mental health

People with dementia who are prescribed a specific type of antidepressant experience a faster cognitive decline than people who do not use these drugs, according to a study published in BMC Medicine. In particular, prescriptions for higher doses of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), a type of antidepressant, were associated with a higher risk of severe dementia, fractures and mortality. The analysis includes data from more than 18,000 patients from a Swedish database between 2007 and 2018.

Results from a cohort study of more than 100,000 people reveal the strong and persistent association of headache diagnoses with attempted and completed suicide. The authors suggest that behavioural health assessment and treatment may be important for these patients. The paper is published today in the journal JAMA Neurology. 

Exposure to cold and heat could affect adolescents' mental health, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. The research, led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), was conducted with nearly 5,000 adolescents from the Netherlands (3,934) and Spain (885). The results showed how exposure to environmental temperatures influences psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and attention problems.

A meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry compared various pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults. The authors found that only stimulants and atomoxetine effectively reduce symptoms after 12 weeks, but warn that the drugs are not well tolerated by everyone, that they found no evidence that they improve quality of life and that their long-term effects are unclear.

Unmarried people - whether single, divorced/separated or widowed - have a higher risk of having depressive symptoms than married people, says an international study. The paper, published in Nature Human Behaviour, includes data from more than 100,000 adults in China, Indonesia, Ireland, Korea, Mexico, the UK, the USA and the UK.

A team of researchers from the United Kingdom has conducted a phase 2/3 clinical trial in people with a psychotic disorder to study the efficacy of interaction with a digital avatar in alleviating the discomfort generated by hearing voices. After analyzing it in 345 people, they conclude that it can reduce the frequency of occurrence at 16 and 28 weeks. The discomfort provoked is reduced at 16 weeks, but not at 28 weeks. The team publishes the results in the journal Nature Medicine.

According to a Lancet Public Health commission on commercial gambling, stricter regulations are needed on a global scale to reduce its impact on health and wellbeing worldwide. The authors argue that the harms caused by gambling are a threat to public health, exacerbated by the rapid expansion and digital transformation of the industry. These harms include physical and mental health problems, increased risk of suicide, gender-based violence and financial problems.

An international team with Spanish participation has analysed which day of the week has the highest risk of suicide mortality, and it is Monday. The research, published in The BMJ, includes more than 1,700,000 suicide cases registered in 26 countries - including Spain - from 1971 to 2019. The data also show a sharp increase in the risk of suicide on New Year's Day in most of the countries analysed. Taking these results into account, the authors propose that they should be used to define plans and awareness-raising campaigns.

A phase 2 clinical trial has tested the efficacy and safety of a transcranial magnetic stimulation device used at home to treat major depression in 174 patients. After dividing them into two groups, one group received the treatment and the other a placebo procedure. After ten weeks, both groups had improved their symptoms, but the improvement in the active treatment group was 0.4 points greater on the Hamilton depression scale. According to the authors, who publish the results in the journal Nature Medicine, ‘it could potentially serve as a first-line treatment for major depression’.

The U.S. FDA has approved a new drug—called Cobenfy—to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia. Unlike traditional treatments, which are based on blocking the effects of dopamine, its mechanism of action simulates the effects of another neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. It is the first drug to be approved with a different mechanism of action in over 70 years.