Behavioral Health News
CBT Treatment Proven Effective for PTSD Veterans
The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have left a great deal of soldiers needing to seek comprehensive care back home in the United States. While a bulk of this care has been physical, some are also seeking attention for psychological trauma. Some of this trauma is a result of what the soldiers saw, while some can be attributed to acute pain.
Science Daily recently posted a release that highlighted the common sources of pain. These sources include the head, legs and shoulders. Veterans are also reporting high rates of mental health issues, not the least of which is posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and alcohol use disorders.
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Pregnant Women More Susceptible to Flu if Depressed
While the flu season did come earlier this year, it has settled like a black fog throughout the country. For women who are pregnant, the threat of the flu can bring with it increased risks, driving many to receive the flu vaccine. For those pregnant women who are also dealing with depression, the vaccine could be a lifesaver.
Science Daily posted a release that covered a recent study into the effects depression has on pregnant women. One of the findings was that these women tend to have a stronger biological reaction to the seasonal flu vaccine, suggesting that the immune systems in depressed and pregnant women are not functioning as normal.
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Mediterranean Diet May Ward Off Depression
People diet for a number of different reasons; including better health, smaller waistline and improved self-image. For those who follow the Mediterranean diet, they are also likely to improve their overall disposition.
Science Daily posted a release that examined the impact this diet has on a person. Those who follow the diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains and fish, appear less likely to develop depression.
Overall, the lifetime prevalence of mental disorders has been shown to be lower in Mediterranean than Northern European countries. The diet appears to be a contributing factor to protect against depression. Previous studies suggest that the monounsaturated fatty acids in olive oil may be associated with a lower risk of severe depressive symptoms.
Intravenous Ketamine Treatment in Depressed Patients Reduces Suicidal Tendencies
Treating depression with medication can be a precarious approach. The physician is faced with a dilemma as the patient may be suicidal and needs medication to take rapid affect. At the same time, the patient may be prone to addiction and prescribing something for the depression could lead to other problems.
The Science Daily recently reported that specific drug treatment options for depression can take weeks to deliver the desired beneficial effects. This is clearly a risk factor when the depressed individual is prone to be suicidal.
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Binge-Eating Disorder in College-Age Women and Ethnicity
Existing research shows that rates of binge eating among adult women is virtually identical across race. However, a new study found that among college-age women, Caucasian women are more apt to exhibit binge eating behaviors than African American women.
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Seniors Online Show Less Depression
While some are crying out against the dangers too much Internet use can cause an individual, others are touting its value in terms of social connection. For seniors especially, Internet use could be good for their health.
According to a McKnights article, seniors using the Internet could reduce rates of depression and cut healthcare costs at the same time. This prediction is part of a new report from The Phoenix Center.
Seniors face significant challenges in maintaining relationships with friends and family, especially if they have mobility difficulties. Such obstacles can lead to depression and can complicate current health conditions.
Study Finds Hopelessness Can Lead to Stroke
Consistent research has shown that a person’s mental health plays a large role in their physical health. Now, new research out of the University of Minnesota Medical School has found that healthy, middle-aged women experiencing feelings of hopelessness are also experiencing thickening of the neck arteries, which can be a precursor to a stroke.
Science Daily recently issued a report on this study, which was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. This study found negative thinking and feelings of uselessness – or hopelessness – affects arteries independent of clinical depression and before women develop clinically relevant cardiovascular disease.
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Children on Psychiatric Drugs Can Quickly Become Obese
Children taking psychiatric drugs can quickly gain an alarming amount of weight. The Associated Press reports that a study found that many gain nearly 20 pounds and become obese within just 11 weeks of starting the medication.
“Sometimes this stuff just happens like an explosion. You can actually see them grow between appointments,” said Dr. Christopher Varley, a psychiatrist with Seattle Children’s Hospital. Varley called the study “sobering.”
Weight gain is a known possible side effect of the anti-psychotic drugs prescribed for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The drugs are increasingly being prescribed for autism, attention deficit disorders, and other behavior problems. The new study in mostly older children and teens suggests that this age group may be more vulnerable to weight gain than adults.
The study also linked some of these drugs with worrisome increases in blood fats including cholesterol, also seen in adults. Researchers tie these changes to weight gain and worry that both may make children more prone to heart problems in adulthood.
The research is the largest in children who had just started taking these medicines, and provides strong evidence suggesting the drugs, not something else, caused the side effects, said lead author Dr. Christoph Correll of North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Glen Oaks, N.Y.
But because these drugs can reduce severe psychiatric symptoms in troubled children, “We’re a little bit between a rock and a hard place,” he said.
The study authors said their results show that children on the drugs should be closely monitored for weight gain and other side effects, and that when possible, other medicines should be tried first.
The study appears in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association. It involved 205 New York City-area children from 4 to 19 years old who had recently been prescribed one of the drugs; the average age was 14.
Depending on which of four study drugs children used, they gained between about 10 and 20 pounds on average in almost 11 weeks; from 10 percent to 36 percent became obese.
The drugs are Abilify, Risperdal, Seroquel, and Zyprexa. Of the four, Seroquel and Zyprexa are not yet approved for children, and they had the worst effects on weight and cholesterol. However, a government advisory panel recently voted in favor of pediatric use for the two drugs, and the Food and Drug Administration often follows its advisers’ recommendations.
The drugs’ makers said these problems are known side effects but emphasized the drugs’ benefits in helping patients cope with serious mental illness.
The four drugs have been considered safer than older anti-psychotic drugs, which can cause sometimes permanent involuntary muscle twitches and tics. That has contributed to widespread use of the newer drugs, including for less severe behavior problems, a JAMA editorial said.
The number of children using these drugs has soared to more than 2 million annually, according to one estimate.
Doctors “should not stretch the boundaries” by prescribing the drugs for conditions they haven’t been proven to treat, said Varley, co-author of the editorial.
Why these drugs cause weight gain is uncertain but there’s some evidence that they increase appetite and they may affect how the body metabolizes sugar, said Jeff Bishop, a psychiatric pharmacist at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The drugs also can have a sedation effect that can make users less active.
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Mental Health is Important for Overall Physical Health
Mental health is an important focus in the medical world as it is an integral part of overall physical health. Mental health professionals tried to emphasize this point at the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar on World Mental Health Day.
The Peninsula Qatar posted an article highlighting the event. Dr. Ziad Kronfol, associate professor of psychiatry at WCMC-Q, led a discussion on the relationship between depression and physical health at the World Mental Health Day event.
“Mental health disorders occur at all stages of life and in all cultures,” said Dr. Kronfol. “Depression, in particular, is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Research studies have shown that depression is a common complication of other chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis or kidney disease.”
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Research Suggests Doctors Have Less Respect for Obese Patients
A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that doctors have less respect for their obese patients than they do for patients of normal weight. The findings raise questions about whether negative physician attitudes about obesity could be affecting the long-term health of their heavier patients.
As patients had higher body mass indexes (BMI), physicians reported lower respect for them, according to the study, which will appear in the November issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
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