Development of a Comprehensive Household Food Security Tool for Families with Young Children and/or Pregnant Women in High Income Countries.

Despite increasing rates of food insecurity in high income countries, food insecurity and its related factors are inconsistently and inadequately assessed, especially among households with young children (0-6 years) and pregnant women. To fill this gap, researchers from the U.S.

Factors Associated with Food Insecurity among Pregnant Women and Caregivers of Children Aged 0-6 Years: A Scoping Review.

With a global focus on improving maternal and child nutrition through the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, it is important to understand food insecurity in pregnant women and families with young children, as food insecurity at these life stages can have ongoing negative health consequences. However, factors that influence food insecurity among this population group are not well understood. This scoping review investigates the factors that influence food insecurity among pregnant women and households with young children aged 0-6 years living in high-income countries.

Differential effect of quetiapine and lithium on functional connectivity of the striatum in first episode mania.

Mood disturbances seen in first-episode mania (FEM) are linked to disturbed functional connectivity of the striatum. Lithium and quetiapine are effective treatments for mania but their neurobiological effects remain largely unknown. We conducted a single-blinded randomized controlled maintenance trial in 61 FEM patients and 30 healthy controls.

Cognitive functioning following stabilisation from first episode mania.

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive functioning in people following first-episode mania relative to a demographically similar healthy control group.

Methods: Forty-one patients, who had recently stabilised from a first manic episode, and twenty-one healthy controls, were compared in an extensive cognitive assessment.

Results: First-episode mania participants had significantly lower Full-Scale IQ (FSIQ) relative to healthy controls; however, this finding could be driven by premorbid differences in intellectual functioning.

Neuroprotection after a first episode of mania: a randomized controlled maintenance trial comparing the effects of lithium and quetiapine on grey and white matter volume.

Lithium and quetiapine are effective treatments for bipolar disorder, but their potential neuroprotective effects in humans remain unclear. A single blinded equivalence randomized controlled maintenance trial was conducted in a prospective cohort of first-episode mania (FEM) patients (n=26) to longitudinally compare the putative protective effects of lithium and quetapine on grey and white matter volume. A healthy control sample was also collected (n=20).

Physical health comorbidities in women with personality disorder: Data from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study.

Background: Associations between common psychiatric disorders, psychotic disorders and physical health comorbidities are frequently investigated. The complex relationship between personality disorders (PDs) and physical health is less understood, and findings to date are varied. This study aims to investigate associations between PDs with a number of prevalent physical health conditions.

The trajectory of cognitive functioning following first episode mania: A 12-month follow-up study.

Objectives: Cognitive deficits are apparent in the early stages of bipolar disorder; however, the timing and trajectory of cognitive functioning following a first episode of mania remains unclear. The aim of this study was to assess the trajectory of cognitive functioning in people following a first episode of mania over a 12-month period, relative to healthy controls.

Method: The cohort included 61 participants who had recently stabilised from a first treated manic episode, and 21 demographically similar healthy controls.

A single-blind, randomised controlled trial on the effects of lithium and quetiapine monotherapy on the trajectory of cognitive functioning in first episode mania: A 12-month follow-up study.

Background: Cognitive deficits have been reported during the early stages of bipolar disorder; however, the role of medication on such deficits remains unclear. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of lithium and quetiapine monotherapy on cognitive performance in people following first episode mania.

Methods: The design was a single-blind, randomised controlled trial on a cohort of 61 participants following first episode mania.

Nocebo effects in the treatment of major depression: results from an individual study participant-level meta-analysis of the placebo arm of duloxetine clinical trials.

Background: The nocebo effect, when a harmless substance creates harmful effects in a person who takes it, is a clinically salient yet seldom studied phenomenon that may be associated with poorer treatment outcomes, perceived adverse events, and treatment discontinuation. The covert presence of nocebo responders in clinical trials may contribute to outcome variance in both placebo and active treatment arms for important primary and secondary endpoints. Nocebo effects are thought to be driven by expectancy and conditioning.

Cognitive impairment in first-episode mania: a systematic review of the evidence in the acute and remission phases of the illness.

There is evidence of cognitive impairment that persists in the remission phase of bipolar disorder; however, the extent of the deficits that occur from the first onset of the disorder remains unclear. This is the first systematic review on cognitive functioning in the early stages of bipolar I disorder. The aim of the study was to identify the patterns and degree of cognitive impairment that exists from first-episode mania.

STin2 VNTR polymorphism is associated with comorbid tobacco use and mood disorders.

Background: There is a significant comorbidity between mood disorders and tobacco use disorder (TUD), which may be related to both genetic and environmental factors. Gene variants of the 5-HT transporter, such as STin2 VNTR (a variable number of tandem repeats in the functional serotonin transporter intron 2) may be associated with mood disorders and TUD.

Aims: This study aimed to delineate the association between the STin2 genetic polymorphism and comorbid TUD and mood disorders, including depression or bipolar disorder.

The impact of past direct-personal traumatic events on 12-month outcome in first episode psychotic mania: trauma and early psychotic mania.

Objective: Past traumatic events have been associated with poorer clinical outcomes in people with bipolar disorder. However, the impact of these events in the early stages of the illness remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate whether prior traumatic events were related to poorer outcomes 12 months following a first episode of psychotic mania.

Pop, heavy metal and the blues: secondary analysis of persistent organic pollutants (POP), heavy metals and depressive symptoms in the NHANES National Epidemiological Survey.

Objectives: Persistent environmental pollutants, including heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), have a ubiquitous presence. Many of these pollutants affect neurobiological processes, either accidentally or by design. The aim of this study was to explore the associations between assayed measures of POPs and heavy metals and depressive symptoms.

Castelli risk indexes 1 and 2 are higher in major depression but other characteristics of the metabolic syndrome are not specific to mood disorders.

Aims: This study examined whether Castelli risk indexes 1 (total/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol) and 2 (low density lipoprotein (LDL)/HDL cholesterol) and other shared metabolic disorders might underpin the pathophysiology of the metabolic syndrome, major depression or bipolar disorder.

Main Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 92 major depressed, 49 bipolar depressed and 201 normal controls in whom the Castelli risk indexes 1 and 2 and key characteristics of the metabolic syndrome, i.e.

Readmission to an acute psychiatric unit within 28 days of discharge: identifying those at risk.

Objective: To examine factors that could help identify those most at risk of readmission to an acute psychiatric in-patient unit within 28 days of a discharge.

Method: A detailed file audit was conducted comparing 54 consecutive patients who had been readmitted within 28 days of discharge with 61 patients, chosen at random, who had not been readmitted during the same period.

Results: Readmission within 28-days of discharge was associated with having been admitted in the previous year (P = 0.

Do we need to flick the switch? The need for a broader conceptualization of iatrogenic course aggravation in clinical trials of bipolar disorder.

The term 'switching' is often used in bipolar disorder when describing polarity changes in bipolar disorder, but this term is ambiguous and imprecise, and is sometimes used interchangeably with the term 'cycling'. Furthermore, polarity changes in bipolar disorder can be understood in different ways, because their clinical manifestations range from the emergence of subthreshold symptoms to a full episode of the opposite pole. Besides the need to tighten the meaning of the term 'switching', this paper also argues that switching does not adequately describe the complex phenomena that occur with course aggravation of bipolar disorder, such as alteration in episode frequency or amplitude.

A descriptive interview with 64 patients discharged from an acute-psychiatric-inpatient service.

Background: Acute-mental-health services receive hundreds of admissions every year. Some of these patients will continue to be case-managed by community mental-health teams on discharge from the acute unit while others will not remain in contact with the mental-health service. This study compares the findings of comprehensive interviews conducted with current and past patients of the community mental-health service 3 or more years following case closure from the community ambulatory service.

Clinical characteristics and management of bipolar disorder in women across the life span.

Though prevalent in both genders, specific consideration needs to be given when treating a woman suffering from bipolar disorder over her lifetime. Bipolar disorder is a serious and incapacitating illness affecting an estimated 5% of women. The first episode of illness in women is usually a depressive episode.

To combine or not to combine? A literature review of antidepressant combination therapy.

Objective: Treatment resistant depression is a common clinical problem and a major public health concern. The use of antidepressant combinations to overcome treatment resistance, while somewhat controversial, is a popular strategy in practice. This paper reviews published trials on combination antidepressants with a view to inform clinical practice.

A review of clozapine safety.

Clozapine is a distinctive antipsychotic agent, having a unique clinical profile and an idiosyncratic safety profile. More so than with other agents, the weighting of its adverse event profile is critical, in order to counterbalance its clear clinical advantages. The safety issues with clozapine are in a number of areas, some of which are considered medical emergencies and potentially life-threatening.