November 2009 - Mental Health Update

Yoga and mental health

Women with eating disorders may lack body awareness including having a reduced awareness of basic body signals such as hunger and fullness, energy levels and fatigue. They can also lack awareness of their moods so that instead of being recognised and...

Published Thu, Nov 05 2009 3:17 AM by Mental Health Update

Depression and osteoporosis

Depression is associated with a number of different physical health problems and researchers at Jerusalem University have added a new one to the list - osteoporosis. A number of studies have pointed to a link between depression and decreased bone density...

Published Mon, Nov 30 2009 3:24 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Osteoporosis

Self-harm and car accidents

A study of newly-licensed drivers by researchers at the George Institute in Australia has found that those who had engaged in self-harm were more likely to be involved in car accidents. The researchers studied 18,871 newly-licensed Australian drivers...

Published Tue, Nov 17 2009 3:11 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Self-Harm

Depression and opioids

People with depression are more likely to be prescribed powerful opioids at higher doses and for a longer time. Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle looked at medical records from two large healthcare plans between 1997 and 2005. They...

Published Thu, Nov 19 2009 3:22 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression

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...

Published Thu, Nov 19 2009 3:47 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Service Users' Health

Autism: parent training helps improve behaviour and reduce drugs

Children with autism often have behaviour problems such as tantrums, aggression and self-injury as well. An antipsychotic drug called risperidone is sometimes used to reduce this behaviour but the problems return once the medication is stopped and the...

Published Mon, Nov 23 2009 3:26 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Autism, Risperidone

Depression treatment benefits long lasting for teenagers

Scientists often follow people who take part in research studies to see how they are getting on later. Researchers from Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina did exactly this with 327 depressed teenagers who had taken part in a 36-week study...

Published Wed, Nov 04 2009 3:08 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression - in adolescence

Defining words and diagnosing dementia

Researchers devote a lot of time to diagnosing dementia as quickly as possible as the earlier the condition is diagnosed the more effectively it can be treated. Over 20 years doctors from Oxford have been studying a group of 241 healthy elderly volunteers...

Published Tue, Nov 03 2009 3:50 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease

Talking therapy for chronic depression - does it make any difference

Around 50% of chronically-depressed patients fail to respond to trials of antidepressants or psychotherapy and an additional 20% do not get completely better. Even after partial improvement a residue of depression can affect people's lives and increase...

Published Mon, Nov 16 2009 6:33 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression

Brief interventions for drink drivers

Drink driving is involved in more than a third of all road deaths. Many people who persistently drink drive do not take part in rehabilitation programmes or carry on drink-driving once they get their licences back. Researchers from McGill University in...

Published Mon, Nov 23 2009 3:50 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alcohol Problems

Mixed halls mean more binge drinking

Binge drinking is a big problem on college campuses in the U.K. and the U.S. A study of more than 500 college students by researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah has found that students in mixed-sex accommodation are more likely to binge drink...

Published Wed, Nov 18 2009 2:58 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alcohol Problems

Stress and schizophrenia

Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the world's population. Its symptoms - delusions and hallucinations, apathy, social withdrawal and cognitive impairment - can affect relationships, make life difficult and lead to problems holding down or getting...

Published Mon, Nov 23 2009 1:40 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Schizophrenia