Cost-effectiveness of health promotion targeting physical activity and healthy eating in mental health care.

Background: There is a higher prevalence of obesity in individuals with mental disorders compared to the general population. The results of several studies suggested that weight reduction in this population is possible following psycho-educational and/or behavioural weight management interventions. Evidence of the effectiveness alone is however inadequate for policy making.

Health promotion in individuals with mental disorders: a cluster preference randomized controlled trial.

Background: The existing literature on weight management interventions targeting physical activity and healthy eating in mental health care appears to provide only limited evidence. The aim of the study was to examine the effectiveness of a 10-week health promotion intervention, followed by a 6-month follow-up period in individuals with mental disorders living in sheltered housing in the Flanders region (Belgium).

Methods: The study had a cluster preference randomized controlled design.

Do restrictive and bingeing/purging subtypes of anorexia nervosa differ on central coherence and set shifting?

Objective: Anorexia nervosa (AN) has been associated with weak central coherence (CC) and weak set shifting (SS). The main aim of this study was to examine possible differences between restrictive AN (AN-R) and bingeing/purging AN (AN-BP) on these features.

Methods: A total of 31 patients with AN-R, 20 patients with AN-BP and 26 healthy controls (HC) completed five neuropsychological tests (Block Design, Object Assembly, an adapted task-switching paradigm, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and Trail Making Test).

Health promotion in mental health care: perceptions from patients and mental health nurses.

Aims And Objectives: To gain insight into the factors influencing the integration of physical activity and healthy eating into the daily care of individuals with mental disorders (MD) living in sheltered housing and to increase the understanding of the relationships between and complexities of these factors.

Background: Growing attention is given to the implementation of health promotion activities in mental health care. By improving the understanding of perceptions of patients and mental health nurses, health promotion programmes targeting physical activity and healthy eating can be developed that better meet the patients' needs.

Health promotion intervention in mental health care: design and baseline findings of a cluster preference randomized controlled trial.

Background: Growing attention is given to the effects of health promotion programs targeting physical activity and healthy eating in individuals with mental disorders. The design of evaluation studies of public health interventions poses several problems and the current literature appears to provide only limited evidence on the effectiveness of such programs. The aim of the study is to examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a health promotion intervention targeting physical activity and healthy eating in individuals with mental disorders living in sheltered housing.

Influence of COMT val158met and ADRA2B deletion polymorphisms on recollection and familiarity components of human emotional memory.

Emotional enhancement of memory is a widely accepted phenomenon that, in addition to its adaptive role, may play a role in the evolution of psychiatric disorders. Hence a comprehensive understanding of its neurobiological basis is imperative. Whilst the pharmacological and neural mechanisms are well known, the contribution of genetic variation is not.

Perceptions of mental health nurses and patients about health promotion in mental health care: a literature review.

The aim of this review was to examine the perceptions of patients with mental disorders and mental health nurses of health promotion targeting physical activity and eating habits in mental health care. An electronic search strategy was conducted. Furthermore, references were searched by hand-searching the reference lists of the retrieved articles from the electronic databases.

Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of lifestyle interventions on physical activity and eating habits in persons with severe mental disorders: a systematic review.

Background: There is a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in persons with severe mental disorders and this has serious implications on the short and long term health outcomes of these patients. The aim of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions targeting physical activity and eating habits in persons with severe mental disorders. Special attention was given if any of the included studies in the review also examined the cost-effectiveness of these health promotion interventions.

Concurrent use of lamotrigine and electroconvulsive therapy.

Objective: : To evaluate the effect of lamotrigine (LMT) on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)-induced seizures.

Methods: : Charts of all patients receiving LMT while undergoing an ECT course from July 2001 through May 2009 were reviewed. Apart from demographic variables, data collection consisted of diagnosis, indication for ECT, index or continuation ECT, electrode placement, stimulus dose, motor and electroencephalographic seizure duration, LMT dose, and number of restimulations.

The effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on recurrence of depressive episodes, mental health and quality of life: A randomized controlled study.

Depression is characterized by a large risk of relapse/recurrence. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a recent non-drug psychotherapeutic intervention to prevent future depressive relapse/recurrence in remitted/recovered depressed patients. In this randomized controlled trial, the authors investigated the effects of MBCT on the relapse in depression and the time to first relapse since study participation, as well as on several mood states and the quality of life of the patients.

Quetiapine treatment and improved cognitive functioning in borderline personality disorder.

Objective: We aimed to assess whether executive functioning improved over time in a sample of borderline personality disorder (BPD) subjects that took part in a quetiapine treatment trial.

Methods: Performance on the following neurocognitive tasks was assessed at enrolment and at the end of the 12 weeks quetiapine treatment: Trail Making Task, Word Fluency Task and Tower of London Task. Forty-one BPD patients were recruited, of whom 32 completed the trial.

Mindfulness and reduced cognitive reactivity to sad mood: evidence from a correlational study and a non-randomized waiting list controlled study.

Cognitive Reactivity (CR) refers to the degree to which a mild dysphoric state reactivates negative thinking patterns, and it has been found to play a key causal role in depressive relapse. Although Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) directly aims to address this mechanism of CR, the relationship between mindfulness and CR has not been tested to date. Using a cross-sectional design (Study 1; n = 164) and a non-randomized waiting list controlled design (Study 2; MBCT [n = 18] vs.

Efficacy of quetiapine for impulsivity and affective symptoms in borderline personality disorder.

Data on the efficacy of quetiapine in borderline personality disorder (BPD) are still scarce. We aimed to investigate the efficacy of quetiapine for impulsivity and a broad range of affective symptoms in BPD. In this 12-week open-label study, we included individuals with BPD who presented to psychiatric in- and outpatient services.