Does QOF reduce hospitalisation for people with severe mental illness?

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Andres Fonseca appraises a regression analysis looking at the quality and outcomes framework (QOF) and the impact it has on psychiatric admissions in people with severe mental illness.

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Smoking and chronic mental illness: what’s the best way to quit or cut down?

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Meg Fluharty considers the findings of a BMJ State of the Art review, which looks at the evidence for smoking cessation in people with chronic mental illness such as schizophrenia, unipolar depression, bipolar depression, anxiety disorders and PTSD.

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Improving diagnosis of bipolar disorder: can blood-based diagnostic panels help?

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Can blood-based diagnostic panels help us reduce the misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment often experienced by people with bipolar disorder? Murtada Alsaif reviews a recent retrospective study that has some encouraging findings for biologically identifying the disease.

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Early intervention in psychosis: how long is long enough?

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Rachel Brand looks at a recent RCT which investigates the optimal duration of an early intervention in psychosis programme for young people in Hong Kong.

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Lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorders in people with bipolar disorder

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Alan Underwood appraises a recent meta-analysis that finds anxiety disorders are three times more common in people with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

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What impact are psychotropic drugs having on our physical health?

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John Baker summarises the findings of a recent review of people with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression. The study looks at the adverse effects on physical health of psychotropic drugs (antipsychotics, antidepressants and mood stabilisers).

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Can fMRI measuring striatal connectivity help predict response to antipsychotics?

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Samei Huda steps into George Clooney’s shoes to discuss baseline striatal functional connectivity as a predictor of response to antipsychotic drug treatment.

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Common mental health disorders linked with increased risk of violent reoffending in ex-prisoners

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Ian Cummins considers the implications of a new cohort study of convicted prisoners in Sweden, which links psychiatric disorders with violent reoffending.

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Caring for people with severe mental illness: poor research means that carers get a raw deal

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Caroline Struthers is frustrated by the lack of high quality research identified by this recent review, which looks at interventions to improve the experience and well-being of those caring for people with severe mental illness.

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