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Higher Health Care Costs for Seniors with Depression Plus Physical Illnesses [
2004-08-09 ]
A recent study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health shows that the medicare participants who suffer from depression along with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes or congestive heart failure have much higher health care costs than those who do not have co-existing depression; the results were reported in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society. The researchers reviewed medicare claims of nearly 15,000 participants most of whom suffered from diabetes; many had congestive heart failure and approximately one in five suffered from both medical conditions. The study compared health care costs for three groups: those who had been diagnosed with depression, those who had not been not formally diagnosed but who screened positive upon taking a depression questionnaire or who were already taking medication for depression, and those who did not have depression. The results of the analysis indicated that over a 12 month period, those who were diagnosed with depression incurred approximately $23,000 in total health care costs, while those who did not have depression had their health care costs close to $12,000. The ones with possible depression, based on depression screening or already on depression medication costed the system an annual of about $14,000. This study clearly shows that the elderly who have depression along with chronic physical illness have much higher health care costs. In addition, the study shows that many in this high-risk group are not receiving the treatment needed for their mental illness. It is quite likely that the higher medicare co-payments associated with outpatient mental health care (50% as compared to 20% for medical services) are the reason for depressed seniors not getting the treatment they need and that could actually save a lot for the system as a whole. It goes without saying that improving mental health care for our elderly population is likely to reduce the overall health care costs quite significantly.
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A drug that can help with heavy drinking [
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Alcohol abuse and dependence afflicts over 17 million people in the United States. Too many struggling with this disease go without proper treatment and suffer from it's devastating effects year after year. There has been limited success in the past when it comes to effective treatments for alcoholism and thus any new promising treatment is seen as a welcome addiction to the existing therapies. Recently, researchers found that the medication called Topiramate is lileky to offer new hope to those stuggling with alcohol addiction. Clinical trials have indicated that this drug can be effective in reducing heavy drinking and decreasing the harmful physical and psychosocial effects of alcoholism. The medication exerts its effect by blocking the increase in levels of a brain chemical dopamine that is responsible for the feel good effects of alcohol. This results in making drinking less pleasurable and hence decreases the cravings for alcohol making it easier to stop heavy drinking. Topiramate was also found to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels which may lead to a reduction in heart disease in alcoholic individuals.
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Is Salt a Natural Anti-Depressant? [
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The fact is that many people use much more salt than what the body needs. Studies have shown that the worldwide average for salt consumption per person is approximately 10 grams per day, which is higher than the recommended allowance by about 4 grams, and may be more than the actual daily requirement of the body by more than 8 grams. Now according to a researcher at the University of Iowa, there may be a good reason for this over-consumption and craving: salt may work as a natural antidepressant by putting us in a better mood.
Psychologist Kim Johnson and his fellow researchers at the University of Iowa discovered that when rats are deprived of salt, they don't get involved in activities they otherwise enjoy. The researchers are not sure if it is full-blown depression since there are many criteria required to make that diagnosis, but a loss of pleasure in normally pleasing activities is one of the most important criteria of major depression. The possibility that salt is a natural mood-lifting substance could help explain why humans are so likely to over-use it, despite knowing that it can be a factor in causing high blood pressure, heart disease and other health problems.
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Connection between Violence & Mental Illness...How Much? [
2003-09-09 ]
It is quite well known that social conditions and personal history has a bearing on the risk of violence among individuals with mental illness. However, the relationship between psychiatric disorders and violence is complex and far from settled, and it is likely to remain so although headline grabbing tragedies like mass shootings, especially when perpetrated by individuals known to have been in psychiatric treatment, automatically connect acts of violence with mental illness in the public's mind. But "the issue of dangerousness is more complicated than meets the eye" as stated by Sally Johnson, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. A decade ago the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment study indicated that patients discharged from mental health facilities were no more likely to commit violent acts than anyone else. However, other researchers disagreed with this finding, and the published research on this subject is mixed. While some studies indicate the presence of a causal relationship between psychiatric disorders and violence, others conclude that the relationship holds when mental illness is combined with drug or alcohol abuse, or other risk factors. There is new contribution now to this body of literature by Johnson and her colleague Eric Elbogen, Ph.D., who found that severe mental illness alone did not predict violent behavior.
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Supreme Court Clarifies Trial Competency Standards [
2003-09-09 ]
In clarifying criminal trial competency standards, The US Supreme Court agreed with the main points of an APA amicus curiae brief in holding that having mental competence in one specific area of criminal proceedings does not suffice for all judicial circumstances. The court held that the criminal defendants who are declared competent to stand trial should not automatically be considered competent to serve as their own counsel during that trial. The decision means that it does not violate the U.S. Constitution for states to insist that a defendant must be represented by an attorney, even if the defendant objects, when a judge believes that a defendant is not competent to conduct his or her own defense. Representing oneself requires a higher level of mental competence, the Court indicated, than understanding and participating in a trial. The 7-2 decision, written by Justice Stephen Breyer, cites arguments made by APA and the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.
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Federal Court Turned Down Sex-Offender Commitment Law [
2003-09-09 ]
A federal appeals court has ruled that the prolonged federal civil commitment of sexual offenders under Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act is unconstitutional. The court struck down a 2006 federal law that allows indefinite civil commitment of "sexually dangerous" inmates beyond the length of their prison terms. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled in January in the case U.S. v. Comstock that Congress intruded on powers reserved for the states through civil-commitment provisions it included in the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (PL 109-248). The ruling, which affirmed a lower court ruling in the case, was the first time a federal appeals court addressed the legality of the federal commitment law. The ruling is binding only in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Maryland.
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Escalation of Depression in Recession [
2003-09-09 ]
As the economy continues to worsen and more and more people face increasing personal debts, credit crunch, foreclosures, and unemployment, there is a serious risk of higher than normal number of individuals struggling with what might be called as "recession depression". In fact, some clinical experts such as those at the Priory Group are already are seeing an increase in the number of patients who present with the symptoms of 'recession depression'. As a result of the severe economic and financial stress people can easily become overwhelmed and find themselves suffering from a serious depressive episode. It is critical that this be distinguished from the normal, brief periods of feeling down that everyone occasionally has as a result of difficult day to day situations. Timely and appropriate mental health help is crucial for suffering individuals to deal with such depressive symptoms.
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Depression can increase harmful type of body fat .... [
2003-04-09 ]
Research studies have already shown that depression increases the risk of weight gain and obesity, it is now becoming evident that depressed individuals may be at specific risk of accumulating extra fat around their midsection; in other words, it's not just donuts that can put a "donut" around your middle, depression and the changes in body physiology that accompany it can also do the same. The finding came from the research done Dutch and American investigators and its results were published in the December 2008 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.
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Juveniles Incarcerated in Adult Correctional System Have High Mental Illness Rates [
2003-04-09 ]
Jails and prisons need to be ready and prepared to render developmentally and culturally apropriate mental health care to youth incarcerated in the adult correctional system as the rates of psychiatric disorders are high among this population.
In Illinois, approximately 70 percent of juveniles who were transferred to the adult criminal courts after being charged with a crime were found to have at least one diagnosable psychiatric condition. In addition, youth from the detention center who were sentenced to prison had more than double the chances of having a mental disorder compared to those who were not sentenced to a prison term, according to a study published in the September Psychiatric Services.
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