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January 31, 2008

Alcohol dependence may affect nearly four percent of U.S. population, NIH indicates

In the Qualities of Life: Health column in the Chicago Tribune (1/27), Kimberlee Roth wrote that "alcohol dependence, or alcoholism," is "a disease affecting almost four percent of the U.S. population, and more than nine percent of those ages 18 through 29, according to the National Institutes of Health."

Addiction psychiatrist Seth Eisenberg, M.D., of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, characterized alcoholism as a "brain disease," as well as a "chronic disease seen as a 'complex biological, medical, behavioral, and psychological array.'" The condition, which may have "genetic underpinnings," can also result from "social and environmental dynamics."

While alcohol dependence "cannot be cured," it "can be treated." Dr. Eisenberg pointed out the "many pathways to recovery," including "professional treatment in a hospital or non-hospital facility, outpatient treatment, and/or mutual aid, such as Alcoholics Anonymous." In addition, some "[p]rescription medication to curb cravings or discourage drinking by making one feel sick when the drug is mixed with alcohol" can also help.

Still, some patients may also "need to be treated for other co-occurring mental health issues, including bipolar disorder, anxiety, or depression."

Related Links:

- "One route to alcoholism: After the first drink, you want that 'rush' again," Kimberly Roth, Chicago Tribune, January 27, 2008.

Posted by admin at 11:53 AM

New Miss America fought battle with anorexia

The AP (1/28, Nakashima) reported that the newly crowned Miss America, Kirsten Haglund, 19, of Michigan, "was diagnosed with anorexia" three years ago. As a result of parental intervention, she was taken to a physician and received help for her condition.

Haglund "says she is going to maintain her healthy lifestyle of pilates exercises and treadmill workouts during her yearlong reign as Miss America, as she attempts to raise awareness of eating disorders, promote the pageant, and help the Children's Miracle Network." And, "to escape an environment in which she was rewarded for being slim and an industry" that she "said sweeps concerns about eating disorders under the rug," Haglund "even stopped pursuing her dream to become a professional ballerina."

According to estimates by the National Eating Disorders Association, "eating disorders affect 10 million girls and women, and about one million boys and men in the United States."

Related Links:

- "Kansas City Star, January 27, 2008.

Posted by admin at 11:45 AM

January 29, 2008

"In Treatment": A New HBO Program

Beginning Monday, Jan. 28, HBO will show a new five day a week series, "In Treatment," which is a close-up portrayal of psychotherapy. It originates from Israel, where it has been described as the closest thing to literature on TV.

It has been widely reviewed, including the January 28 New York Times Sunday magazine ("How It's Couched") and the January 25 Wall Street Journal ("Secrets and Lies"). It has been given high marks. The same night each week is devoted to a given patient.

Related Links:

- "Phenomenon: How It's Couched," Daphne Merkin, New York Times Magazine, January 27, 2008.
- "Secrets and Lies," Dorothy Rabinowitz, Wall Street Journal, January 25, 2008, p. W6.
- In Treatment website at HBO

Posted by admin at 12:43 AM

January 25, 2008

Employee mental healthcare pays off in improved productivity

Workforce Management (1/23, Demby) reports that behavioral health issues (mental health problems and substance abuse) "cause 217 million missed workdays annually, account for 7.6 percent of total healthcare dollars; are the fifth leading cause of short-term disability and, ultimately, the third leading cause of long-term disability."

While "[m]edical expenses may be the most obvious cost of behavioral health problems," the bigger drain on the corporate bottom line comes from "indirect costs, including lost productivity." Depression, stress, and "substance abuse are among the leading causes of short- and long-term disability and 'presenteeism' (coming to work although too sick to be productive)."

According to Clare Miller, director of the Partnership for Workplace Mental Health (PWMH), a program of the American Psychiatric Foundation, "Just letting employees know what benefits exist, and encouraging them to utilize them is a good strategy," since "40 percent of employees are unaware of the behavioral health benefits their employers offer." Miller added, "Employers need to be promoting what they are already paying for." When "employees seek and get mental healthcare, it pays for itself in improved productivity."

Related Links:
- "That sinking feeling: Depression saps workers, employers," Elaine Robertson Demby, Workforce Management, January 22, 2008.
(Requires free registration)
- Workforce Management website
- "That sinking feeling: Depression saps workers, employers," Elaine Robertson Demby, Financial Week, January 14, 2008.
(Full text)

Posted by admin at 02:57 PM

New FDA rules may require drugmakers to assess suicide risk during drug trials

On its front page, the New York Times (1/24, A1, Harris) reports that according to "new rules represent[ing] one of the most profound changes of the past 16 years to regulations governing drug development," the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now requiring pharmaceutical companies to "put a comprehensive suicide assessment into their clinical trials."

The new requirements come as "agency officials realized that multiple classes of medicines might cause dangerous psychiatric problems." The FDA's action was also spurred by findings that medications used "to treat acne, hypertension, high cholesterol, swelling, heartburn, pain, bacterial infections, and insomnia, can all cause psychiatric problems, effects that were discovered in most cases after the drugs were approved and used in millions of patients."

Although the agency "has determined that [many] drugs' benefits outweigh their psychiatric risks," the FDA "now wants to uncover such problems more reliably, and before approval." Kelly L. Posner, Ph.D., of Columbia University, and colleagues, "developed a questionnaire to help systematically assess suicidal thoughts and behavior." The FDA now requires that drugmakers "adopt th[is] methodology in their clinical trials."

Related Links:
- "F.D.A. Requiring Suicide Studies in Drug Trials," Gardiner Harris, New York Times, January 24, 2008.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Posted by admin at 02:46 PM

January 21, 2008

Maryland Closes Some State Hospital Beds

This past Fall (2007), the state has closed 50 beds at Springfield and Spring Grove. At the same time they have opened/or converted 22 adult beds at the Finan Center in Cumberland, Maryland, and part of their plan includes "purchasing" the use of private hospital beds for the uninsured.

State Hospitals no longer accept voluntary patients with insurance, including Medicaid/MA.

Related Links:
- Maryland Mental Hygiene Administration: Facilities website
- Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website

Posted by admin at 02:21 PM

Study indicates 12-week talk therapy course may benefit patients with panic disorder

WebMD (1/18, Mann) reports that according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association and published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, the "often debilitating symptoms of panic disorder" may be curbed by a "12-week course of talk therapy."

For the study, researchers followed "49 people with panic disorder," and found that "more than 70 percent of those in the talk therapy group showed significantly less anxiety and other panic symptoms as measured by a standard scale assessing panic symptoms." The research team found that of the participants who "received applied relaxation training," 39 percent showed improvement in their symptoms.

Barbara Milrod, M.D., an associate professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, said that the "psychodynamic psychotherapy regimen used in the study was so successful that the American Psychiatric Association is in the process of changing its guidelines to reflect the new findings."

Related Links:
- "Study Shows Improvement in Anxiety and Other Panic Disorder Symptoms," Denise Mann, WebMD, January 17, 2008.
- "ABSTRACT: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy for Panic Disorder," Barbara Milrod, M.D., et. al., American Journal of Psychiatry, 164:265-272, February 2007.

Posted by admin at 01:57 PM

January 10, 2008

Survey finds many primary-care physicians may overlook depression, mental illness in elderly

The New York Times (1/8, F6, Nagourney) reports that in the new study Two-Minute Mental Health Care for Elderly Patients: Inside Primary Care Visits, which appears in the December issue of Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers suggest many primary-care physicians "may devote too little time" to discussing depression and other mental illnesses with the elderly.

During the study, "researchers reviewed videotapes of 385 appointments with elderly patients in three separate areas," and "found the median time spent discussing mental health was just two minutes." Led by Ming Tai-Seale, Ph.D., MPH, of the School of Rural Public Health at Texas A&M, the research team found that the subject of mental health "came up in about a fifth of the visits over all." However, over "half the patients whose survey responses suggested they were depressed never spoke with their doctors at all about their emotional state."

The study also found that "even when patients let their doctors know about their problems," the "responses were often ineffective or worse."

Related Links:

- "Aging: Mental Health Overlooked in Care of Elderly Patients," Eric Nagoruney, New York Times, January 8, 2008
- ABSTRACT: "Two-Minute Mental Health Care for Elderly Patients: Inside Primary Care Visits," Ming Tai-Seale, PhD, MPH, et. al., Journal of the American Geriatric Society 55 (12), 1903-1911.

Posted by admin at 12:37 AM

January 08, 2008

Suicide prevention program focuses on high-school students

The Christian Science Monitor (1/3, Khadaroo) reports that "[s]ince 2000-01, more than 3,500 schools throughout the United States have used...materials and training kits" from the Signs of Suicide (SOS) prevention program "to teach" high-school "students how to recognize and respond to depression and suicidal thoughts."

The SOS program "is the only school-based curriculum shown to reduce self-reported suicide attempts in randomized controlled studies." Results from studies in "2004 and 2007 found that suicide attempts were 40 percent less for students in the SOS high-school program than for the control group," with similar results "across racial and socioeconomic groups." Statistics from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control indicate that suicide is "the third leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds."

Related Links:

- "Suicide Prevention Program Focuses on Teens," Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, Christian Science Monitor, January 3, 2008.
- Signs of Suicide program at Screening for Mental Health Inc.'s website

Posted by admin at 01:08 PM