The NICE guideline on common mental disorders (PDF) was published back in May 2011, which means that it only included evidence published up until the end of 2010. This is a fast moving field, so NICE have now put out an evidence update, which focuses on new evidence published from Sept 2010 to Oct 2012. This [read the full story…]
Schizophrenia according to the NICE guidelines, is a relatively common illness and in the majority of cases takes a chronic course, requiring continued management and careful attention. In the treatment and management of schizophrenia, antipsychotic medications – like olanzapine, quetiapine or clozapine – are the first line intervention. Antipsychotics can be loosely divided into “first-generation” (“typical”) and [read the full story…]
As the British Heart Foundation National Heart Month draws to a close Lifestyle Elf and I were discussing their blog on heart attacks not being reduced in people taking vitamins and antioxidants which led to us to thinking about the relationship between stress and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Our colleagues in the Pittsburgh Health Heart Project [read the full story…]
Depression and anxiety are common conditions in adolescence that can lead to persistent and life-long mood and anxiety disorders for some people. One theory is that prenatal maternal stress can contribute to depression in young people (the so called fetal programming hypothesis). The notion here is that pregnant women who experience stress may send messages to their foetus [read the full story…]
Since starting this blog two years ago, I have written about a number of studies that highlight the health inequalities faced by people with severe mental illness. The evidence keeps piling up and it’s really quite shocking that we are not doing more to diagnose and treat physical health problems in people with conditions such [read the full story…]
Studies have shown that the prevalence of depression in pregnant women is 7-19%. Being depressed during pregnancy can result in preterm delivery, which can in turn lead to illness and even death of the newborn child. Researchers have struggled to single out the causes of these risks. Is it the depression, the medical treatment being [read the full story…]
Dementia is a huge issue. As our population ages, the incidence of the disease is on the increase and attempts to prevent and treat the condition with drugs have not been as successful as we hoped. A lot of effort has gone into investigating ways in which lifestyle factors such as diet can impact on [read the full story…]
Self-destructive behaviour is often brought on by mental illness, poverty and other life problems. As individuals spiral down they sometimes come into contact with health and social care services. This may be a primary care visit, emergency treatment in hospital or simple cries for help to friends and family. Hindsight would show us that a [read the full story…]
Research has shown that antidepressant use can lead to a non-significant increase in the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviour in people aged under 25 (Stone et al, BMJ 2009). This subject rightly received a large amount of media coverage a few years ago and it remains an area where new studies can add to [read the full story…]
It’s hardly surprising that teenage girls and boys express dissatisfaction with their bodies. The vast majority of TV, magazine, billboard and Internet images of the human body present a wholly unrealistic and unattainable version of the male and female physique. Young people cannot help but compare themselves to these standards and feel that they come [read the full story…]
