​Holding an MD from the University of Illinois Chicago College of Medicine, Dr. Robert Kohn is an experienced geriatric psychiatrist who has made notable contributions through extensive academic work, research, and international collaborations. Dr. Robert Kohn has focused on issues such as mental illness and stress exposure.

While German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's famous quote, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger," has been around for more than a century, a publication in the British Journal of Psychiatry in 2020 reveals a study that nullifies this precept in the context of psychology. In the study, researchers polled thousands of Chilean residents about past stressful life experiences.

When the researchers began to collect data for the study with a 12-part questionnaire of stressful life events, they also conducted the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, which assessed the participants for contemporary major depressive disorder (MDD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). None of the 3,000 participants had MDD or PTSD.

During the study, an earthquake occurred. Post-disaster assessments of the survivors revealed MDD and PTSD in 14.4 percent and 9.1 percent of the population, respectively. The researchers also found that people who reported four or more stressful life events in the questionnaires were twice as vulnerable to post-disaster mental illness as those who reported no significant pre-disaster stressors, which contradicts Nietzsche's hypothesis.

​Dr. Robert Kohn is an MD and geriatric psychiatrist who has been in practice for more than 20 years. After completing his psychiatry residency at Brown University, he became a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. As a psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Kohn can diagnose and treat mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety disorders, and schizophrenia.

Schizophrenic disorders are mental disorders with debilitating symptoms that hinder the person’s ability to perceive reality properly. While schizophrenic disorders require treatment to maintain life quality, people in low- and middle-income countries have very little access to treatment that can help manage these conditions, according to the following findings.

Researchers Antonio Lora, Robert Kohn, Itzhak Levav, Ryan McBain, Jodi Morris, and Shekhar Saxena published a scientific paper that reports the treatment gap for schizophrenic disorders in 50 low- and middle-income countries. They leveraged data from the World Health Organization Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) assessment from March 2005 to June 2010. Developed by the World Health Organization, WHO-AIMS evaluates the mental health systems of different countries.

In the study, the researchers found a significant annual median treatment gap of 69 percent in low- and lower-middle-income countries. In other words, if the treatment gaps of the countries were arranged in order from smallest value to largest value, the value in the middle of this sequence is 69 percent. A treatment gap of 69 percent means that 69 percent of a population that needed treatment for schizophrenia did not receive it. The researchers highlighted the need for plans to improve treatment availability in the countries.

Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder with symptoms that can impact daily functioning. Symptoms include hallucinations, disordered thinking and behavior, and delusions. Early intervention can prevent complications and improve long-term outcomes.

​Dr. Robert Kohn is a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He is dedicated to geriatric psychiatry and treating adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. As an MD and psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Kohn also has extensive experience in treating a wide range of mental health conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and schizophrenia.

Impacting 26 million people worldwide and leading to disability in 60 percent of cases, schizophrenic disorders are chronic mental conditions that hinder the ability to perceive and interpret reality normally. Early treatment can reduce the progression of symptoms, and some treatment options like psychosocial interventions and first-generation antipsychotics are cost-effective options for treating these conditions. Despite medical breakthroughs in disease management, people in low- and middle-income countries have very limited access to treatment for schizophrenic disorders. Authors Antonio Lora, Robert Kohn, Itzhak Levav, Ryan McBain, Jodi Morrise, and Shekhar Saxena published a scientific paper that shows the state of treatment in these countries.

Examining mental health services for adults in 50 low- and middle-income countries that completed a WHO-AIMS assessment from March 2005 to June 2010, the study shows that the median annual rate of treatment for schizophrenic disorders was 128 cases per 100,000 population, with a treatment gap of 69 percent. The treatment gap refers to the percentage of a population that did not receive any appropriate treatment for the condition in question. The treatment gap was highest in low-income countries at 89 percent.

The burden of treating schizophrenic disorders fell heavily on outpatient facilities, which provided 80 percent of the treatment in the assessed countries. In addition, the presence of more psychiatrists and nurses in a region was found to be positively correlated with the likelihood of residents receiving treatment for schizophrenic disorders.

​Dr. Robert Kohn is an accomplished psychiatrist with a specialization in geriatric psychiatry at his practice in Providence, Rhode Island. In addition to working with geriatric patients, he also provides treatment for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. With a career dedicated to geriatric psychiatry, Robert Kohn, MD, has contributed immensely to the field. His extensive research has focused on cultural psychiatry, global mental health, psychiatric epidemiology, and geriatric psychiatry. His work has focused on issues such as cultural issues in psychiatry, disasters and mental health, stress exposure, and mental disorders.

The study “Assessing the Relationship Between Psychosocial Stressors and Psychiatric Resilience Among Chilean Disaster Survivors” examines the validity of the stress inoculation hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that exposure to prior stressful life events can decrease the likelihood of developing mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) following exposure to subsequent stressors.

In the study, adult Chilean primary care attendees individually completed a Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) and also filled out a questionnaire that was designed to collect data on the respondent's major stressful life events. The CIDI is a comprehensive psychiatric diagnostic instrument. Researchers collected the initial data during the 2010 Chile earthquake.

One year after the disaster, the researchers re-administered the CIDI to assess respondents for PTSD and MDD. Statistical analysis indicated a positive correlation between pre-disaster stressors and the risk of PTSD and MDD, contradicting the stress inoculation hypothesis. The results suggest that previous exposure to multiple stressors may increase an individual's vulnerability to mental disorders.