Article summary with main points and critical evaluation

¶ … XYY syndrome. The survey was completed by the members of staff and students studying at an urban teaching hospital and includes a review of literature concerning this particular topic. The article was written by Ike Nkanginieme and was published in the 30th volume, the 2nd issue of the Psychiatric Annals Journal in the month of February of the year 2000.

The article begins by describing the case report of a 52-year-old patient who was a wiry and tall white man who had been suffering from long-standing diabetes which is insulin dependent of the mellitus type. The patient was at the stage at the end of the renal disease. The leg had to be amputated and the patient was under dialysis for approximately three times per week. The patient was suffering from mood swings which would occur frequently and was convinced all members of staff were lying to him. He also had thrombocythemia and denied having any kind of perceptual abnormality or formal thought disorder. He also denied being in any way suicidal or depressed though his stay on the psychiatric floor was greatly marked by aggressive outbursts and continuing threats which were homicidal. He was found to have 47, XYY syndrome. He was also incidentally found to have a cataract for which an ocular surgery was conducted Nkanginieme, 2000()

Methodology

This finding of 47, XYY aneuploidy in the patient is what prompted the creation of the mini survey by the author. The author needed to determine what the members of staff and the students studying in the psychiatry department at the institution thought about this particular topic. There were a total of 27 individuals who were given the survey to complete during a meeting that was called impromptu. The respondents were not notified in advance about the survey and they were not allowed to discuss it among themselves till the surveys were completed and submitted Nkanginieme, 2000()

Results

From the results of the survey, it was found that 45.5% of the respondents believed there was a causal link between the criminal behavior and XYY karyotype. A large proportion of the medical staff (55%) held this belief as compared to the students (40%). Similarly, a larger number of the medical staff (47.7%) did not know what to make of the XYY karyotype as compared to 20% of the students. Many of the respondents felt that there was a preponderance of the XYY syndrome in psychiatric and penal institutions. 11.1% of the respondents felt that XYY syndrome was more common in African-Americans while on the other hand, 6% felt it was more common in white males. The overall result was that there was no consensus in the opinion of the respondents and there was a large amount of uncertainty and bias about the XYY syndrome Nkanginieme, 2000()

Literature review

There are efforts which are being conducted to diminish the common view that the males who have XYY syndrome are abnormal and that they have criminal minds. According to the literature that is present on the subject of the XYY syndrome, approximately every 1 in 1,000 men have an extra Y chromosome and they either have the mosaic or pure form. Approximately 0.11% of the total population of the whites have the XYY chromosome and this is compared to the 2% who are found in both psychiatric and penal institutions. The syndrome has a disproportionately high incidence rate at 1.89% in tall criminal offenders. Certain reports state that the incidence rate in the African-Americans in the total population and in penal and psychiatric institutions is also lower than that for white males Walzer, Gerald, & Shah, 1978()

The XYY syndrome is three times more prevalent in psychiatric patients than it is prevalent in the general population. The disease prevalence rate in penal institutions, however, remains an issue under contention. There is controversy surrounding both the behavioral and phenotypic expression of the XYY syndrome. However, there is a general consensus that as compared to the XXY syndrome, both the 46 XY and 47, XYY syndromes are associated with fewer numbers of phenotypic and behavioral abnormalities Theilgaard, 1984()

In another study conducted on 471 males who were not in any institution and had a height greater than 6 feet. They found that the incidence rate of the XYY syndrome is higher than that of normal males. Another study was done on 1,868 criminals who were mentally ill and it was found that the incidence rate of XYY syndrome was higher in the taller individuals (1.89%) but there was no significant difference in the rate of incidence when the entire group was put against the general population Rajagopalan, MacBeth, & Varma, 1998()

Opinion

The author found no consensus in the opinion of the respondents of the mini survey and there was a significant level of uncertainty and bias about the XYY syndrome. This reflects upon what was found by looking at the evidence provided in the literature available regarding the XYY syndrome. It seems quite obvious that each case of the XYY karyotype and its variants should be individually assessed and significant effort must be taken to determine what kind of influence the environmental, genetic and social factors have Hoffman, 1997()

Although it may be quite a difficult task that involves a lot of presumption, overgeneralization is something of the past. The current trend that exists in the minimization of multifaceted problems arising in a small percentage of people with the 47, XYY chromosome should be stopped.