Missing self-harm in girls with eating disorders

Teenagers with eating disorders could also be cutting themselves. Researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine studied 1,432 eating-disorder patients, aged between 10 and 21, who were admitted to the hospital's eating-disorder programme between 1997 and 2008. They found that 40.8% of them were physically harming themselves. The average age of those who engaged in self-harm was 16, many of them had a history of bingeing and purging and 85.2% of them cut themselves. However, less than half of the girls' medical records showed that they had been asked about self-harm indicating that elsewhere a number of patients with eating disorders could go without this aspect of their behaviour being picked up.

New research claims Reboxetine is useless

Reboxetine - sold as Edronax by Pfizer - is no more effective at countering major depression than a placebo. Researchers from the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care reviewed trials of the drug and found that the risk of taking it far outweighed the benefits. The researchers found that three-quarters of the studies into the effectiveness of the drug - essentially the ones which showed it to be useless - were not published leading them to question the current National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on its use in the U.K. which claim that "reboxetine is superior to placebo and as effective as other antidepressants."

Sober living houses help addicts clean up

People being treated for drug and alcohol problems in the community often experience problems because they still live in an environment where they are surrounded by drugs. One way around this is Sober Living Houses which are alcohol- and drug-free environments. They don't offer any formal treatment services but encourage, or require, attendance at self-help groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. Residents are free to stay as long as they like and the houses are financed by residents' fees, some of which at least can be payed by welfare. A team of researchers from the Alcohol Research Group in Emeryville, California studied 55 people living in Sober Living Houses. The participants showed significant improvement on measures of alcohol and drug use, arrests and days worked, got into less trouble with the law and did better in the jobs market. They did well as far as their drug and alcohol use was concerned and involvement in self-help groups was associated with reductions in alcohol and drug use.

Polcin, Douglas L. ... [et al] - Eighteen-month outcomes for clients receiving combined outpatient treatment and sober living houses Journal of Substance Use October 2010, 15(5), 352-366

Methampetamine and violent women

Methamphetamine is widely recognised as being linked to violence and aggression and rates of methamphetamine-related violence among women are equal to, or even higher than, those among men. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles studied 30 women in a residential treatment programme. 80% had experienced violence in their lifetime, 67% as victim and 57% as perpetrator. Most participants descibed being violent when they were withdrawing from methamphetamine use. Five of the women said  they would never have been violent if they hadn't taken methamphetamine but 10 said that they had pre-existing 'anger issues' that had been made worse by the drug.

Hamilton, Alison B. and Goeders, Nicholas E. - Violence perpetrated by women who use methamphetamine Journal of Substance Use October 2010, 15(5), 313-329

Drug-free ways of improving older people's mental-health

Researchers from the Australian National University Centre for Mental Health Research have been looking at ways to improve the mental wellbeing of older adults which don't involve drugs. Their two-year study, which had 900 participants, looked into the effectiveness of encouraging physical activity; folate and vitamin B12 supplements and educating people about mental health and depression. The first intervention was a wash out as people did not respond to encouragement to exercise more but the folate and vitamin B12 supplements led to an improvement in cognitive functions and in long- and short-term memory. The group who had been given information about depression - including what it is, what works for treating it and where to go for help - had a reduction in depressive symptoms suggesting that this could be a cheap and effective way to tackle depression among this group.

Implant could help heroin users

Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles have been studying the effectiveness of implants in improving the lives of heroin addicts. The implants are inch-long rods that sit just underneath the skin on people's arms. They last for six months and release a steady trickle of buprenorphine, an anti-addiction medicine which is chemically-related to heroin but less harmful. The study involved 163 participants, half of whom received dummy implants and half of whom received buprenorphine ones. After four months urine samples showed that 40% of those with the buprenorphine implants tested negative for illegal drugs compared to only 28% of those with the dummy implants. The drug did have side effects such as nausea, vomiting and constipation.

One in five U.S. teenagers may have a mental-health problem

Dr Kathleen Merikangas from the National Institute of Mental Health in the U.S. has been leading a team of researchers looking into the mental health of children in the U.S. The team carried out face-to-face interviews with 10,123 children aged between 13 and 18. They found that 22.2% of them suffered from a mental-health problem severe enough to cause them distress in their day-to-day lives. Anxiety disorders were the most common problem, being found in 31.9% of the children with a mental-health problem, followed by behaviour disorders (19.1%), mood disorders (14.3%) and drug problems (11.4%). 40% of the participants with mental-health problems suffered from more than one disorder.

You can find out more about this study here

Short walk could cut dementia risk

Walking six miles a week could help to prevent brain shrinkage and protect people against dementia. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh studied 299 people, none of whom had dementia at the start of the study asking them how much walking they did in a week. Nine years later they took brain scans of the participants to measure their brain size and after four more years they were tested to see if they had developed cognitive impairment or dementia. After nine years people who walked between six and nine miles a week had greater grey matter volume than people who walked less, although walking more than this had no beneficial effect. Four years later 40% of the participants had developed cognitive impairment or dementia, however, those who walked the most cut their risk of developing memory problems in half.

Mind the gap - changing from young people's to adults' mental health services

At some point children and teenagers with mental-health problems move from being treated by child and adolescent mental-health services (CAMHS) to being treated by adult services. A new study by researchers at the University of Warwick suggests that this transition might not always go as smoothly as it should. The study looked at 154 people who were making the move from CAMHS to adult services. It found that only 58% of participants actually moved across from one service to another. People with a history of severe mental illness, being on medication, or who had been admitted to hospital were more likely to make the transition than those with neurodevelopmental disorders, emotional/neurotic problems and emerging personality disorders. A fifth were discharged without being seen. Information transfer was hampered by a lack of understanding of each other's services, inconsistent documentation, mismatched computer systems and lengthy waiting lists.

'Screen time' and children's mental health

Spending long hours in front of a flickering screen could damage children's mental health even if they aren't couch potatoes in the rest of their life. Researchers from the University of Bristol studied 1,000 children aged between ten and 11. They measured the time they spent in front of the screen, used child-friendly questionnaires to assess their mental health and fitted them with an activity monitor to measure their levels of activity. The study found that more than two hours a day of 'screen' time -either watching TV or playing computer games - was related to higher psychological difficulty scores regardless of how active children were the rest of the time. Interestingly the children who spent more time sedentary had better psychological scores overall. The children who did more moderate physical activity felt better in certain areas, including emotional health and how well they got on with other children but did worse in some areas related to behaviour, including hyperactivity.

Social difficulties and psychosis

People who go on to develop psychosis often have difficulties in getting on with other people. But are these problems a risk factor for developing the condition? A new study (lead author Eva Velthorst from the University of Amsterdam) looked at 245 people who had sought help for their psychological problems and who were thought to be at risk of developing psychosis. The participants were followed for 18 months to see which of them developed psychosis and their problems in getting on with other people were assessed with a questionnaire at the start of the study. The participants who went on to develop psychosis had significantly greater difficulties in making new friends, maintaining friendships, dealing with people they did not know and joining community activities. Using statistical analysis the researchers found that difficulties in getting on with other people significantly predicted whether people developed psychosis.

Velthorst, Eva ... [et al] - Disability in people clinically at high risk of psychosis British Journal of Psychiatry October 2010, 197(4), 278-284

Antipsychotics and diabetes

More people are being prescribed antipsychotic drugs these days and more people are developing type 2 diabetes. But is there a link between taking antipsychotic medication and developing diabetes? So far the evidence is unclear but a team of researchers from the University of Copenhagen studied 1,772,425 people (about a third of the total Danish population) in an attempt to find out. 345,937 people had been prescribed antipsychotics and 50,739 developed diabetes over the course of the study, which ran from 1996 to 2005. Treatment with 'first-generation' antipsychotics led to a 53% increase in risk and 'second-generation' antipsychotics had a 32% increase. The incidence of diabetes increased in line with the number of prescriptions and the number of different drugs people were prescribed.

Kessing, Lars Vedel ... [et al] - Treatment with antipsychotics and the risk of diabetes in clinical practice Britsih Journal of Psychiatry October 2010, 197(4), 266-271

Are You Becoming an Addict? - Guest Post by Rachel Davis

The worst part of any addiction is that by the time you’re aware of the fact that you’re an addict, you’ve also steeled your mind to believe that you’re not one. Denial is the first sign of any addiction, be it to tobacco, alcohol, drugs or even people. The truth about addiction is a bitter pill to swallow, but unless you accept it, you’re never going to able to seek help and get it in a timely manner. When your brain sends warning signals to show you’re on the verge of becoming an addict, it’s time to start kicking the habit, if not alone then with a little help. So how do you know you’re in danger?
Alcohol:

• When you tend to hit the bottle every time you feel a little sad or depressed

• When you drink alone

• When you cry or when your emotions swing wildly after you’ve had a few drinks

• When you wake up in the morning to regret drinking the night before, yet you go back to the bottle when dusk sets in.

• When you start drinking to fall asleep

Smoking:

• When you get angry if you cannot have a smoke for any reason

• When you wake up craving a cigarette

• When you tell yourself you’re smoking just to give your friends company

• When you avoid non-smoking establishments

Relationships:

• When you expect more than you get, yet you accept what you get because you don’t want your partner to leave you

• When you stay on in abusive relationships

• When you feel paranoia if they don’t call or text you ever so often

• When you’re insanely possessive

• When ordinary events make you lose your cool

With drugs, it’s the beginning of an addiction when you even try it. Any narcotic substance is extremely addictive, so it’s best you avoid it altogether.

Addictions can spell ruin in more ways than one – you may lose not just your money and your job, but even your sanity and physical health. While money can be earned and jobs found in time, it’s extremely hard to go back to the same level of health you were in before the addiction. It takes its toll on your body, it ravages you mentally and physically, and it leaves you a weaker person prone to diseases of all kinds.

You can beat addictions by switching to healthier alternatives – exercise boosts your mental and physical health and provides you with a sound sleep every night; if you’re not too keen on working out, get involved in other activities that you find interesting and which make you feel good about yourself.

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Rachel Davis, she writes on the topic of Radiology degree . She welcomes your comments at her email id: racheldavis65@gmail.com.

Family therapy does the trick for anorexia

Psychologists have sometimes seen parents as part of the problem rather than as part of the solution when it comes to dealing with their children's eating disorders. However, a new study led by Dr James Lock from Stanford University School of Medicine suggests that family therapy - which involves parents in their children's treatment - might be more effective than individual therapy. The study involved 121 teenagers, mostly girls, who received 24 hours' worth of either family therapy or individual therapy over the course of a year. At the end of their treatment both those receiving family and individual therapy had similar remission rates. However, six months after treatment the family-therapy group had a better remission rate (40% vs 18%) and the difference remained after a year (49% vs 23%).

Testosterone and Alzehimer's disease

A study led by Leung-Wing Chu from Queen Mary Hospital at the University of Hong Kong has concluded that low levels of testosterone could be linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. The study looked at 153 Chinese men over the age of 55. 10 of the men in the study developed Alzheimer's disease and they all had low levels of testosterone, high levels of a protein called apolipoprotein E and high blood pressure. Previous research has shown that low testosterone is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's so the next step could be a medical trial of testosterone supplements.

Teenage drunkenness - more level playing field than slippery slope?

Researchers from Addiction Info Switzerland in Lausanne have been looking into the levels of teenage drunkenness across different countries. They found that rates of drunkenness were converging among different groups with a relative increase among girls and people in Eastern Europe and a relative decrease among boys and people in Western Europe and North America. The researchers surveyed 77,586 15-year-olds across different countries. Overall the sample had been drunk on average two or three times. In Eastern Europe the average frequency of drunkenness increased by about 40% over the ten-year period of the study - the increase was more consistent among girls. In Western countries the frequency of drunkenness declined by an average of 25% - a decline particulary notable among boys in North America, Scandinavia and Ireland.

Internet use and depression

Teenagers who are obsessed with the internet could be more likely to suffer from depression. Researchers from the University of Notre Dame in Australia and Sun-Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China looked at the mental health and internet use of 1,041 students in Guangzhou. The students were asked about their internet use including questions such as "How often do your grades or school work suffer because of the amount of time you spend on-line?" and "How often do you fear that life without the internet would be boring, empty and joyless?" and about their mental health. 8% of the teenagers developed symptoms of depression over the course of the study while 6% of them were classified as having 'pathological' internet use. Those teenagers who had an unhealthy relationship with the internet were two-and-a-half times more likely to have developed depression by the end of the study. But it is still not clear whether heavy internet use makes people feel depressed or whether teenagers who feel depressed are more likely to be heavier internet users.

ADHD increases suicide risk

Children who are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in early childhood are much more likely to have suicidal tendencies later. Researchers from Maryland University studied 248 children aged between nine and 18. Half of them had been diagnosed with ADHD as young children and half were unaffected. 12% of those who had been diagnosed with ADHD had thought about the practicalities of killing themselves compared to only 1.6% of the unaffected children.

Mental-health courts prove useful in U.S.

Mental-health courts aim to move people with a serious mental illness out of the criminal-justice system and into community treatment. The courts were first set up in the U.S. in 1997 and now there are around 250 of them. Treatment is usually a condition of appearing before the courts which reserve the right to punish defendants if they do not comply with their terms. Researchers from Policy Research Associates in New York studied 1,047 people in California, Minnesota and Indiana. 447 went through the mental-health courts while 600 appeared before the mormal courts. Those people who participated in the mental-health courts were significantly less likely (49% vs 58%) to be arrested again, had fewer arrests per year (1.3 vs 2.0) and spent less days in jail (82 days vs 152 days).

The true cost of mental illness in England

The Centre for Mental Health has estimated that the cost of mental illness in England is £105.2 bn a year. The cost includes health and social care for people with mental-health problems, sickness absence and unemployment and the human costs of reduced quality of life.

You can see the full report from the Centre for Mental Health here.