Influence of migration on the thought process of individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis

Author(s)

Nogueira, Arthur S. ^[1] ; Andrade, Julio C. ^[1] ; Serpa, Mauricio H. ^{[2, 1, 3]} ; Alves, Tania M. ^[1] ; Freitas, Elder L. ^[1] ; Hortencio, Lucas ^[1] ; van de Bilt, Martinus T. ^{[2, 1]} ; Rossler, Wulf ^{[4, 5, 2, 1]} ; Gattaz, Wagner F. ^{[2, 1]} ; Loch, Alexandre A. ^{[2, 1]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Hosp Clin, Lab Neurociencias LIM 27, Inst Psiquiatria, Fac Med, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[2] Conselho Nacl Desenvolvimento Cient & Tecnol CNPq, Inst Nacl Biomarcadores Neuropsiquiatria INBION, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med, Dept & Inst Psiquiatria, Lab Neuroimagem LIM 21, Hosp Clin, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Zurich, Psychiat Hosp, Dept Psychiat Psychotherapy & Psychosomat, Zurich - Switzerland

^[5] Charite, Dept Psychiat & Psychotherapy, Berlin - Germany

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria; v. 43, n. 3, p. 285-288, MAY-JUN 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Objective: To assess the influence of migration on the psychopathological presentation of individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR) in São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: This study is part of the Subclinical Symptoms and Prodromal Psychosis (SSAPP) project, a cohort study in São Paulo, Brazil, designed to follow individuals at UHR. After screening with the Prodromal Questionnaire (PQ) and a clinical interview, the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) was administered, a neuropsychological assessment was performed, sociodemographic and migration data were obtained. We then analyzed UHR individuals who had migration data to see if migration had any effect on their cognition and psychopathology. Chi-square tests were used for categorical variables, and Student’s t test or analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used for nonparametric and parametric distributions, respectively. Results: The sample was composed of 42 at-risk subjects, of whom 5 had a migration history in the past two generations. Those with migration history showed significantly more formal thought disturbances (p = 0.012) and sleeping problems (p = 0.033) compared to those without. Conclusions: Our data reinforce migration as a risk factor for psychosis in developing countries as well, and highlights the importance of studying the specific effect of this factor in UHR psychopathology. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/02238-8 - Influence of migration in individuals at high risk for psychosis
• Grantee: Arthur Suman Nogueira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation