Americans turn to pills not counselling

More Americans are being treated with drugs for their mental-health problems and less with psychotherapy. Researchers from Columbia University in New York compared data from two government surveys carried out in 1998 and 2007. In both years 3% of the sample said that they had had at least one session of psychotherapy but among people receiving outpatient care for mental-health problems 57% were being treated with drugs alone in 2007, compared to 44% in 1998. Combined treatment with drugs and psychotherapy declined from 40% to 32% and the use of psychotherapy alone fell from 16% to 10%. While overall spending on mental health care remained fairly constant the amount spent on psychotherapy fell from $11bn in 1998 to $7bn in 2007.

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Yoga and mental health

A study by researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine has added more evidence to support the psychological benefits of yoga. Participants in their study were divided into two groups. One group practiced yoga three times a week for an hour while another group walked for the same length of time. The participants were asked about their mood and levels of anxiety throughout the study and the researchers measured the levels of a substance called GABA in their brains, low levels of which are associated with depression and anxiety. Those who practiced yoga reported a more significant decrease in anxiety and greater improvements in mood than those who walked and over time positive changes in the participants' mental states - whether they walked or did yoga - were associated with increased levels of GABA.

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Binge drinking and high blood pressure - a fatal combination

High blood pressure and binge drinking could be a fatal combination. Researchers from Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul studied more than 6,100 people, aged 55 and over, for 20 years. They found that people with high blood pressure had three times the risk of death from a heart attack or stroke. People with high blood pressure who consumed six or more drinks on one occasion had four times the risk of heart attacks and stroke, and people who had 12 or more drinks in a session had 12 times the risk.

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Mediterranean drinking causes fewer problems

One of the things which often strikes visitors from the U.K. about Spain and Italy is the lack of young people staggering around being drunken idiots and throwing up in the gutter. This has often been put down to the fact that young people in Mediterranean countries are introduced to alcohol in a family setting and usually over a meal. Researchers from Boston University School of Public Health have backed up this theory in a study of 160 Italian adolescents and young adults. The participants came from the Italian regions of Abruzzo and Umbria; half were between 25 and 30 and half were 16-18. Those participants who were allowed alcohol with their meals when they were growing up were more likely never to drink five or more drinks or to get drunk.

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Keep calm and get married

Past studies have shown that people who are married or in a long-term relationship tend to be healthier than those who are single and new research suggests that they are also better at dealing with stress. Researchers from Chicago University studied 500 students, about half of whome were married or in a long-term relationship. The students were asked to play an economic computer game which they thought could affect their course marks and chances of getting a good work placement later. After the tests the researchers measured the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the participants' saliva and found that the students who were married or had a partner produced much less of it.

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Stress and dementia

Stress in middle age could lead to an increased risk of dementia later in life. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg studied 1,415 women who were assessed in 1968, 1974, 1980, 1992 and 2000. The women were asked about their levels of stress in 1968,1974 and 1980 and those who suffered from stress during this period had a 65% higher risk of developing dementia. Those women who reported feeling stressed at all three time points had more than double the risk. The study - published in the scientific journal Brain - is the first to link stress in middle age with dementia in old age.

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Pesticides and ADHD

Children who are exposed to pesticides in the womb could have an increased risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) later. Researchers from the University of California Berkeley tested the levels of organophosphate pesticides in the urine of pregnant women and then assessed their children at the ages of three and five. The children had few symptoms when they were three but by the time they were five a tenfold increase in pesticide residues in the women's bloodstreams was associated with a 5x greater risk of ADHD - a trend that was stronger in boys. Another study in May found that children with high levels of organophosphates in their urine were almost twice as likely to develop ADHD.

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Hallucinogens and happiness

Although hallucinogenic drugs can have harmful effects there is evidence that controlled administration of them in supportive settings can be helpful. Researchers from Bristol University and Imperial College London carried out an internet survey on the positive and negative aspects of these drugs and received over 600 responses. They found that people reported less harm from LSD and psilocybin (magic mushrooms) than other drugs such as MDMA (ecstasy), cannabis, ketamine and alcohol. A wide range of benefits was reported including help with mood disorders, addictions and migraine. Some people - particularly those using LSD - reported ongoing hallucinations but few regarded them as troubling. 81% of users reported having had a spiritual experience while using a hallucinogenic drug and over 90% considered 'access to the unconscious mind' to be a specific property of LSD and psilocybin.

Carhart-Harris, R.L. and Nutt, D.J. - User perceptions of the benefits and harms of hallucinogenic drug use: a web-based questionnaire study Journal of Substance Use, August 2010, 15(4), 283-300

How to really make life better for people? Spend more on nurseries

Boosting nursery (kindergarten) education could have a huge impact on people's prospects later in life. Researchers from Harvard University used data from a study into the effect of class sizes on nursery children carried out in the mid-1980s. They studied 12,000 people who took part in the original study and were now in their 30s. The study found that those who progressed from average to above-average over their last year of nursery school made $1,000 more a year by the time they were 27 than those whose scores remained average. They were more likely to go to college, less likely to be a single parent, more likely to own their own home and more likely to be saving for their retirement. Being in a smaller class had improved outcomes in the original study and was found to have increased the probability of attending college by 2%.

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Are nasty people more at risk from stroke and heart attack?

People who are antagonistic, competitive and aggressive may be at greater risk of having a heart attack or stroke. Researchers from the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore studied 5,614 Italians from Sardinia who ranged in age from 14 to 94. The participants answered a standard personality questionnaire that included six facets of agreeableness: trust, straightforwardness, altruism, compliance, modesty and tender-mindedness. The researchers then measured the thickness of their carotid (neck) arteries - the thicker people's arteries the greater their risk of stroke or heart attack. Those who scored highest for antagonistic traits had greater thickening of their neck arteries and three years later they continued to be at more risk - especially if they were manipulative and quick to express anger. Those who scored in the bottom 10% of agreeableness and were the most antagonistic had a 40% greater risk of arterial thickening. In general men had more thickening of their arterial walls than women but if women were antagonistic they had the same risk as men. The researchers also measured the participants' blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar and used statistical tools to take these variables 'out of the equation' in their analysis.

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Troubled children stay troubled, poorer at greater risk

Behavioural problems in late childhood and early adolescence carry on into later adolescence and young adulthood and children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more at risk. Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle studied 800 children and young adults between the ages of 10 and 24. Children from low-income backgrounds were twice as likely to report having had early sexual intercourse (by age 11) and early delinquency (by age 10) than those from middle-income backgrounds although children from middle-income backgrounds were 1.5 times more likely to say they started drinking early. Far from it being a phase that children grew out of those children who showed an early and frequent involvement with risky sex, delinquency and alcohol use showed an increase in long-term crime, drink problems and risky sex in young adulthood.

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More evidence for meditation benefits

Researchers at the University of Oregon have added further evidence about the beneficial effects of meditation. The researchers had previously shown that meditation can reduce levels of anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue. In their latest study they tested the effectiveness of a meditation technique called Integrative Body-Mind Training (IBMT). Based on Taoist and Confucian concepts of harmony with nature, it combines different mind-body techniques including body relaxation, breath control, mental imagery, and ''mindfulness'' - calmly paying attention to moment-to-moment feelings and experiences. The study involved 45 people, half of whom received 11 hours training in the technique while the other half received training in relaxation techniques. The participants had their brains scanned and by the end of the study those who had been meditating showed significant changes to a part of the brain which is important for regulating emotional behaviour and dealing with conflict.

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Trust and truthfulness. Why thinking the best of people helps you to spot the worst

People who are more trusting are actually better at spotting liars than those who are more cynical. Researchers from the University of Toronto showed people job interviews of 2nd year M.B.A. students. Some of them were telling the truth while others were telling lies to improve their chances. Before they watched the videos the participants filled out questionnaires asking them how much they agreed with statements such as 'Most people are basically honest,' and 'Most people are basically good-natured and kind.' The participants who had a more optimistic view of human nature were less willing to hire liars and better able to spot them than those who were more pessimistic.

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Children and parents' mental health - not just a one-way process

Most psychological research concentrates on parents' effects on their children but of course things can work the other way around too. New research from Purdue University in Indiana has backed up the old adage that parents never stop worrying about their children and also suggests that this worry may have a significant effect on parents' mental health. The researchers asked 633 middle-aged parents in the Philadelphia area to rate each of their grown-up children's achievements in the areas of relationships, family life, education and their careers compared to other adults of the same age. Most of the parents had more than one child so there were a total of 1,251 adult children involved in the study. 68% of the parents had at least one grown child suffering from at least one physical, emotional or behavioural problem over the last two years. 49% of the parents said they had at least one highly-successful child while 60% said they had a mixture of successful and less-successful children. 17% had children who had had no problems over the last two years but 15% said that they had no children they rated as above average. Parents who had more than one highly-successful child reported better well-being but having a 'problematic' child had a negative impact on parents' mental health even if all their other children were successful. However, having 'only' one successful child was not associated with better wellbeing.

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Only children just as popular

Some people think that only children lack social skills because they grow up without practice at getting on with their siblings. Researchers from Ohio State University have been looking into this theory in a study of 13,000 11-18 year-olds and have found that only children are just as popular as their peers. The researchers asked the children to name up to five boys and girls who they thought of as friends and the results were analyzed. There was no significant difference between only children and other children in terms of how often they were named as friends although socioeconomic status, parents' age and race and whether a child lived with both biological parents did affect how popular children were.

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Helpline calls show toll of parents' drinking

Calls to the U.K.'s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children's (NSPCC) Childline helpline paint a worrying picture of the way in which parents' drink and drug problems affect their children. In the year up to March 5,700 children called to say they were worried about their parents' drinking or drug use - over 100 a week. 35% said that they had suffered physical abuse, more than three times the rate among other children who called. 20% mentioned issues with family conflicts while 10% spoke of sexual abuse.

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Students in counselling more distressed but less suicidal

College students going for counselling are more depressed and lonely than they were ten years ago but less likely to think of killing themselves. Researchers from Hofstra University in New York State looked at the records of 3,256 college students who had had college counselling at a mid-sized private university between September 1997 and August 2009. They found that the percentage diagnosed with a mental disorder rose from 93% in 1998 to 96% in 2009. The percentage of students with moderate-severe depression rose from 34% to 41% and these students were frequently socially isolated, depressed and on medication. In 1998 11% of those who attended counselling took psychiatric drugs - mostly for depression, anxiety and ADHD - while in 2009 24% did so. However, the number of students seeking counselling who had thoughts about killing themselves in the last couple of weeks fell from 26% in 1998 to 11% in 2009. The researchers did, however, stress that the results applied to students who had sought out counselling and that there was no evidence that students in general had become more unhappy over the course of the study.

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Good fathers and happy sons

Most psychological research into parenting concentrates on the role of mothers but having a good relationship with one's father can also help people to cope better in later life. Researchers from California State University, Fullerton studied 912 people between the ages of 25 and 74. Over eight days they interviewed the participants about that day's experiences asking them about their mental state and any stressful events. The participants were also asked about the quality of their childhood relationships with their parents. The study found that more people were likely to say their childhood relationship was better with their mother than with their father; a difference that was more pronounced among men. People who had had a good relationship with their mother reported 3% less psychological distress compared to those who reported a poor relationship. Men who had had a good relationship with their father also reported less psychological distress but this effect was not as strong among women.

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Can't sleep? Blame your spindles

Some people seem to be able to sleep through an earthquake while others wake up when someone treads on a squeaky floorboard. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have been looking into this phenomenon and measuring people's brain waves to see if they hold the clue to it. When we are asleep sensory information passes through a part of the brain called the thalamus before passing on to the cortex which deals with thinking. Previous research has shown that brief rapid pulses of brain waves called spindles keep sensory information from passing through the thalamus and disturbing the cortex. In their study the researchers measured the brain waves of 12 people who spent three nights in the lab. The first night was quiet but on the next two nights the participants were exposed to increasing amounts of noise until their brain waves showed they were awake. The study found that those participants with the highest rates of spindle activity on the quiet night stayed asleep through higher levels of noise than the other participants.

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Drug company pays out in diabetes cases

Anglo-Swedish drug company AstraZeneca is to pay out £125m to people who developed diabetes after taking its schizophrenia and bipolar drug Seroquel. Seroquel had worldwide sales of $4.9bn last year, representing 15% of AstraZeneca's total revenue. The payment settles 17,500 claims against the company.

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