Dr Elena Marcus is a Researcher based at St George’s, University of London. She is currently leading on a European survey study which aims to explore the information and support needs of parents and carers of children who have a congenital anomaly (conditions present from birth). The study is part of a wider European project (EUROlinkCAT) investigating the health and educational needs and achievements of children living with congenital anomalies in the first 10 years of their lives. Elena has a background in psychology and has previously worked as a systematic reviewer for the development of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) clinical guidelines. She completed her PhD in the Division of Medicine at University College London, where she developed and pilot-tested a quality of life questionnaire for people living with a rare liver condition, primary sclerosing cholangitis, in the UK. She has a keen interest in health psychology, quality of life research, and questionnaire development.
Elena Marcus summarises a recent systematic review on quality of life in adults with multiple sclerosis, which identified a range of promising psychological interventions for improving quality of life.
Elena Marcus reports on a systematic review and meta-analysis of participants’ mindfulness practice and its association with outcomes, which found a small but significant association between practice and outcomes.
Elena Marcus appraises a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of premature mortality in bipolar affective disorder, which finds that people with bipolar disorder have increased mortality rates compared with the general population.
Elena Marcus appraises a recent meta-analysis of screening for bipolar spectrum disorders, which concludes that the MDQ and HCL-32 tools are supported by more evidence than the BSDS tool.
Elena Marcus finds inconclusive results in this recent systematic review of psychological therapy for anxiety in bipolar spectrum disorders, which includes trials of CBT, mindfulness based cognitive therapy and stress management therapy.
Elena Marcus summarises a recent network meta-analysis published in The Lancet of the comparative efficacy and tolerability of medication for the maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder.
Elena Marcus summarises a double case-cohort study, which investigates the risk of suicide and criminal behaviours in people with bipolar disorder and their siblings, compared with the general population.
