Frequency and correlates of gambling problems in outpatients with major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.

Objective: To investigate the frequency of gambling in people who have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD). Secondary objectives were to examine: sex differences in the rates of gambling behaviour, the temporal relation between onset of mood disorders and problem gambling, psychiatric comorbidities associated with problem gambling, and the influences of problem gambling on quality of life.

Method: People (aged 18 years and older) who met criteria for lifetime Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision-defined MDD or BD I or II, and were confirmed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, were enrolled.

Improving early relationships: a randomized, controlled trial of an age-paced parenting newsletter.

Objectives: Parenting is recognized as a key mediator in both health and educational outcomes. Much is known on the value of support and group work in benefiting parenting, but little is known on the effect of written information. A randomized, controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of a parenting newsletter, sent monthly to the parents' home from birth to 1 year, on maternal well-being and parenting style.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate the prime-boost strategy for pneumococcal vaccination in adult liver transplant recipients.

Background: The 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) is recommended for disease prevention in solid-organ transplant recipients, but it may have suboptimal immunogenicity. It may be possible to enhance immunogenicity by priming the recipient with the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), followed by boosting with PPV23.

Methods: We randomized adult liver transplant recipients to receive either (1) PCV7 followed by a PPV23 booster 8 weeks later (the "primed" group) or (2) placebo followed by a standard single dose of PPV23 (the "unprimed" group).

Wellbeing of new mothers.

This paper reports indicators of wellbeing and early parenting stress in a representative sample of first-time mothers in north-east England. A total of 185 mothers were recruited in the antenatal period to a controlled trial of an early parenting intervention. They were interviewed at home when the baby was aged around one month, and completed the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12) and the Parenting Daily Hassles Scale.

A randomized, double-blind trial of pneumococcal vaccination in adult allogeneic stem cell transplant donors and recipients.

Background: Adult allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients are at high risk of invasive pneumococcal disease but have suboptimal responses to the recommended pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23). Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) may improve immunogenicity in this population, and a donor vaccination strategy may benefit patients undergoing HSCT.

Methods: Sixty-four pairs of donors and recipients scheduled to undergo HSCT were randomized to receive either PPV23 or PCV7.

What are the benefits of a parenting newsletter?

This paper presents the findings of a study on the perceptions of parents on an age-paced parenting newsletter for first time parents. The newsletter is based on an American model, conceived in Wisconsin, USA and has been adapted for use in the UK. Each issue of the newsletter (named Baby Express) contains topics relevant to the particular stage of the child's life, and is delivered free to the home, monthly in the first year.

Helping fathers understand their new infant: a pilot study of a parenting newsletter.

This paper presents the findings of a pilot study on the views of first-time fathers in the northeast of England on an aged-paced parenting newsletter, and what being a parent means to them.A monthly newsletter for new parents, initially conceived in Wisconsin, USA, has been adapted for use in the UK. Each issue of the newsletter (named 'Baby Express') contains topics relevant to the particular stage of the child's life, and is delivered free to the home monthly in the first year and bi-monthly in the second and third years, when it is renamed Toddler Express'.