RESUMEN
There are no published studies concerning the effect of mortality rate on the rate of homicide by habitually violent offenders. On the basis of nation-wide statistics in Finland, the frequency of homicide is 61% lower among 50-year old males than among 30-year old males. However, when the 4.9-fold mortality of habitually violent offenders is taken into account, the homicide rate is only 43% lower among 50-year old males than among 30-year old males. This is an important issue in forensic psychiatry and that requires further attention, as age is used a predictive factor when assessing the risk of violent behavior.
Asunto(s)
Envejecimiento , Homicidio/estadística & datos numéricos , Adulto , Psiquiatría Forense , Humanos , Incidencia , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Factores de Riesgo , ViolenciaRESUMEN
There are no published studies about mortality among habitually violent offenders, although it would be essential to take into account the possibly higher mortality rate of this population, when the incidence of committing violent offenders is calculated as a function of age. We studied mortality during the age range 30-50 years among 102 habitually violent male offenders, who were considered to be dangerous to the lives of other people, during the 24.5-year period 1971-1995 (in the range 3.5 months-24.5 years, the average prison time was 6 years, 7 months and 11 days). In Finland, the death rate in the group of men aged 30-50 years is 3.7/1000/year, but among these habitually violent male criminals, the mortality rate was observed to be 18.1/1000/year. Therefore, the relative risk for dying in this age group was 4.9-fold when compared with the normal male population aged 30-50 years. A finding of this magnitude has a substantial effect, when the real incidence of committing homicides or other violent offenses is calculated as a function of age. This is an important issue in forensic psychiatry, since it is generally believed that the incidence of committing violent crimes is decreased between the ages of 30 and 50 years, and age is used as one predictive factor when the risk of forthcoming violent behavior is assessed.
Asunto(s)
Mortalidad , Prisioneros/estadística & datos numéricos , Violencia , Adulto , Finlandia , Psiquiatría Forense , Humanos , Incidencia , Masculino , Persona de Mediana EdadRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Although previous studies have revealed an association between androgens and aggression, there is a lack of knowledge of this issue in different mental disorders. METHOD: The associations between serum testosterone levels and criminal behaviour in different mental disorders were examined using data collected from forensic psychiatric male patients (20 schizophrenics and 42 subjects with personality disorders). RESULTS: Male criminals with personality disorders had significantly higher serum levels of total and free testosterone than criminal schizophrenics. Among schizophrenics, total (P=0.01) and free testosterone (P=0.01) declined significantly more with age compared to healthy controls and patients with personality disorders, and also correlated with duration of neuroleptic drug use (r=-0.60, P=0.000 for total and r=-0.46, P=0.0001 for free testosterone). The recidivists with personality disorder had higher total (P=0.04) and free testosterone (P=0.05) levels than non-recidivists with personality disorder. CONCLUSION: Personality disordered criminals with multiple offences had high serum testosterone levels. The low testosterone concentrations among schizophrenics may be due either to long-term use of neuroleptic agents or to the mental illness itself and its possible inhibition of the pituitary-gonadal axis.
Asunto(s)
Crimen/psicología , Trastornos de la Personalidad/sangre , Esquizofrenia/sangre , Testosterona/sangre , Adulto , Antipsicóticos/efectos adversos , Antipsicóticos/farmacología , Humanos , Masculino , Análisis de Regresión , Medición de RiesgoRESUMEN
Using high-resolution single photon emission computed tomography, the authors studied changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) in six healthy men after the men rapidly consumed intoxicating amounts of ethanol. When the subjects were given intravenous placebo before ethanol intake, regional CBF was significantly increased over baseline in the right prefrontal cortex, but no significant change in CBF was observed when the subjects received intravenous naloxone before ethanol intake. The results indicate that euphoria occurring during acute ethanol intake is associated with activation of the right prefrontal cortex and mediated through the endogenous opioid system.
Asunto(s)
Consumo de Bebidas Alcohólicas , Circulación Cerebrovascular/efectos de los fármacos , Etanol/farmacología , Consumo de Bebidas Alcohólicas/fisiopatología , Encéfalo/diagnóstico por imagen , Circulación Cerebrovascular/fisiología , Endorfinas/fisiología , Etanol/sangre , Euforia/efectos de los fármacos , Euforia/fisiología , Lóbulo Frontal/irrigación sanguínea , Lóbulo Frontal/fisiología , Humanos , Inyecciones Intravenosas , Masculino , Naloxona/administración & dosificación , Naloxona/farmacología , Compuestos de Organotecnecio , Oximas , Placebos , Exametazima de Tecnecio Tc 99m , Tomografía Computarizada de Emisión de Fotón ÚnicoRESUMEN
The functional anatomy of human emotional responses has remained poorly understood, mainly because invasive experiments in humans are unacceptable due to ethical reasons. The new functional imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography and single photon emission computed tomography have made it possible to study the neurophysiology of living humans noninvasively. We studied the regional cerebral blood flow with semi-quantitative 99mTc-HMPAO single photon emission computed tomography in eight healthy right-handed heterosexual males during organism. The results showed decrease of cerebral blood flow during orgasm in all other cortical areas except in right prefrontal cortex, where the cerebral blood flow increased significantly (P < 0.005).