Publications on Mental Health Topics

App, Brief Intervention May be Lifesaver for Suicidal Teens, by Traci Pedersen, Psych Central, Jul 20 2018.

“The first few weeks after a hospital discharge are the most critical for teens who were admitted for suicidal thoughts. A new study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, reveals that participating in an intervention program followed by the use of a personalized app, called BRITE, can significantly reduce suicide attempts in teens after they return home...'This approach merits further study,' Kennard said. 'Focusing on stress tolerance and giving access to positive emotion could be a lifesaving difference for so many patients.' ”

New Algorithm Can Predict Response to Antidepressants, by Rick Nauert, PhD, Psych Central, Jul 19 2018.

“Researchers have developed a statistical algorithm that identifies patients who may best respond to antidepressants — before they begin treatment...Webb and his colleagues developed an algorithm predicting that approximately one-third of individuals would derive a meaningful therapeutic benefit from antidepressant medications relative to placebo. In the study, participants were randomly assigned to a common antidepressant medication or a placebo pill...'These results bring us closer to identifying groups of patients very likely to benefit preferentially from selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and could realize the goal of personalizing antidepressant treatment selection,' added UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Madhukar Trivedi, M.D., coordinating principal investigator for the EMBARC study. ”

Alcohol-related liver deaths have increased sharply, by Kate Furby, The Washington Post, Jul 18 2018.

“Deaths from liver disease have increased sharply in recent years in the United States, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. Cirrhosis-related deaths increased by 65 percent from 1999 to 2016, and deaths from liver cancer doubled, the study said. The rise in death rates was driven predominantly by alcohol-induced disease, the report said. ”

ADHD study links teens' symptoms with digital media use, by Jacqueline Howard, CNN, Jul 17 2018.

“The more teens check social media and stream video, the more likely they might develop symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a new study suggests. The study, published in the medical journal JAMA on Tuesday, sheds light on how more research is needed to determine whether symptoms of the disorder, commonly called ADHD, are possibly caused by digital media use...After analyzing the self-reported symptoms and digital media survey responses, the researchers found that each additional high-frequency engagement in a digital media activity was associated with higher odds of having ADHD symptoms at each follow-up point. ”

More women may be experiencing depression during pregnancy, by Linda Carroll, Reuters, Jul 13 2018.

“Today’s moms-to-be are more likely than women from their mothers’ generation to become depressed while pregnant, a study suggests...'Our data suggest that the symptoms driving the increase in total scores were those related to feeling overwhelmed and stress and anxiety rather than feelings of being down and unmotivated,' Pearson said. 'This supports theories that it is potentially a consequence of the fast-paced modern world.' ”

Blood pressure linked to lesions, signs of Alzheimer's in autopsied brains, by Susan Scutti, CNN, Jul 12 2018.

“Older people with higher-than-average blood pressure have more markers of brain disease than their average-pressure peers, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology...The research found that 'the higher the average blood pressure, the more likely a person was to have brain lesions,' Arvanitakis said. For example, a systolic blood pressure of 147 translated to a 46% increased risk of having one or more brain lesions, specifically infarcts, the analysis showed...People with higher-than-average diastolic pressure (79, for example, compared with the group average of 71) had a 28% greater risk of one or more lesions, the researchers found. ”

Study Finds Disrupted Stress Response in Schizophrenia Patients, by Traci Pedersen, Psych Central, Jul 12 2018.

“A new Canadian study published in the journal Brain shows that stress tends to impact the brain and body differently in schizophrenia patients than in healthy people or even in those at high risk for developing psychosis. 'We found a disrupted stress response in people with schizophrenia, which did not occur in either healthy individuals or people at clinical high risk for developing psychosis,' said lead author Dr. Christin Schifani from the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Since most schizophrenia patients experience psychosis, identifying differences between those at high risk for psychosis and those with schizophrenia may shed light on how the mental illness develops and ways to prevent its onset. ”

Breaking the Cycle of Child Abuse, by Elizabeth Hartney, Ph.D., verywellmind, Jul 11 2018.

“Child abuse is known to repeat itself from generation to generation. Although not universal, the children of people with addictions are at higher risk of all types of abuse, and of developing addictions. The reasons why people who were sexually abused in childhood go on to have abusive relationships in adulthood, either as an abuser or as a victim, are complex and well documented. But is breaking the cycle of child abuse possible? Or does the experience of child abuse mean that abusive relationships are inevitable? ”

Parents with Severe Childhood Trauma More Likely to Have Kids with Behavior Issues, by Traci Pedersen, Psych Central, Jul 10 2018.

“Parents who faced severe trauma and stress in their own childhood are more likely to see  behavioral health problems in their children, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics...The findings reveal that the children of parents who themselves had four or more adverse childhood experiences were at double the risk of having attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and were four times more likely to have mental health problems. In addition, a mother’s childhood experiences had a stronger adverse effect on a child’s behavioral health than the father’s experiences. ”

Boosting Folic Acid May Lead to Less Risk of Severe Mental Illness, by Janice Wood, Psych Central, Jul 7 2018.

“Fortifying grain-based foods with folic acid — instituted in the U.S. in the 1990s to prevent neural tube defects in infants — may also reduce the incidence of severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia that initially appear in young adulthood, according to new research.  In a study comparing brain images of school-aged youths born just before the fortification mandate to those of young people born afterwards, a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team found that increased in utero folic acid exposure was associated with changes in later brain development. These brain changes predicted a reduced risk for symptoms of psychosis, according to the scientists. ”

Pilot Study Screens for Postpartum Depression in the ER, by Traci Pedersen, Psych Central, Jun 30 2018.

“Although new mothers are supposed to be screened routinely for PPD at postpartum visits with their maternal or pediatric health care providers, these screenings often don’t happen, either because doctors aren’t following the recommendations or parents aren’t attending these visits due to barriers to healthcare access or other issues. According to a new study, providing PPD screening for new moms in the emergency department (ED) could help identify women suffering from the often debilitating disorder...Jarvis and colleagues launched a pilot study in the Children’s ED to screen for PPD. For eight months beginning in June 2015, the researchers invited English- and Spanish-speaking mothers who came to the ED with infants 6 months old or younger with complaints that didn’t necessitate immediate emergency care to take a short questionnaire on a computer tablet..Based on the results of the study, the researchers implemented a range of interventions. All mothers who participated in the study were given an informational booklet from the March of Dimes on PPD. ”

Coping With Survivor's Guilt, by Make the Connection, Make the Connection, Jun 27 2018.

“Guilt is a feeling of responsibility for bad events, whether that feeling is realistic or not. Some Veterans feel guilt or remorse because of something that happened in their military experience, such as an injury to a buddy in their unit, friendly fire, or civilian deaths. Survivor guilt can include feeling guilty about surviving when others did not, wishing that you had died instead of others, or thinking you didn’t deserve to survive. Identifying productive ways to act on regrets — finding a way to pay tribute to the fallen, for example — can help you find peace with past events.  Seeking treatment and opening up about the past can help you get back to living a fulfilling life. ”

Being Fit in Middle Age May Protect Against Depression, by Alice Park, TIME, Jun 27 2018.

“About 16 million adults in the U.S., and 350 million people around the world, have depression, a major source of physical and mental disability...Now, in a large study published in JAMA Psychiatry, researchers say...being physically fit can lower the risk of developing depression, and can also lower the risk of developing heart disease and dying early...exercise can be as effective as antidepressant medications or psychotherapy in treating depressive symptoms...encourage more doctors to consider exercise as another potential treatment, alongside medications and psychotherapy, for helping people with depression. ”

Depression may be more severe in elderly people, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Jun 27 2018.

“Elderly people with major depressive disorder may be more likely to suffer severe and persistent symptoms than younger adults with the same mental health diagnosis, a Dutch study suggests...Compared to participants ages 18 to 29, people aged 70 and older were two to three times more likely to still have a diagnosis of major depressive disorder after two years, and to have had symptoms during most of that period, the study found. Elderly people also took longer to achieve remission or to experience improvements in the severity of their depression. ”

States Aim To Halt Sexual Abuse Of People with Intellectual Disabilities, by Joseph Shapiro, NPR, Jun 25 2018.

“NPR explores the proposal for a law to protect those living with an Intellectual and/or Developmental Disability from abuse by a caregiver. The proposal is for a registry of abusive caregivers be available to the public. This 4 minute video highlights the states that have enacted a similar law, and the steps being taken in Massachusetts to do the same. ”