Læknablaðið : fylgirit - 01.08.2003, Page 72

I POSTERS / 27TH NORDIC PSYCHIATRIC CONGRESS
P - 44 Thursday 14/8,14:00-15:00
Finnish normative data and international comparison of
Cloninger’s temperament dimensions
Jouko Miettunen. NAPE, Researcher, MSc, Dept. of Psychiatry, University of Oulu,
PO Box 5000, FIN-90401, Oulu, Finland. Liisa Kantojárvi, Juha Veijola, Marjo-
Riitta, Járvelin, Matti Joukamaa.
jouko.miettiinen@oulu.fi
Background: Cloninger’s Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire
(TPQ) and Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) were de-
veloped to measure temperament dimensions: novelty seeking
(NS), harm avoidance (HA), reward dependence (RD), and persis-
tence (P).
Aims: Our aim is to present the first Finnish normative data of
Cloninger’s temperament dimensions of TCI. We also compare
previously presented normative scores and our scores with each
other.
Method: As part of the 31-year follow-up survey of the prospective
Northern Finland 1966 Birth Cohort Project the TPQ and TCI were
filled in by 4349 subjects (1974 males and 2375 females). We com-
bine previous TPQ and TCI studies and compare the temperamenl
dimension scores between 10 countries.
Results: The mean TCI scores for the Finnish sample were 20.3
(NS), 14.1 (HA), 14.7 (RD) and 4.3 (P). The NS scores of the 10
countries were between 16.2 and 20.0 and in HA between 12.6 and
16.7. By far the lowest mean score of the RD was in Japan (8.9);
other mean scores were between 13.5 and 16.2. In persistence
scores were between 3.7 and 5.6.
Conclusions: Variations in temperament were found between
different countries. The Finnish population does not have extreme
values in any of the four temperament scales.
P - 45 Thursday 14/8,14:00-15:00
Rapid increase of intravenous buprenorphine abuse in
opiate nai've area
Pekka Laine, Assistant Senior Physician, Oulu University Hospital, Pb 26 FIN
90029 OYS, Finland. Juha Oksanen, Minna Virta.
pekka. laine@oulu.fi
Oulu district is about 200 000 peoples area in northern Finland. Use
of illegal drugs has been similar as in Iceland (Ottar Gudmundsson,
personal communication): mostly alcohol abuse, some cannabis
and amphetamines, but not marked abuse of opiates. Since France
liberated their policy of buprenorphine maintenance therapy during
late 90’s, many Finnish opiate abusers have carried buprenorphine
from France to Finland; both for own use and for sale (Tacke 2002).
We compared clients of open ward clinic for young narcotic
abusers in Oulu during 1.1.2001-1.3.2001 (67 patients) with 1.4.
2002-31.5.2002 (124 palients). We found buprenorphine as the most
important drug for 4.5% of palients during the first period and for
19.4% (p<0.001, Khi square test) during the second period. Life-
time intravenous abuse increased from 22.7% to 43.8% (p=0.004).
HIV was not found among our patients, however, only a minority
had been tested (30.3% and 46%). Incidence of hepatitis C in-
creased from 9.1 % to 21.8 % (p<0.001, Khi square test).
Buprenorphine seems to be a drug of high potential for intra-
venous abuse with all its consequences which may be the reason of
its rescheduiing by DEA (2002).
References
• Tacke U. Abuse of buprenorphine by intravenous injection - The French
connection. Addiction 2002 Oct; 97:1355.
• Schedules of controlled substances: rescheduling of buprenorphine from
schedule V to schedule III. Final rule. Fed Regist 2002 Oct 7; 67: 62354-70.
P - 46 Thursday 15/8, 14:00-15:00
Effective ECT Practice
Dag Norum. Ridehusgt.20, N-1606 Fredrikstad, Norge
dagnoru@online.no
For a long time ECT (Electro-Convulsive Therapy) has for been
among the most effective therapies in severe depression. Since the
introduction of the modern antidepressants patients who are re-
ferred to hospitalisation, may have undergone several adequate
antidepressant cures before hospitalisation. A new failing psycho-
pharmacological cure should then prolong their suffering, whereas
ECT should shorten their way to recovery.
In order to shorten the course of suffering for the most severe
depressed patients, a naturalistic study was carried out between
Dec lst 2002 and April 30th 2003.
All patients meeting the clinic’s criteria for introducing ECT, i.e.
DSM IV criteria for MDD, or a former well-known positive re-
sponse to ECT, were scored by MADRS within the first week in
hospital. All patients with a MADRS-score of 30 or more were
offered ECT within the first week of their stay.
The mean length of hospitalisation was 42 days prior to this
programme. Our aim was to shorten the stay by 20%. The mean
length of stay was shortened by about 30%. Statistic Process Cont-
rol was used in the statistical judgement of the results. The pro-
gramme will continue as a new practice for ECT in our clinic.
P - 47 Friday 15/8,14:00-15:00
Suicidal behaviour: Interplay of genes and environment
Andrej Marusis, PhD, MD, MRCPsych, MSc, BSc, Institute of Public Health of
Republic of Slovenia, Trubarjeva 2,1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
andrej. marusic@ivz-rs.si
Evidence regarding a role for genetic risk factors for suicide comes
from epidemiological and populational genetic observations (the so
called J-shaped curve from Finland to Slovenia); family, twin and
adoption studies; and molecular genetic investigations. The propor-
tion of variance that is attributable to heritability is 43%.
Evidence indeed suggests an important role for the heritability
of suicidal behaviour, but how can genetic risk factors increase the
probability of suicide behaviour in an individual? As with other
complex traits it is reasonable to argue that the liability to commit
suicide is contributed to by multiple genetic and environmental fac-
tors and only those whose liability at some point exceeds a certain
threshold actually manifest as completed suicide. Interactions
between these factors occur at several stages in the development of
72 LÆKNABLAÐIÐ / FYLGIRIT 48 2003/89