What is it about?
We recently showed that large earthquakes reduced admissions of psychiatric patients, whereas small earthquakes were associated with increased number of admissions.Retrospective data concerning monthly admission rates of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in the Psychiatric Unit of the University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece between 2008 and 2010 were analyzed in relation to the number of earthquakes with small (≥2) or larger magnitude in the Crete region in Greece.
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Why is it important?
Results showed a marked reduction of acute admissions during a storm of large earthquakes, which was greater in patients with bipolar disorder (91.2%) than schizophrenia patients (52.4%). In addition there was a significant increase of admissions during a period of frequent small earthquakes, primarily among patients with bipolar disorder
Perspectives
These findings are consistent with the ameliorating effect of electromagnetic fields used in Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in patients with bipolar disorder. Future studies focusing on the underlying mechanisms may lead to more specific treatments of psychiatric disorders.
Professor Stavros J Baloyannis or Balogiannis or Balojannis or Baloyiannis or Mpalogiannis
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
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This page is a summary of: Differential effects of earthquakes on patients with bipolar disorder versus schizophrenia: Findings from Crete, Greece, 2008–2010, Psychiatriki, October 2019, Hellenic Psychiatric Association,
DOI: 10.22365/jpsych.2019.303.193.
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