Smoking and bipolar disorder: the physical and mental health impact of tobacco cessation

a pile of orange cigarette butts in ash

Hannah Walsh explores the clinical and research implications of this French cohort study on bipolar disorder and smoking status, and how risks differ for current, former and never smokers.

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Enhanced CBT for eating disorders: new review suggests it’s no more effective than other treatments, but it may act faster

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Georgie Parker summarises a recent systematic review which finds that enhanced CBT is an effective treatment for eating disorders, but no more effective than other treatments. However, some research suggests that CBT-E may act quicker and therefore be most cost effective than other treatments.

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Do overdentures improve nutrient status?

Older people with learning disabilities need opportunities to speak for themselves

This review comparing the impact of overdentures with conventional dentures on nutritional status included 8 studies finding no difference in relation to BMI, albumin or vitamin B12 6 months 
after treatment among the older population

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Mandibular implant overdentures: effect on nutritional status may be limited

shutterstock_28911784 False teeth

This review considered the effect of mandibular implant overdentures on the nutrition and nutritional status of older adults. Six small studies were included, overdentures were not seen to have an effect on BMI, albumin or vitamin B12 six months
 after treatment.

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One in 10 people in South East London report that they suffer from disordered eating, according to new survey

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Historically, eating disorders have been discussed in a very black and white fashion; either you do or you don’t have one. Whilst this may be beneficial in terms of research and diagnosis, it isn’t particularly helpful for those that sit in the grey area between the two. People in this grey area are often referred [read the full story…]

Physical health monitoring in serious mental illness is a priority in psychiatry, but where is the evidence that it works?

shutterstock_helath monitoring

It is widely acknowledged that individuals with serious mental illnesses (SMI) such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and severe depression have increased rates of mortality, due to poor physical health. As well as reducing quality of life and function and decreasing life expectancy, physical illness can worsen these mental illnesses. The reasons for this include lifestyle [read the full story…]

Level of learning disability, gender and serum triglyceride levels found to be predictive of BMI in people with co-existing mental illness

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We have posted previously about the higher prevalence of obesity and overweight in people with learning disabilities. The researchers in this study were interested in looking at the data on body weight status and lipids levels of adults with learning disabilities who also had mental health problems. They carried out a stepwise multiple regression analysis, [read the full story…]

Adolescents with learning disabilities had low physical fitness and high prevalence of obesity

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We have posted many times about the issue of overweight and obesity in people with learning disabilities. This study in France set out look at health-related fitness in adolescents with learning disabilities and to analyse various performances in physical fitness tests according to degrees of obesity in that poopulation. The researchers worked with 87 French [read the full story…]

Parents of adolescents with learning disabilities act as role models for healthy choices, physical activity and nutrition

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Many studies have shown that people with learning disabilities are at risk of overweight and obesity, The authors of this study were interested in the potential impact of beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of parents of adolescents with learning disabilities on the body mass index (BMI) of the adolescents and the parents. They also wanted to [read the full story…]

Success of obesity interventions in people with learning disabilities needs primary carer involvement

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Obesity is a major health concern in adults with learning disabilities. This study set out to evaluate the impact of a locally delivered NHS health promotion programme. 191 adults with learning disabilities took part in the evaluation and were screened and monitored over a 2-year period with attendance rates and body mass index (BMI) used [read the full story…]