Mapping the trajectory of psychiatric diagnoses: Danish study finds that mental health diagnoses may change over time

edward-howell-VlTJdP8ZY1c-unsplash

In her latest blog, Dona Matthews summarises a recent publication in The Lancet Psychiatry, which mapped the psychiatric diagnostic trajectories of 184,949 Danish patients over a 10-year period.

[read the full story...]

Racial disparities in bipolar disorder diagnosis and treatment: time to talk about racism

pavel-anoshin-704058-unsplash

Syeda Akther writes her debut elf blog on a recent review looking at racial disparities in bipolar disorder treatment and research. She argues that we need to start having serious conversations about racism that go beyond unconscious bias.

[read the full story...]

QbTest is not a diagnostic tool, but it can increase the efficiency of ADHD diagnosis

Qbtest-square

Samuele Cortese is impressed by a recent RCT of QbTest: a computerised test of attention and activity, which can improve diagnostic decision-making in children and young people with suspected ADHD.

[read the full story...]

Mental health diagnosis: views and experiences of service users and clinicians

ahmed-zayan-586246-unsplash

Vanessa Pinfold and Jennie Parker from the McPin Foundation explore a recent systematic review of service user, clinician, and carer perspectives on mental health diagnosis.

[read the full story...]

How valid are hospital psychiatric diagnoses?

equalizer-2818803_1280

Vishal Bhavsar explores a recent study that uses data linkage to electronic patient records to assess the validity of selected mental health diagnoses in English Hospital Episode Statistics.

[read the full story...]

Is it bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder?

14188977646_8ecd17db22_k

Murtada Alsaif considers the challenges facing psychiatrists in diagnosing bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder. He reports on a recent qualitative study that explores the practical experience of psychiatrists and nurses and concludes that clinical diagnostic practice cannot reliably distinguish the two conditions.

[read the full story...]

How common is the misdiagnosis of epilepsy in people with learning disabilities?

Health meeting

Epilepsy is a major issue for people with learning disabilities. The National epilepsy society suggest that around 30% of people with mild to moderate learning disability also have epilepsy and the more severe the learning disability, the more likelihood there is that the person will have epilepsy. However, diagnosing epilepsy in a person with learning [read the full story…]