Browsing by Author "Numminen, Linda"

Aims of the Study. Psychotic like experiences (PLEs) have been identified as risk factors for psychotic and other mental disorders. It has been suggested that PLEs are a sign of a broader psychological vulnerability and may indicate an individual’s susceptibility to mental disorders in general. The role of PLEs as predictors of mental disorders have been studied, but the research has limitations and knowledge of possible mediating factors is still inadequate. The aim of this study is to examine whether PLEs reported in young adulthood predict psychotic or any mental disorders in the general population. In addition, it is examined whether these associations are affected or mediated by general psychological distress. Methods. The data used in the study is from the Mental Health in Early Adulthood in Finland (MEAF) study which is a follow-up study of the Health 2000 young adult sample. The sample (n=1243) included 18–29-year-old Finnish people, selected from the general population, of whom 45.5 % were men. Subjects' PLEs were evaluated with the G-section of the Munich-Composite International Diagnostic Interview (M-CIDI) questionnaire, and general psychological distress with the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12). Data on diagnoses of mental disorders given in hospital care and specialized health care and inpatient care were obtained from the National Hospital Discharge register until the end of the year 2015, and hence, the follow-up period was 10–12 years. The associations, including the steps of mediation analysis, were examined with Cox regression and logistic regression models. Results and conclusions. This study showed that PLEs of young adults predict subsequent psychotic disorders (HR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.11–1.36) as well as any mental disorders (HR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.03–1.17), when the effects of age, gender, education, and marital status were adjusted for. This supports the previous view that PLEs may be a sign of broader psychological vulnerability and indicate an individual’s susceptibility to psychotic and any mental disorders. General psychological distress did not have a significant effect on the associations and did not mediate them. The PLEs of young adults appear to be a risk factor for subsequent psychotic and other mental disorders, independent from general psychological distress.