The lockdowns and restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted eating disorder services. People with anorexia nervosa experienced a loss of routine, heightened anxieties, and increased symptoms. Carers felt more concern and greater responsibility for their loved ones. Despite these difficulties, some patients and carers benefitted from digital self-management resources. The TRIANGLE project aims to help ...

People living with dementia in the community typically rely on unpaid care from friends and family members, combined with some paid care. This helps them remain in their own homes. Researchers wanted to find out how the first nationwide COVID-19 lockdown affected unpaid carers, and how they made decisions about accessing paid care. Paid carers ...

Detecting problems with motor coordination could be a simple way to predict the long-term severity of psychosis. The Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES) is a quick and useful tool for examining sensory-motor issues such as restlessness, tremors, and problems with coordination and balance. A new study used the scale to assess patients after their first psychotic episode. ...

People with dementia from ethnic minority backgrounds face inequalities in diagnosis and access to care, compared with White British patients. A large study in South East London found that at the time of diagnosis, overall, they are more likely to be on multiple medications, but less likely to be taking antidepressants. Some groups face problems ...

Young adult carers are more likely to be unemployed, to have lower earnings from paid work, and to have worse physical and mental health than other young people. A major study found that these negative effects on young carers aged 16-25 years, also cost the UK economy one billion pounds every year. The study is ...

The number of 12-to-17 year olds prescribed antidepressants in England more than doubled between 2005 and 2017. This is one of the striking changes seen in a new study into the use of antidepressants by children and young people. It also found that antidepressant prescriptions for 5-to-11 year olds decreased between 1999 and 2017. Antidepressants ...

Befriending programmes are designed to help people who are likely to be socially isolated. This could be due to illness, including mental illness, or old age. Befrienders are often volunteers who make a commitment to have regular meetings with an individual they are put in touch with, often via a service. People with psychosis are ...

Male university students suggested approaches that would encourage them to seek help with their mental health. Examples include providing male-only spaces, and using positive masculine narratives of help-seeking. Terms other than ‘mental health’ could be used to describe group sessions. The study’s recommendations are important and relevant because men are less likely to ask for ...

People aged under 60 who are hospitalised with COVID-19 are more likely than expected to experience severe psychiatric symptoms. Research found that altered mental states such as psychosis are being reported in these younger patients.  It confirmed that strokes and other neurological symptoms are common in severe COVID-19. An initial study included 153 cases reported ...

Children and adolescents with moderate-to-severe depression are being prescribed treatments that are not backed by reliable evidence. There is insufficient data on whether treatments work and if they are safe. Unlike for adults, the best way to treat symptoms of depression in these age groups is unknown. A review of 71 separate trials found that ...