Factores de riesgo para padecer trastornos psicóticos: ¿Es posible realizar una detección preventiva? Psychosis risk factors: Is there a chance for preventive identification?

This paper reviews risk factors associated with psychosis from both a literature perspective and the clinical and research practice. The development of a tool for the diagnosis and screening of alarm signs and risk factors of severe mental disorders is described along with preliminary tests. The tool is aimed to be administered by primary health care systems and associated mental health teams during a person’s early years. The tool is called LISMEN –standing for “list of mental health items at pre-school and school ages”. The list was administered to 5 different samples including children and adults. This paper focuses on Project LISMEN sample A. It is an investigation of medical records of patients who had developed a psychosis (N = 838). A number of them (N = 120) had already been assisted by the same Mental Health Unit during their childhood. Samples already assisted were used as a benchmark for sample A preliminary results. A constellation of risk factors had already been identified in medical records during the childhood of people who would develop a psychosis after their adolescence. Even though there is a broad pool of knowledge on risk factors associated with schizophrenia and other psychoses, this does not mean that prediction of the disorder can be made on this base. Nevertheless, LISMEN is a contribution in this direction.