The present study investigated whether schizophrenia patients with and without DSM-IV bizarre delusions, categorized as bizarre delusions of Schneiderian first rank symptoms (SBD) and as non-Schneiderian bizarre delusions (non-SBD), differed on demographic or clinical features, in view of the weight given to bizarre delusions in the diagnosis of schizophrenia. One hundred and twenty-nine in-patients with schizophrenia were assessed systematically for both types of bizarre delusions on the five domains of psychopathology of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS; delusions/hallucinations, thought disorder/disorganization, excitement, negative symptoms and depressive symptoms) and for extrapyramidal side-effects. Inter-rater reliabilities for SBD and non-SBD were assessed and were exceptionally high (kappa value 0.85 and 0.92, respectively). Neither SBD nor non-SBD were associated with any demographic or non-PANSS clinical characteristics tested. However, the presence of non-SBD was significantly associated with more severe psychopathology in all five domains of the PANSS, whereas the presence of SBD was significantly associated with more severe psychopathology in three domains only: delusions/hallucinations, thought disorder/disorganization and depressive symptoms. However, patients with only SBD did not differ from patients with only non-SBD on any demographic or clinical variables, including five psychopathological domains. These findings suggest that, despite showing more severe symptoms, patients with DSM-IV bizarre delusions do not constitute a clinically distinguishable subgroup.

Knowledge of the subjective experience of patients has important implications for the understanding and treatment of schizophrenia. However, previous studies examining the clinical correlates of subjective experiences have yielded inconclusive results. The present study of Japanese inpatients with chronic schizophrenia aimed to reveal the factorial structure of patients' subjective experiences and to examine the relationships between identified factors and demographic and clinical variables. A systematic assessment was carried out of objective psychopathology and subjective experiences in 129 inpatients. A factor analysis of the data of patients' subjective experiences identified five factors. Delusions/hallucinations, as clinical variables, were significantly associated with three of these factors. Negative symptoms, extrapyramidal side effects, and female gender each had significant associations with only one of the factors. The first factor, which accounted for the highest percentage, did not correlate significantly with any of the clinical or demographic variables. Subjective experiences in chronic schizophrenia appear to have a heterogeneous structure and fall into two groups, one relatively independent of objective psychopathology and the other reflecting the clinical variable delusions/hallucinations.

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Background/AimsEvidence regarding the association between body mass index (BMI) and functional dyspepsia (FD) in the Asian population is limited. Further, no study has evaluated this issue in young people in Asian and Western populations. Thus, we aim to investigate this issue among young Japanese people. MethodsThe study subjects comprised of 8923 Japanese university students. BMI was divided into 4 categories (quartiles) on the basis of the study subjects' distribution (lowest, low, moderate, and high [reference]). The definition of lean, normal, overweight, and obese was BMI < 18.5 kg/m 2 , 18.5 ≤ BMI < 25 kg/m 2 (reference), 25 kg/m 2 ≤ BMI < 30 kg/m 2 , and 30 kg/m 2 ≤ BMI, respectively. The definition of FD was based on the Rome III criteria. ResultsThe prevalence of FD was 1.9% in this cohort. The lowest BMI was independently associated with FD after adjustment (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.88; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.46-3.67); P for trend = 0.001). The lowest BMI was independently associated with FD in women but not in men (OR, 2.94; 95% CI, 1.59-5.77; P for trend = 0.001). Leanness was independently associated with FD in total and in women but not in men (total: adjusted OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.40-2.86) and women (OR, 2.19; 95% CI,). However, interaction analysis showed no significant difference for sex. ConclusionsAmong young Japanese people, BMI may be independently inversely associated with FD. Leanness may be an independent associated factor for FD in the young Japanese women.

Background/AimsFunctional dyspepsia (FD) may be a common digestive disease worldwide and reduces the quality of life of patients. However, only a few studies have investigated the association between eating behavior and FD. The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to examine the association between eating behavior and prevalence of FD in a young Japanese cohort. MethodsIn this study, we enrolled 8923 Japanese university students. FD is diagnosed based on the Rome III criteria. Eating habits and frequency of meals were investigated using a self-administered questionnaire. ResultsThe FD subjects had a younger mean age, a lower body mass index, and a lower proportion of men compared to the non-FD subjects. An independent positive association between skipping breakfast and/or lunch and FD was found (adjusted ORs were 1.60 [95% CI, 1.10-2.32] for breakfast and 2.52 [95% CI, 1.04-5.18] for lunch). Skipping dinner, extra meals (snacks) or midnight snacks was not associated with FD. The prevalence of FD in subjects eating 1, 2, and 3 meals per day was 4.8%, 2.2%, and 1.7%, respectively. The frequency of meals was independently inversely associated with prevalence of FD (adjusted ORs were 1 per day: 2.72 [95% CI, 1.19-5.42], and 2 per day: 1.69 [95% CI, 1.16-2.43], P for trend = 0.001). ConclusionsIn the young Japanese people, the frequency of meals may be independently inversely associated with prevalence of FD. In particular, skipping breakfast and/or lunch was associated with the prevalence of FD.