Editorial 3.

Abstract

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the third issue of the International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice in 2022. In this issue’s highlight, Volz et al. review available literature in order to aid in the operationalisation and epidemiology of subsyndromal generalised anxiety disorder. The result of this meticulous systematic review reveal that subsyndromal anxiety disorder poses a notable burden of disease to a large number of individuals. Additionally, authors propose a unified definition of subthreshold GAD. Polat et al. assessed the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the self-evaluation of negative symptoms scale (SNS). Authors successfully indicate adequate internal consistency and a confirmatory five-factor structure akin to the original SNS. Bistre et al. examined comparable reliability and acceptability of telepsychiatry and face-to-face psychiatric assessments in the emergency room setting. In their prospective observational feasibility study, researchers illustrate that telepsychiatry is a well-grounded option to traditional face-to-face assessments. This finding is particularly interesting, as the rising trend of online treatment may allow for more remote psychiatric practices. In a meta-analysis, Khraisat et al. explored the pooled prevalence of mental disorders among COVID-19 survivors. Results indicate that not only were psychological sequelae evident amongst mentioned patient group, but spanned a variety of disorders and symptoms such as anxiety, depression, psychological distress, and sleep disorders. In a case-control study, Ulgar and colleagues evaluated antineuronal antibodies and 8-OHdG in mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder. Findings suggest that anti-amphiphysin and anti-RI antibody positivity appear to be significantly lower in the control as compared to the case group. Specifically, these results elucidate the role of antineuronal antibodies as potential risk-factors for childhood autism. Brenner and colleagues investigated the health care utilisation (HCU) in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) in a Swedish population-based cohort study. Patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression were matched with patients that do not fulfil the criteria for TRD. Not only did increased HCU occur significantly more often among patients with TRD (2 – 4 higher), but findings persisted longer for the TRD group than the nonTRD group. In an attempt to research the effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) non nitrosative stress and oxidative DNA damage parameters in patients with a depressive episode, Karaya gmurlu et al. found that while ECT can decrease non nitrosative stress, it might increase oxidative DNA damage in individuals with depression. Plunkett and colleagues bridge the gap in research by quantitively evaluating dignity, coercion and involuntary psychiatric care in a study of involuntary and voluntary psychiatry inpatients in Dublin, Ireland. As previously not found in qualitative research, authors show that patients with increased levels of perceived coercion also displayed less self-rated dignity, similarly to how patients with better insight report lower dignity scores. Differences between voluntary and involuntary subjects were not found. In their systematic review, Sabe and Sentissi examined the clinical features of psychotic symptoms preceding or concomitant to multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. The study highlights the necessity for differential diagnosis in instances where patients are non-responsive or resistant to antipsychotic treatment, as improvement of treatment was evident when immune-suppressive medication was administered. He and colleagues probe the association between Tumour Necrosis factor-Alpha (TNF-a) polymorphisms and Schizophrenia in their meticulous meta-analysis. Interestingly, not only was a reduced risk for Schizophrenia found in T-allele, but when differentiated by ethnic group, the T-allele displayed lower risk of Schizophrenia in East Asian individuals. In their systematic review, Curley et al. evaluate the capacity to consent to treatment in psychiatry in patients. Authors surprisingly found that some voluntary psychiatry inpatients are mentally incapable to consent to treatment, while involuntary inpatients are mentally capable. These findings are crucial as they contribute to the understanding of these implications in legislative and human rights procedures. In an observational study from 4 centres in Italy, Beghi and colleagues investigate the effects of lockdown on emergency room (ER) admissions for psychiatric evaluation. Emergency room admissions were significantly higher for individuals that were homeless or possessed a dual-diagnosis. However, living in residential facilities, diagnosis with depressive episode, or anxiety disorders were associated with a reduced admission rates to the ER. Deisenhammer and colleagues looked into the reduced ability to discriminate colours in patients that suffer from depressive episodes. This pilot study validated that depressed individuals are less able to discriminate between colours. Specifically, these results highlight the necessity for proper assessment of sensory processing issues as symptoms in patients suffering from depression. The article by Niederhofer and Kai Von Klitzing ‘Bright light treatment as mono therapy of non -seasonal depression for 28 adolescents’ (2012) has been retracted due to article redundancy, as the mentioned article is identical to previous publication by the same authors, titled ‘Bright Light Treatment as AddOn Therapy for Depression in 28 Adolescents: A Randomised Trial’ (2011).