title: Chronic methamphetamine psychosis after long-term abstinence in Japanese incarcerated patients.
abstract: Eighty female incarcerated subjects who maintained a long-term methamphetamine (Meth) abstinence, but manifested psychosis, were examined for correlations among symptom severity premorbid diathesis, recurrence, and adverse effects of pharmacotherapy. Baseline symptoms were assessed with a 24-item version of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) prior to, and 2 weeks after, the commencement of pharmacotherapy. Fifty-four subjects who had abused volatile solvents in their teenage years commenced Meth abuse at a significantly lower age than the rest of the subjects (18.4 vs. 22.5 years old, p < .001). Twenty-nine patients who had attempted suicide in their lives suffered from premorbid psychiatric disorders significantly more often than those who had never attempted suicide (odds ratio = 8.6, 95% confidence interval [CI]= 2.6-27.8, p < .001). Twenty subjects who manifested spontaneous recurrence had a significantly longer abstinence period (17.5 vs. 12.1 months, p = .049), but suffered from premorbid psychiatric disorders significantly less often (odds ratio = .12, 95% CI = .02- .99, p = .031) than those who manifested nonrecurrent-protracted psychosis. Subjects who eventually suffered from extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) following pharmacotherapy had higher total BPRS scores at the baseline assessment. The present study provides evidence that a subpopulation of Meth abusers suffered from chronic Meth psychosis in long-term abstinence, and also highlights the involvement of affective symptoms in its severity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, 880 Kitakobayashi, Mibu, Tochigi, Japan. kazufuak@dokkyomed.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kazufumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Akiyama
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Kazutaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimoda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019969:Amphetamine-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology; D004409:Dyskinesia, Drug-Induced / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D012008:Recurrence; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D008694:Methamphetamine