Psychiatric Symptoms May Predict Internet Addiction In Adolescents

Adolescents with psychiatric symptoms such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), social phobia, hostility and depression may be more likely to develop an Internet addiction, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Although the Internet has become one of the most significant information resources for adolescents, addiction to the Internet can negatively impact school performance, family relationships and adolescents' emotional state, according to background information in the article. "This phenomenon has been described as Internet addiction or problematic Internet use and classified as a possible behavior addiction," the authors write. Previous studies report that 1.4 percent to 17.9 percent of adolescents are addicted to the Internet in both Western and Eastern societies; therefore, there have been suggestions to add Internet and gaming addictions to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. "Identification of the risk factors for Internet addiction is therefore of clinical significance for the prevention of, and early intervention into, Internet addiction in adolescents."

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Comorbidity: Psychiatric Comorbidity in Persons With Dementia

The assessment and treatment of psychiatric symptoms in persons with cognitive dysfunction are becoming increasingly important. Prevalence estimates of dementia in the United States range from 5% in those aged 71 to 79 years to 25% to 50% in those 90 or older. Up to 90% of patients with dementia have psychiatric comorbidities.1,2

Physicians who treat patients with dementia must remember that dementia is not merely a problem with memory. The presence of one or more additional cognitive disturbances, including aphasia, apraxia, or agnosia, is required to make the diagnosis according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. Furthermore, some patients may present with changes in personality or deficits in executive function rather than memory impairment, which complicates the initial diagnosis.3 Additional mental and behavioral disturbances often affect patients and caregivers as much as memory deficits and may influence quality of life, the need for institutionalization, mortality, and caregiver burden.2,4,5

This article emphasizes neuropsychiatric disturbances with the greatest prevalence and morbidity in persons with dementia. It also addresses comorbid depressive and anxiety disorders, as well as psychological and behavioral disturbances associated with dementia—psychosis and agitation/aggression.3,6

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Dissociative disorder often persists to adulthood

Dissociative disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence frequently persists into adulthood and is often followed by other psychiatric disorders, according to a report published online in the journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health.

Dr. Thomas Jan from the University of Wuerzburg, Germany and colleagues analyzed the long-term clinical outcomes of 27 former patients with juvenile dissociative disorder (two of whom had committed suicide). The average age at onset of dissociative disorder was 12 years old.

According to the researchers, 89 percent of these patients had "recovered or had markedly reduced symptoms" after treatment during childhood. However, at follow-up an average of 12.4 years after the initial diagnosis, 83 percent of the patients "met the criteria for some form of psychiatric disorder."

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Antipsychotics May Improve Psychiatric Symptoms In Alzheimer's Disease

Psychiatric and behavioral symptoms associated with Alzheimer's disease-such as anger, agitation, aggression, and paranoid thoughts and ideas-may improve with the use of second-generation antipsychotic medications, a new federally funded study has found. Improvements were seen both in global measures and in measures of specific symptoms. In addition, the analysis indicates that particular symptoms may respond better to different second-generation antipsychotic medications.

The new analysis of data from the Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness-Alzheimer's Disease (CATIE-AD), funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, will be published online ahead of print by The American Journal of Psychiatry (AJP), the official journal of the American Psychiatric Association. The report will appear online1 under AJP in Advance on June 2, and will appear in print in the July issue of AJP.

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