A new cross-sectional survey published in The Lancet has revealed some unsurprising but nonetheless sobering facts about how people with depression are stigmatised. The research team, funded by money from the European Commission, interviewed 1,082 people with depression from 35 countries across the world. They used the discrimination and stigma scale (version 12; DISC-12) to [read the full story…]
Dental caries, or tooth decay is estimated to develop at the same rate in people with learning disabilities as in the general population.. The prevalence of untreated dental caries, however, is much higher among people with learning disabilities, particularly among those living in non-institutional settings. The researchers in this Brazilian study set out to look [read the full story…]
The WHO World Health Survey is a comprehensive international survey carried out across 70 countries, which uses face-to-face, telephone and online interviews to ask questions about the health of populations, public health risk factors, coverage and availability of health services and health care spending. The survey includes a number of questions relating to mental health [read the full story…]
This new cross sectional study from researchers at Harvard Medical School looks at the prevalence of DSM-IV disorders in over 10,000 teenagers living in the community. The study looked at a representative sample of young people. Homeless adolescents, school drop-outs and non-English speakers were excluded from the research, even though those who speak a different [read the full story…]
Rates of mental illness in adolescents with learning disabilities have been reported as higher than those expected in adolescents without learining disabilities. This study set out to look at the prevalence and predictors of mental health needs and service use in adolescents with learning disabilities. They researchers worked with a service-based sample of 75 young [read the full story…]
Sleep problems in young people with learning disabilities have been explored in a number of studies, particularly in relation to the impact on families and supporters, but there is relatively little in the literature about the impact of sleep problems on older people with learning disabilities. The researchers in this Dutch study wanted to look [read the full story…]
Every year in England and Wales, a suicide occurs in roughly one patient for every thousand in mental health treatment. These numbers make it hard to research what mental health service providers can do to prevent further suicides, so it’s encouraging to see a new cross-sectional observational study published in the Lancet with funding from [read the full story…]
Read this important new research if you work in mental health or public health and have an interest in the relationship between mental disorders and adversity in childhood and chronic physical conditions in later adult life. The cross sectional study was conducted by researchers in New Zealand who set out to investigate whether childhood adversities [read the full story…]
This cross-sectional study conducted by researchers from VU University in Amsterdam investigated whether specific personality traits (such as neuroticism, conscientiousness and being open to experiences) are associated with an increased use of mental health services. The background to this study is the fact that there are now many safe and effective treatments available for depression [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…]
