Iranian Journal of Psychiatry
Volume:3 Issue: 2, Spring 2008

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and possible variables on changing the diagnosis of mood disorder patients to schizophrenia. This study was a retrospective and comparative analytic research that was performed in 2006 in Razi psychiatric hospital. The sample consisted of all the 176 patients who were hospitalized in 2000 with the diagnosis of mood disorder. The patients were divided into two subgroups: the stable group with a persistent mood disorder diagnosis and the changed group with a changed mood disorder diagnosis to schizophrenia. Data were analyzed between these groups using chi-square and t student test. Findings showed that 31.3% of all the patients shifted towards chizophrenia; 23.3% and 32.9% of the patients with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorders shifted towards schizophrenia respectively. No statistical difference was observed between the groups in demographic variables but there was a statistical difference in some of the clinical variables such as psychotic features (p<0.01), severe clinical features (p<0.05), and the gradual onset of disorder (p<0.05) with changing the diagnosis to schizophrenia. Recognition of clinical variables associated with changing the diagnosis to schizophrenia such as psychotic features, severe clinical features and the gradual onset of disorder will help clinicians to manage these patients better than the past.

In some areas of Iran self -immolation is one of the most common ways for committing suicide and it is very disturbing and painful for those who witness it. Due to the presence of the families/relatives of the self-immolation victims in the psychiatric clinics seeking for the treatment of PTSD sings, we decided to carry out a research in this respect. This descriptive cross-sectional study has evaluated 100 witnesses (70 % females, 30% males) who referred to Kermanshah psychiatric clinic during a four year period (2004-2007). The subjects were assessed by 2 demographical questionnaires and PTSD criteria on the basis of DSM-IV-TR using clinical interview. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS statistical indexes. Among the subjects, 52% were between 25-35 years of age, 87% were illiterate, 29% had a previous history of self-burning in their family, 33% had a previous history of mental disorder, 84% were villagers and 75% were married. The results have also shown that 78% of the studied subjects had diagnostic symptoms for PTSD and 22% had major depressive disorder according to DSM-IV-TR This study suggests that psychiatric evaluation of people who directly witness self -immolation in family members or neighbors may be useful in early detection and prevention of PTSD. However, further studies are warranted

To develop "moral distress questionnaire" and validate it in a sample of Iranian registered nurses. 26 registered nurses and 10 professionals attended focused group discussion (FGD) sessions and the acquired qualitative data was analyzed by Jameton scale analysis. Attitudes and definitions of nurses working in private and governmental hospitals of two medical universities in Tehran revealed moral distress in nurses, and also showed that moral distress influenced the sample population. Results of the present study were concordant with Jameton''s model although some background and conceptual differences were observed. Design and conduction of some interventions to help nurses cope with the moral distress caused by their occupation seems necessary

To evaluate the efficacy of the Positive Parenting Program (Triple-P) for parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Sixty families who had at least one child with clinically diagnosed ADHD aged between 6 to12 were recruited from the consecutive referrals to a child and adolescent psychiatric clinic. Families were randomly assigned to the intervention group (who participated in an 8- week- group Triple-P, N=30) and a control group (N=30). Parents completed the battery of self-report questionnaires of triple-P at the beginning and after the 8th session. There were no significant differences in pre intervention measures between the two groups. Comparing the pre and post intervention data, the Triple- P group was associated with significantly lower levels of parent reported child behavior problems (P=0.001), lower levels of dysfunctional parenting (P=0.001) and greater parental competence (P=0.001) than the control group. The parents the in triple-P group had significant improvement on measures of depression, anxiety and stress, in comparison with the control group (P=0.001). This study did not follow the long term effect which marks its limitation. The Triple-P program can be recommended for parents of children with ADHD to reduce the problem behavior of their children and to improve their abilities.

To obtain abnormalities in quantitative Electroencephalography QEEG) and to observe connectivity between electrodes in children with Asperger disorder.In this study, spectrogram criteria and coherence values are used as a tool for evaluating QEEG in 15 children with Asperger disorder (10 boys and 5 girls aged between 6 to 11 years old) and in 11 control children boys and 4 girls with the same age range).The evaluation of QEEG using statistical analysis and spectrogram criteria demonstrates that the relaxed eye-opened condition in gamma frequency band (34-44Hz) has the best distinction level of 96.2% using spectrogram. The children with Asperger disorder had significant lower spectrogram criteria values (p<0.01) at Fp1 electrode and lower values (p<0.05) at Fp2 and T6 electrodes. Coherence values at 171 pairs EEG electrodes indicate that the connectivity at (T4, P4), (T4, Cz), (T4, C4) electrode pairs and (T4, O1) had significant differences (p<0.01) in the two groups in the gamma band.It is shown that gamma frequency band can discriminate 96.2% of the two groups using the spectrogram criteria. The results demonstrate that there are more abnormalities in the prefrontal and right temporal lobes using spectrogram criteria and there are more abnormalitiesthe connectivity of right temporal lobe with the other lobes in the gammafrequency band.

The main goal of this study is to compare stressful life events and mental health in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients and non-patients. In this research, 120 participants (n=68 male, n= 52 female) were divided into two groups of patients (n=60) and non-patients (n=60). They were selected from Vali Asr Hospital of Meshginshahr (Iran) and completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and Stressful Life Events Inventory. Data was analyzed using independent t-test. The results showed significant differences between CHD patients and non-patients in mental health and stressful life events. CHD patients showed high rates of physical symptoms and anxiety of GHQ. CHD patients reported more stressful life events. Therefore, it can be inferred that psychological factors are important in coronary heart disease

The results of the previous studies on the correlation between plasma levels of Homocysteine (Hcy) and ischemic stroke have been controversial. The aim of the present study is to investigate this correlation meticulously observing risk factors for the ischemic stroke as well as factors affecting the plasma levels of Hcy. A case-control study was conducted between 2005-2006 with cases (55-84 years of age) who had never had a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) all within one week of their first-ever ischemic stroke. The 30 control subjects who had never had a stroke or TIA episode were selected from the orthopedics ward of the same hospital. The cases and controls were paired based on age, sex, cardiac disease, hypertension and smoking status and were adjusted for other risk factors. Their total non-fasting plasma Hcy level was determined using the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method.The mean plasma levels of Hcy was significantly higher in cases than controls (mean= 20.79 ± 11.938 versus 14.45 ± 8.028 mol/L; P<0.017). After using the multivariate logistic regression model, a significant correlation was found between plasma levels of Hcy and stroke (OR=1.149 with 95% of 1.032-1.280 for each 1 mol/L increment). The results indicate that there is a correlation betweenincreasing plasma Hcy level and ischemic stroke; however, future research is needed to prove the causal relationship between the two.

School-based interventions (such as life skills training) have become the mainstay for prevention of some behavioral problems. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a social skills training program on a group of students who were in the first grade of high school in an urban area of Tehran, Iran In a before-after study, a kind of social skill education program named Right Choices" was used for high school female students. The entire students of a class in a high school participated in the study. The students'' age ranged from 14-16 years. All of the participants lived in an urban area. Demographic characteristics were recorded in a designed questionnaire and included the name, age, educational level of the students and their parents, and prior history of psychiatric and medical condition. The total problem score and each of the subscale scores of the students before and after the study were calculated and compared. The mean age of the 33 participants in the study whose SDQ answer sheets were completed was equal to 15.15±6.2 years (14 to 17 years). The mean total problem score of the participants in the beginning of the program was equal to 14.3±5. After the program, the students'' total problem score and all of the subscale scores improved, however, the differences between pre- and post intervention scores were not statistically significant. Social skills training program may impact the problem behaviors of the adolescent girls.