Shining the light on eating disorders, incidence, prognosis and profiling of patients in primary and secondary care: national data linkage study.

Background: Diagnosing eating disorders can be difficult and few people with the disorder receive specialist services despite the associated high morbidity and mortality.

Aims: To examine the burden of eating disorders in the population in terms of incidence, comorbidities and survival.

Method: We used linked electronic health records from general practitioner and hospital admissions in Wales, UK within the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank to investigate the incidence of new eating disorder diagnoses.

Deep Brain Stimulation in Anorexia Nervosa: Hope for the Hopeless or Exploitation of the Vulnerable? The Oxford Neuroethics Gold Standard Framework.

Neurosurgical interventions for psychiatric disorders have a long and troubled history (1, 2) but have become much more refined in the last few decades due to the rapid development of neuroimaging and robotic technologies (2). These advances have enabled the design of less invasive techniques, which are more focused, such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) (3). DBS involves electrode insertion into specific neural targets implicated in pathological behavior, which are then repeatedly stimulated at adjustable frequencies.

Understanding Eating Disorders in Elite Gymnastics: Ethical and Conceptual Challenges.

Eating disorders and disordered eating are more common in high performance sports than the general population, and particularly so in high performance aesthetic sports. This paper presents some of the conceptual difficulties in understanding and diagnosing eating disorders in high performance gymnasts. It presents qualitative and quantitative data from a study designed to ascertain the pattern of eating disorder symptoms, depressive symptoms and levels of self-esteem among national and international level gymnasts from the UK in the gymnastic disciplines of sport acrobatics, tumbling, and rhythmic gymnastics.

Qualities of a good Singaporean psychiatrist: Qualitative differences between psychiatrists and patients.

Introduction: Pilot studies in Singapore established four themes (personal values, professional, relationship, academic-executive) relating to the qualities of a good psychiatrist, and suggested potential differences of opinion between patients and psychiatrists. We sought to explore differences between patients and psychiatrists regarding the qualities of a good psychiatrist.

Methods: Qualitative analysis of interviews using a modified grounded theory approach with 21 voluntary psychiatric inpatients and 18 psychiatrists.

Attitudes of patients with anorexia nervosa to compulsory treatment and coercion.

Background: The compulsory treatment of anorexia nervosa is a contentious issue. Research suggests that patients are often subject to compulsion and coercion even without formal compulsory treatment orders. Research also suggests that patients suffering from anorexia nervosa can change their minds in retrospect about compulsion.

Psychiatrists' attitudes towards autonomy, best interests and compulsory treatment in anorexia nervosa: a questionnaire survey.

Background: The compulsory treatment of anorexia nervosa is a contentious issue. Research suggests that psychiatrists have a range of attitudes towards patients suffering from anorexia nervosa, and towards the use of compulsory treatment for the disorder.

Methods: A postal self-completed attitudinal questionnaire was sent to senior psychiatrists in the United Kingdom who were mostly general adult psychiatrists, child and adolescent psychiatrists, or psychiatrists with an interest in eating disorders.

Consent and confidentiality in clinical work with young people.

Consent and confidentiality are increasingly important in clinical practice. However, the dilemmas faced by mental health practitioners can be highly complex and difficult to resolve. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that consent and confidentiality are subject to several different types of legislation based on different principles, and many of the policies which are formulated for general medical practice may not fit well with the mental healthcare context.

Capacity and competence in child and adolescent psychiatry.

Capacity and competence in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry are complex issues, because of the many different influences that are involved in how children and adolescents make treatment decisions within the setting of mental health. This article will examine some of the influences which must be considered, namely: developmental aspects, the paradoxical relationship between the need for autonomy and participation and the capacity of children, family psychiatry, and the duty of care towards children and adolescents. The legal frameworks relevant to consideration of consent and competence will be briefly considered, as well as some studies of children's consent, participation and competence.