Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 410

Early due to leave, Bulletin No. 410 is packed; with large research sections on learning disabilities, depression and dementia and schizophrenia. Next post October 7th

Mental Health & Social Care Bulletin No. 397

Although various incarnations of "Books on Prescription", have been around for several years, a "new" scheme was launched last week. GP's will be able to "prescribe" books on depression and other mental health conditions which will be held in local libraries. Previously books on dementia and diabetes were made available this way. In Bulletin 397 there is a very large section on eating disorders this week, including a study on how the family dynamics impact on eating disorders.

Mental Health & Social Care Current Awareness Bulletin No. 392

This week is national mental health awareness week, and so it is apt that Bulletin No. 392 is a bumper issue. All different sections are packed with news and research. There are many articles from journals on depression, and dementia.

Depressive Fairy Cakes and Doughnuts

We all know that too many sweet treats can lead to obesity, but you would be forgiven for thinking that eating a fairy cake (cupcake) or a doughnut would lift the spirits. However, a Spanish study published in the journal Public Health Nutrition debunks this myth and presents the evidence that links an over indulgence in commercially produced sweet cake treats and fast food, such as hamburgers, to depression.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't - if you are a woman

In the wake of recent research that confirms too much red meat, particularly processed, is bad for our health and raises the population incidence of cancer, comes a new study. This time it concentrates on the interplay between red meat and mental health. The Australian study in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics concluded that too little red meat increased the occurence of anxiety and depression - but only if you are a woman.

Read the full article

Pregnancy and SSRIs

A Swedish study has found that depressed pregnant women who are prescribed antidepressants called SSRIs (selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors) such as Prozac have a slightly elevated risk of a newborn having raised blood pressure in its lungs. The research which analysed data of 1 million births from five Nordic countries was published online in the BMJ.

Read the full article
Read the original research

Mental health and abortion

Having an abortion does not increase the chances of becoming depressed when a woman is experiencing an unwanted pregnancy. Giving birth in these circumstances produced the same numbers of depressed women according to figures published by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH) on behalf of the Department of Health. NCCMH analysed 44 studies but commented that it was unclear whether all the women included in the studies became depressed as a result of unwanted pregnancy or whether some had mental health problems to begin with.

Read the full article
Read the original report

Antidepressant use on the increase

The Office of National Statistics has released Social Trends 41. Included in this comprehensive set of data is mental health information. The report gives figures that show the use of antidepressants has risen dramatically since 1991. In that year 9 million prescriptions were authorised, but by 2009 it had risen to 39.1 million. The data also shows that in England in the period of 2009-10, 11% of the population was diagnosed with depression.

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Read the report

Leptin and depression

The hormone Leptin has been linked to levels of depression in women. Leptin controls appetite and women who had higher amounts of this hormone showed lower levels of depression. Body Mass Index played no part in the results of this research which is being presented at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston

Read the full article

Depression, GPs and confidence

A newly published survey gives an eye-opening insight into the way depression is managed by GPs. The survey was conducted as a part of the"There's more to depression" campaign. The research found that although 96% of GPs try to ascertain the severity of a patient's depression at the initial diagnosis, their confidence in managing depression from then on drops, and only 11% of GPs felt they had the expertise to give expert advice. Read the full article

Cleanliness not next to happiness?

Rates of depression in younger people have outstripped that of older people and this has led to researchers searching for biological factors. Scientists at a US university medical school have come to the conclusion the higher rates are due to the lack of healthy bacteria in immune systems; a direct consequence of our cleaner environment

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Read the original abstract

Keep taking the tablets?

German scientists have released research that states the drug reboxetine (Edronax) which has been routinely prescribed for depression over the last thirteen years is no more effective than a placebo. The BMJ study furthermore states that it is possibly harmful and that the manufacturer has been guilty of suppressing trials results. It is implied that NICE will have to review their guidance on the prescribing of the drug.

Read the full article:
Read the original abstract

Loneliness and the social networking generation

A survey commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation surprisingly found that in this day of instant messaging and social networking it is the young and not the older generation who are more prone to loneliness. The charities report The Lonely Society cited changes in society and family life as being the key reasons for feelings of isolation.

Read the full article

The recesssion and workplace stress

The charity MIND commissioned a survey of 2,050 workers to assess the effects of the recession on mental health. It found that fears about job security, longer hours or a cut in hours had resulted in 1 in 11 British workers consulting their GP due to stress, anxiety or depression


Read the full BBC article
Read the MIND press release

One in four suffer from depression in the UK

People suffering from depression in the UK is a staggering one in four. A survey has further shown that only a third of sufferers will seek help. Reasons for depression vary according to gender and sufferers appear to be ignorant of the range of treatments available to them.

Read the full article

More alternatives to antidepressants needed

The Mental Health Foundation (MHF) says that there is still not enough access to alternatives to antidepressants after it has emerged that three quarters of GP's who prescribed them would have prefered to be able to offer alternatives. MHF says that an eight week course of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (a combination of yoga, meditation and cognitive therapy) (MBCT) halves the risk of becoming depressed again. However the Department of Health has said that access to alternatives to drug therapy has improved in the past year.
Read the full article

Up the ZZZZs to minimise depression

Research has shown that teenagers who have fewer hours of sleep each night are more likely to suffer from depression and they are also more likely to have suicidal thoughts. The study in the journal Sleep studied 15,500 12 - 18 year-olds and concluded that lack of sleep could effect emotional brain responses.

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Read the original abstract

Anxiety good for you?

Depression is as deadly as smoking for the effect on a person's life expectancy according to collaborative research between universities in Norway and London. However the study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry found that when depression was combined with anxiety the increased risk of mortality was negated.

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Alzheimer's test

The diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease can be delayed due to its symptoms being confused with those of depression. A new multi-tasking test which avoids this problem has been developed by Edinburgh researchers. The research, published in the Journal of Neurology, compared 89 people who were either healthy, suffered from Alzheimer's, or depression.

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Read the original abstract

Depression and nutrition

The first study to look at the UK diet and depression has concluded that processed food is linked to depression. The British Journal of Psychiatry compared the the diet of 3,500 civil servants with their levels of depression five years later.

Read the full article
Read the original abstract