October 2010 - 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

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...

Published Tue, Oct 12 2010 3:50 PM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Child Psychology

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...

Published Fri, Oct 15 2010 1:51 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Substance Abuse, Alcohol Problems

Turning down the frequency for successful magnet therapy

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) involves placing electrodes on people's heads and passing brief but strong magnetic pulses through their brain. Canada and Israel already use this technology to treat people with major depression and in the...

Published Thu, Oct 21 2010 1:37 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

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...

Published Thu, Oct 14 2010 1:44 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease

Young students more responsible drinkers than young workers

A survey by the U.K. alcohol charity Drinkaware of 1,715 18-24 year-olds has found that students have a more responsible attitude to drink than people of a similar age in full-time work. The survey found that only 3% of students and 5% of young adults...

Published Tue, Oct 19 2010 4:38 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alcohol Problems

Vitamin B12 and Alzheimer's disease

Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have added further evidence to the theory that vitamin B12 could help to prevent Alzheimer's disease. The researchers followed 271 people, aged between 65 and 79 at the start of the study , for seven...

Published Tue, Oct 19 2010 1:40 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease, Vitamin B12

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...

Published Fri, Oct 15 2010 3:17 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Eating Disorders, Self-Harm

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...

Published Tue, Oct 05 2010 7:00 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression - causes, Depression - in adolescence