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Biomedical subjects

G Loas

Publications and source records attributed to G Loas.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Predictive factors of social disability in anorexic and bulimic patients.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine whether subjects suffering from anorexia nervosa (AN) or bulimia nervosa (BN) would demonstrate more severe social disability than a control group; and whether social disability could be best explained as a function of the eating disorder itself or as a function of comorbid anxiety or depressive disorders. METHOD: Subjects were 166 AN subjects, 105 BN subjects and 271 control subjects matched for age, sex and socio-economic status. Prevalence of anxiety or depressive disorders was assessed (through the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview), and social functioning was measured (through the Groningen scale). RESULTS: The majority of AN and BN subjects demonstrated social disability in the "social role" (leisure time, time spent with friends) and the "occupational role" (work or educational activities). A regression analysis was employed to uncover predictive factors of social disability. Eating disorders (AN and BN), anxiety disorders and depression accounted for a large portion of social disability. DISCUSSION: Anxiety and depressive disorders appear to play an important role in the type of social disability demonstrated in eating disorder patients. Therapeutic implications are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Fatal self-induced water intoxication among schizophrenic inpatients.

Between 1986 and 1998, a review of 61 records of patients who died before the age of 53 years in eight psychiatric departments whose catchment area had a total population of 559,429 inhabitants revealed that 24 (39.3%) of those patients had a schizophrenic disorder. Of those 24 patients, one (4.17%; 95% CI: 0-21%) died from complications of self-induced water intoxication (SIWIS). Among the 37 remaining patients, two (5.4%; 95% CI: 0-18%) died from complications of SIWIS.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Factorial structure of the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: confirmatory factorial analyses in nonclinical and clinical samples.

OBJECTIVE: The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) measures three intercorrelated dimensions of alexithymia: (1) difficulties identifying feelings (DIF), (2) difficulties describing feelings (DDF), and (3) externally oriented thinking (EOT). The aim of the study was to test the three-factor model of the TAS-20 using confirmatory factorial analyses (CFA). METHOD: 769 healthy subjects and 659 patients meeting the DSM-IV criteria for substance use disorders or eating disorders completed the TAS-20. The correlation matrices for each of the samples were analyzed with LISREL 7.16. RESULTS: In each sample, the three-factor model was found to be replicable. CONCLUSION: The three TAS-20 subcales can be used to explore the distinct facets of the alexithymia construct.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Obsessive compulsive disorders in eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to explore current and lifetime prevalence of obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD) in eating disorder (ED) subgroups and subtypes defined by the DSM-IV and to study the chronology of appearance of these disorders taking into account the role played by denutrition. METHOD: Current and lifetime prevalence were investigated using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale in a sample of 89 DSM-IV ED patients (58 AN and 31 BN) and 89 matched controls. RESULTS: Current and lifetime prevalence of OCD in ED was significantly higher than in general population (15.7% and 19% vs. 0% and 1.1%, P<.05). Anorexic patients presented a slightly higher current and lifetime comorbidity than bulimic patients (19% and 22.4% vs. 9.7% and 12.9%, n.s.). Purging anorexia was the diagnostic subtype, which presented the higher prevalences (29% and 43%), followed by restrictive anorexia (16%) and purging bulimia (13%). In the great majority of cases (65%), OCD diagnosis preceded ED diagnosis. Finally, OCD current prevalence and Y-BOCS scores of underweight patients were not significantly higher than normal-weight patients, suggesting that there were only limited links between denutrition and obsessionality.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Factorial structure of the Sensation-Seeking Scale-Form V: confirmatory factorial analyses in nonclinical and clinical samples.

OBJECTIVE: The factor structure of the Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS)-Form V was studied in 2 large French samples, using confirmatory factorial analyses (CFA) to test the 4-dimensional model of sensation seeking postulated by Zuckerman. METHOD: The study included 769 healthy subjects and 659 patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for substance use disorders or eating disorders and completed the SSS. The correlation matrices for each of the samples were analyzed using CFA. RESULTS: In each sample, we found the 4-factor model to be replicable. CONCLUSION: The multidimensionality of sensation seeking is supported by the results, and the 4-dimensional model of sensation seeking identified by Zuckerman can be explored in French-speaking people.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Psychoaffective immaturity in psychiatric disorders.

This study investigated the prevalence of psychoaffective immaturity and tested the hypothesis that it associated with bad prognosis. For 135 psychiatric patients meeting criteria for personality, neurotic, affective, substance use, or psychotic disorders emotional immaturity was rated using the 1985 diagnostic criteria of Doutheau, Dubertret, Moutin, and Barrois. 58 subjects (42.96%, 95% Confidence Interval: 34.61-51.31) were classified as immature. Scores of the Nonimmature and Immature groups were compared for the Beck Depression Inventory and the Professional and Social Functioning Assessment Scale. Scores were, respectively, significantly higher and lower in those patients classified as Immature than those who were classified Nonimmature. When depression was controlled by a covariance analysis, the mean difference on the Professional and Social Functioning Assessment Scale remained significant. It appears that psychoaffective immaturity is a factor associated with severity of psychiatric disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[Psychoactive drug use in a declared non-addicted control sample and comorbidity. Results of a study in 860 French-speaking subjects].

AIMS: This study, conducted within the framework of a broader research program of the INSERM 494013 Dependence Network, was designed to estimate illicit drug use and tobacco smoking in a declared non-addicted sample and to determine whether illicit drug users differ from non-users in terms of comorbidity. METHODS: The study was conducted in an "all and sundry" sample of subjects. Patterns of drug use and comorbid factors (psychiatric disorders, suicide attempts, repeated accidents, social inadaptation) were assessed using a semi-structured interview (heteroevaluation, MINI DSM IV interview, Gröningen). RESULTS: Among 860 subjects, 107 (12.4%) used illicit drugs and 26 of these 107 (24.3%) were dependent users or abusers. Specific analysis of non-dependent non-abuser subjects who had used illicit drugs (70 occasional and 11 regular users) showed a higher rate of use in younger subjects (12.7% in the 15-24 year group, 5.7% in the 24-49 year group) and men. Except for repeated accidents (OR=5.5 [1.6-18.5]), comorbid disorders were not more frequent in non-users than in users. CONCLUSION: Besides use for recreational purposes, the rate of use of illicit drugs with abuse or dependence was high in our non-clinical sample. Although no specific comorbid psychiatric disorders were identified among non-dependent non-abuser subjects who had used illicit drugs, the frequency of repeated accidents evidenced the ill-fated side effects of illicit drugs and/or the specific biopsychological vulnerability of these subjects. This highlights the importance of not neglecting drug abuse.

Accidents↗
PubMed2000

Relationships between the emotional and cognitive components of alexithymia and dependency in alcoholics.

Several authors have shown that alexithymia, emotional and perceptual dependency characterize patients suffering from substance abuse. The aim of the study is to test the hypothesis that the emotional and cognitive components of alexithymia are associated with dependency in alcoholics. Three groups were investigated: 60 inpatients meeting the DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence, 57 healthy subjects, 144 university students. All subjects completed the following rating scales: The 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), the Interpersonal Dependency Inventory (IDI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Embedded Figures Test (EFT). Partial correlations, using the BDI score as constant, were calculated. In normal subjects, the 'Emotion' subscale of the TAS-20 correlated with the 'Lack of social self-confidence' subscale of the IDI and the 'Cognitive' subscale of the TAS-20 did not correlate with the EFT score. In alcoholics, the 'Cognitive' subscale of the TAS-20 correlated with the 'Lack of social self-confidence' subscale, with the EFT score and with the 'Affirmation of autonomy' subscale. A particular cognitive style characterized by externally oriented thinking, affirmation of autonomy as denial of emotional dependency and field dependence could characterize alcoholics.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Alexithymia and depression in eating disorders.

We compared alexithymia and depression ratings for non-hospitalized women meeting DSM-IV criteria for anorexia nervosa (n=32) and bulimia nervosa (n=32) to ratings for healthy women (n=74). Alexithymia was evaluated by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) and depression by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD). TAS and HAD scores were significantly higher in anorexic compared to bulimic patients, although these two scales were significantly and positively correlated (r=0.53, P=0.001). After taking depression into account as a confounding variable, rates of alexithymia did not vary according to the type of eating disorder (anorexia or bulimia).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Polydipsia and water intoxication in 353 psychiatric inpatients: an epidemiological and psychopathological study.

INTRODUCTION: According to several authors, water intoxication can lead to irreversible brain damage and could be the cause of nearly a fifth of the deaths of schizophrenic patients below the age of 53 years. The aim of our study was first to determine the prevalence of polydipsia and water intoxication in a population of psychiatric inpatients of a well-defined French geographic area (the Somme), and secondly to determine the clinical and socio-demographic factors associated with this disorder. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was done on the 450 psychiatric beds whose catchment area had a total population of 559,429 inhabitants. Using staff reports and patients' charts, the drinking habits of 353 psychiatric inpatients hospitalised during the survey in the 450 psychiatric beds of this area were examined. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients (10.76%; 95% confidence interval: 7.53-13.99%) among the 353 inpatients were polydipsic. About one-third of these patients were at risk of water intoxication. Polydipsia appeared to be significantly associated with male gender, smoking, celibacy and chronicity. The polydipsic patients presented also a high prevalence of schizophrenia, mental retardation, pervasive developmental disorders and high frequency of somatic disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Hepatocellular carcinoma occurring in nonfibrotic liver: epidemiologic and histopathologic analysis of 80 French cases.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurring in nonfibrotic liver represents a rare, ill-defined subgroup of HCC without cirrhosis in which mechanisms of hepatocarcinogenesis remain unclear. The aim of our study was to assess epidemiological factors and detailed histopathologic changes in the nontumoral liver of patients developing such tumors. Of 330 HCCs resected in our institution between 1985 and 1998, we retrospectively analyzed 80 cases (53 men, 27 women; mean age, 51 +/- 16 years) in which the nontumoral liver showed no (n = 28) or minimal (n = 52) portal fibrosis without any septal fibrosis. In the group with no portal fibrosis there was no male predominance, and patients were significantly younger (44 +/- 19 years vs. 54 +/- 14 years) than those with minimal portal fibrosis. Sixty-seven tumors were typical HCCs, 8 were of fibrolamellar type, and 5 were hepatocholangiocarcinomas. Mean tumor size was 10 +/- 5 cm. Risk factors for HCC development were found in 30 patients: hepatitis B (n = 17) or C (n = 2) virus infections, alcohol consumption (n = 11), and hemochromatosis (n = 1). In the nontumoral liver, periportal and lobular necrosis, mild portal inflammation, steatosis, and iron overload were present in 15%, 57%, 52%, and 54% of cases, respectively. Liver cell changes were noted in 6%. This study emphasizes the need for strict criteria to classify HCC without cirrhosis. HCC in nonfibrotic liver is a distinct subgroup in which nontumoral liver shows nonspecific minimal changes without regeneration or premalignant lesion. Etiologic factors are often unidentified, although presence of HBV infection in 21% suggests a direct oncogenic role of this virus.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Is anhedonia a specific dimension in chronic schizophrenia?

This article explores the relationships among anhedonia, depression, and schizophrenic symptomatology in chronic schizophrenia. To explore these relationships, factor analysis methods were used to analyze the latent organization of the variables. The Fawcett Clark Pleasure Capacity Scale-Physical Pleasure (FCPCS-PP) and the abridged version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were completed by 150 subjects who met research diagnostic criteria for definite chronic schizophrenia. The schizophrenic symptomatology was rated using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Two separate exploratory principal components analyses were completed, followed by varimax rotation. The first was made on the correlation matrix comprising items from both the FCPCS-PP and PANSS and yielded a five-factor solution with virtually no overlap of the significant factor loadings for the items from each scale. The second was made on the correlation matrix comprising items from both the FCPCS-PP and BDI and yielded a two-factor solution with virtually no overlap of the significant factor loadings for the items from each scale. Confirmatory factor analyses corresponding to the two exploratory factor analyses were done to examine the goodness of fit of the five-factor solution versus a four-factor solution and the two-factor solution versus a one-factor solution. The five-factor and the two-factor solutions yielded the best fit to the data relative to the other models tested. The findings support the view that part of anhedonia is a construct that is distinct and separate from depression and schizophrenic symptomatology in chronic schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

[Pertinence of the addiction concept in eating behavior disorders].

From a psychodynamic perspective, dependence disorders, irrespective of the object of addiction, can be seen as the expression of the subject's neurobiological, psychopathological, cultural and social vulnerability. Since vulnerability strengthens and reorganizes the personality, it can drive these subjects to perpetuate pathological behaviors. In this light, behavior disorders belong to the field of addiction diseases, especially considering that the underlying psychopathological structures are close to those observed in addiction, that depression plays a central role, and that their development into toxic addictive behavior (drugs, alcohol, psychotrope) is frequent.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Depression and dependency: distinct or overlapping constructs?

BACKGROUND: Previous research has found a significant positive relationship between dependency and level of depression. The aim of the present study, using factor analysis method, is to test the hypothesis that dependency and depression constitute distinct dimensions. METHODS: In a sample of 202 university students, a correlation matrix comprising items from both the Interpersonal Dependency Inventory and the abridged form of the Beck Depression Inventory was analysed using a principal components analysis followed by an orthogonal varimax rotation. RESULTS: Evidence for a four-factor solution was found with almost no overlap of the significant factor loadings for the items from each scale, and with the factors corresponding closely with their respective construct. CONCLUSION: The findings support the view that depression and dependency constitute different constructs. LIMITATION: The results must be confirmed on clinical and heterogeneous nonclinical samples. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The independency between depression and dependency could lead to different therapeutic strategies notably in 'socially dependent' type of depression.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Anhedonia, alexithymia and locus of control in unipolar major depressive disorders.

The relationship between anhedonia, alexithymia and locus of control was studied in a group of healthy subjects (n = 56) and in a group of unipolar major depressives (n = 59). These dimensions were rated using the Physical Anhedonia Scale (PAS), the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) and the Internal Powerful others and Chance Scale. The unipolar major depressives were divided into two subgroups using the endogenomorphic subscale of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. There are respectively 25 and 17 depressives in the nonendogenomorphic (NENDO) and endogenomorphic (ENDO) subgroups. The unipolar major depressives were significantly more anhedonic, alexithymic and externalized than the controls. In the ENDO group the PAS and TAS Feelings scores were positively correlated suggesting that a third variable of emotional deficit could characterize endogenomorphic depression. In the NENDO group the PAS, TAS Daydreaming, Powerful others and Chance scores were positively correlated. In nonendogenomorphic depression anhedonia could be related to a poverty of imagery and could be interpreted as a consequence of external causes.

Adult↗