The British Psychological Society has published a new report about integrating psychological treatments with other interventions for obesity. The report covers: Obesity in children Weight loss surgery Physical activity and exercise psychology – healthy weight management for adults Exercise for obese individuals Applied psychology and obesity management Pharmacological interventions Psychological interventions for people with BMI>35 Dr [read the full story…]
This paper reports on the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme which was established to treat people with mild to moderate depression and anxiety. Interestingly, although Positive Practice Guidance was published in 2009, there are currently no geographical areas listed as having a special interest in specifically rolling out psychological therapies to people with [read the full story…]
In common with other European countries, Ireland’s national database of people with learning disabilities has shown increasing ageing trends in prevalence rates and the biggest proportional increase in the next 5-10 years is expected to be will be among persons aged 50 years and over with the associated risks of developing diseases such as dementia. [read the full story…]
Whilst there is a developing literature aimed at a better understanding of end of life care for people with learning disabilities, there is little published that relates directly to the perspectives of paid carers. The researchers in this study used a series of focus groups to analyse responses from 64 people who worked in learning [read the full story…]
The BMJ have published an up to date guideline on the treatment of depression with drugs and physical interventions. It provides a good overview of the effectiveness and safety of antidepressants, electroconvulsive therapy, exercise, lithium augmentation, pindolol augmentation, and St John’s wort. The authors found 88 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies and performed a [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…]
NICE have published a new guideline today with the usual collection of supporting documents. Here’s the blurb from their website: This clinical guideline offers evidence-based advice on the care and treatment of adults who have common mental health disorders, with a particular focus on primary care. It brings together advice from existing guidelines and combines [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 week is mental health awareness week and the Mental Health Foundation are marking the occasion with an awareness raising campaign about sleep. Their Sleep Matters report from January of this year calls for improved access to psychological therapies for people who suffer from insomnia. It highlights that in the UK you are more likely [read the full story…]
