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Psychosocial predictors of treatment outcome for trauma-affected refugees.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The effects of treatment in trials with trauma-affected refugees vary considerably not only between studies but also between patients within a single study. However, we know little about why some patients benefit more from treatment, as few studies have analysed predictors of treatment outcome. OBJECTIVE:The objective of the study was to examine possible psychosocial predictors of treatment outcome for trauma-affected refugees. METHOD:The participants were 195 adult refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who were enrolled in a 6- to 7-month treatment programme at the Competence Centre for Transcultural Psychiatry (CTP), Denmark. The CTP Predictor Index used in the study included 15 different possible outcome predictors concerning the patients' past, chronicity of mental health problems, pain, treatment motivation, prerequisites for engaging in psychotherapy, and social situation. The primary outcome measure was PTSD symptoms measured on the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Other outcome measures included the Hopkins Symptom Check List-25, the WHO-5 Well-being Index, Sheehan Disability Scale, Hamilton Depression and Anxiety Scales, the somatisation scale of the Symptoms Checklist-90, Global Assessment of Functioning scales, and pain rated on visual analogue scales. The relations between treatment outcomes and the total score as well as subscores of the CTP Predictor Index were analysed. RESULTS:Overall, the total score of the CTP Predictor Index was significantly correlated to pre- to post treatment score changes on the majority of the ratings mentioned above. While employment status was the only single item significantly correlated to HTQ-score changes, a number of single items from the CTP Predictor Index correlated significantly with changes in depression and anxiety symptoms, but the size of the correlation coefficients were modest. CONCLUSIONS:The total score of the CTP Predictor Index correlated significantly with outcomes on most of the rating scales, but correlations were modest in size, possibly due to the number of different factors influencing treatment outcome.

SUBMITTER: Sonne C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4889772 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Psychosocial predictors of treatment outcome for trauma-affected refugees.

Sonne Charlotte C Carlsson Jessica J Bech Per P Vindbjerg Erik E Mortensen Erik Lykke EL Elklit Ask A

European journal of psychotraumatology 20160531

<h4>Background</h4>The effects of treatment in trials with trauma-affected refugees vary considerably not only between studies but also between patients within a single study. However, we know little about why some patients benefit more from treatment, as few studies have analysed predictors of treatment outcome.<h4>Objective</h4>The objective of the study was to examine possible psychosocial predictors of treatment outcome for trauma-affected refugees.<h4>Method</h4>The participants were 195 ad ...[more]

PMID: 27251179

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Sleep disturbances are often referred to as a hallmark and as core symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Untreated sleep disturbances can contribute to the maintenance and exacerbation of PTSD symptoms, which may diminish treatment response and constitute a risk factor for poor treatment outcome. Controlled trials on treatment of sleep disturbances in refugees suffering from PTSD are scarce. The present study aims to examine sleep-enhancing treatment in refugees with PTSD. We aim to assess if add-on treatment with mianserin and/or Imagery Rehearsal Therapy (IRT) to treatment as usual (TAU) for PTSD improves sleep disturbances. We will study the relation between sleep disturbances, PTSD symptoms, psychosocial functioning and quality of life. METHODS:The study is a randomised controlled superiority trial with a 2?×?2 factorial design. The study will include 230 trauma-affected refugees. The patients are randomised into four groups. All four groups receive TAU - an interdisciplinary treatment approach covering a period of 6-8 months with pharmacological treatment, physiotherapy, psychoeducation and manual-based cognitive behavioural therapy within a framework of weekly sessions with a physician, physiotherapist or psychologist. One group receives solely TAU, serving as a control group, while the three remaining groups are active-treatment groups receiving add-on treatment with either mianserin, IRT or a combination of both. Treatment outcome is evaluated using self-administered rating scales, observer ratings and actigraph measurements at baseline, during treatment and post treatment. The primary outcome is subjective sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Secondary outcome measures are objective sleep length, nightmares, PTSD severity, symptoms of depression and anxiety, pain, quality of life and psychosocial functioning. DISCUSSION:This trial will be the first randomised controlled trial to examine sleep-enhancing treatment in trauma-affected refugees, as well as the first trial to investigate the effect of IRT and mianserin in this population. Therefore, this trial may optimise treatment recommendations for sleep disturbances in trauma-affected refugees. Based on our findings, we expect to discuss the effect of treatment, focussing on sleep disturbances. Furthermore, the results will provide new information regarding the association between sleep disturbances, PTSD symptoms, psychosocial functioning and quality of life in trauma-affected refugees. TRIAL REGISTRATION:EudraCT registration under the name 'Treatment of sleep disturbances in trauma-affected refugees - a randomised controlled trial', registration number: 2015-004153-40 , registered on 13 November 2015. ClinicalTrials.gov, ID: NCT02761161. Registered on 27 April 2016.

Project description:The prevalence of trauma-related psychiatric disorders is high among refugees. Despite this, little is known about the effect of pharmacological treatment for this patient group. The objective of the present study was therefore to examine differences in the effects of venlafaxine and sertraline on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression and functional impairment in trauma-affected refugees.The study was a randomised pragmatic trial comparing venlafaxine and sertraline in combination with psychotherapy and social counselling. PTSD symptoms were measured on the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire - part IV, which was the primary outcome measure. Other outcome measures included: Hopkins Symptom Check List-25 (depression and anxiety), Social Adjustment Scale - short version (social functioning), WHO-5 Well-being Index (quality of life), Crisis Support Scale (support from social network), Sheehan Disability Scale (disability in three areas of functioning), Hamilton Depression and Anxiety scale, the somatisation items of the Symptoms Checklist-90, Global Assessment of Functioning scales and the summarised score of pain in four body areas rated on visual analogue scales.Two hundred seven adult refugee patients were included in the trial (98 in the venlafaxine and 109 in the sertraline group). Of these, 195 patients were eligible for intention-to-treat analyses. Small but significant pre-treatment to post-treatment differences were found on the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and a number of other ratings in both groups. On the primary outcome measure, no difference was found in treatment effect between the sertraline and venlafaxine group. A significant group difference was found in favour of sertraline on the Sheehan Disability Scale.Sertraline had a slightly better outcome than venlafaxine on some of the secondary outcome measures, but not on the primary outcome measure. Furthermore, a higher percentage of dropouts was found in the venlafaxine group compared to the sertraline group. Although this could indicate that sertraline was better tolerated, which is supported by other studies, a final conclusion on tolerability cannot be drawn from the current study due to lack of systematic reporting of side effects.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01569685 . Registration date: 28/2/12.

Project description:ObjectiveTraumatic childhood experiences and psychosocial stress may predispose the evolvement of somatic diseases. Psoriasis is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory skin disease that often associates with current and past stress. Both may entail pathological alterations in major stress axes and a balance shift in the level of T helper type 1 (Th1) and 2 (Th2) cytokines, affecting the development and course of psoriasis. Until now, it is unclear whether traumatic stress experiences during the childhood or current stress are more frequent in psoriatic compared to skin-healthy individuals, and if they interact with treatment outcome.MethodIn a prospective cohort study, the impact of acute and early childhood stress on the course of dermatological treatment were studied in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis (PSO). Patients were examined before (T1) and about 3 months after (T2) the beginning of a new treatment episode. Assessments included clinical outcomes (Psoriasis Area and Severity Index-PASI, Structured Clinical Interview SCID-I) and patient-reported outcomes (PRO) (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-CTQ, Perceived Stress Scale-PSS, itching/scratching, Dermatology Life Quality Index-DLQI, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Body Surface Area, Self-Administered PASI).ResultsN = 83 PSO patients (median age 53.7, IQR 37.8, 62.5) and n = 66 skin-healthy control subjects (HC) (median age 51.5, IQR 33.3, 59.2) participated. PSO had higher CTQ physical neglect than HC, as well as higher PRO levels. The positive impact of improved skin on the skin-related quality of life was moderated by the perceived stress. Acute stress at T1 had a positive effect both on the skin severity and the skin-related quality of life. CTQ total closely interacted with baseline psoriasis severity, and was associated with higher improvement from T1 to T2.ConclusionOne might tentatively conclude, that chronic psychosocial stressors like childhood maltreatment may predispose the manifestation of psoriasis. The latter may be amplified by acute psychological stressors. In addition, the present evidence suggests that systemic therapies work well in PSO, with childhood trauma and acute psychosocial stress. Both should therefore be routinely assessed and addressed in PSO.

Project description:BACKGROUND:The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is estimated to be as high as 30% among refugees. The coexistence of prevalent chronic pain is believed to maintain symptoms of PTSD and add complexity to the condition. Despite this, little evidence exists on how to treat PTSD and comorbid conditions best in trauma-affected refugees. AIM:The aim of the present study was to investigate if adding either BBAT or mixed physical activity to the treatment as usual (TAU) for trauma-affected refugees with PTSD would increase the treatment effect compared to TAU alone. METHOD:Randomised controlled trial, 3-armed parallel group superiority study, conducted at Competence Centre for Transcultural Psychiatry, Denmark. Participants were adult trauma-affected refugees with PTSD. Allocation ratio was 1:1:1, stratified for PTSD severity and gender. An open-label design was applied due to the nature of the intervention. Participants were randomised to receive either individual basic body awareness therapy (group B) or individual mixed physical activity (group M) one hour/week for 20 weeks plus TAU, or TAU only (group C). The primary outcome was PTSD severity measured by Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01955538. RESULTS:Of the 338 patients included (C/B/M = 110/114/114), 318 patients were eligible for intention-to-treat analysis (C/B/M = 104/105/109). On the primary outcome, intention-to-treat as well as per-protocol analyses showed small but significant improvement on scores from pre- to post-treatment in all three groups but with no significant difference in improvement between groups. CONCLUSIONS:The findings do not provide evidence that either BBAT or mixed physical activity as add-on treatment bring significantly larger improvement on symptoms of PTSD compared to TAU alone for adult, trauma-affected refugees. There is a need for studies on potential subpopulations of trauma-affected refugees who could benefit from physical activity as a part of their treatment.

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Psychosocial predictors of treatment outcome for trauma-affected refugees.

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Psychosocial predictors of treatment outcome for trauma-affected refugees.

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