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Biomedical subjects

O Gureje

Publications and source records attributed to O Gureje.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Correlates of positive and negative schizophrenic syndromes in Nigerian patients.

The two-syndrome concept of schizophrenia was investigated in a sample of 70 Nigerian schizophrenic patients. The positive and negative syndromes were studied in relation to demographic, historical, neurological and psychometric measures. The negative syndrome was associated with cognitive impairment, behavioural deterioration and left eye dominance, and also with poor pre-morbid educational achievement and longer length of current stay in hospital. The positive syndrome was unrelated to any of the independent variables. The two syndromes were not significantly related, supporting the view that they represent relatively independent dimensions of pathology. This provides further support for the validity of the Type I-Type II subtyping of schizophrenia in populations of patients from different cultural backgrounds, and suggests that the negative syndrome is related to the presence of neurodevelopmental deficits that possibly antedate the schizophrenic illness.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Neuropsychiatric disorders in Nigerians: 1914 consecutive new patients seen in 1 year.

The socio-demographic attributes and the different diagnostic categories of patients attending Aro Neuropsychiatric Hospital for the first time over a 1-year period are presented. There was an overall preponderance of males but more females than males suffered from depression. Factors which distinguished patients with anxiety neurosis from those with neurotic and endogenous depression are identified. Two patients who suffered from obsessional neurosis, commonly regarded as rare in the black Africans, are described. Heredodegenerative diseases of the nervous system are rare in the Africans and one patient with hereditary spinocerebellar degeneration is described. Eclampsia was a probable predisposing factor for epilepsy in four women.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Sensorimotor laterality in schizophrenia: which features transcend cultural influences?

A battery of performance tests was conducted to compare motor laterality and eye dominance in Nigerian schizophrenics and normal controls. Both groups were similar in age and sex distribution. While no difference emerged with regard to right, mixed, or left handedness, or foot or eye dominance, cross-dominance (i.e. full left eye dominance and full right handedness) significantly differentiated the 2 groups. The same feature differentiated paranoid from nonparanoid subtypes of schizophrenia. Cross-dominance may represent a more reliable measure of sensorimotor lateralization in schizophrenia since it may be less likely that it is masked by cultural factors.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Neurological soft signs in Nigerian schizophrenics: a controlled study.

The prevalence of neurological soft signs in schizophrenics was compared with that in patients with major affective disorder and in normal subjects. The two patient groups did not differ from one another, but both differed from normal controls in the occurrence of right-left confusion. The paranoid and nonparanoid subtypes of schizophrenia did not differ in the prevalence of neurological soft signs. Schizophrenic patients with or without one sign had similar demographic, clinical and treatment attributes. It is concluded that neurological soft signs are not specific to schizophrenia, but may, in general, reflect the level of obstetric care in a community. However, certain soft signs may be more strongly indicative of neurodysfunction associated with the psychotic state.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Topographic subtypes of tardive dyskinesia in schizophrenic patients aged less than 60 years: relationship to demographic, clinical, treatment, and neuropsychological variables.

There are conflicting reports about factors that may be associated with the development of involuntary movements in patients exposed to long-term neuroleptic treatment. Recent evidence suggests that some of these inconsistencies may relate to the practice of regarding these disorders as a unitary syndrome. There is also evidence that both the topographic distribution of these involuntary movements and the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying them may differ in the young and in the old. In this study, demographic, clinical, treatment and neuropsychological variables were investigated for association with the presence of orofacial and limb-truncal dyskinesias in 57 schizophrenic patients aged less than 60 years. Stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis showed that orofacial dyskinesia, at different degrees of severity, was negatively associated with positive schizophrenic syndrome and with either age at assessment or age at onset of illness. None of the indices of schizophrenic deficit (cognitive impairment, clinical defect state, behavioural deterioration, or neurological dysfunction) was related to orofacial dyskinesia. Limb-truncal involuntary movements were negatively related to current daily dosage of neuroleptics. The findings indicate that these two types of dyskinesia may involve different underlying mechanisms and that, for young schizophrenic patients, current pathophysiological or neurochemical theories of involuntary movement disorders are inadequate in explaining their origins.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Life events and schizophrenia in Nigerians. A controlled investigation.

Forty-two first-episode RDC schizophrenic patients were matched on sociodemographic variables with an equal number of control subjects. The life-event histories of both groups for 6 months before onset or interview were compared. Onset of illness was not preceded by an increase in life events. The only significant observation was that control subjects had experienced more events in the month previous to interview. These were reported mainly by male control subjects, involved the family, and were possibly related to the period when the control subjects were interviewed. The observations are discussed within the context of the Nigerian culture.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

A study of Schneider's first-rank symptoms of schizophrenia in Nigerian patients.

A prospective evaluation of Schneider's first-rank symptoms in 56 Nigerians with RDC schizophrenia gave a prevalence of 73%. The presence of first-rank symptoms was unrelated to schizophrenic subtypes, duration or severity of illness. While some of the symptoms correlate with age of patients, the pattern of inter-correlations among them supports previous views about their empirical heterogeneity.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Social factors and depression in Nigerian women.

A sample of 30 depressed patients was matched for age and social class with an equal number of non-psychiatrically disturbed subjects. The two groups were similar with regard to the vulnerability model of Brown and his colleagues. However, more depressed patients reported job dissatisfaction than controls. Depressed patients had experienced excess of life events prior to the onset of depression. They were also distinguished from the controls by categories of events involving losses and those related to work.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Premorbid functioning in schizophrenia: a controlled study of Nigerian patients.

We compared the premorbid social adjustment of 38 schizophrenic patients with that of 20 manic patients. Even though the small sample size affected the number of significant differences obtained, schizophrenic patients consistently showed evidence of poorer premorbid functioning than manics at various stages of social development. Schizophrenic men also tended to have functioned more poorly than women. Poor premorbid functioning was associated with negative syndrome, but not with positive or disorganization syndromes. Our findings suggest that poor premorbid adjustment is an early sign of schizophrenic illness even among patient populations who may be characterized by good short-term outcome.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Course of hypochondriasis in an international primary care study.

Hypochondriasis is frequently defined as a chronic condition distinct from anxiety and depressive disorders. Consecutive primary care attenders (n=25,916) were screened using the General Health Questionnaire and a stratified random sample (n=5447) completed a baseline diagnostic assessment. All patients with significant psychiatric symptoms and a random sample of remaining patients (n=3201) were asked to complete a follow-up diagnostic assessment 12 months later. Of patients meeting an abridged definition of hypochondriasis at baseline, 18% continued to do so at follow-up and an additional 16% continued to report hypochondriacal worries. 45% of those with hypochondriasis at follow-up also met criteria for DSM-IV anxiety or depressive disorder. Follow-up anxiety or depressive disorder was significantly associated with both onset and persistence of hypochondriasis. Hypochondriasis is moderately stable over time. The clear distinction between hypochondriasis and anxiety/depressive disorders suggested by ICD-10 and DSM-IV may be difficult to accomplish in practice.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Caring for individuals with dementia: the Nigerian experience.

Recent epidemiological data, mainly from cross-cultural studies, have revealed that the burden of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) the most common type, is significantly lower in developing than in the industrialized countries. Caring for individuals with dementia is a major consideration because most developing countries do not have the resources to provide comprehensive care in institutions. Home care that is practiced is ideal given the cultural scenario especially with the extended family support. Public policies on the care of the elderly however need to be well articulated and implemented. Hypertension was the most frequent medical co-morbidity of the demented subjects and about a third of subjects with AD were hypertensive, which may support vascular hypothesis in AD pathogenesis. The important behavioural disturbances experienced by caregivers and the associated stress levels were highlighted. The model used on the Indianapolis-Ibadan Dementia Study which involves periodic home visits, and empowerment of caregivers through regular meetings is envisaged to make caring for these individuals easier and adaptable in other African communities.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pain assessment in Nigerians--Visual Analogue Scale and Verbal Rating Scale compared.

The usefulness of 2 methods of pain assessment was determined in a cohort of Nigerians who had pain as a symptom and were receiving physiotherapy for various indications. The English and Yoruba versions of two Pain Rating Scales, the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Verbal Rating Scale (VRS) with 1 to 4 or 1 to 5 intensity scales (VRS-4 or VRS-5) were employed for the assessment of pain in 100 patients. The mean pain score on the 4-point VRS scale was 2.49 +/- 0.72, for the 5-point VRS 2.1 +/- 1.18 and for the VAS 4.93 +/- 2.5. Correlation analysis for corresponding groups of patients showed a significant positive relationship between the VAS and VRS-4 (r = 0.68 P < 0.001) VAS and VRS-5 (r = 0.64 P < 0.001) indicating that both VAS and VRS constitute useful tools for pain assessment in Nigerian patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Morbidity pattern in a sample of elderly Nigerians resident in Idikan community, Ibadan.

We documented the pattern of medical illnesses in 613 elderly Nigerians (398 females and 215 males) resident in Idikan community in Ibadan city. Their ages ranged from 65 to 110 years with a mean of 76.2 years. Medical disorders diagnosed either singly or in combinations were diagnosed in 364 (59.4%) subjects and there was no gender association. Cardiovascular problems were the commonest and high blood pressure (27.8%) was the most frequent diagnosis. Only 5 of the hypertensive subjects were aware of that diagnosis and were on regular medications. The complications presented with included heart failure and stroke. Visual impairment (12.1%) mainly due to cataracts and osteoarthritis (6.7%) in that order were next in frequency. The most frequent neurological disorders were hearing impairment and movement disorders. The other conditions encountered were similar to the findings in previous studies in this environment, and the usual findings in studies focusing on this age-group in other countries. The presence of morbidity was significantly associated with increasing age and poor performance on screening. The latter increased the probability of being selected for clinical examination with detection of medical problems or could suggest associated cognitive impairment. The prevalence of systemic hypertension was not different from findings in other communities in people of similar age groups. This study emphasises the role of hypertension as a major cause of morbidity in this community and stresses the need for increased health awareness especially with regards to regular checking of blood pressure so as to avoid complications.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The utility of ethnographic methods in medical research: experience with substance use disorders.

Ethnographic research methodology provides investigators with the opportunity to explore various ways in which culture affects and modulates human behaviour and beliefs. These methods, even though commonly used in medical anthropology, are often neglected in the main-stream of medical research, possibly as a result of relative unfamiliarity with their principles and techniques. Drawing on experience gained in Ibadan during a WHO collaborative study in nine different countries, we demonstrate the use of key informants interview and focus group techniques. We conclude that the methods are easy to learn and apply, and have potentials for helping researchers in many areas of medicine to address important questions.

Anthropology, Cultural↗