiatrists used the Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN) to assess individuals in a probability sample of the Baltimore Epidemiologic Catchment Area follow-up study for need for and use of mental health services. Population-based estimates were calculated with probability weights. The SCAN sample included 816 participants who were interviewed between 1993 and 1999. Prevalence of need for mental health services in the general population was 28.7%+/-2.7%. Among the disorders studied, the greatest need was for treatment of alcohol dependence; 90% of the SCAN sample who met criteria for this diagnosis, or 13.6%+/-1.9% of the population, needed treatment. In the general population, 10.5%+/-2.1% needed treatment for major depression; 5.2%+/-.9%, for social phobia; 5.2%+/-1.6%, for panic disorder; and 3.2%+/-.9%, for agoraphobia. The highest needs for specific treatment modalities were self-help groups for alcohol dependence, talk therapy for depression, behavior modification for social phobia and agoraphobia, and antidepressant medications for panic disorder. Overall, less than 33% of needs were met. Social phobia and alcohol dependence were the two disorders with the highest proportion of unmet need. Prevalence of mental disorders is only an approximation of the need for treatment. There is a substantial need for mental health services in the general population. Most individuals who would benefit from treatment are not receiving any type of mental health services.

Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 2000

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 2001

Previous studies suggest suspiciousness is associated with an increased risk of major depressive ... more Previous studies suggest suspiciousness is associated with an increased risk of major depressive episodes in psychotic patients. We tested the hypothesis that this relationship would extend to nonpsychotic groups. Data came from the Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA) study, a longitudinal population-based study conducted at five sites in the United States. Baseline clinical and demographic features were used to predict the onset of episodes of depression at 1-year follow-up in subjects without psychotic symptoms. Subclinical suspiciousness was associated with an increased risk of new episodes of depression after accounting for demographic variables. However, three of six subclinical delusion-like experiences were also associated with an increased risk of depressive episodes. None of the subclinical hallucination-like experiences predicted subsequent risk. Subclinical suspiciousness appears to increase the risk of depression in the general population. Some other delusion-like experiences may do the same.

Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 2006

Although the association of schizophrenia and winter birth has been replicated many times in the ... more Although the association of schizophrenia and winter birth has been replicated many times in the Northern hemisphere, studies in the Southern hemisphere have been less consistent in their findings. A study from NE Brazil indicated the period between May and July, 3 months after the peak in rainfall, as a risk period for schizophrenia birth. We report findings from a random selection of charts (N = 1789) from the only public inpatient psychiatric facility in Ceará, Brazil (2 degrees to 5 degrees S). We compared the seasonality of birth in the schizophrenia group (N = 406) to multiple control groups: (1) psychosis not otherwise specified (N = 868), (2) other psychiatric diagnoses (N = 515), and (3) the average monthly birth rate in the general population. Patients with schizophrenia had a significantly greater risk of being born in the risk period compared with any of the control groups. There is a significant association between rainfall in a month and schizophrenia births 3 (p = 0.03) and 4 months (p = 0.01) later. This study corroborates findings of a significant seasonality in schizophrenia births in northeast Brazil.

Schizophrenia Research, 2008

Objectives: People with the deficit subtype of schizophrenia differs from others with schizophren... more Objectives: People with the deficit subtype of schizophrenia differs from others with schizophrenia with regard to risk factors, signs 9 and symptoms, biological correlates, treatment response, and course of illness. The deficit group, which is characterized by 10 decreased social interests and a lack of depression, has a well-replicated association with June/July birth, which contrasts with the 11 association of schizophrenia as a whole with winter birth. As some of the correlates of schizophrenia are found in subclinical form 12 in the schizophrenia spectrum, we hypothesized that June/July birth would be associated with the combination of decreased 13 sociality in the absence of depression in a nonpatient group as well. 14 Methods: The Beck Depression Inventory and Chapman's Perceptual Aberration, Magical Ideation, and Social Anhedonia scales 15 were administered to university students. The Perceptual Aberration and Magical Ideation scale scores were combined into a single 16 psychotic-like symptom score (PerMag). Blind to month of birth, each subject (N = 425) was given a score that quantified the 17 combination of social anhedonia and an absence of depression. Analyses were then performed in subjects in the upper 50% of 18 PerMag scores who had complete data (N = 171, 27.5% male).

Archives of General Psychiatry, 2004

Background: In some reports, summer birth has been associated with deficit schizophrenia. Deficit... more Background: In some reports, summer birth has been associated with deficit schizophrenia. Deficit schizophrenia and nondeficit schizophrenia also differ in several other ways.

Schizophrenia Research, 2003

Schizophrenia Research, 2001

Objective: Serious depression is a common and important complication of schizophrenia. In a prosp... more Objective: Serious depression is a common and important complication of schizophrenia. In a prospective, populationbased study, we tested the hypothesis that suspiciousness increases the risk for the later development of depression in schizophrenia. Method: Data came from the Epidemiological Catchment Area (ECA) study. Baseline clinical and demographic features were used to predict the onset of new episodes of depression at 1 year follow-up. As ECA diagnoses were based on lay interviews, which may have low sensitivity compared with clinical diagnoses, two overlapping groups of putative schizophrenia patients were de®ned. Results: Suspiciousness was associated with an increased risk of new episodes of depression in both patient groups, after accounting for demographic variables. There was no association between an increased risk of depression and either disorganization or hallucinations and delusions. Conclusions: Suspiciousness appears to be a speci®c risk factor for depression in psychotic groups. Interventions that decrease suspiciousness, or mitigate its isolating effects, might decrease the risk of serious depression and suicide. q

Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2010

Introduction: Advanced paternal age (APA) is a reported risk factor for schizophrenia in the offs... more Introduction: Advanced paternal age (APA) is a reported risk factor for schizophrenia in the offspring. We performed a meta-analysis of this association, considering the effect of gender and study design. Methods: We identified articles by searching Pub Med, PsychInfo, ISI, and EMBASE, and the reference lists of identified studies. Previously unpublished data from the Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort (NFBC 1966) study were also included. Results: There were 6 cohort studies and 6 case-control studies that met the inclusion criteria. In both study designs, there was a significant increase in risk of schizophrenia in the offspring of older fathers ( ‡30) compared to a reference paternal age of 25-29, with no gender differences. The relative risk (RR) in the oldest fathers ( ‡50) was 1.66 [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.46-1.89, P < 0.01]. A significant increase in risk was also found for younger fathers (<25) in males (RR 5 1.08, 95% CI: 1.02-1.14, P 5 0.01) but not females (RR 5 1.04, 95% CI: 0.97-1.14, P 5 0.28). The population attributable risk percentage (PAR%) was 10% for paternal age ‡30 and 5% for paternal age <25. Discussion: Both APA ( ‡30) and younger paternal age (<25) increase the risk of schizophrenia; younger paternal age may be associated with an increased risk in males but not females. This risk factor increases the risk of schizophrenia as much as any single candidate gene of risk. The mechanism of these associations is not known and may differ for older and younger fathers.

Schizophrenia Bulletin, 2008

Schizophrenia is associated with a number of anatomical and physiological abnormalities outside o... more Schizophrenia is associated with a number of anatomical and physiological abnormalities outside of the brain, as well as with a decrease in average life span estimated at 20% in the United States. Some studies suggest that this increased mortality is not entirely due to associated causes such as suicide and the use of psychotropic medications. In this article, in order to focus greater attention on the increased mortality associated with schizophrenia, we present a special case of the hypothesis that physiological abnormalities associated with schizophrenia make a contribution to the increased mortality of schizophrenia: specifically, the hypothesis that schizophrenia is a syndrome of accelerated aging. Evidence consistent with this hypothesis comes from several areas. The biological plausibility of the hypothesis is supported by the existence of established syndromes of accelerated aging and by the sharing of risk factors between schizophrenia and other age-related conditions. We propose methods for testing the hypothesis.

The implementation of the presumptive donor law in Brazil is expected to increase the availabilit... more The implementation of the presumptive donor law in Brazil is expected to increase the availability of organs for transplantation. As medical management of end-stage organ dysfunction continues to improve, increasing numbers of potential transplant recipients will be available to meet this supply. There is mounting evidence that supports the involvement of skilled psychiatric practitioners in the selection of transplant candidates. Data supporting the influence of psychosocial factors on compliance and therefore medical outcomes continues to grow. The literature review allows delineating the components and rationale for comprehensive psychosocial evaluations as a component of preoperative transplantation evaluation.

Revista De Saude Publica, 2000