Chris Sampson reviews a recent US study which looks at the cost-effectiveness of CBT versus second-generation antidepressants for the initial treatment of major depressive disorder.
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Sophie Graham and Jennifer Burgess explore the associations between persistent and severe postnatal depression in mothers and mental health and educational outcomes in their offspring.
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Joe Hayes summarises a new meta-analysis in the British Journal of Psychiatry that shows how the initial severity of depression does not alter the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy.
This is the first in a new series of Mental Elf blogs produced in partnership with the British Journal of Psychiatry.
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Ben Hannigan reports on a recent RCT of the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of a specialist depression service versus usual specialist mental health care to manage persistent depression.
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Sarah McDonald reports on a meta-analysis published yesterday, which found that when compared with active treatment, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy resulted in a reduced risk of depressive relapse.
This blog also features a podcast interview with the lead author of the research, Professor Willem Kuyken.
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Helge Hasselmann summarises the recently published evidence-based guidance on antidepressants for depression published by the British Association for Psychopharmacology.
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Andrew Shepherd reports on a post-hoc analysis of pre-existing trial data, which does little to convince him that ECT is a safe and effective treatment option for older people with severe depression.
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Last week the media reported widely on a study of ketamine for depression (McShane et al, 2014). As usual the headlines made bold assertions, the Telegraph running with “Horse tranquilliser Ketamine could cure severe depression” (Knapton, 2014). But what did the paper authored by an Oxford group and published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology really [read the full story…]
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…]
