Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Psychiatry for April 2009. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
New Web-based Information Source to Support UK Clinicians
THURSDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) -- The United Kingdom's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has announced the launch of NHS Evidence, a Web-based evidence resource for clinicians, public health professionals of the National Health Service, and others involved in making patient care decisions. The announcement came in the April 30 issue of The Lancet.
NICE home page
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Smoking, Hypertension Judged the Leading US Death Risks
THURSDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) -- Smoking and high blood pressure are the leading risk factors contributing to death in the United States, according to a study reported April 28 in PLOS Medicine.
NEJM Commends New Conflict of Interest Proposal
THURSDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) -- A new proposal to control conflict of interest is notable for its breadth and variety of recommended solutions, according to a Perspective article published online April 29 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Sleeping Issues Linked to Attention Deficit Symptoms
THURSDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) -- Short sleep duration or troubled sleep may make children more likely to exhibit behavioral symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to research published in the May issue of Pediatrics.
Poisoning Deaths Prompt Methadone Outreach
WEDNESDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- A more than threefold increase in the number of deaths linked to methadone poisoning in recent years is prompting a new public information campaign on the safe use of the prescription drug in both addiction treatment and as a pain reliever, according to a statement released April 28 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
FDA Requires OTC Pain Relievers to Display Warnings
WEDNESDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- Popular over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers and fever medications containing acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) will be required to display prominent warnings about the risks of liver damage and internal bleeding, under a new rule announced April 28 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Attention-Deficit Drugs Linked to Better Test Scores
WEDNESDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who were medicated for the condition scored higher on math and reading tests than their unmedicated peers, according to research published in the May issue of Pediatrics.
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Female Sexual Dysfunction Common in Type 1 Diabetes
WEDNESDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- Depression may raise the risk of female sexual dysfunction in women with type 1 diabetes, many of whom have sexual difficulties, according to research published in the May issue of Diabetes Care.
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Breech Presentation Linked to Autism Spectrum Disorders
WEDNESDAY, April 29 (HealthDay News) -- An association between breech presentation and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children may point to a shared etiology between the two, according to research published in the May issue of Pediatrics.
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Pharmacist Involvement May Decrease Medication Errors
TUESDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) -- Adding a pharmacist to health care teams may significantly decrease patients' risk of adverse drug events and medication errors, according to a report published in the April 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. A second study indicates that an interdisciplinary medication reconciliation intervention can also reduce unintentional medication discrepancies with potential for harm.
Abstract - Murray
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Abstract - Schnipper
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Sedentary Children Have Greater Psychological Distress
TUESDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) -- Children who are sedentary and watch a lot of television and movies have higher levels of psychological distress, according to research published in the May issue of Pediatrics.
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Steep Copayments Increase Risk of Non-Adherence
TUESDAY, April 28 (HealthDay News) -- In patients who are newly diagnosed with a chronic disease, higher out-of-pocket costs for medications are associated with an increased likelihood of non-treatment, according to a study published in the April 27 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Editorial
Teen Binges Linked to White Matter Changes in Brain
FRIDAY, April 24 (HealthDay News) -- In adolescents, binge drinking may be associated with reduced white matter integrity in the frontal, cerebellar, temporal, and parietal regions of the brain, according to research published online April 21 in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
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Prenatal Flu Exposure Linked to Lower Intelligence Scores
THURSDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) -- Exposure to the Hong Kong flu in utero may be associated with lower intelligence in adulthood, according to research published online ahead of print March 18 in the Annals of Neurology.
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Side Effect Connection with Antidepressant Use Examined
THURSDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) -- Many side effects reported by women who take a tricyclic antidepressant to treat functional gastrointestinal disorder, where symptoms are not explained by observable morphologic abnormalities, do not appear to be due to the drug and may be due to psychologic distress, according to a study in the April issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
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Having Health Insurance May Not Improve Mortality Risk
THURSDAY, April 23 (HealthDay News) -- People without health insurance have about the same mortality rate as people with health insurance, according to an observational study published online April 21 in Health Services Research.
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Stretches Without Health Insurance More Common
WEDNESDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) -- Periods of uninsurance have become more common in recent decades, particularly among those with less education, according to research published in the April 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Resuscitation at Birth Associated With Low IQ Score
WEDNESDAY, April 22 (HealthDay News) -- Infants who undergo resuscitation at birth are more likely to have a low IQ score later in childhood than those who do not, and resuscitated infants with asymptomatic encephalopathy account for a greater proportion of affected adults than those with encephalopathy, according to a study published online April 21 in The Lancet.
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Continuity of Care Declining for Medicare Beneficiaries
TUESDAY, April 21 (HealthDay News) -- Medicare beneficiaries in the hospital in 2006 were much less likely to be seen there by a familiar physician than those in the hospital a decade earlier, according to a study reported in the April 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Almost Ten Percent of Youth Addicted to Video Games
MONDAY, April 20 (HealthDay News) -- Close to 10 percent of American children and adolescents can be considered "addicted" to playing video games based on clinical criteria, according to a study published online April 13 in Psychological Science.
Abstract
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High Barriers for Access to Mental Health Care
FRIDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- Approximately two-thirds of primary care physicians have difficulty securing mental health care services for their patients, according to a report published online April 14 in Health Affairs.
Psychological Interventions Can Close Achievement Gap
FRIDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- Structured writing assignments that focus on students' self-affirming value can help to close the racial gap in academic achievement, according to a study published in the April 17 issue of Science.
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Soldiers' Health Status Predicts Combat-Related PTSD
FRIDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- Soldiers with low mental or physical health status before combat exposure are at significantly increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to a study published online April 16 in BMJ.
Spine Patients Choose Surgery to Improve Functioning
FRIDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) -- Improving daily functioning, such as walking, rather than relieving pain is the primary reason that people with back deformities choose risky surgery over nonoperative therapies, according to a report in the April 15 issue of Spine.
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Depression Boosts Heart Failure Risk After Heart Disease
THURSDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with coronary artery disease who are depressed are more likely to have heart failure, even if they take antidepressants, according to a study in the April 21 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Gastrointestinal Symptoms Common in Fibromyalgia
THURSDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- A large majority of individuals with fibromyalgia also had functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID), which may be related to psychological distress, according to research published in the April issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
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Brain Structure Changes After Prenatal Methamphetamine Use
THURSDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- Prenatal methamphetamine exposure leads to alterations in the structure of brain white matter, according to a study published online April 15 in Neurology.
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Valproate in Pregnancy Linked to Lower IQ in Children
WEDNESDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- The use of valproate in pregnant women with epilepsy is associated with a higher risk of impaired cognitive function in their children at the age of 3, according to research published in the April 16 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Abstract
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Editorial
National Patterns of Frequent Mental Distress Vary Widely
WEDNESDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of frequent mental distress has remained consistently high or low in some geographic areas of the United States, but others show substantial shifts since the early 1990s, according to a report published online April 14 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Hypoglycemic Events Increase Dementia Risk with Diabetes
TUESDAY, April 14 (HealthDay News) -- Incidents of hypoglycemia in older patients with type 2 diabetes increase the risk of their eventually developing dementia, according to a study in the April 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Injecting-Drug Users Still Put Themselves at Risk for HIV
FRIDAY, April 10 (HealthDay News) -- Injecting-drug users accounted for 6,600 (12 percent) of the new cases of HIV detected in the United States in 2006, and many report engaging in HIV-associated behaviors, according to a report published in the April 10 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Financial Rewards for Healthy Behavior Can Be Effective
FRIDAY, April 10 (HealthDay News) -- Although paying people to engage in healthy behaviors or successfully tackle unhealthy ones can be effective, it may carry unintended consequences, according to an editorial published online April 9 in BMJ.
Work Atmosphere Influences Employees' Risk of Depression
THURSDAY, April 9 (HealthDay News) -- People who work in environments with a poor team climate are more likely to be diagnosed with depression and be prescribed antidepressants compared to their counterparts in a healthier workplace environment, according to study findings published online April 9 in Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
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Children With Poor Self-Control at Risk for Weight Problems
WEDNESDAY, April 8 (HealthDay News) -- Children with poor self-regulating abilities at a young age are more likely to develop weight problems as they approach adolescence, according to a pair of studies reported in the April issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.
Abstract - Francis
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Abstract - Seeyave
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Personality Traits May Be Key to Longevity
WEDNESDAY, April 8 (HealthDay News) -- The offspring of centenarians, who tend to have more successful aging, also exhibit higher than average scores on personality tests for positive personality traits, according to the results of a study published in the April issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
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Behavioral Therapy Improves Anxiety Symptoms in Elderly
TUESDAY, April 7 (HealthDay News) -- Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is better than enhanced usual care in improving symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder in older patients in primary care, according to a report in the April 8 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Cognitive Behavior Therapy Combats Post-Surgery Blues
TUESDAY, April 7 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who develop depression after undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery can be successfully treated with cognitive behavior therapy, according to an article published in the April issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
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Boyhood Psychiatric Issues Predict Later Suicide Attempts
TUESDAY, April 7 (HealthDay News) -- Boys who show signs of psychiatric problems at the age of 8 years are at higher risk of suicide or attempted suicide later in life compared with their mentally healthy counterparts, but female suicidality cannot be predicted in childhood, according to study findings published in the April issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
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Compassion Fatigue in Cancer Care Poorly Understood
TUESDAY, April 7 (HealthDay News) -- Compassion fatigue is a familiar problem for cancer care professionals, yet compassion fatigue is vaguely defined, its effects are not clearly understood and its management is inadequately addressed, researchers report in the March issue of the Journal of Health Psychology.
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Binge Drinking Causes Half of Alcohol-Related Deaths
MONDAY, April 6 (HealthDay News) -- Binge drinking caused an estimated 43,731 (54.9 percent) of the 79,646 alcohol-related deaths each year from 2001 to 2005 in the United States, and is more common among men than women, with whites aged 18 to 34 those most likely to drink in this way, according to a report published in the April 3 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Exercise Improves Academic Performance in Children
MONDAY, April 6 (HealthDay News) -- Short periods of moderate exercise such as walking improve attention and academic performance in pre-adolescent children, researchers report in the March 31 issue of Neuroscience.
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Modification of Huntington's Protein Reverses Degeneration
FRIDAY, April 3 (HealthDay News) -- Chemical modification of the mutant protein that accumulates in neurons in patients with Huntington's disease leads to clearance of the protein and reversal of neurodegeneration, researchers report in the April 3 issue of Cell.
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Young Vegetarians Eat Better But Have More Disorders
THURSDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- Young adult and adolescent vegetarians tend to eat more fruit and vegetables than their non-vegetarian counterparts and are at lower risk of obesity, but they are also more prone to unhealthy weight control activities and binge eating, according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
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Electronic Prescribing Online-Learning Tools Launched
THURSDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. physicians will be able to better evaluate electronic prescribing systems thanks to a new online learning center on ePrescribing launched April 1 by the American Medical Association.
Changes Needed in New-Drug Evaluation Process
WEDNESDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) -- The evaluation process for new drugs is overdue for an overhaul, which could provide benefits for the public and the pharmaceutical industry, according to a point-counterpoint commentary published online March 31 in BMJ.
Abstract - Garattini
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Abstract - Tremblay
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New Health Program Leads to Questions in the UK
WEDNESDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) -- A new British program to improve patient choices and competition in the health care marketplace may lead to excess capacity in some areas and instability in others, according to a commentary published online March 31 in BMJ.
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Imaging Study Shines Light on Phantom Limbs
WEDNESDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) -- The case of a patient who perceived a supernumerary phantom limb (SPL) that she could see, feel, and move following a stroke offers insight into brain structures involved in such phenomena, according to research published online March 20 in the Annals of Neurology.
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