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Objective: To describe persistence with and adherence to paliperidone palmitate once-monthly injection (PP1M) compared to oral second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) in patients with schizophrenia in real-world settings in China and Japan., Methods: Patients with a schizophrenia diagnosis ( ICD-10 : F20.x) who received oral or injectable antipsychotics from study start (China: January 1, 2012; Japan: January 1, 2014) until December 31, 2017, were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. The first PP1M or oral SGA prescription date during the study period was defined as the index date. Eligible patients were followed up for up to 1 year after the index date. Persistence was measured from the index date until discontinuation or reaching 1 year. Adherence was assessed by calculating the proportion of days covered (PDC). Multivariable regression models were used to adjust for potential confounders., Results: The study cohorts comprised 44,266 patients from Japan and 7,564 and 5,189 patients, respectively, from 2 hospitals in China. The PP1M group showed consistently lower risk of discontinuation; adjusted hazard ratios and 95% CIs were 0.75 (0.72-0.90) (Japan), and 0.76 (0.68-0.84) and 0.65 (0.56-0.76) (China) compared to oral SGAs. The PP1M group also showed better adherence; adjusted odds ratios and 95% CIs were 1.61 (1.22-2.11) (Japan), and 1.92 (1.53-2.41) and 2.25 (1.58-3.23) (China)., Conclusions: Persistence and adherence were significantly higher in PP1M users than in oral SGAs users across 3 databases comprising patients in 2 countries in Asia., (© Copyright 2021 Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc.)

Introduction: Clinical data have demonstrated prolongation of the QTc interval associated with domperidone use. The risk of serious ventricular arrhythmias (SVA) in clinical practice in China has not been investigated., Methods: The incidence of SVA and all-cause cardiac arrest associated with medications for gastrointestinal disorders in China was assessed in a retrospective cohort study using information from electronic medical record databases from the Xijing and Guangzhou general hospitals. Inpatients and outpatients with at least one prescription for domperidone, mosapride/itopride, metoclopramide, a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), or histamine H 2 receptor antagonist were identified in the hospital databases from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2014., Results: The inpatient exposure cohorts included 66,282 inpatients at Xijing and 23,643 inpatients at Guangzhou hospitals. There were 67 cases of SVA and two cases of SVA at the respective hospitals during the study period. Three cases (all at Xijing) occurred in patients prescribed domperidone (incidence rate 2.9/100 person-years (PYs), 95% CI 0.9-9.0) compared to 1.3/100 PYs (95% CI 0.2-8.9) for mosapride/itopride and 5.6/100 PYs (95% CI 4.4-7.2) for PPIs. The hazard ratio adjusted for age, sex, and co-morbidities for SVA in patients prescribed domperidone compared to PPIs was 0.79 (95% CI 0.25-2.56). There were 44 cases of all-cause cardiac arrest at Xijing and 21 at Guangzhou hospital. Three patients had received domperidone and all had underlying cardiovascular diseases., Conclusions: SVA and cardiac arrest are very rare events in patients prescribed medications for gastrointestinal disorders in China. We found no evidence that domperidone carried a higher risk of SVA compared to other gastrointestinal medications.

Nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) are widely used for antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), but real-world data on treatment patterns and long-term clinical outcomes are not always available. Using data from electronic medical records between January 2011 and December 2016 in Shanghai, China, we evaluated patient characteristics, treatment patterns and clinical outcomes in patients with CHB. There were 6688 patients in the study cohort. The incidences of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were 41.0‰ and 6.8‰ person-years, respectively. There were more cirrhosis and HCC cases among patients who had shorter NA treatment duration (<365 days), or who were less compliant (<80%). In addition, increased risk of cirrhosis and HCC was observed in patients who did not achieve hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss/seroconversion. Moreover, patients with cirrhosis developed after antiviral treatments had a higher incidence of HCC (adjusted hazard ratio 15.86, 95% confidence interval 7.35-34.24). Good compliance with treatment and longer treatment duration significantly decreased the risk of developing cirrhosis and HCC. HBsAg loss seemed to be a protective factor for cirrhosis/HCC in NAs-treated patients with CHB, and cirrhosis was a confirmed risk factor for HCC development as expected.

Background: Although antipsychotic monotherapy is recommended as the main treatment for schizophrenia, antipsychotic polypharmacy is not rare in practice. However, longitudinal data on antipsychotic polypharmacy in schizophrenia treatment are limited., Methods: This longitudinal database study described antipsychotic polypharmacy in the treatment of schizophrenia in real-world settings in China and Japan. We retrieved information about antipsychotic treatment for schizophrenia from January 2010 to December 2014 from two hospital Electronic Medical Records databases in China and one claims database, Japan Medical Data Centre in Japan. Eligible patients had a diagnosis of schizophrenia (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision F20.x) and at least one prescription for first or second generation antipsychotics. Antipsychotic polypharmacy was defined as having more than one antipsychotic medication overlapping for ⩾60 days. The Japan Medical Data Centre study cohort was further stratified by employees (insurance beneficiaries) and their dependents., Results: The study cohorts comprised 11,961 patients from China and 25,034 (10,661 employee sub-cohort and 14,373 dependent sub-cohort) from 14 days Japan Medical Data Centre in Japan. Most patients were prescribed monotherapy (87.3% in China and 80.1% in Japan), of which oral second-generation antipsychotics were the majority (78.9% in China and 65.8% in Japan). The prevalence rate of antipsychotic polypharmacy was 12.7% in China and 19.9% in Japan (13.7% in employees vs 24.5% in dependents). The most common combinations were two oral antipsychotics. Combinations of more than two drugs were uncommon in China (0.3%) but were prescribed for 5.3% of patients in Japan. Among patients treated with monotherapy, 12.6/100 person-years (11.8%) in China and 9.6/100 person-years (11.0%) in Japan switched to antipsychotic polypharmacy during follow-up. Younger patients were more likely to switch to antipsychotic polypharmacy than older patents in all study cohorts., Conclusion: The observed rates of antipsychotic polypharmacy ranged from 12.7% in China to 19.9% in Japan. Switching from monotherapy to antipsychotic polypharmacy was most likely to occur in younger patients with schizophrenia.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common, complex psychiatric disorder and a leading cause of disability worldwide. Despite twin studies indicating its modest heritability (~30-40%), extensive heterogeneity and a complex genetic architecture have complicated efforts to detect associated genetic risk variants. We combined single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) summary statistics from the CONVERGE and PGC studies of MDD, representing 10 502 Chinese (5282 cases and 5220 controls) and 18 663 European (9447 cases and 9215 controls) subjects. We determined the fraction of SNPs displaying consistent directions of effect, assessed the significance of polygenic risk scores and estimated the genetic correlation of MDD across ancestries. Subsequent trans-ancestry meta-analyses combined SNP-level evidence of association. Sign tests and polygenic score profiling weakly support an overlap of SNP effects between East Asian and European populations. We estimated the trans-ancestry genetic correlation of lifetime MDD as 0.33; female-only and recurrent MDD yielded estimates of 0.40 and 0.41, respectively. Common variants downstream of GPHN achieved genome-wide significance by Bayesian trans-ancestry meta-analysis (rs9323497; log 10 Bayes Factor=8.08) but failed to replicate in an independent European sample (P=0.911). Gene-set enrichment analyses indicate enrichment of genes involved in neuronal development and axonal trafficking. We successfully demonstrate a partially shared polygenic basis of MDD in East Asian and European populations. Taken together, these findings support a complex etiology for MDD and possible population differences in predisposing genetic factors, with important implications for future genetic studies.

Many definitions have been used to evaluate remission in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in different studies resulting with varied remission rates. This open-label, multicenter study investigated the remission rate in Chinese children (n = 239; aged 6-16 years) with a diagnosis of ADHD (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition), treated with osmotic-release oral-system methylphenidate at doses of 18, 36, and 54 mg, once daily. Two definitions of remission were used: (1) (primary end point): average scores of SNAP-IV (Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham, Fourth Edition) items of 1 or less (0-3 rating scale for each item) according to the subtype of ADHD (inattentive [1-9], hyperactive-impulsive [10-18], and combined type [1-18]), and (2) total score of SNAP-IV items 1 to 18 of 18 or less, at week 8. The study consisted of screening/baseline, titration/open-label treatment (8 weeks), and extended observation (up to 24 weeks) phases. Secondary efficacy assessments were Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (clinical efficacy), Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function Scale (BRIEF; executive function behaviors), and Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale (social function). Validity of remission was assessed by comparing the function measures (BRIEF and Weiss's) between patients who achieved remission and those who did not. At week 8, 69.3% (151/218) of patients achieved remission by definition 1, and 73.2% (161/220) by definition 2. At weeks 8 and 24, the remission group had significantly lower BRIEF, Weiss's, and Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scores (P < 0.001 for all) compared with the nonremission group. Overall, treatment with osmotic-release oral-system methylphenidate was well tolerated, with increased remission rates in children with ADHD.