Depression
Women Linked to Drug Abuse Are at Risk for Depression
An online article reports that women who are linked to drug abuse of any type, either as the partner of an abuser or the consumer themselves, are more likely to have mental health disorders than those who have remained drug free.
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Mental Health Awareness Increases as Getting Help Decreases
Is America more comfortable with vulnerability? A soon-to-be-released study says that more Americans than ever are reporting feeling depressed and anxious along with a host of other emotional health issues. If we are ready to acknowledge our mental health struggles, then why aren’t health care professionals seeing more Americans in their offices?
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Anti-Inflammatory Drugs May Reduce Effectiveness of Some Antidepressants
A new study has found that some anti-inflammatory medications, including ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen, can reduce the effectiveness of SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), the most commonly prescribed antidepressant medications. SSRIs are often used to treat depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. This could help explain why many people suffering from depression do not respond to antidepressant treatment.
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Depression Worsens Over Time for High-Risk Women
Researchers at the University of Michigan’s Health System have released the latest developments of their ongoing longitudinal study on women in their 30s and early 40s who are considered to be at high-risk for alcohol abuse, antisocial behavior, and depression.
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Depression May Stand in Way of Smoking Cessation Success
A new study has found that smokers who suffer from depression want to quit smoking as much as non-depressed smokers do, but their depression may stand in the way of their success. Researchers from the University of California at San Diego found that 24 percent of people who called the California Smokers’ Helpline currently suffered from major depression, and 17 percent had mild depression.
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Improving Mood Could Help Obese Women Lose Weight
Many women who suffer from obesity also suffer from depression, and a new study has found that improving one’s mood may be the key to losing weight. The study cites previous studies that show that having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more (which is classified as obesity) increases the risk of depression by 50 to 150 percent.
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Depression with Psychotic Symptoms More Difficult to Treat
Major depressive disorder (MDD) can be difficult to treat, requiring the patient to test out a variety of treatment options over a period of time before finding a prescription that works. MDD that results in poor treatment outcomes after following traditional antidepressant therapy is commonly thought of as being a sign of undetected bipolar disorder or bipolar spectrum features. Yet a new study is indicating that depression of this sort may rather be untreatable due to psychotic symptoms.
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Computer System Could Help with Understanding, Treatment of Depression
Researchers in Australia are examining whether information technology can be used to improve the diagnosis and treatment of depression. Maja Hadzic, Fedja Hadzic, and Tharam Dillon of the Digital Ecosystems and Business Intelligence Institute, at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia, write that the World Health Organization predicts that depression will be the world’s leading cause of disability by 2020. They noted that there is a world-wide spread of depression, but that unlike other epidemics such as H1N1, there is no pathogen associated with depression.
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Problem Gamblers Have Increased Risk of Suicide, Personality Disorders
A new study from Montreal has found that pathological gamblers are more likely to commit suicide, and also tend to suffer from personality disorders. These findings could help develop improved suicide prevention programs.
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Hypomania and Alcohol Use
Individuals with clinically significant Mood Disorders such as Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder have long been considered to be at risk for alcohol abuse and dependence. Mood fluctuations such as those found in Bipolar Disorder are tied to substance use in multiple ways. Some with these conditions report substance use to self-medicate negative symptoms. The effects of substance use to self-medicate, however, are unpredictable, varied and can result in worsened symptoms or a free-standing Substance Use Disorder. Additionally, the more ‘pleasant’ (Piper, 2010) symptoms of Mood Disorders such as Bipolar I and Bipolar II also seem to impact patterns of substance use.
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