October 2010 - Mental Health Update

What becomes of the school bully?

Ever wondered what happened to the school bully? Do they grow out of it and become normal, law-abiding members of society? A new study by researchers from Iowa State University suggests that they don't and that many of them carry on being just as...

Published Wed, Oct 27 2010 3:43 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Bullying

Lots of friends and feeling in control help people stay healthier

A lot of research concentrates on how people's bad habits - such as smoking, drinking and eating too much - can affect their health but researchers at Brandeis University in Massachussetts have been looking into the influence of more positive factors...

Published Wed, Oct 27 2010 3:24 AM by Mental Health Update

School grades and suicide risk

People who leave school early with low grades could be more likely to kill themselves. Researchers from the Karolinska Institutet and the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare used some of the huge amounts of data which the Swedish state records...

Published Wed, Oct 27 2010 3:05 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Suicide

Follow-up post boosts care for people with depression

A few follow-up phone calls and tools for people to monitor their symptoms can significantly help people being treated by their GP for depression. Researchers from the University of Michigan studied 186 people who were being treated for the condition;...

Published Wed, Oct 27 2010 2:45 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression

Is happiness more important than education for health?

In general people who are less well-educated tend to suffer from worse health. However, new research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggests that happiness could be as important as education in determining people's health. The researchers...

Published Tue, Oct 26 2010 4:12 AM by Mental Health Update

Smoking and anxiety

People with anxiety problems could be more likely to smoke and may have a harder time giving up when they do. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin studied 1,504 people taking part in a smoking-cessation programme in Madison and Milwaukee. 455...

Published Tue, Oct 26 2010 3:54 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Anxiety Disorders, Smoking Cessation

The science of sleep and genes

Some people seem to manage quite happily on four hours of sleep a night while others turn into zombies. A new study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine suggests that this may, in part at least, be down to our genes. They...

Published Tue, Oct 26 2010 3:36 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Sleep Disorders, Genetics

New evidence on smoking and dementia

A large U.S. study of over 21,000 people has added to the considerable pile of evidence linking smoking to dementia. The study - carried out by Dr Rachel Wittmer from the U.S. health organization Kaiser Permanente - found that smoking 40 or more cigarettes...

Published Tue, Oct 26 2010 3:20 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease, Smoking

Jailed parents raise children's drug risk

The prison population of the U.S. has grown from 250,000 in the mid-1970s to about 2.25 million today and it is now estimated that one in eight youngsters in the U.S. has a father who has done time. Children of fathers who have been in prison are known...

Published Mon, Oct 25 2010 3:45 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Substance Abuse, Cannabis, Cocaine, Methamphetamine

New report shows true scale of children's drinking

Although there are now some signs that children's alcohol consumption in the U.K. might be levelling off a new report by the charity Alcohol Concern presents a worrying picture of just how much Britain's children are drinking. The report found...

Published Mon, Oct 25 2010 2:43 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alcohol Problems

Brain scans shed new light on childhood problems

The symptoms which can lead to children being diagnosed with bipolar disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be quite similar but new research , from a team led by Alessandra M. Passarotti from the University of Chicago at Illinois...

Published Mon, Oct 25 2010 2:24 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Child Psychology, Neuroscience, ADHD, Bipolar Disorder

New helpline for parents of children with eating disorders

U.K. charity Care for the Family has launched the U.K.'s first telephone befriending service for parents of children with an eating disorder. It offers parents one-to-one ongoing support from trained befrienders whose own child has had an eating disorder...

Published Mon, Oct 25 2010 2:07 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Eating Disorders

Autism - a question of diagnosis?

In the U.S. the Centre for Disease Control estimates that rates of autism have gone up by 60% for boys since 2002 and by 48% for girls. But do these increases reflect a genuine rise in the number of children with the condition or simply the fact that...

Published Mon, Oct 25 2010 1:52 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Autism

Do men age better than women?

Researchers from University College London have been looking into ageing and happiness in a sample of 11,000 men and women over the age of 50 who they followed from 2002 to 2009. They found that men became happier after their retirement while older women...

Published Fri, Oct 22 2010 8:30 AM by Mental Health Update

How babies can boost your brainpower

Women sometimes complain about becoming absent-minded while they are pregnant and after giving birth but a new study by researchers at the National Institute for Mental Health in Maryland suggests that their brains might actually get bigger over this...

Published Thu, Oct 21 2010 2:38 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Neuroscience