An initial investigation of abnormal bodily phenomena in subjects at ultra high risk for psychosis: Their prevalence and clinical implications

• Published in: Comprehensive psychiatry Vol. 66; pp. 39 - 45
• Main Authors: Madeira, Luis, Bonoldi, Ilaria, Rocchetti, Matteo, Samson, Carly, Azis, Matilda, Queen, Beverly, Bossong, Matthijs, Perez, Jesus, Stone, James, Allen, Paul, Howes, Oliver D., McGuire, Philip, Raballo, Andrea, Fusar-Poli, Paolo, Ballerini, Massimo, Stanghellini, Giovanni
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.04.2016; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gender; Hallucinations - diagnosis; Hallucinations - epidemiology; Hallucinations - psychology; Humans; Interviews; London - epidemiology; Male; Prevalence; Psychiatry; Psychopathology; Psychosis; Psychotic Disorders - diagnosis; Psychotic Disorders - epidemiology; Psychotic Disorders - psychology; Risk Assessment - methods; Risk Factors; Schizophrenia; Single-Blind Method; Sociodemographics; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Values; Young Adult; CAARMS; ASE; UHRproABP; proABP; SOFAS; HC; PANSS; ABPq; UHR; EASE; ABP; abnormal bodily phenomena questionnaire; examination of anomalous self experiences; Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale; matched healthy control; Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale; prominent abnormal bodily phenomena; UHR subjects with no prominent ABP; anomalous self-experiences; abnormal bodily phenomena; ultra high risk; UHR subjects with prominent ABP; Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States
• ISSN: 0010-440X; 1532-8384; 1532-8384
• DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2015.12.005

Contemporary phenomenological research has considered abnormal bodily phenomena (ABP) to be a phenotypic trait of subjects with schizophrenia in their first psychotic episode. Yet the prevalence of ABP and their clinical significance in subjects at Ultra High Risk (UHR) of psychosis remain unidentified. This study is an exploratory investigation of ABP in UHR subjects and matched healthy controls (HCs) examining their relation to clinical features and basic self-disturbances. A sample of 26 UHR and 14 HC subjects from three prodromal and early intervention clinics in South London, West London and Cambridge was assessed with the Abnormal Bodily Phenomena questionnaire (ABPq), Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS), the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Social and Occupational Functioning Assessment Scale (SOFAS) and the Examination of Anomalous Self Experiences (EASE) checklist. In our sample ABP occurred in 73.1% of UHR subjects and prominent ABP (proABP) were referred in 53.8% of them. No HC subject reported ABP. The UHR group with proABP had lower CAARMS total score (t=−9.265, p=0.006). There were no differences in PANSS total score (t=−1.235, p=0.277), SOFAS score (H(2) 22.27, p=0.666) and EASE total scores (z=8.565, adjusted p=0.185) in the UHR subjects with prominent ABP versus those that did not. This initial investigation suggests that ABP could be a prevalent phenotypic feature of UHR subjects.