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December 24, 2008
Re-staged Milgram study suggests people may still be willing to inflict pain on others
On its website, BBC News (12/19) reported that, according to a study published in the Jan. issue of American Psychologist, "scientists have found test subjects are still willing to inflict pain on others -- if told to by an authority figure."
For the study, researchers from Santa Clara University "repeated the famous 'Milgram test,' with volunteers told to deliver electrical shocks to another volunteer" who was "played by an actor." The investigators found that, "even after faked screams of pain, 70 percent" of the participants "were prepared to increase the voltage." The results "may help explain why apparently ordinary people can commit atrocities."
Delving into the study's methodology, Time (12/19, Altman) pointed out that 70 percent of the "29 men and 41 women" who took part in the experiments were "willing to proceed past the maximum 150-volt jolt level; in the corresponding Milgram experiment, 83 percent continued." In the current study, investigators "found no evidence for gender differences in obedience," nor could "'a lack of empathy' explain the high obedience rates in Milgram's studies. Rather, the results" indicate "the power of situational variables to overcome feelings of reluctance in this situation."
The "takeaway" lesson is that "humanity's threshold for cruelty is, like everything else, situational." Humans "seem wired to follow orders, even when they're harmful to others," the authors suggested. CNN (12/19) also covered the story.
Posted by admin at 12:52 AM
Investigation finds increasing number of children taking psychiatric medications
In an investigative piece, the Poughkeepsie Journal (12/21, Pfeiffer) "studied five years of records for 29 major psychiatric medications, sold under 58 brand and generic names, and prescribed to children and adolescents under 21.
The data, provided by the Office of the State Comptroller under the Freedom of Information Act, showed" that the "rate of prescription of antipsychotic medications...rose [in New York state] for children and adolescents on Medicaid by 26 percent per capita from 2003 to 2007."
In the U.S. as a whole, the "rate of antipsychotic prescribing...increased fivefold from 1995 to 2002 -- to 39.4 of every 1,000 children two to 18 years old -- according to a study published in the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics." Many mental health experts have watched this rise "with a mixture of encouragement and apprehension," according to the Journal.
While some believe that the increase shows that "mental illness is finally being accepted as a biological reality that requires treatment," others "are bothered by the scale on which children are being medicated."
Posted by admin at 12:50 AM
Researchers debunk popular holiday myths
The CBS Evening News (12/18, story 12, 2:15, Couric) reported, "For generations, mothers...have doled out" their "own brand of medical advice," such as keeping children "bundled under hats in the winter, and away from sugar."
But, the Canadian Press (12/18) reported that many "commonly held beliefs are untrue," according to research published in the Christmas issue of the BMJ by "myth busters extraordinaire Rachel Vreeman, M.D., and Aaron Carroll, M.D.," of the Indiana University School of Medicine. For instance, the authors analyzed "data from 22,793 calls about poinsettia ingestion made to US poison-control centers," and "found no deaths, and no one who really even needed medical care." Thus, they dispelled the myth that poinsettias are poisonous.
CNN (12/18, MacMillan) reported that, according to the authors, "a 35-year study on Minnesota residents found that suicides did not increase on or around Christmas, or any other major holidays, including birthdays, Thanksgiving, or the Fourth of July." In fact, "research from all over the world...shows that suicides are actually more prevalent in warm, summer months -- a pattern that scientists can't quite explain." Therefore, "while suicidal thoughts should be taken seriously at any time of year, there's no reason to think that this month is especially dangerous," they concluded.
The researchers also sought to determine if eating at night makes people fat, MSNBC (12/19, Runevitch) adds. They found "nothing worse about a nighttime snack than a morning snack."
Drs. Vreeman and Carroll also showed that "there is nothing special about heat loss from the head -- any uncovered part of the body would lose heat," BBC News (12/18) noted on its website.
Finally, HealthDay (12/18, Gordon) points out that the team discussed "at least 12" studies which "have looked at the effect of sugar on children, and none found evidence for the sugar-equals-hyperactivity myth." US News and World Report (12/18) also covered the story, as did CBS News (12/18) on its website.
Posted by admin at 12:48 AM
New website launched to help people suffering from traumatic brain injuries
The Washington Post (12/16, HE2, Kritz) reports that for the "more than five million Americans" who "have suffered a traumatic brain injury," a "new website, brainline.org, offers these people and their families a user-friendly source of information."
Created "by public television and radio station WETA, with funding from the government's Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center," the site "offers such online tools as webcasting, videos, a Facebook page, font enlargement, a glossary that can pop up inside text, and a one-click option that translates all text into Spanish."
Noel Gunther, head of learning media at WETA, "says the site is aimed at patients and families, as well as community health professionals who may have little experience recognizing or treating brain injuries in veterans."
Visit the website at http://www.headinjury.com/.
Posted by admin at 12:45 AM
Utah legislation would have health insurance companies cover autism therapy
The Salt Lake Tribune (12/16, May) reports on a grassroots advocacy effort to require "Utah health insurance companies to cover autism therapy."
State Senator Howard Stephenson (R) has sponsored a bill in the upcoming session, which "would include an annual coverage cap, likely around $30,000, and a to-be-determined lifetime cap. It will also require families to contribute."
As it is currently conceived, the bill would only require insurers "to cover what is known as applied behavior analysis, or ABA therapy," which provides "one-on-one treatment for up to 40 hours a week at home." The measure, however, would likely "not cover alternative therapies, such as hyperbaric chambers and detoxifying diets."
Posted by admin at 12:44 AM
Economic crisis deflating self-esteem of some men in the financial industry, columnist writes
In the New York Times (12/16, D5) Mind column, Richard A. Friedman, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, writes that, while "it is too soon to gauge the true psychiatric consequences of the economic debacle," and "it will be some time before epidemiologists can tell us for certain whether depression and suicide are on the rise," there is currently "no question that the crisis is leaving its mark on individuals, especially men."
Dr. Friedman points out, "Over the last few months, I have seen a group of patients, all men, who experienced a near collapse in their self-esteem, though none of them were clinically depressed." According to Dr. Friedman, "Each of these patients experienced a sudden loss of the sense of mastery in the face of the financial meltdown and could not gauge their success or failure without the only benchmark they knew: a financial profit."
Dr. Friedman observes that "the previously expanding market gave them a sense of power along with something as strong as a drug: thrill." Now, however, "that thrill is gone, replaced by anxiety and fear."
Posted by admin at 12:43 AM
December 20, 2008
New Radio Ad Examines Economic Problems and Depression
The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc. began airing a new public service announcement on local Maryland radio stations this month about depression during the current economic downturn. You can listen to it using the player in the upper right of the website's homepage or download the MP3 file from our radio ad page.
Posted by admin at 03:15 PM
Some people with eating disorders may benefit from talking therapies, research suggests
On its website, BBC News (12/15) reports that, according to study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, "people with eating disorders could benefit from 'talking therapies' which aim to release them from obsessive feelings," and "a specially-created form of 'cognitive behavioral therapy' might work in four out of five cases."
For the study, researchers from the University of Oxford "focused on" 154 "bulimia and 'atypical' patients, but excluded those with anorexia." The team "developed two versions" of counseling sessions "specifically for people with eating disorders, one which focused completely on the eating problems, and another, which took a wider view of not only the eating disorder, but also problems with self-esteem which might be contributing to it. Both treatments involved 50-minute outpatient sessions repeated once a week for 20 weeks." The authors said that "two-thirds" of the participants "made a 'complete and lasting' response, with many of the other third showing substantial improvement."
Posted by admin at 02:59 PM
Patients with panic disorder may have increased heart attack, heart disease risk, data indicate
HealthDay (12/12, Preidt) reported that, after analyzing "the medical records of almost 58,000 adults diagnosed with panic disorder/attacks and more than 347,000 adults without the condition...."
HealthDay (12/12, Preidt) reported that, after analyzing "the medical records of almost 58,000 adults diagnosed with panic disorder/attacks and more than 347,000 adults without the condition," researchers writing in the Dec. 11 issue of the European Heart Journal concluded that "adults who have panic disorder or panic attacks have an increased risk of heart attacks and heart disease, but not heart-related deaths."
Analysis found that "people who were younger than 50 when first diagnosed with panic disorder/attacks were 38 percent more likely to have a heart attack and 44 percent more likely to develop heart disease than those in the general population." Meanwhile, "people who were over age 50 when diagnosed with panic disorder/attacks had an 11 percent increased risk of heart disease."
The study further suggests "that adults of all ages diagnosed with panic disorder/attacks had a 24 percent lower risk of death from heart disease than those in the general population."
Posted by admin at 02:58 PM
Report shows increased abuse of painkillers among teens
In the Los Angeles Times (12/11) Booster Shots blog, Shari Roan wrote, "Abuse of prescription" medications "continues to be a major problem among teenagers, although fewer of them are smoking cigarettes, according to the 2008 Monitoring the Future Survey released" on Dec. 11."
The study "found that nearly 10 percent of high school seniors reported nonmedical use of Vicodin (acetaminophen and hydrocodone), and 4.7 percent reported abusing OxyContin (oxycodone)."
Writing in the Wall Street Journal (12/11) Health Blog, Elizabeth Bernstein observed that the study "surveyed 8th, 10th, and 12th graders about their habits regarding drugs and alcohol." The survey revealed that "teen use of several other illicit drugs, including LSD, ecstasy, and heroin remained steady."
The investigators "found that at least one in eight high school seniors reported abusing prescription painkillers and stimulants obtained from friends, relatives, or schoolmates," Bloomberg News (12/12, Waters) points out. Meanwhile, "the percentage of teenagers smoking cigarettes has declined steadily since 1997, with similar trends seen in the use of alcohol."
According to HealthDay (12/11, Reinberg), "of the top 10 drugs used by high school seniors, seven are prescription" medications, "or over-the-counter medicines, such as cough syrup." Notably, "15.4 percent of 12th graders said they used prescription" medications "for non-medical reasons last year," and "over half the users of these" medications "get them from family and friends." David L. Katz, M.D., M.P.H., "director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, thinks the report provides data that can be used by drug-prevention programs."
Posted by admin at 02:56 PM
US Army said to be taking steps to prevent soldier suicides
The National Journal (12/6, Miller) reported, "The number, and rate, of Army suicides have risen almost every year since American troops started deploying to Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.
According to a recent Army report, 117 soldiers committed suicide in 2007, the highest number in more than 25 years." The Army "is aware of the problem it faces," and "is funding a $50 million epidemiological study of soldier suicide.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) will conduct the study in partnership with the Army and a selected group of outside investigators. The project, which researchers say is unprecedented in size and scope, will examine the frequency and distribution of suicides across various Army subgroups, and scrutinize the Army's extensive health and personnel files to identify risk factors and treatments, said Robert Heinssen, a senior researcher at NIMH who helped draft the memorandum of agreement with the Army."
Returning Indiana guard soldiers undergo mental-health counseling. The AP (12/8) reports that hyperarousal, "the taut readiness that comes from being on guard against attacks...can be an obstacle" for returning soldiers "in adapting to civilian life." For that reason, the newly returned "3,300 men and women of the Indiana National Guard's 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team" must undergo "about four days of debriefing at Camp Atterbury before heading home." During the debriefing, "the soldiers talk to mental-health counselors."
In addition, "the Guard plans three weekend-long seminars to help soldiers resume their lives. Among the topics covered are anger management, suicide prevention, compulsive behavior prevention, and safe driving." While "attendance is mandatory for the soldiers," family members are also "urged to attend two of the events." The AP points out that, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, "between 12...and 20 percent of the 1.6 million US troops who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from depression or post-traumatic stress disorder."
Posted by admin at 02:38 PM
Study indicates incidents of self-injury may be on the rise
The Los Angeles Times (12/8, Roan) reports, "Self-inflicted injuries appear to be on the rise, with some young people actually embedding objects in their skin. Stress may be a factor."
But, "even more disturbing than" the "X-rays and accompanying report" presented at a radiology meeting "could be the size and pervasiveness of the trend from which it derives -- self-injury." Some experts "say that 15 percent to 22 percent of all adolescents and young adults have intentionally injured themselves at least once in their lifetimes" and a recent "study of 94 girls, ages 10 to 14, found that 56 percent had hurt themselves at least once."
Research also indicates "the behavior may be building among adults as well," because "one study found that one percent of adults self-injure." Consequently, "at least two committees" working on the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual "are addressing self-injury for inclusion in the text."
In a separate article, the Los Angeles Times (12/8, Roan) discusses people who may be prone to self-injury. For instance, experts say that "the behavior is more common among people with previous traumatic experience, such as sexual abuse." Self-injury is also more prevalent "among people with post-traumatic stress disorder, military personnel returning from combat, and people who are incarcerated." Most self-injurers (70 percent) are female, and the "average age at which self-injury begins is 15."
To date, "at least 18 forms of self-injury have been recorded in medical literature, including cutting, burning, ripping, scratching, rubbing skin with glass or objects, preventing wounds from healing, pulling out hair, breaking bones, putting acid on skin, and mutilating genitals."
Posted by admin at 02:20 PM
December 05, 2008
Analysis suggests happiness may be contagious among friends, neighbors
The Washington Post (12/5, A8, Stein) reports, "Happiness is contagious, spreading among friends, neighbors, siblings, and spouses like the flu," according to a study published online in the BMJ.
Nicholas Christakis, M.D., Ph.D., of Harvard University, and James Fowler, Ph.D., of the University of California-San Diego, "analyzed information on the happiness of 4,739 participants and their connections with several thousand others...from 1983 to 2003," the New York Times (12/5, A12, Belluck) adds. They found, for instance, that "a next-door neighbor's joy increased one's chance of being happy by 34 percent, but a neighbor down the block had no effect." Meanwhile, "a friend living half a mile away was good for a 42 percent bounce, but the effect was almost half that for a friend two miles away."
The Los Angeles Times (12/5, Kaplan) reports, "The research is part of a growing trend to measure well-being as a crucial component of public health. Scientists have documented that people who describe themselves as happy are likely to live longer, even if they have a chronic illness."
The researchers based this study on data "from the Framingham Heart Study, which has been running since 1948 in Framingham, Massachusetts," Bloomberg News(12/5, Kresge) notes. The authors "defined happiness as a perfect score on the questions 'I felt hopeful about the future,' 'I was happy,' 'I enjoyed life,' and 'I felt that I was just as good as other people.'" According to Dr. Christakis, "The Framingham data had been used before to assess depression as a risk factor for heart disease, but this was the first time researchers looked at happiness across a broad network."
Related Links:
- "Happiness Can Spread Among People Like a Contagion, Study Indicates," Rob Stein, Washington Post, December 5, 2008.
- "Strangers May Cheer You Up, Study Says," Pam Belluck, New York Times, December 5, 2008.
- "Happiness is contagious, research finds," Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, December 5, 2008.
Posted by admin at 04:01 PM
Study indicates 20 percent of young adults may have a personality disorder
The AP (12/2, Tanner) reports, "Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs," according to a study published in the Dec. 1 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Mark Olfson, M.D., M.P.H., of Columbia University, and colleagues, analyzed data from "interviews with 5,092 young adults [conducted] in 2001 and 2002." Participants "were questioned about their behavior in the previous year, based on symptoms listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders," Bloomberg News (12/2, Lopatto) adds.
The researchers found that "almost half of [the] college-aged adults had a psychiatric disorder over a one-year span, based on research criteria that ranged from bipolar disease, to substance abuse, including smoking." Notably, the investigators discovered that about 20 percent of the "students failed to fulfill an obligation, had a legal problem, did something dangerous, or caused social problems by using alcohol."
The study also showed that "the next most common psychiatric problems were so-called personality disorders, including obsessive-compulsive behavior, at 18 percent."
Related Links:
- "About Half of College-Aged Had Psychiatric Disorders ," Elizabeth Lopatto, Bloomberg News, December 1, 2008.
Posted by admin at 03:57 PM
Base expands mental-health services as troops return from multiple deployments
The AP (11/30, Baldor) reported that "military-health officials are bracing for a surge in brain injuries and psychological problems among" the 15,000 troops returning to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Facing prospects that one in five of the 101st Airborne Division soldiers will suffer from stress-related disorders, the base has nearly doubled its psychological health staff. Army leaders are hoping to use the base's experiences to assess the long-term impact of repeated deployments." Each of the three 101st Airborne combat brigades "have gone through at least three tours in Iraq."
Already, "10,000 soldiers have come back; the remainder are expected by the end of January." To deal with the influx of troops, Fort Campbell's "director of health services, Col. Richard Thomas, has roughly doubled his authorized staff of psychologists and behavioral specialists to 55, and is trying to hire a few more."
He noted that, "for the first time...every soldier returning home will have an individual meeting with a behavioral-health specialist, and then go through a second such session 90 days to 120 days later."
Related Links:
- "Army base tests ability to handle GIs' stress," Lolita C. Baldor, Denver Post, November 29, 2008.
Posted by admin at 03:52 PM