Loose Associations Between Various Clinical Attributes of Patients Sharing a Diagnosis

Doctors are being pressured more and more to make quicker and quicker clinical decisions using information from studies that show correlations between certain symptoms and certain genes and other patient attributes, both psychological and physical. They are at risk of becoming sucked into a Lake Wobegon effect - the fictional town where it was said everyone’s intelligence is above average. Clinicians should still  assess each individual separately in order to avoid conclusions based on the ecological fallacy (thinking all patients with a particular disorder react exactly the same as the average patient with the disorder). In fact, most people with a certain characteristic fall outside of the average value when looking at another characteristic that seems to correlate with it.

Some people object to personality disorder diagnosis for a similar reason: each person with these disorders presents somewhat differently than the “average” person with the disorder.

However, this whole problem does not mean that we should completely avoid making diagnoses or looking for other correlating characteristics which are likely to be found in the average person in a group. This information can provide a clinician with clues as to where to start an investigation. The diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, for instance, correlates strongly with the spoiler role developed in families in which the parents have conflicts over the role of being a parent. This knowledge is useful in telling a physician or therapist what questions to ask the patient when exploration of the relevant factors begins. 

It does not, however, mean that an initial inquiry is guaranteed to be fruitful, only that in many cases it will be, so starting there may save the clinician a lot of time looking at things that will turn out to be irrelevant. For it to be useful, however, the doctor must treat an initial idea as an hypothesis, and be completely open to the possibility that the hypothesis may turn out to be wrong.

Obviously, the strength of any discovered correlation affects how soon one should start looking for it. Much of the personality disorder literature these days is clinically useless because the correlations “discovered” are either too small, too obvious, or too unimportant to mean much of anything in helping the clinician develop some sort of psychotherapeutic strategy. A study by Wildey et. al. in the  August 2020 issue of the Journal of Personality Disorders found correlations between so-called externalizing disorders like antisocial personality disorder or substance abuse and the negative quality of a person’s relationships using multiple assessment methods. Ya think?

Some studies even look for associations between qualities that are actually intrinsic to the definition of a personality disorder and the disorders themselves. A rose is a rose last time I looked. Like people with BPD being very reactive. I kid you not.

Even dumber is looking at so-called “mediating” variables. For example, one study in the Journal of Personality Disorders by Sato et. al, in the April 2020 issue found that “rejection sensitivity” was mediated by attachment anxiety, the need to belong, and self-criticism. You mean if you think negatively about yourself but still want to fit in, that might lead to anxiety? I know academics face the need to publish or perish, but as I am fond of saying, “No Sh*t, Sherlock.”

More Stories from the Journal of Obvious Results

As I did on my posts of  November 30, 2011,   October 2, 2012, September 17, 2013,  June 3, 2014,  February 24, 2015,  December 15, 2015,  September 13, 2016 and March 15, 2017, it’s time once again to look over the highlights of the latest issue of one of my two favorite psychiatry journals, Duh! and No Sh*t, Sherlock. We'll take a look at the unsurprising findings published in the latest issue of the later. 

The journals honor the tradition of The Golden Fleece Award, an award given to public officials in the United States for their squandering of public money, its name sardonically derived from the actual Order of the Golden Fleece, a prestigious chivalric award created in the late-15th Century, and a play on the word fleece, as in charging excessively for goods or services. The late United States  Senator William  Proxmire  began to issue the Golden Fleece Award in 1975 in monthly press releases.

My comments are in bronze.

As I pointed out in those earlier posts, research dollars are very limited and therefore precious. Why waste good money trying to study new, cutting edge or controversial ideas that might turn out to be wrong, when we can study things that that are already known to be true but have yet to be "proven"? Such an approach increases the success rate of studies almost astronomically. And studies with positive results are far more likely to be published than those that come up negative.

3/17/17. Because substance abuse is an indicator of being satisfied with your life. US Veterans With Substance Abuse Problems May Have Higher Risk Of Suicide Than Veterans Without Such Problems, Study Suggests. HealthDay  reported, “US veterans with substance abuse problems have a higher risk of suicide than veterans who don’t,” researchers found after examining data on “more than four million veterans.” The findings were published online March 16 in the journal Addiction.

5/24/17. Because having a potentially fatal illness is so exhilarating. Lung Cancer Diagnosis May Increase Suicide Risk, Study Suggests. HealthDay (5/23, Mille) reports that research suggests individuals “with lung cancer have a strikingly higher-than-normal risk of suicide.” Investigators looked at “data from over 3 million patients during a 40-year period.” The research indicated “that a lung cancer diagnosis raised the odds of suicide by over four times compared to people in the general population.” The findings were presented at the American Thoracic Society meeting.

5/30/17. Because most people adjust instantly when uprooted from their entire way of life by a bloody war. Syrian Refugee Children Living In The US Reported High Levels Of Anxiety, Small Study Suggests. MedPage Today (5/28, Visk) reported, “Syrian refugee children living in the US reported high levels of anxiety,” researchers found. Specifically, “based on self-reported test scores, more than half of children had a probable anxiety diagnosis, and more than 80% had probable separation anxiety,” the 59-child study revealed. The findings were presented during a poster session at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting. Healio (5/26, Oldt) also covered the study.

8/17/17. Cheaters are prone to cheat? Will wonders never cease? Serial Infidelity Across Subsequent Relationships (Arch Sex Behav; ePub 2017 Aug 7; Knopp, et al ).  Prior infidelity emerged as an important risk factor for infidelity in next relationships, according to a recent study. Researchers addressed risk for serial infidelity by following adult participants (n=484) longitudinally through 2 mixed-gender romantic relationships. Participants reported their own extra-dyadic sexual involvement (ESI) (ie, having sexual relations with someone other than their partner) as well as both known and suspected ESI on the part of their partners in each romantic relationship.

9/6/17.  And I thought most elderly people who fall fall out of bed. For nursing home residents, mobility increases risk of fracture. Reuters (9/5, Rapaport) reports a new study published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series A found that for nursing home residents, “risk factors for fracture included the ability to walk independently, wandering the halls, dementia and diabetes.” The study was based on data from “419,668 nursing home residents, including 14,553 who experienced hip fractures.” Lead author Sarah Berry, MD, of the Institute for Aging Research and Harvard Medical School in Boston said, “Frail nursing home residents that are still mobile and independent have opportunity to fall.”

9/6/17. People prone to diseases get them more often than those who are not? Genetic variants linked to health problems appear less frequently in people who live longer, study indicates. Newsweek (9/5, Osborne) reports genetic research published in PLOS Biology used data from over 200,000 people to show humans “appear to be evolving to hit puberty later and those who start at an older age live longer.” Researchers also discovered that “genetic variants linked to heart disease, obesity and high cholesterol appear less frequently in people who live longer.”

9/8/17. Because major depression has a genetic component, and depressed mothers may have attachment issues or altered parental behavior, ya think? Children Whose Mothers Took Antidepressants During Pregnancy May Be At Increased Risk For Psychiatric Illnesses Themselves, Research Indicates. HealthDay (9/7, Preidt) reports, “Children whose mothers took antidepressants during pregnancy may be at increased risk for psychiatric disorders themselves,” researchers concluded after reviewing “data from more than 905,000 children born in Denmark between 1998 and 2012,” whose “health was followed for up to 16.5 years.” The findings were published online Sept. 6 in the BMJ. According to Medscape (9/7, Brooks), the authors of an accompanying editorial “say that reporting absolute risks, as the researchers do in this study, is important to facilitate communication between clinicians and pregnant women.”

9/8/17. Maybe cuz they’re the ones who are eating again? Young Women With Anorexia Nervosa Who Resume Menstruation By End Of Treatment May Experience Greater Improvement In Psychological, Physiological Well-Being Than Those Who Do Not, Small Study Suggests.

Medscape (9/7, Davenport) reports, “Young women with anorexia nervosa (AN) who resume menstruation by the end of treatment experience greater improvement in both psychological and physiologic well-being than those who do not,” researchers found after studying 39 women with AN and 40 women with bulimia nervosa. The findings were presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress.

9/8/17.  Why would you need doctors for people to have healthcare? I just don’t understand. ACA Plans With Narrow Networks May Provide Less Access To Mental Healthcare, Study Indicates. Reuters (9/7, Rapaport) reports that according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, “narrow-network insurance plans created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) offer only limited access to mental health care.” The article says these plans seem to have substituted lower costs for less access to mental healthcare.

9/11/17. Self destructive kids study less? High school students with poor grades more likely to have unhealthy behaviors, CDC study indicates. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (9/8, Hart) reported, “There’s a link between unhealthy behavior and bad grades, according to a new study of high school students by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”  HealthDay (9/8, Preidt) reported the study suggests US high school students with poor grades are “much more likely to have unhealthy behaviors – including illegal drug use – than teens at the top of the class,” researchers concluded after “analyzing data from a 2015 government survey.” The findings were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

9/15/17. Because as we all know the incidence of health problems decreases with age. Risk For Health Anxiety May Be Increased In Older Adults, Study Suggests. MD Magazine (9/14, Warren) reports, “The risk for health anxiety...a disorder characterized by a preoccupation with physical health and/or somatic/body symptoms, is increased in older adults,” researchers found after assessing “538 primary care patients” ranging in age from 18 to 90. The findings were published online June 24 in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders.

9/29/17. They thought infectious disease occur spontaneously, I guess. Babies with older siblings may be at higher risk of hospitalization for influenza, researchers say. In “Well,” the New York Times (9/28, Bakalar, Subscription Publication) reports, “Having older brothers and sisters puts infants at higher risk for being hospitalized” for influenza, researchers concluded after studying “1,115 hospital admissions of children under two born in Scotland from 2007 to 2015.” The findings were published in the European Respiratory Journal.

10/2/17. Because listening to people talk about the voices in their heads is so relaxing. Caregivers of Individuals With Schizophrenia Experience High Levels of Distress, Study Finds. Psychological distress among family or friends who provide unpaid support to people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder is much higher than the general population, reports a study published today in Psychiatric Services in Advance.

 

10/4/17. I didn’t know PTSD had anything to do with being traumatized. PTSD Particularly Common Among People Exposed To Mass Shootings, Studies Indicate. The AP (10/3, Tanner) reports that people who survived this week’s shootings in Las Vegas may be at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Also at risk for “psychological fallout” are first responders, medical staff, eyewitnesses, and bystanders. Studies indicate “PTSD is particularly common among people exposed to mass shootings versus other types of trauma, with rates as high as 90 percent reported” by some researchers.

10/25/17. Because being abused as a child is good for your mental health. Young Adults Who Recall Being Maltreated May Have A Particularly Elevated Risk For Psychopathology, Researchers Say.   A study to be published in the January issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research (10/24, Newbury, Arseneault, Moffitt, Caspi, Danese, Baldwin, Fisher) “explores the validity and utility of retrospective self-reports versus prospective informant-reports of childhood maltreatment.” Study data “were obtained from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally-representative birth cohort of 2,232 children followed to 18 years of age (with 93% retention).” Researchers evaluated “childhood maltreatment” through “prospective informant-reports from caregivers, researchers, and clinicians when children were aged 5, 7, 10 and 12,” and via “retrospective self-reports of maltreatment experiences occurring up to age 12, obtained at age 18 using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.” The study revealed that “young adults who recall being maltreated have a particularly elevated risk for psychopathology.”

More Studies Reveal Widely Known Facts to be Actually True

As I did on my posts of November 30, 2011,  October 2, 2012,September 17, 2013, June 3, 2014, February 24, 2015, and December 15, 2015, it’s time once again to look over the highlights of the latest issue of one of my two favorite psychiatry journals, Duh! and No Sh*t, Sherlock. We'll take a look at the unsurprising findings published in the latest issue of the latter. My comments are in bronze.

As I pointed out in those earlier posts, research dollars are very limited and therefore precious. Why waste good money trying to study new, cutting edge or controversial ideas that might turn out to be wrong, when we can study things that that are already known to be true but have yet to be "proven"? Such an approach increases the success rate of studies almost astronomically. And studies with positive results are far more likely to be published than those that come up negative.

This last few months has been such a treasure trove of studies of the obvious, my descriptions of the individual studies listed will be a little briefer than usual.

At the end of today's issue of No Sh*t Sherlock is a special section on some new shocking and counterintuitive findings about things we used to think were good for your mental health and well-being - but turned out not to be.

12/15/15. Adolescents Who Abuse Prescription Pain Medicines May Be More Likely To Have Sex, Participate In Risky Sexual Behaviors

HealthDay (12/15, Haelle) reports that adolescents who abuse prescription pain medications may be “more likely to have sex or to participate in risky sexual behaviors,” a study published online Dec. 14 in Pediatrics suggests. 
Impulsive, self destructive people were, I guess, previously thought to be highly selective in which impulses to indulge.

12/15/15. Study Shows Reduced Patient Satisfaction When Computers Are Used Excessively In Exam Rooms

On the front of its Personal Journal section, the Wall Street Journal (12/15, D1, Reddy, Subscription Publication) reports on a study published the previous month in JAMA Internal Medicine, which found that patients whose doctors spent a lot of time looking at a computer screen during examinations rated their care lower. 
And here we thought that patients just hate doctors who pay close attention and listen to them carefully.

12/23/15. College Students Who Smoke Marijuana Appear More Likely Than Their Peers To Skip Classes

HealthDay (12/23, Norton) reports, “College students who smoke marijuana appear more likely than their peers to skip classes – which eventually leads to poorer grades and later graduation,” a study published in the September issue of the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors suggests. 
This finding is just so difficult to explain.

1/6/16. Many Single Mothers with Minor Children are Sleep-deprived, CDC finds

The Los Angeles Times (1/6, Kaplan) reports in Science Now that a data brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics reveals that “44% of single moms living with children under the age of 18 fall short of recommendations to get at least seven hours of shut-eye each night.” Thirty-eight percent of single fathers who live with their children “sleep less than seven hours per night,” the report found. 
I just don't understand why these parents can't make their days last more than the usual 24 hours.

1/22/16. Prevention Programs for Youth Most Effective When At-Risk Families Are Clinically Stable

Programs that teach stress management and cognitive-restructuring skills may help to prevent the onset of depression in teens at high risk for depression, but how effective they are appears to depend largely on the mental health of youth and their parents when the intervention begins, according to a study published online this week in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 
At last the long-sought proof that the more severe a disorder, the worse the prognosis tends to be.

3/2/16. Study Suggests Factors Predictive of Violent Behavior in People With Mental Illness

Results from a meta-analysis in Psychiatric Services in Advance shows that three factors may be associated with an increased risk for adults with mental illnesses to commit community violence in the near future. They are alcohol use, exhibiting violent behaviors, and being a victim of violence within the past six months. 
Booze fuels violence? Past behavior a predictor of future behavior? Who'd'a thunk??

3/16/16. Disruptive Patients may Get Worse Care from Physicians

HealthDay (3/15, Dotinga) reports, “‘Disruptive’ patients may get worse care from physicians,” studies suggest. 
Can't be. Doctors have been trained to be completely unaffected by annoying people. (Well, psychoanalysts anyway).

4/21/16. Eating Disorders May Be More Prevalent At Schools With A Greater Proportion Of Female Students

HealthDay (4/20, Preidt) reports, “Eating disorders may be more prevalent at schools where a greater portion of the student body is female,” research suggests. 
I just never noticed the higher prevalence of women among patients with anorexia and bulemia.

5/25/16. Severely Obese Children Picked On, Bullied More Than Normal-Weight Kids

HealthDay (5/25, Reinberg) reports, “As early as first grade, severely obese children are getting teased, picked on and bullied more than normal-weight kids,” research published online May 25 in Child Development indicates. Researchers arrived at this conclusion after gathering “data on nearly 1,200 first graders from 29 rural schools in Oklahoma.”  
Did these researchers ever go to grade school?

5/27/16. Depressed Patients Who Attempt Suicide Four Or More Times May Have Higher Risk Of Eventually Dying By Suicide, Research Suggests

Medscape (5/26, Brooks) reports, “Depressed patients who attempt suicide four or more times have a higher risk of eventually dying by suicide compared with their depressed peers who have never attempted suicide or who have done so fewer times,” research suggests. 
The fifth time is the charm.

6/2/16. Higher Out-of-pocket Costs Lead to Reduced Adherence

A literature review of 160 articles and abstracts identified a clear relationship between cost sharing, adherence, and outcomes. Of the articles that evaluated the relationship between changes in out-of-pocket costs and adherence, 85% showed that increasing patient out-of-pocket medication costs leads to reduced adherence. 
Did these researcher ever hear of the law of supply and demand? Guess not.

6/16/16. Hospital Deaths more Costly and Involve More Tests and Procedures than Deaths at Home

On its website, NPR (6/15, Kodjak) reports people who die in hospitals “undergo more intense tests and procedures than those who die anywhere else” and that more is spent on people dying in hospitals compared to people who die at home, according to an analysis by Arcadia Healthcare Solutions. 
I was wondering about that (not!)

7/1/16. Problem Of Missed Medication May Increase With Age, Failing Memory

HealthDay (6/30, Preidt) reports that a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society “suggests that the problem of missed” medication “rises with age and failing memory, especially for men.” The investigators found that other factors linked to “medication lapses” were “memory deficits” and having “trouble with the tasks of everyday living.” 
Gee, people with memory problems forget things.

And now for the special section that details how we have recently discovered that many things in the environment that were once thought to be sources of tremendous joy and uplift turn out to actually be downers that create various negative feeling states and are risk factors for depression and anxiety.

These include childhood abuse and neglect, poverty, post-partum depression, traumatic experiences, cancer, kids having parents with chronic severe migraine headaches, having your livelihood threatened by a disciplinary action from a licensing board, diabetic retinopathy, having a premature infant, and combat experiences.

I bet you think I'm making this up. Sorry, but you just can't make this stuff up.

3/1/16. Study finds children who face adversity before age 5 struggle in school

Kaiser Health News (2/29, Gillespie) reports a study published in the journal Pediatrics found that “adverse childhood experiences [ACEs] before age 5,” including “neglect, abuse and dysfunctional home lives,” were associated “with poor academic and behavioral performance in kindergarten.” 
These researchers just don't understand that these kids just have ADHD.

3/17/16.  Low-Income People Exposed To Rats In Urban Environment May Be More Likely To Have Depressive Symptoms

According to the NBC News (3/16, Fox) website, a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and published online Feb. 10 in the Journal of Community Psychology reveals that “people living in Baltimore’s low-income neighborhoods who see rats as a big problem are significantly more likely to have depressive symptoms such as sadness and anxiety.” 

3/21/16. Women Who Have Had Postpartum Depression May Not Have More than Two Children, Study Indicates

HealthDay (3/18, Preidt) reported, “Women who’ve had postpartum depression may not have more than two children,” the findings of a study published in the January issue of Evolution, Medicine and Public Health suggest. 
Depression was previously thought to be so much fun that everyone wanted to go through it as many times as possible.

4/25/16.  Exposure To Traumatic Events May Be Associated With A Host Of Potential Negative Behavioral And Physical Effects

Medscape (4/25, Melville) reports, “Exposure to one or more potentially traumatic events in a lifetime is associated with a host of potential negative behavioral and physical effects, ranging from mental illness and depression to substance abuse, asthma, and” hypertension, the findings of a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality indicate. 

4/28/16. Cancer Diagnosis may be Associated with Increased Risk for Anxiety, depression

HealthDay (4/28, Preidt) reports that research published in JAMA Oncology “details the psychological damage” a cancer diagnosis “often leaves in its wake for patients.” Investigators “found much higher rates of anxiety, depression and even drug and alcohol abuse for those who’ve been told ‘you have cancer,’ compared to healthier people.”  Healio (4/28) reports that the study indicated “the risk for mental disorders appeared stronger among patients whose cancers had poorer prognoses.” 

       

5/31/15. Childhood Trauma May Increase Risk of Adolescent Drug Use, Study Shows

Children who experience traumatic events prior to the age of 11 may be more likely to use marijuana, cocaine, nonmedical prescription drugs, or other drugs as teens, according to a report online in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 

6/27/16. For Teens, Living With Parents Who Have Chronic Migraine May Negatively Affect Activities Of Daily Life, School Performance.

Medscape (6/24, Davenport) reported, “For adolescents, living with parents who have chronic migraine has a negative effect on activities of daily life and on school performance and is associated with increased rates of anxiety,” research suggests. 
Parental misery and pain were previously thought to have no effect on their children whatsoever.

7/15/16. Patient Complaints Against Physicians and the Ensuing Complaint Review Process Seriously Affect Physicians' Long-term Psychological Well-being 

and can lead to their practicing defensive medicine, results of a large qualitative survey show. Led by Tom Bourne, MD, PhD, from the Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, United Kingdom, the study is an analysis of responses to qualitative questions as part of a larger anonymous survey completed by almost 8000 physicians. 

7/8/16.  Severe Diabetic Retinopathy May Be Associated With Depression, Study Suggests

MedPage Today (7/7, Minerd) reports, “Severe diabetic retinopathy...was linked to depression, and its presence should prompt clinicians to inquire about a patient’s mental health,” research suggested. The findings of the 519-patient study were published online July 7 in JAMA Ophthalmology.  

7/21/16. Parents Of Extremely Premature Infants May Be More Likely To Become Depressed Than Parents Of Full-Term, Healthy Infants

Reuters (7/20, Rapaport) reports, “When babies are extremely premature, parents are about 10 times more likely to become depressed than mothers and fathers of full-term, healthy infants,” research suggests. Included in the study were “113 mothers and 101 fathers of preemies, as well as 117 mothers and 151 fathers of healthy, full-term infants.” The findings were published online July 18 in JAMA Pediatrics.

8/12/16. Female Service Members who Experience Combat may have Much Higher Risk of PTSD than Those Who do Not

Reuters (8/10, Rapaport) reports, “Women in the military who experience combat have a much greater risk than those who don’t of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health issues,” researchers found after examining “data from post-deployment mental health screenings for more than 42,000 women enlisted in the US Army and deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2008 to 2011.” The findings were published online Aug. 1 in the Journal of Traumatic Stress. 

I wonder how many other things that were once thought to joyful actually are not.