It has long been documented that there are clinical differences between depression and bipolar disorder, but to date there has been no reliable study that shows differences in structural brain abnormalities in the two disorders. A research team from the Institute of Psychiatry in London have published a meta analysis that investigates structural brain changes in [read the full story…]
A research team from the University of Bologna in Italy have published a new meta-anlaysis that explores the sequential integration of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy in reducing the risk of relapse and recurrence in major depressive disorder. They searched a range of databases for randomised controlled trials that tested the efficacy of the administration of psychotherapy after successful [read the full story…]
The rates of morbidity and mortality in eating disorders are thought to be high, but the exact rates were not known before this meta analysis published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The authors set out to systematically compile and analyze the mortality rates in individuals with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorder not otherwise [read the full story…]
This meta-analysis looked at the ability of general practitioners (GPs) to recognize a spectrum of cognitive impairment from mild cognitive impairment to severe dementia in routine practice using their own clinical judgment. The authors found 15 studies reporting on dementia, seven studies that examined recognition of broadly defined cognitive impairment, and eight regarding mild cognitive impairment. By [read the full story…]
This meta-analysis adds more weight to the argument that cannabis use plays a causal role in the development of psychosis in some patients. The review pooled 83 studies that reported on age at onset of psychotic illness in substance-using and non–substance-using groups. The study found that: Age at onset of psychosis for cannabis users was [read the full story…]
A new meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Psychiatry has found that people with mental health problems are significantly less likely to receive important cardiac treatment (revascularisation, angiography, angioplasty and bypass grafting) following a cardiac event. People with mental illness experience a 14% lower rate of invasive coronary interventions following a cardiac event and [read the full story…]
The debate about antidepressant use and suicide in young people rages on. A new meta-analysis of placebo-controlled paroxetine trials has been published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry by a research team at GlaxoSmithKline (the company who make the drug also known as Aropax, Paxil and Seroxat) in Pennsylvania. This kind of drug company conducted [read the full story…]
Patients with coronary heart disease are susceptible to depression and this comorbidity makes cardiovascular outcomes worse. Using antidepressants to treat depression in patients with other health conditions is sometimes quite controversial. This meta-analysis looked at the health effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) versus placebo or no antidepressants in patients with coronary heart disease [read the full story…]
Depression has a habit of attaching itself to lots of health problems, not just for the patient, but also sometimes for carers and other family members. This systematic review and meta-analysis looks at the association between activity restriction and depression in medical patients and their caregivers. The review found a clear positive relationship between lack [read the full story…]
This meta analysis collated data from published literature between 1980 and 2009 to estimate the prevalence of intellectual disability across all such studies. The authors state the prevalence of intellectual disability across all 52 studies included was 10.37/1000 population. Estimates varied according to income group of country of origin, age-group of study population and study design. [read the full story…]
