Læknablaðið : fylgirit - 01.08.2003, Side 71

POSTERS / 27TH NORDIC PSYCHIATRIC CONGRESS I
patient/parent completed a CBCL 4-16, which was used to tally a
total BPS. Patient scores were compared to those of a randomly
selected group from the general population. The therapists com-
pleted an Applied Treatment Form for each subject at the end of
treatment or at the end of the study in 1995.
Results: Patient BPSs were three times higher for boys and for girls
in each age group than for the general population. The most fre-
quent treatment approaches used were parental advice and support
(87%) and family therapy (67%). Physical examination was a part
of only 44% of evaluations.
Conclusion: With a mere 1-5% overlap in patient and general popu-
lation scores, the CBCL is clearly a valuable diagnostic indicator of
child/adolescent behaviour problems and should be a component of
global assessment.
Key Words: Child/Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Behaviour Checklist, Diagnostic
Tests, Applied Trealments, Clinical Epidemiology.
P - 41 Thursday 14/8,14:00-15:00
Is there a link between creativity and mental disorder?
E Lauronen, Medical Student (Bachclor of Medicine). Dept. of Psychiatry, Univer-
sity of Oulu, PO BOX 5000, FIN-90014, Finland. J Veijola, I Isohanni, PB Jones, P
Nieminen, M Isohanni.
llaurone@paju. oulu.fi
Background: A link between decreased ability and mental disorder
is commonly assumed, however, evidence to the contrary also exists.
Aims: Our aim is to update the literature concerning associations
between creativity and mental disorder as well as to include an epi-
demiological and theoretical discussion of the topic.
Methods: As literature retrieval we used Medline, PsycINFO and
manual literature searches.
Results: There are numerous, largely empirical studies - mostly
with methodological difficulties and variation - that provide no
clear consensus. However, some trends are apparent. We found 13
essential major case series (over 100 cases), case-control studies or
population-based studies, with valid measures of mental disorders.
All but one of these studies supported the association, at least when
concerning some group of mental disorder, and in two studies the
findings were somewhat unclear. Most of the rest studies explored
(N=8) also show delicate association between creativity and mental
disorder, but the link is not apparent for all groups of mental dis-
orders or for all forms of creativity.
Conclusions: Some evidence exists to support association between
creativity and mental disorder. Creative people may have more
psychopathology, especially affective disorders, than does the general
population.
P - 42 Thursday 14/8,14:00-15:00
Alexithymia after traumatic brain injury
Koponcn Salla, MD, Dept. of Psychiatry, Turku University Hospital, PL 52, FIN-
2052, Turku, Finland. Taiminen Tero, Portin Raija, Isoniemi Heli, Tenovuo Ollt.
salla.koponen@utu.fi
fail to identify and understand emotions. We hypothesized that
brain injury may impair processing of emotional information and
thus result in alexithymia.
Aims: To evaluale the prevalence of alexithymia after traumatic
brain injury.
Method: Fifty-eight subjects (mean age 61 years, 18 female) had re-
ceived traumatic brain injuries on average 30 years ago. The To-
ronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) was used to assess alexithymia.
Current axis I psychiatric disorders were diagnosed with the
Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN)
version 2.1 and axis II disorders with the Structured Clinical Inter-
view for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SCID-II).
Results: The mean score of TAS-20 was 53.6 points (56.3 in men,
47.4 in women). Alexithymia was found in 31.0% of the subjects
(35.0% of men, 22.2% of women). Its presence was not associated
with the severity of traumatic brain injury. The only current psychi-
atric diagnoses that were associated with alexithymia were organic
personality syndrome and SCID-II personality disorders.
Condusions: Tlie possibility of alexithymia after traumatic brain
injury should be kept in mind, as alexithymia affects the way emo-
tional distress is communicated. These patients may be prone to
somatization.
P - 43 Thursday 14/8,14:00-15:00
Life events and onset of a new phase in bipolar affective
disorder
Ellen Margrethe Christensen, Chief Psychiatrist, Psychiatric Hospital, Hillerod,
Dyrehavevej 48, DK-3400 Hillerod, Denmark. Jens Knud Larsen, Annette Gjerris.
elmach@fa.dk
Background: There is an increasing focus on the impact of psycho-
social factors on the course of bipolar affective disorder but the re-
search results are conflicting.
Aims: In a prospective study to examine the relationship between
life events and affective phases in a group of bipolar patients with a
long duration of the disease.
Method: A group of bipolar patients was followed every three
months for up to three years. At each examination an evaluation
was made according to the Hamilton Depression Scale, the Bech
Rafaelsen Mania Rating Scale and the Paykel Life Events Scale.
Results: Fifty-six patients were included. In male examinations the
distribution between manic and depressive phases was 13%/5%, in
female it was 5%/15%. Women experienced more life events than
men. In 21% of women a new phase was preceded by life events
against 8% in men. Half of the women depressive phases were pre-
ceded by life events, but none of the depressive phases of men. The
life events categories presented were mostly somatic ill health and
conflicts in the family.
Conclusion: Women had a significantly higher nurnber of depres-
sive episodes than men and men had a higher number of ntanic
episodes than women. A significant number of depressive episodes
in women were preceded by negative life events.
Background: The inability to identify and describe feelings is
known as alexithymia. Patients with traumatic brain injury often
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