A psychotic risk calculator has been developed by researchers, according to the results of a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. As precise as a heart risk calculator, it will allow research into preventive treatments. psychotic disorders.
Prevent the risks of psychosis and improve treatments
Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the United States conducted a study with 596 participants aged 12 to 35 with attenuated psychosis syndrome.
Scientists recall that 20 to 35% of people aged 12-35 who have been diagnosed with an attenuated psychosis syndrome will develop a more severe disorder and psychosis within 2 years.
Then, they set up a risk calculator taking into account known risk factors for schizophrenia.
This machine incorporated the following symptoms: stressful life events, trauma and family history of schizophrenia, age of onset of symptoms. It also took into account the frequency and type of unusual and worrying thinking, social functioning, verbal learning skills and cognitive processing speed. Further studies will be needed to make the calculator more efficient and so that it also analyzes the environmental context of family and education.
The findings of the study reveal that 16% of participants had psychosis over the next two years.
“The new risk calculator will provide patients with an individual and personalized assessment of their risk. More precise information that will also help reduce patient anxiety, ”explains Dr Larry J. Seidman, psychologist at BIDMC and professor of psychology at Harvard.
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