Background-Studies of the long-term course and outcome of psychoses tend to focus on cohorts of prevalent cases. Such studies bias samples toward those with poor outcomes, which may distort our understanding of prognosis. Long-term follow-up studies of epidemiologically robust first-episode samples are rare.

Background. We examined longitudinally the course and predictors of treatment resistance in a large cohort of firstepisode psychosis (FEP) patients from initiation of antipsychotic treatment. We hypothesized that antipsychotic treatment resistance is: (a) present at illness onset; and (b) differentially associated with clinical and demographic factors.Method. The study sample comprised 323 FEP patients who were studied at first contact and at 10-year follow-up. We collated clinical information on severity of symptoms, antipsychotic medication and treatment adherence during the follow-up period to determine the presence, course and predictors of treatment resistance.Results. From the 23% of the patients, who were treatment resistant, 84% were treatment resistant from illness onset. Multivariable regression analysis revealed that diagnosis of schizophrenia, negative symptoms, younger age at onset, and longer duration of untreated psychosis predicted treatment resistance from illness onset.Conclusions. The striking majority of treatment-resistant patients do not respond to first-line antipsychotic treatment even at time of FEP. Clinicians must be alert to this subgroup of patients and consider clozapine treatment as early as possible during the first presentation of psychosis.

The excess mortality in people with psychotic disorders is a major public health concern, but little is known about the clinical and social risk factors which may predict this health inequality and help inform preventative strategies. We aimed to investigate mortality in a large epidemiologically characterized cohort of individuals with first-episode psychosis compared with the general population and to determine clinical and social risk factors for premature death. All 557 individuals with first-episode psychosis initially identified in 2 areas (Southeast London and Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom) were traced over a 10-year period in the ӔSOP-10 study. Compared with the general population, all-cause (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] 3.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.6–4.9), natural-cause (SMR 1.7, 95% CI 1.0–2.7) and unnatural-cause (SMR 13.3, 95% CI 8.7–20.4) mortality was very high. Illicit drug use was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (adj. rate ratio [RR] 2.31, 95% CI 1.06–5.03). Risk of natural-cause mortality increased with a longer time to first remission (adj. RR 6.61, 95% CI 1.33–32.77). Family involvement at first contact strongly reduced risk of unnatural-cause mortality (adj. RR 0.09, 95% CI 0.01–0.69). Our findings suggest that the mortality gap in people with psychotic disorders remains huge and may be wider for unnatural-cause mortality than previously reported. Efforts should now focus on further understanding and targeting these tractable clinical and social risk factors of excess mortality. Early intervention and dual diagnosis services may play a key role in achieving more rapid remission and carer involvement and addressing substance use problems to reduce excess mortality in psychosis.

BackgroundElectronic screening and brief intervention (eSBI) has been shown to reduce alcohol consumption, but its effectiveness over time has not been subject to meta-analysis.ObjectiveThe current study aims to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available literature to determine the effectiveness of eSBI over time in nontreatment-seeking hazardous/harmful drinkers.MethodsA systematic review and meta-analysis of relevant studies identified through searching the electronic databases PsychINFO, Medline, and EMBASE in May 2013. Two members of the study team independently screened studies for inclusion criteria and extracted data. Studies reporting data that could be transformed into grams of ethanol per week were included in the meta-analysis. The mean difference in grams of ethanol per week between eSBI and control groups was weighted using the random-effects method based on the inverse-variance approach to control for differences in sample size between studies.ResultsThere was a statistically significant mean difference in grams of ethanol consumed per week between those receiving an eSBI versus controls at up to 3 months (mean difference –32.74, 95% CI –56.80 to –8.68, z=2.67, P=.01), 3 to less than 6 months (mean difference –17.33, 95% CI –31.82 to –2.84, z=2.34, P=.02), and from 6 months to less than 12 months follow-up (mean difference –14.91, 95% CI –25.56 to –4.26, z=2.74, P=.01). No statistically significant difference was found at a follow-up period of 12 months or greater (mean difference –7.46, 95% CI –25.34 to 10.43, z=0.82, P=.41).ConclusionsA significant reduction in weekly alcohol consumption between intervention and control conditions was demonstrated between 3 months and less than 12 months follow-up indicating eSBI is an effective intervention.

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