Study shows shocking health of mentally ill

People with severe mental illness can have a life expectancy up to 25 years less than other people. However, this is not due to their illness itself but to poor physical health and unhealthy lifestyles. Researchers from the University of East Anglia surveyed 782 people with severe mental illness. They found that inactivity, a poor diet and smoking and drinking too much were the norm. Two thirds of people in the study were overweight or obese and a third had high blood pressure. 52% of them had high cholesterol and a large number of them were being prescribed atypical antipsychotic drugs which are associated with weight gain.

Why depressed people are at the back of the queue for heart-attack care

Depression is known to increase peoples' risk of developing heart disease and lead to worse outcomes for those who develop cardiovascular problems. Now a new study by researchers from the Institute of Clinical Evaluation Sciences in Canada has found that people with depression who go to hospital emergency departments with the symptoms of a heart attack are less likely to receive priority treatment. The researchers' study looked at 6,874 patients admitted to 96 acute-care hospitals in Ontario from April 2004 to March 2005. 39% of the patients with depression were given a low-priority triage score compared to only 32.7% of the other patients with similar symptoms. Less than 10% of patients who come to emergency rooms with heart-attack symptoms such as chest pains or shortness of breath are actually found to be suffering from heart problems and the researchers think that medical staff might be more inclined to assign these symptoms to psychological causes in people who have suffered, or are suffering from, depression.

Heart risks of antipsychotics start early

Even a short time taking antipsychotic drugs can increase people's risk for heart disease. Researchers from the University of Melbourne reviewed 25 previous studies which tracked risk factors such as high blood pressure, cholesterol levels and body weight of people taking older or newer antipsychotics. Before taking the drugs about 40% of the patients were overweight but after six months 60% were. The patients had gained weight after one month on the drugs and had increases in their cholesterol levels after three or four months. As well as treating people with schizophrenia the drugs are also given to people suffering from bipolar disorder, personality disorders and anxiety.

PTSD and cardiovascular disease

Researchers from the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration Center have been strengthening the research linking post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to heart disease. The researchers looked at the medical records of 286,194 veterans, 637 of whom had scans showing the thickness of their arteries. About three quarters of the veterans with PTSD had hardening of the arteries compared to 59% of those without PTSD. The veterans with PTSD were nearly two-and-a-half times more likely to die (of all causes) during the course of the study. Among the veterans with calcium build up in their arteries those with PTSD had a 48% greater risk of death overall and a 41% greater risk of dying fom cardiovascular disease.

Schizophrenia, metabolic syndrome and quality of life

Metabolic syndrome is a collection of factors that can add to people's risk of developing heart disease and other health problems and includes having a pot belly, high cholesterol, being overweight, having high blood pressure and having difficulty controlling one's blood sugar. People with schizophrenia are prone to developing metabolic syndrome, partly because the drugs they take make them put on weight. A team of Spanish researchers looked at the effects of metabolic syndrome on quality of life in a study of 136 people with schizophrenia, of whom 49 had metabolic syndrome. They found that the older people were, the longer they had been ill and the longer they had taken antipsychotics the more likely they were to have metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome was also associated with a lower quality of life and mobility problems. Quality of life was negatively affected most strongly by age but also by metabolic syndrome and mobility problems.

Tomás Sánchez-Araña Moreno ... [et al] - Quality of life in a sample of schizophrenic patients with and without metabolic syndrome Journal of Psychiatric Intensive Care (2010), 6(2): 101-108

Heart disease and depression

There has long been known to be a link between heart disease and depression but new research from the University of Versailles and University College London shows what a deadly combination the two can be together. The researchers followed the health of nearly 6,000 civil servants for an average of five-and-a-half years. They found that people with heart disease had a 67% higher chance of dying than those without heart disease or depression. However, having heart disease and depression triple the risk of death from any cause and quadrupled the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

You can find out more about this research by clicking on the title of this post.

Stress could be big killer in over 65s

People aged 65 and over are five times more likely to die if they are suffering from high levels of stress. Researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre in Amsterdam studied 861 people aged 65 and over over a six-year period. They measured the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in people's urine at the start of the study and their health was monitored over the next six years. Those with the highest levels of cortisol in their bloodstream were five times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those with the lowest levels. The results took into account the influence of socioeconomic status, obesity, high blood pressure and smoking.

You can find out more about this research by clicking on the title of this post.

Depression and heart problems

Depression is both a risk factor for developing heart disease and makes things worse for those who already have it. Researchers from the University Medical Centre in Groningen, in the Netherlands have been looking into this issue in more detail. They studied 1,019 people with an average age of 67 who had stable coronary heart disease asking them about their depression symptoms. They found that those who had somatic (bodily) symptoms of depression were more likely to have health problems with fatigue, appetite problems and sleeplessness increasing the risk most. However, the cognitive symptoms of depression, such as difficulty in concentrating, were not found to increase people's risk.

You can find out more about this research by clicking on the link in the title of this post.

CBT for depressed ill people

Depression occurs in 6-14% of people in hospital and is even more prevalent in people with diabetes and cancer. Whatever people's physical health problems depression always dramatically reduces quality of life and is associated with longer hospital stays, higher rates of rehospitalization and increased hospital use. Psychotherapy is thought to be more effective for people with other health complaints as psychiatric drugs can interfere with other medicines. Researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands reviewed 29 studies into the effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy for depression in people with physical disease. They found that it 'significantly reduces depressive symptoms.'

Beltman, Matthijs W., Oude, Richard C. and Speckens, Anne E. - Cognitive-behavioural therapy for depression in people with a somatic disease: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. British Journal of Psychiatry, July 2010, 197(1), 11-19

Bipolar and high blood pressure

There is already an established link between bipolar disorder and heart disease and diabetes and now there is evidence that the condition could also be linked to high blood pressure. Researchers from Michigan State University studied 99 people who had been hospitalized for bipolar disorder. Nearly half of them had high blood pressure and the younger someone was when they were first diagnosed as bipolar the more likely they were to develop high blood pressure. The patients who had high blood pressure also had higher levels of mania.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100610171716.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Black men with chronic pain are more likely to experience depression than White men. Researchers from the University of Michigan studied 1,600 men and found that those who were Black were more likely to experience depression, 'affective distress' and disability. The Black men were in poorer overall health and were at a higher risk of not being able to take care of themselves or their families. Alcohol and caffeine use were linked to less depression as was being married whereas being embroiled in a lawsuit relating to the pain or having high blood pressure were linked to more depression.

You can find out more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/04/19/depression-risk-for-black-men-with-chronic-pain/12922.html

Heavy drinkers, unhealthy lifestyles

People who drink more than is good for them are also unhealthy in lots of other ways. Researchers from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research studied 7,884 people. They defined risky drinkers as those who on average drank more than three drinks a day, women or men who drank more than four or five drinks respectively at a sitting and people who were identified as at-risk drinkers using a commonly-used screening test. They found that risky drinkers were also more likely to smoke, less likely to use their seatbelts and eat healthily and less likely to see their doctors regularly. However, people who drank moderately - one to three drinks a day - were healthier than teetotallers, former drinkers, light drinkers (less than one drink a day) and heavier drinkers.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100322092049.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Exercise, illness and anxiety

Having a chronic illness can sometimes lead to the development of anxiety - something that can lower people's quality of life and make them less likely to follow their treatment plans. Researchers from the University of Georgia have been looking into the effectiveness of exercise in reducing this anxiety in a review of 40 studies covering nearly 3,000 patients with a variety of medical conditions. The researchers found that, on average, the patients who exercised regularly reported a 20% reduction in anxiety symptoms. Exercise sessions greater than 30 minutes were better at reducing anxiety than those of less than 30 minutes but programmes of exercise of between 3-12 weeks were actually more effective than those of more than 12 weeks- perhaps because they were less daunting for the participants.

You can find out more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/02/24/exercise-helps-to-reduce-anxiety/11681.html

Type D personalities and heart problems

Research into the links between health and personality has tended to concentrate on Type A personalities - competitive go-getters who are thought to be more at risk of a heart attack - and the more laid-back Type B personalities who are thought to be at a lower risk. Recently, however, there has been more research into the Type D personality - people who experience a lot of negative emotions but do not express them for fear of rejection. In people who have had heart failure this personality type is associated with anxiety, depression and a reduced state of health. Dutch researcher Aline Pelle has been looking into this and found that people with Type D personalities were much less likely to see a doctor or nurse if they experienced heart-failure symptoms. Type D patients with a non type D partner reported a lower quality of marriage than type D personalities. Although the type D personalities were less healthy they were no more likely to die than other people.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091118120314.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Latest+Science+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Depression, neuroses and aches and pains

Researchers at the University of Iowa have been looking into the links between neuroticism, depression and the experience of physical health problems. Previous research has shown that neurotic people - who often feel irritable, sad, anxious or fearful - are more likely to overestimate their aches and pains. The researchers studied 109 women who filled out surveys at the start of the study to assess their levels of neuroticism and depression. Every day, for three weeks, they reported whether they felt 15 common physical symptoms including aches and pains, gastrointestinal problems and coughs and colds. On the 22nd day the participants were asked to remember how often they had experienced each physical symptom in the last three weeks. The participants who were depressed at the start of the study were more likely to give an exaggerated account of their symptoms whereas those who were neurotic - but not depressed - were not, leading the researchers to conclude that it is depression not neurosis which makes people overestimate their aches and pains.

You can find out more about this research at

http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/10/29/depression-and-magnifying-symptoms/9208.html

Mental illness and unhealthy lifestyles

The Scottish Association for Mental Health has conducted a survey of 320 people looking into the links between mental illness and unhealthy lifestyles. People with mental-health problems were more likely to feel embarrassed (9% vs 1%) and that they were being judged (11% vs 2%) when taking exercise or going to the gym than people without mental-health problems. People with mental-health problems were four times more likely to have diabetes and men with mental-health problems were twice as likely as other men to drink more than the recommended 21 units of alcohol a week. People with mental-health problems were also more likely to be unable to afford to buy fruit and vegetables and more likely to smoke.

You can find out more about this survey at

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8298080.stm

Mental health and bladder problems

Depression, anxiety and sexual trauma have all been found to be risk factors for urinary-tract problems such as incontinence and an overactive bladder. Researchers from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine looked into this further in a study of 1,419 women, 121 of whom had urinary-tract problems. They found that, compared to the other women, those with urinary-tract problems had a higher incidence of mental-health problems (64.5% vs 25.9%) and sexual trauma (49.6% vs 20.1%).

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091020005539.htm

Depression, inflammation and heart disease

Depression and inflammation (which can be a risk factor for heart disease) are known to be linked but scientists don't really know which comes first. Researchers from Indiana University in Indianapolis studied 263 people aged between 50 and 70 in an attempt to get to the bottom of this. They tested the participants for depression and measured their levels of an inflammatory protein called interleukin-6 at the start of the study and again six years later. They found that depressive symptoms were linked to higher levels of interleukin-6 six years later but high levels of interleukin-6 were not linked to depression later. The strength of the link between depression and a future risk of heart disease is as strong as those for smoking, high blood pressure and raised cholesterol.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091005123055.htm

Kidney disease and depression

People with chronic kidney disease are at greater risk of depression than people with diabetes, heart failure and coronary artery disease. Researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre studied 272 people in the early stages of chronic kidney disease and found that one in five met the official criteria for a major depressive episode. Unemployment, mental-health problems and diabetes all contributed to a 20% depression rate in this group compared to 11% for people with diabetes, 14% for people with heart failure and 16% for people with coronary artery disease.

You can find out more about this research at

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162766.php

Hopelessness and stroke risk

Many studies have linked depression with heart disease and recent studies have suggested that optimism can protect women from heart problems. Researchers from the University of Minnesota Medical School looked into the links between hopelessness and stroke risk. They studied 559 women with an average age of 50 who had no clinical signs of heart disease, such as high blood pressure. They measured the women's levels of hopelessness and depression and took ultrasound pictures of them to measure the thickening of their neck arteries. Thickening of the neck arteries is associated with deposits of plaque within them - atherosclerosis - which is a predictor of stroke and subsequent heart attack. The study found that the women who scored highly for hopelessness had thicker neck arteries - a difference that was significant even after adjusting for other risk factors such as age, race, income, heart-disease risk factors and depression.

You can find out more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE57Q66720090827?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true