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Highlights from the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry (May of 2025 - November of 2025)

The Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, formerly “Nordisk Psykiatrisk Tidsskrift”, is an international journal that publishes excellent psychiatric research with a broad scope. It is the official journal for the eight psychiatric associations in the Nordic and Baltic countries. It is a main source of information about current Nordic psychiatry and related fields, The journal is distributed to members of the Nordic and Baltic Psychiatric Associations as well as to members of Associations for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. This gives access to all articles published in the journal from 1946.



Somatic health perception among in-patients with severe mental illness

 

Cross-sectional study of 67 in-patients at two Danish forensic psychiatric hospitals compared a single-item self-rated health (SF-12) with physician assessment via the Clinical Frailty Scale and charted somatic diagnoses. Despite substantial medical burden-25% hypertension, 84% overweight, 55% metabolic syndrome, and 195 somatic diagnoses-79% rated their health as “good” or better. Concordance between self-rated and clinician-rated health was low (≈58–61%) regardless of dichotomization strategy, pointing to optimistic self-appraisal and/or different reference frames. Clinically, relying on self-rated health risks under-detecting cardiometabolic morbidity; routine structured somatic screening remains essential in forensic settings. Methodologically, SRH appears miscalibrated in SMI/forensic samples and should be triangulated with objective markers when used as an exposure/outcome.


Busk N, Jentz C, Terkildsen MD, Kennedy H, Sandbæk A, Andersen A, Sørensen LU. Somatic health perception among in-patients with severe mental illness: a comparison of self-rated and clinically assessed health. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. 2025 Nov 4:1–9.


Diagnostic accuracy of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) in Swedish young adult outpatients in general psychiatry


Two Swedish outpatient cohorts of young adults (18–25; n=197 in 2002–03 and n=283 in 2012–16) were assessed against DSM-IV reference interviews (SCID-I-CV or MINI 6.0). Internal consistency was acceptable (α=0.76). Pooled analysis indicated an optimal cut-off of 10 (sensitivity 87%, specificity 82%); PPV was 0.28 and NPV 0.99, reflecting low base rates but excellent rule-out value. ROC AUC was 0.88 combined (≈0.81 and 0.91 in the two cohorts), with slightly different optimal thresholds (9 vs 10), suggesting context-specific calibration. In practice, full AUDIT performs well for flagging probable AUD in this age band, but positive screens should be followed by confirmatory assessment given modest PPV.


Lenninger S, Isaksson J, Ramklint M, Ramirez A. Diagnostic accuracy of the alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT) in Swedish young adult outpatients in general psychiatry. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. 2025 Nov 6:1–8.

 

Bridging the gap between sectors in transition from mental health hospitals to communities – determining and mediating the need for assistance in daily living for patients with mental illness


Qualitative interview study with 11 occupational therapists and 8 municipal social workers in Denmark explored what information municipalities need to assign post-discharge assistance, how well hospital assessors provide it, and how that knowledge is generated. Municipalities primarily required precise descriptions of occupational performance (which activities need help, and the type/amount of assistance). Occupational therapists’ reports generally matched municipal needs, but generating the necessary knowledge was challenging because available evidence-based tools were not always applicable to psychiatric inpatients. Practically, the paper underscores the value of structured, function-focused assessments at discharge and calls for better-tailored, evidence-based tools to support cross-sector coordination and reduce gaps in community support.


Stubberup LM, Christensen JR, Melgaard D, Jørgensen R. Bridging the gap between sectors in transition from mental health hospitals to communities – determining and mediating the need for assistance in daily living for patients with mental illness. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. 2025 May 19;79(5):339–346.

 

Mental disorder diagnoses as predictors of behavioural risk factors: the moderating role of socioeconomic status


Registry-linked Estonian survey data (2021–2022; n=1,561 adults >25) combined Poisson models and latent class analysis to relate prior diagnoses to clusters of behavioural risk (e.g., smoking, alcohol, diet/weight, activity). Depression predicted a higher count of risks and greater odds of multiple-risk class membership; anxiety was linked to an overweight/obesity class. While a composite SES index showed no interaction, education and income moderated effects: e.g., depression with medium income associated with lower overall risk than higher income; anxiety with secondary education linked to lower odds of overweight/obesity than higher education. Results caution against simple “lower SES = higher risk” assumptions and argue for tailoring risk-reduction interventions to diagnosis and socioeconomic profile.


Opikova G, Reile R, Konstabel K, Kask K. Mental disorder diagnoses as predictors of behavioural risk factors: the moderating role of socioeconomic status. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry. 2025 Nov;79(8):588–596. Epub 2025 Sep 18. □

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