Individuals with personality disorders (PDs) have a decreased life expectancy compared with the general population in part due to physical illnesses. Many hypotheses have been suggested to explain those physical illnesses such as hormone imbalance, medication, lack of physical activity, and unhealthy diet. However, little is known about the relation between lifestyle and PDs. The purpose of this scoping review is to regroup the available information on this topic. We searched the literature up to February 2021 using four databases and found 21 articles analyzing the relation between lifestyle and PDs in observational studies including 153,081 participants from diverse populations going from general population to adults in psychiatric care. Most studies used measures of lifestyle as control variables or did not use lifestyle variables at all. Moreover, the instruments used to measure lifestyle variables lacked precision at best. Two studies demonstrated a relation between early malnutrition and further development of PDs, but those results may be influenced by confounding variables and cannot indicate a clear link between nutrition and personality disorder. The lack of solid evidence we observed is surprising, considering the multiple benefits individuals with PDs could get from a healthy lifestyle. More studies are needed to thoroughly analyze the impact of lifestyle on PDs and vice versa.
Aims
High rates of mental illness among individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as documented contacts with psychiatric services prior to episodes of homelessness, indicate that early intervention could play a key role in homelessness prevention. Decision‐makers and clinical teams need longitudinal data on housing trajectories following initial contact with psychiatric services, as well as on predictors of risk of housing instability and homelessness. This paper describes the AMONT study, a mixed‐methods naturalistic longitudinal cohort study of individuals identified as new psychiatric service users in seven clinical sites across the province of Québec (Canada).
Methods
The goal of AMONT is to examine the housing situations of individuals over 36 months after their initial contact with psychiatric services, and to identify environmental and individual correlates and predictors of housing outcomes. Participants complete a broad battery of instruments at baseline and follow‐up assessments after 24 and 36 months. We explore housing stability following an initial episode of psychiatric service use from the perspective of service users, family members, and service providers, through qualitative interviews.
Results and Conclusions
The findings from the AMONT study will yield a better understanding of the residential pathways of individuals with mental illness, from their first contact with psychiatric services and for 3 years subsequently. This will inform service providers, decision‐makers and managers on the specific housing concerns and issues that affect first‐time mental health service users. This in turn can lead to the development and implementation of evidence‐informed practices and policies that aim to prevent instability and homelessness.
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