Antipsychotics were discovered as an effective treatment for schizophrenia in the 1950s, but their use was expanded despite lack of supporting evidence, to treat other patient groups. This included treating aggression, agitation and other behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). There is evidence that these distressing symptoms can often be prevented or managed without [read the full story…]
Published yesterday in the Lancet, the Multicentre Study of Self-harm in England is a large (30,950 patients) cohort study of people presenting to hospital emergency departments in Oxford, Manchester and Derby, with self-poisoning or self-injury during 2000-2007. We know that people who self-harm have an increased risk of dying early, but this study tries to [read the full story…]
How is the economic downturn affecting the health of the nation? It seems obvious to many of us that the mental wellbeing of people who are going through very tough personal and financial circumstances is likely to be seriously affected. Of course the ultimate price that people pay is with their lives and there has [read the full story…]
Children with serious attention problems are three times more likely to experience socio-economic disadvantage in adulthood, according to a French study. The study, published today by the British Journal of Psychiatry, finds they are more likely to be employed in a lower grade job, and are less likely to be educated to university level. The [read the full story…]
The Office for National Statistics is developing ways to measure national well-being. This work got underway in late 2010 with a consultation exercise that led to the publication of an initial report in July 2011. This has now been supplemented by a website that contains a range of publications. The aim is that these new [read the full story…]
This cross sectional study uses data from the Health Survey for England to explore the relationship between poor mental health and low income. The research team from Exeter University included 94,870 adults in the study (1997-2006) which used the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to assess happiness, symptoms of anxiety or depression and sleep disturbance [read the full story…]
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation have today published five reports focusing on the impact of the recession on the people of Bradford. One study looked at the impact that involuntary unemployment can have on people’s mental health and well-being by investigating the coping strategies and emotional support that people require when they experience stressful life events [read the full story…]
This report presents the 2011 update of the Minimum Income Standard (MIS), originally published in 2008. The standard is based on research into the items that members of the public, informed where relevant by expert knowledge, think should be covered by a household budget in order to achieve a minimum socially acceptable standard of living. [read the full story…]
