Abstract Over 90% of addicts start substance use during adolescence. There are few studies focusing on the comorbidity and temporality of substance dependence among adolescents. The aim of this study was to investigate the comorbidity and temporality of substance use disorders, to identify the factors leading to intravenous drug dependence and to evaluate the psychotropic medication history among adolescents. The study population comprised a sample of 508 (300 girls) 12- to 17-year-old hospitalized inpatients during a defined 5-year period. Substance use and other psychiatric disorders were identified according to DSM-IV criteria and adolescents’ socio-demographic and substance use background was examined. The main findings of the present study include the following: The most common comorbidities of alcohol and drug dependence are behavioral, depressive and phobic disorders; Phobic and behavioral disorders develop generally prior to the onset of alcohol and drug dependence; Drug dependent boys are more likely to have depression than girls (IV); In adolescence, phobic disorders may influence the development of secondary substance dependence within a few years from the onset of phobia (I); Behavioral disorders are associated with earlier initiation of daily smoking, and earlier age of onset of daily smoking is associated with an increased risk for alcohol and drug dependence (III); Adolescents with intravenous drug dependence start experiment with drugs at young age, often before the age of 10 years, and present more commonly with parental absence and troubled school background (II); Prescribed benzodiazepine medication is associated with an increased risk of sedative dependence (V). These findings imply that psychiatric comorbidity plays a pivotal role in the development of substance use disorders in adolescence. Those adolescents who experiment with substances at a young age are at greatest risk of substance dependence and intravenous drug use before the age of 18. Family dynamics seem to play an important role in this development. The psychotropic medication history of substance-using adolescents often differs greatly from current evidence-based guidelines and is dominated by those medications that are frequently abused. / Tiivistelmä Yli 90 % päihdeongelmaisista aloittaa päihteidenkäytön nuoruusiällä. Silti päihdehäiriöiden ja niihin liittyvän psykiatrisen sairastavuuden – komorbiditeetin ja tämän ajallisen ilmenemisen – temporaliteetin - tutkimus nuorisoväestössä on suppeaa. Väitöskirjatutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli kartoittaa nuoruusiän päihdehäiriöiden komorbiditeetin ja temporaliteetin ominaispiirteitä, selventää taustalla olevia sosiodemografisia tekijöitä, sekä arvioida päihdehäiriöisten nuorten reseptilääkehistoriaa päihdehäiriöiden synnyn ymmärtämiseksi. Tutkimusaineisto koostui 508 (300 tyttöä) 12-17-vuotiaasta akuuttia psykiatrista sairaalahoitoa tarvitsevasta potilaista. Nuorten psykiatrinen- ja päihdesairastavuus selvitettiin DSM-IV diagnoosijärjestelmän mukaisesti, sekä sosiodemografinen tausta kartoitettiin kattavasti. Alkoholi- ja huumeriippuvaisilla nuorilla yleisimpiä komorbideja häiriöitä olivat käytös-, masennus- ja pelkohäiriöt. Pelko- ja käytöshäiriöt ilmenivät yleensä ajallisesti ennen alkoholi- ja huumeriippuvuutta. Huumeriippuvaisilla pojilla oli tyttöjä useammin masennusta (IV). Pelkohäiriöt vaikuttivat sekundaarisen päihderiippuvuuden kehittymiseen mahdollisesti jo muutamien vuosien kuluessa pelkohäiriöiden ilmenemisestä (I). Käytöshäiriöt liittyivät aikaisempaan päivittäisen tupakoinnin aloittamiseen joka liittyy edelleen sekä alkoholi- että huumeriippuvuuteen (III). Suonensisäisen huumeidenkäytön aloittaminen nuorella iällä liittyi selkeästi vanhemmattomaan kotiin, sekä jo ala-asteella alkaneisiin koulunkäyntiongelmiin. Vaikeimmin päihderiippuvaisten nuorten päihteidenkäyttökokeilut alkoivat merkittävän nuorena, jo onnen 10 ikävuotta ala-asteella (II). Bentsodiatsepiinien reseptilääkkekäyttö sairaalahoitoa aiemmin liittyi merkittävästi sedatiiviriippuvuuteen (V). Löydösten perusteella psykiatrisella sairastavuudella on merkittävää rooli päihdehäiriön kehittymisessä jo nuoruusiällä. Nuoret, joiden päihdekokeilut alkavat varhain, ovat suurimmassa riskissä riippuvuuteen ja ajautumiseen suonensisäiseen käyttöön. Päihderiippuvaisilla nuorilla on lisäksi taipumus sekä reseptilääkkeiden väärinkäyttöön, että kykyä näiden hankkimiseen - myös lääkärin määräämänä.

Bakgrund: Prioriteringar inom primärvård och psykiatrisk vård skiljer sig åt och skapar problem i integreringen när patienter remitteras mellan vårdinrättningarna. Människor som lever med somatisk och psykisk samsjuklighet upplever ofta vården som otillräcklig. Patienter känner sig mer tillfreds med vården när det finns en samverkan mellan de involverade vårdenheterna. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva hur vuxna patienter med samsjuklighet uppfattar samverkan mellan somatisk och psykiatrisk vård. Metod: Studien är en strukturerad litteraturstudie med induktiv ansats. Resultat: Analysen frambringade tre kategorier; negativa aspekter av vårdens samverkan, positiva aspekter av vårdens samverkan och samverkan ur ett helhetsperspektiv. Att inblandade parter tog ansvar för omvårdnaden och en icke- fragmenterad vårdorganisation, som hade tät samverkan mellan vårdenheter, upplevdes som positivt. Brist på kontinuitet i patientens omvårdnad skapade frustration. För patienter med psykisk ohälsa kan fragmenterade vårdinsatser vara ett hinder. Om psykiatrisk- och somatisk vård samverkar så att båda instanserna är tillgängliga inom samma enhet gynnar det patienterna. Slutsats: Det finns både organisatoriska och personalrelaterade faktorer som behöver förbättras. God samverkan, tydligt ansvar och en holistisk omvårdnad var de viktigaste fynden i denna litteraturstudie. / Background: Priorities in primary- and psychiatric care differs, generating problems with integration, when patients are referred between care facilities. People with somatic and mental illness often experience care as inadequate. Patients feel more satisfied with the care when there is a cooperation between the care units. Aim: The aim was to describe how adult patients with comorbidity perceive the cooperation between somatic and psychiatric care. Method: The study is a structured literature study with an inductive approach. Result: Three main themes emerged; negative aspects of care cooperation, positive aspects of care cooperation and cooperation from a holistic perspective. It was perceived as positive if parties involved took responsibility for nursing and a non-fragmented care organization that had close cooperation between care units was perceived as positive. Lack of continuity in patient care created frustration and for patients with mental illness fragmented care interventions were an obstacle. If psychiatric-and somatic care cooperate so that access to both instances within the same unit is possible, it is beneficial to the patients. Conclusion: There are both organizational and personnel-related factors in need of improvement. Good cooperation, clear guidelines and a holistic care perspective were the most important findings of this literature study.

Background: The aim of this study was to identify an appropriate screening instrument for the identification of frail elderly patients in a tertiary cancer center. In order to improve cancer care for older patients, the use of a geriatric assessment (GA) has been proposed to identify frail patients or those who are at a higher risk for chemotherapy-related toxicities. In busy clinical routine, an appropriate screening instrument could be used to spare time- and resource-consuming application of GA. Patients and Methods: We administered the Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13), G8 questionnaire, and Predictors of Toxicity (POT) as well as a GA at the first visit of 84 consecutive patients at a single Comprehensive Cancer Center. Analysis for patients’ characteristics as well as sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value (npv) was conducted. Results: The median age of the patients was 73 years (range 63–93 years), 61.9% were male, most (63%) suffered from gastrointestinal tumors, 39.3% had a multiple cancer diagnosis, and 53.6% had metastasis. 30 (35.7%) individuals were classified as ‘frail’ by the GA. Sensitivity of G8 was 38.3%, and the npv was 63.8%. Sensitivity for VES-13 was 57.1%, and npv was 76.3%. Sensitivity of POT was 72.7%, and the npv was 80.6%. Conclusion: For the first time, the VES13, G8, and POT are compared in a sample of older German patients. The POT seems to be a sufficient screening tool to identify frail patients in a tertiary referral cancer center and helps to save time and resources compared with a complete GA.

No description available.

Samsjuklighet i form av psykisk ohälsa och beroendeproblematik är idag ett vanligt fenomen som socialarbetare kan ställas inför i mötet med klienter, vilket kan medföra en hel del utmaningar. Syftet med studien var att få en djupare förståelse för hur professionella socialarbetare upplever arbetet med klienter som har en samsjuklighet. Studien grundade sig i kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer som sedan analyserades med hjälp av tematisk analys. Resultatet diskuterades utifrån tidigare forskning och teorierna stigma och återhämtning. Studiens resultat visade att arbetet med samsjuklighet är komplext, att det krävs en nära samverkan för att klienterna ska få rätt hjälp och att målgruppen många gånger riskerar att bli diskriminerade på grund av stigma. Slutsatserna var således att svårigheterna kring målgruppen påverkar varandra. Målgruppens stigmatiserade ställning i samhället kan exempelvis försvåra samverkan och göra det svårare att få en helhetssyn, vilket i sin tur kan påverka klientens återhämtning. / Comorbidity in the form of mental illness and addiction problems is today a common phenomenon that social workers can face in meeting clients, which can entail a lot of challenges. The purpose of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of how professional social workers experience working with clients who have a comorbidity. The study was based on qualitative semi-structured interviews which were then analyzed using thematic analysis. The results were discussed based on previous research and the theories of stigma and recovery. The results of the study showed that the work with comorbidity is complex, that close collaboration is required for the clients to receive the right help and that the target group often risks being discriminated against due to stigma. The conclusions were thus that the difficulties around the target group affect each other. The target group's stigmatized position in society can, for example, complicate collaboration and make it more difficult to gain a holistic view, which in turn can affect the client's recovery.

Die Organtransplantation hat sich in den letzten 20 Jahren zu einem Standardverfahren in der Therapie schwerer, anders nicht mehr behandelbarer Organerkrankungen entwickelt. In Deutschland werden jährlich etwa 3000 Transplantationen durchgeführt. Über 13 000 Menschen stehen auf der Warteliste für einen solchen Eingriff. Sowohl die Wartezeit als auch die verschiedenen Phasen nach dem Eingriff fordern erhebliche psychische Anpassungsleistungen von Patienten und Angehörigen, was häufig zu psychischen Störungen führt. Das Transplantationsgesetz von 1997 fordert daher ausdrücklich eine psychosomatische Mitbetreuung in den Transplantationszentren. Trotz dieses Therapiebedarfs fehlt es bisher an empirisch gesicherten therapeutischen Strategien. In der Transplantationsmedizin ist ein methodenübergreifender Betreuungsansatz sinnvoll. Kognitiv-verhaltenstherapeutische Therapieelemente scheinen aufgrund ihres pragmatischen und lösungsorientierten Ansatzes für diese Patientengruppe besonders geeignet. Ziel dieses Artikels ist es, auf Basis klinischer Erfahrungen und der wissenschaftlichen Literatur eine Übersicht über die unterschiedlichen Phasen der Transplantation solider Organe, ihre spezifischen Belastungen und therapeutische Strategien für Patienten und ihre Angehörigen zu geben. Der Bedarf an empirischer Forschung auf diesem Gebiet, gerade was die Wirksamkeit verhaltensmedizinischer Interventionen angeht, wird deutlich. / About 3,000 patients per year receive a transplant in Germany and some 13,000 patients are on waiting lists. Waiting period and the different stages of recovery demand special coping strategies from patients and their families. Psychological disorders are frequent before and after the transplantation and psychological risk factors are relevant for the outcome of the transplantation. Therefore special psychosomatic care for patients and their families is necessary. However, evidence based knowledge on appropriate therapeutic interventions is still scarce. In transplantation medicine, an overall approach is reasonable. Cognitive-behavioral aspects seem to be especially promising. The article describes strategies and techniques for the psychosomatic assessment of patients before transplantation and psychotherapeutic interventions for patients and their families before and after solid organ transplantation. More research on the effects of psychotherapeutic interventions in this field is necessary. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

The treatment of clinically locally advanced prostate carcinoma (stage cT3) remains controversial. One of the main reasons for this controversy results from the substantial staging error attached to the clinical diagnosis cT3 with overstaged T2 tumors and understaged node-positive cases. Treatment options in this situation include radical prostatectomy, external beam radiotherapy, immediate or delayed androgen deprivation treatment and the so-called ‘watchful waiting’. Acceptable and often surprisingly good tumor-specific survival rates have been reported for radical prostatectomy in pT3 series – based on good clinical case selection – approaching those of pT2 series. In lymph node-positive pT3 cases, adjuvant hormone deprivation seems to prolong survival which it does not in lymph node-negative pT3 disease. A benefit of adjuvant external beam radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for pT3 cases in prolonging overall survival has not been shown, despite the fact that it can prevent or delay biochemical and local recurrence. External beam radiotherapy as the only treatment for cT3 disease results in unfavorable tumor-specific survival rates, which can be significantly improved with adjuvant hormonal treatment with LHRH agonists. If, in case of advanced age and/or significant comorbidity, primary hormonal treatment is chosen, early hormonal deprivation therapy seems to offer marginal benefits in survival compared to delayed treatment. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence and distribution of comorbidity and its association with perioperative complications in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy (RPE). Methods: In 431 unselected RPE patients, the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status classification (ASA-PS), the New York Heart Association classification of cardiac insufficiency (NYHA), the classification of angina pectoris of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS), height, weight, the body mass index (BMI), and the number of concomitant diseases (NCD) were assessed and related to perioperative cardiovascular complications. Results: In RPE patients less than 70 years old, comorbidity rose nearly continuously with increasing age. However, after reaching an age of 70 years, the proportion of NYHA-0 patients increased (60–64 years, 86%; 65–69 years, 85%; ≥70 years, 87%). Furthermore, the severe comorbidities decreased in patients selected for RPE aged 70 or more years. There was a nonsignificant trend towards higher comorbidity in patients with perioperative cardiovascular complications. Conclusions: These data suggest that documentation of the distribution of ASA-PS, CCS, NYHA and of concomitant diseases might be helpful to characterize the general health status and the degree of selection of prostate cancer treatment populations especially in series with a high portion of patients aged 70 or more years. Concerning perioperative complications, the individual predictive value of comorbidity seems to be poor in the radical prostatectomy setting. / Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, is one of the most prevalent anxiety disorders, affecting 7-13% of subjects in the community at some time in their lives. Despite being eminently treatable, it remains largely under-recognised and, therefore, undertreated. The disorder is characterized by a fear of scrutiny by others, with sufferers experiencing excessive anxiety in social and performance situations. This excessive anxiety usually leads to avoidance behaviour that can severely affect normal daily living. With onset commonly occurring during childhood or adolescence, social anxiety disorder may disrupt normal patterns of development of social and personal relationships, often having a long-term impact on emotional stability in social or working life. If left untreated, the course of social anxiety disorder is frequently complicated with comorbid conditions, particularly major depression or substance abuse. This review assesses the size of the clinical problem by evaluating current and lifetime prevalence estimates, age of onset, risk factors and evolution of the clinical course; thereby providing the rationale for early recognition and prompt treatment.

Hintergrund: Ein signifikanter Anteil der Patienten mit einer chronischen körperlichen Erkrankung weist eine komorbide psychische Störung auf. Ob und in welchem Ausmaß sich die Prävalenzraten psychischer Störungen bei Patienten mit einer chronischen Erkrankung von denen der Allgemeinbevölkerung unterscheiden, ist bislang noch kaum untersucht. Fragestellung: Die vorliegende epidemiologische Studie untersucht geschlechts- und altersadjustierte 4-Wochen, 12-Monats- und Lebenszeitprävalenzen psychischer Störungen bei Rehabilitationspatienten mit muskuloskelettalen und kardiovaskulären Erkrankungen im Vergleich zu Prävalenzraten der Allgemeinbevölkerung. Methode: Die Daten der drei Stichproben (N = 4192) basieren jeweils auf einem zweistufigen, epidemiologischen Untersuchungsansatz mit einer schriftlichen Befragung der Patienten bzw. Probanden zu ihrem psychischen Befinden (GHQ-12; M-CIDI-S) und einem anschließenden Interview (M-CIDI) bei einem randomisiert ausgewählten Teil der Gesamtstichprobe. Ergebnisse: Mit adjustierten Lebenszeitprävalenzen von 59.3 % (OR: 1.6) und 56.2 % (OR: 1.4) weisen die Patienten mit einer muskuloskelettalen und kardiovaskulären Erkrankung im Vergleich zur Allgemeinbevölkerung (47.9 %) eine deutlich erhöhte Prävalenz psychischer Störungen auf. Am häufigsten sind affektive Störungen (22.5 % bis 34.9%) und Angststörungen (18.4 % bis 33.8 %). Schlussfolgerung: Der im Vergleich zur Allgemeinbevölkerung deutliche Zusammenhang zwischen chronischen körperlichen Erkrankungen und psychischen Störungen verdeutlicht die Bedeutsamkeit einer verstärkten Diagnostik und Behandlung komorbider psychischer Störungen bei chronisch erkrankten Patienten. / Background: A significant part of patients with chronic diseases have comorbid mental disorders. However, by now it is nearly unexplored if and to what extend the prevalence rates of mental disorders in patients with chronic diseases differ from the rates of the general population. Objective: The present epidemiologic study investigates sex- and age-adjusted 4-week, 12-months, and lifetime prevalence rates of mental disorders in inpatients with musculoskeletal and cardiovascular diseases compared to prevalence rates of the general population. Methods: In each sample (N = 4192), the data based on a two-stage epidemiologic design. The first stage entailed the use of a screening questionnaire for mental disorders (GHQ-12; M-CIDI-S). The second stage consisted of an interview (M-CIDI) of a randomised part of the sample. Results: The adjusted lifetime prevalence in both clinical samples (musculoskeletal: 59.3 %, OR 1.6; cardiovaskular: 56.2 %, OR 1.4) is high compared to the rate of the general population (47.9 %). Affective disorders (22.5 % to 34.9 %) and anxiety disorders (18.4% to 33.8 %) are the most common disorders. Conclusions: Compared to the general population there is a clear correlation between chronic diseases and mental disorders, that shows the importance of an improved diagnostic and treatment of patients suffering from comorbid mental disorders.