The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry

Work is currently underway on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), Fifth Edition, due to be published by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013. Dissatisfaction with the current categorical descriptive approach has led to aspirations for a paradigm shift for DSM-5.

A historical review of past revisions of the DSM was performed. Efforts undertaken before the start of the DSM-5 development process to conduct a state-of-the science review and set a research agenda were examined to determine if results supported a paradigm shift for DSM-5. Proposals to supplement DSM-5 categorical diagnosis with dimensional assessments are reviewed and critiqued.

DSM revisions have alternated between paradigm shifts (the first edition of the DSM in 1952 and DSM-III in 1980) and incremental improvements (DSM-II in 1968, DSM-III-R in 1987, and DSM-IV in 1994). The results of the review of the DSM-5 research planning initiatives suggest that despite the scientific advances that have occurred since the descriptive approach was first introduced in 1980, the field lacks a sufficiently deep understanding of mental disorders to justify abandoning the descriptive approach in favour of a more etiologically based alternative. Proposals to add severity and cross-cutting dimensions throughout DSM-5 are neither paradigm shifting, given that simpler versions of such dimensions are already a component of DSM-IV, nor likely to be used by busy clinicians without evidence that they improve clinical outcomes.

Despite initial aspirations that DSM would undergo a paradigm shift with this revision, DSM-5 will continue to adopt a descriptive categorical approach, albeit with a greatly expanded dimensional component.

To review the conceptual bases of Person-centred Integrative Diagnosis (PID) as a component and contributor to person-centred psychiatry and medicine and to outline its design and development.

An analysis was conducted of the historical roots of person-centred psychiatry and medicine, tracing them back to ancient Eastern and Western civilizations, to the vicissitudes of modern medicine, to recent clinical and conceptual developments, and to emerging efforts to reprioritize medicine from disease to patient to person in collaboration with the World Medical Association, the World Health Organization, the World Organization of Family Doctors, the World Federation for Mental Health, and numerous other global health entities, and with the coordinating support of the International Network for Person-centered Medicine.

One of the prominent endeavours within the broad paradigmatic health development outlined above is the design of PID. This diagnostic model articulates science and humanism to obtain a diagnosis of the person (of the totality of the person's health, both ill and positive aspects), by the person (with clinicians extending themselves as full human beings), for the person (assisting the fulfillment of the person's health aspirations and life project), and with the person (in respectful and empowering relationship with the person who consults). This broader and deeper notion of diagnosis goes beyond the more restricted concepts of nosological and differential diagnoses. The proposed PID model is defined by 3 keys: broad informational domains, covering both ill health and positive health along 3 levels: health status, experience of health, and contributors to health; pluralistic descriptive procedures (categories, dimensions and narratives); and evaluative partnerships among clinicians, patients, and families. An unfolding research program is focused on the construction of a practical guide and its evaluation, followed by efforts to facilitate clinical implementation and training.

PID is aimed at appraising overall health through pluralistic descriptions and evaluative partnerships, and leading through a research program to more effective, integrative, and person-centred health care.

The prevalence of pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) has increased. There has been speculation regarding a role of thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs) in this trend. Our objectives were to determine prevalence rates of PDDs among school-aged children, and to evaluate the impact of discontinuation of thimerosal use in 1996 in routine childhood vaccines on PDD rates.

Children (n = 23 635) attending kindergarten to Grade 11 were surveyed in 71 schools from the English Montreal School Board. For children with PDD, information was obtained about their diagnostic subtype, age, sex, grade, and school. Prevalence rates were calculated for the entire school population and for each grade. Prevalence rates were also compared for children born before or after 1996.

Students (n = 187; male to female ratio: 5.4:1) with PDD were identified, corresponding to a prevalence of 79.1/10 000 (95% CI 67.8 to 90.4/10 000). The prevalence was 25.4, 43.6, 9.7, and 0.4 for autistic disorder, PDD not otherwise specified, Asperger syndrome, and childhood disintegrative disorder, respectively. During the study period, there was a significant linear increase in prevalence (OR 1.17 per year; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.23). The trend in prevalence of PDDs was unrelated to the discontinuation of TCVs.

Our study provides additional evidence that the PDD rate is close to 1%. We estimate that at least 11 500 Canadian children aged 2 to 5 years suffer from a PDD. The reasons for the upward trend in prevalence could not be determined with our methods. Discontinuation of thimerosal use in vaccines did not modify the risk of PDD.

To report national demographics and diagnostic profiles of people with developmental disability hospitalized for psychiatric reasons, and to contrast results to psychiatric hospitalizations among patients with no comorbid developmental disability.

People with developmental disability across Canada were identified using data administered by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Among this cohort of people with developmental disability, records of hospitalization for psychiatric reasons were aggregated for the 2005/06 fiscal year (April 2005 to March 2006). Descriptive statistics on province of residence, age, sex, specific diagnoses, length of stay, and hospitalization frequency were calculated and compared with people without developmental disability.

In Canada, people with developmental disability were hospitalized a total of 8378 times in 2005/06; among these, 3478 (42%) were for psychiatric conditions. The number of people with developmental disability hospitalized for a psychiatric condition represents about 2% of the general population hospitalized for such conditions. Among people with developmental disability hospitalized for a psychiatric condition most were men and people aged between 15 and 34 years. For almost all psychiatric disorder categories, people with developmental disability were hospitalized at rates significantly different than their counterparts without developmental disability. Lengths of hospital stays for psychiatric conditions were very similar when comparing the study groups; however, people with developmental disability were more likely to have 2 or more hospitalizations during the year.

People with developmental disability display unique hospitalization patterns, compared with the general population.

Life course studies of schizophrenia that have used a 3-phase model (onset, course, and outcome) have had their use restricted owing to differences in definition and methodology. The purpose of this investigation was to describe life course data in mathematical terms and to compare the results with the findings from other life course studies.

The study population was comprised of 128 of 137 people who were first admitted for schizophrenia to 1 of the 2 mental hospitals in Alberta in 1963 and followed until 1997 or death. Patient evaluations were based on retrospective and contemporaneous information collected from the patients and hospital files, treatment records, and family members. Mathematically derived ratings were formulated for course, outcome, and onset (pre-admission years). The distribution of the resulting 8 life course types was compared with profiles drawn from other such studies reported in the literature.

The use of mathematical descriptions of onset, course, and outcome produced profiles that did not closely match the results of other investigations, largely owing to inconsistency across studies. Further, the present approach to outcome measurement produced results that were less favourable than those found in other studies.

Studies on the life course of schizophrenia could be made more comparable by specifying mathematically expressed operational definitions of onset, course, and outcome. Nonetheless, the use of the term outcome can be questioned as it implies an assessment at a specific time rather than providing a summary statement of the quality of a life.

The validity of the Cognitive Performance Scale (CPS) embedded in the Resident Assessment Instrument—Mental Health (RAI-MH) was evaluated among adult psychiatric inpatients.

The CPS is a brief measure of cognitive performance, with scores ranging from 0 (intact) to 6 (very severe impairment). The CPS scores were compared with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores for 215 adult psychiatric inpatients.

The CPS scores were significantly correlated with MMSE scores (r = −0.69, P < 0.001) and MoCA scores (r = −0.69, P < 0.001). Higher scores on the CPS were associated with greater functional impairment, older age, and a greater prevalence of dementia diagnoses than lower CPS scores.

Pilot data show the CPS is a valid screening measure of cognitive performance among adult psychiatric inpatients. Additional research is needed to replicate our study using a larger sample with more diverse mental health conditions.