A questionnaire consisting of items about abuse, neglect, self-mutilation and suicide attempt and the Turkish Version of the Dissociative Experiences Scale were given to 862 high school students. The rates of suicide attempt and self-mutilative behaviors were 10.1% and 21.4%, respectively. Abused or neglected groups (34.3%) had 7.6-fold higher suicide attempts and 2.7-fold higher selfmutilation behaviours. The logistic regression model showed that each type of trauma and dissociation contributed to suicide attempts and self-mutilation, but dissociation was the most powerful. Suicidal and self-destructive adolescents should precisely be evaluated for abuse, neglect and dissociation in clinical practice.

Objective. PTSD and major depression occur frequently following traumatic exposure, both as separate disorders and concurrently. Although much of Turkey is under threat of severe earthquakes, risk factors for developing psychiatric disorders among Turkish children have not yet been studied. The aim of the study was to examine risk factors for PTSD and depression develpoment in children. Method. A total of 160 survivors (102 girls and 58 boys) severely impacted by Turkey's 7.4-magnitude quake participated in a psychiatric interview 6-20 weeks after the disaster. The mean age was 14.43. Logistic regression was used to test effects of pre-disaster, disaster-related and post-disaster factors on diagnoses, yielding odds ratios (OR). Results. CAPS indicated that 96 (60%) had PTSD, and psychiatric interview found 49 (31%) with depression. Children diagnosed with PTSD were more likely to have witnessed death (OR=2.47) and experienced an extreme parental reaction (OR=3.45). Children with depression were more likely to be male (OR=4.48), have a higher trait anxiety score (OR=1.12 for every additional point), sustain injury (OR=4.29), and have lost a family member in the quake (OR=10.96). Focusing on the 96 children with PTSD, those with comorbid depression were more likely male, have a higher trait anxiety score, and have lost of family member. Conclusions. Mental health professionals should offer support to children witnessing death or losing a family member in a disaster. The ability of the family to remain calm and reassuring also may be a key factor in preventing PTSD.

Children with phenylketonuria (PKU) follow a protein restricted diet with negligible amounts of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Low DHA intakes might explain subtle neurological deficits in PKU. We studied whether a DHA supply modified plasma DHA and neurological and intellectual functioning in PKU. In a double-blind multicentric trial, 109 PKU patients were randomized to DHA doses from 0 to 7 mg/kg&day for six months. Before and after supplementation, we determined plasma fatty acid concentrations, latencies of visually evoked potentials, fine and gross motor behavior, and IQ. Fatty acid desaturase genotypes were also determined. DHA supplementation increased plasma glycerophospholipid DHA proportional to dose by 0.4% DHA per 1 mg intake/kg bodyweight. Functional outcomes were not associated with DHA status before and after intervention and remained unchanged by supplementation. Genotypes were associated with plasma arachidonic acid levels and, if considered together with the levels of the precursor alpha-linolenic acid, also with DHA. Functional outcomes and supplementation effects were not significantly associated with genotype. DHA intakes up to 7 mg/kg did not improve neurological functions in PKU children. Nervous tissues may be less prone to low DHA levels after infancy, or higher doses might be required to impact neurological functions. In situations of minimal dietary DHA, endogenous synthesis of DHA from alpha-linolenic acid could relevantly contribute to DHA status.

This study aims to investigate the psychological effects of the earthquake. We investigated the psychological conditions of 3,609 students survived from the Marmara Earthquake, which occurred on 17 August 1999. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was employed to assess the levels of depression and other psycho-pathological states. The BDI was classified as mild depression if the score was 13, moderate depression (14-24) and serious depression ( 25). Depression level was estimated as mild in 71.5% of the students, and serious depression in 9.6% of the students. The prevalence of suicidal tendency/thought was 16.7% in this study. The prospect of suicidal thought was 1.76-time (95% Confidence interval [CI]: 1.40-2.22) higher in the students who were injured or whose relatives were injured seriously enough to require medical treatment. Suicidal thought was higher by 1.57 times (95% CI: 1.28-1.92) in students who lost their relatives and by 1.35 times (95% CI: 1.13-1.63) in those who saw extensive damage or destruction occurred in their home or property. According to logistic regression analyses, the gender influenced the thought of suicide; suicide thought was 0.71 (95% CI: 0.60-0.85) time lower in females than males. The present study indicates that injury to the self or to the loved ones, damage to home or property, or the loss of family members as a result of the earthquake enhances the suicidal tendencies.earthquake; youth; thoughts of suicide © 2006 Tohoku University Medical PressNatural disasters, especially earthquakes, are one of the reasons that devastatingly affect most of the population. Earthquake, which occurred on 17 August 1999 in Marmara, northwest region of Turkey, was the highest magnitude of earthquake that occurred at a settlement area. A high density of population exists in the Marmara region and the region also consists of half of the productivity of Turkey. Nearly 25 millions of the population had been affected from this disaster.It is known that in adolescence, the process of physical and emotional development involves the challenge of change and growth, but also includes the pain and trauma of loss. When adolescents experience major life changes, war, accidents or disaster, fear can lie at their heart -the fear of dying, of illness or injury, of hurt and rejection.