Early presence of thought disorder as a prospective sign of mental disorder.
The purpose of this study was to assess whether premorbid signs, such as thought disorder, could predict the subsequent manifestation of psychiatric disorders. A group of 75 adoptees at high genetic risk for schizophrenia and 96 low-risk adoptees without any psychiatric disorder at the initial assessment were assessed blindly with the Thought Disorder Index (TDI). Their psychiatric status was re-assessed according to DSM-III-R criteria in a re-interview 11 years later and based on available registers 16 years later. High scores on several TDI variables at the initial assessment predicted a psychiatric disorder of all adoptees at follow-up. Prediction was statistically unsuccessful among the high-risk adoptees because of the small number of cases, but high scores at the 0.50 severity level did predict mental disorders among the low-risk adoptees.
Metsänen
Miia
M
Päijät-Häme Central Hospital, Keskussairaalankatu 7, FIN-15850 Lahti, Finland. miia.metsanen@phks.fi
Wahlberg
Karl-Erik
KE
Saarento
Outi
O
Tarvainen
Taneli
T
Miettunen
Jouko
J
Koistinen
Pekka
P
Läksy
Kristian
K
Tienari
Pekka
P
D000300:Adoption / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*; D013850:Thinking