As
I did on my posts of November 30, 2011, October 2, 2012, September 17, 2013, June 3, 2014, February 24, 2015, December 15, 2015, September 13, 2016 and March 15, 2017, it’s time once
again to look over the highlights of the latest issue of one of my two
favorite psychiatry journals, Duh! and No Sh*t,
Sherlock. We'll take a look at the unsurprising findings published in
the latest issue of the later.
The
journals honor the tradition of The Golden Fleece Award, an award given to public
officials in the United States for their squandering of public money, its name sardonically
derived from the actual Order of the Golden Fleece, a prestigious chivalric
award created in the late-15th Century, and a play on the word fleece, as in charging excessively
for goods or services. The late United States Senator William Proxmire began to issue the Golden Fleece Award in 1975 in monthly press
releases.
My
comments are in bronze.
As
I pointed out in those earlier posts, research dollars are very limited
and therefore precious. Why waste good money trying to study new, cutting
edge or controversial ideas that might turn out to be wrong, when we can
study things that that are already known to be true but have yet to be
"proven"? Such an approach increases the success rate of studies
almost astronomically. And studies with positive results are far more likely to
be published than those that come up negative.
3/17/17.
Because
substance abuse is an indicator of being satisfied with your life. US Veterans With Substance Abuse Problems May Have Higher
Risk Of Suicide Than Veterans Without Such Problems, Study Suggests. HealthDay reported, “US veterans with
substance abuse problems have a higher risk of suicide than veterans who
don’t,” researchers found after examining data on “more than four million
veterans.” The findings were published online March 16 in the
journal Addiction.
5/24/17. Because having a potentially fatal illness
is so exhilarating. Lung Cancer Diagnosis May Increase Suicide Risk, Study Suggests. HealthDay (5/23, Mille) reports that research
suggests individuals “with lung cancer have a strikingly higher-than-normal
risk of suicide.” Investigators looked at “data from over 3 million patients
during a 40-year period.” The research indicated “that a lung cancer diagnosis
raised the odds of suicide by over four times compared to people in the general
population.” The findings were presented at the American Thoracic Society
meeting.
5/30/17. Because most people adjust instantly when
uprooted from their entire way of life by a bloody war. Syrian
Refugee Children Living In The US Reported High Levels Of Anxiety, Small Study
Suggests. MedPage Today (5/28, Visk) reported, “Syrian refugee
children living in the US reported high levels of anxiety,” researchers found.
Specifically, “based on self-reported test scores, more than half of children
had a probable anxiety diagnosis, and more than 80% had probable separation
anxiety,” the 59-child study revealed. The findings were presented during a
poster session at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting. Healio (5/26, Oldt) also covered the study.
8/17/17. Cheaters
are prone to cheat? Will wonders never cease? Serial Infidelity Across Subsequent Relationships (Arch
Sex Behav; ePub 2017 Aug 7; Knopp, et al ). Prior
infidelity emerged as an important risk factor for infidelity in next
relationships, according to a recent study. Researchers addressed risk for
serial infidelity by following adult participants (n=484) longitudinally
through 2 mixed-gender romantic relationships. Participants reported their own
extra-dyadic sexual involvement (ESI) (ie, having sexual relations with someone
other than their partner) as well as both known and suspected ESI on the part
of their partners in each romantic relationship.
9/6/17. And I thought most elderly people who fall
fall out of bed. For
nursing home residents, mobility increases risk of fracture. Reuters
(9/5, Rapaport) reports a new study
published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series A found that for nursing home
residents, “risk factors for fracture included the ability to walk
independently, wandering the halls, dementia and diabetes.” The study was based
on data from “419,668 nursing home residents, including 14,553 who experienced
hip fractures.” Lead author Sarah Berry, MD, of the Institute for Aging
Research and Harvard Medical School in Boston said, “Frail nursing home
residents that are still mobile and independent have opportunity to fall.”
9/6/17. People
prone to diseases get them more often than those who are not? Genetic variants
linked to health problems appear less frequently in people who live longer,
study indicates. Newsweek
(9/5, Osborne) reports genetic research
published in PLOS Biology used data from over 200,000 people to show humans
“appear to be evolving to hit puberty later and those who start at an older age
live longer.” Researchers also discovered that “genetic variants linked to
heart disease, obesity and high cholesterol appear less frequently in people
who live longer.”
9/8/17. Because
major depression has a genetic component, and depressed mothers may have
attachment issues or altered parental behavior, ya think? Children
Whose Mothers Took Antidepressants During Pregnancy May Be At Increased Risk
For Psychiatric Illnesses Themselves, Research Indicates. HealthDay (9/7, Preidt) reports, “Children whose
mothers took antidepressants during pregnancy may be at increased risk for
psychiatric disorders themselves,” researchers concluded after reviewing “data
from more than 905,000 children born in Denmark between 1998 and 2012,” whose
“health was followed for up to 16.5 years.” The findings were published online Sept. 6 in the BMJ. According to Medscape (9/7, Brooks), the authors of an
accompanying editorial “say that reporting absolute risks, as the
researchers do in this study, is important to facilitate communication between
clinicians and pregnant women.”
9/8/17. Maybe cuz they’re the ones who are eating
again? Young Women With Anorexia Nervosa Who Resume Menstruation By End
Of Treatment May Experience Greater Improvement In Psychological, Physiological
Well-Being Than Those Who Do Not, Small Study Suggests.
Medscape (9/7, Davenport) reports, “Young women with
anorexia nervosa (AN) who resume menstruation by the end of treatment
experience greater improvement in both psychological and physiologic well-being
than those who do not,” researchers found after studying 39 women with AN and
40 women with bulimia nervosa. The findings were presented at the European
College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress.
9/8/17. Why would you need doctors for people to have healthcare? I just don’t understand. ACA Plans With Narrow Networks May Provide Less Access To Mental Healthcare, Study Indicates. Reuters (9/7, Rapaport) reports that according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, “narrow-network insurance plans created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) offer only limited access to mental health care.” The article says these plans seem to have substituted lower costs for less access to mental healthcare.
9/11/17. Self
destructive kids study less? High school students with poor grades more likely to
have unhealthy behaviors, CDC study indicates. The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution (9/8, Hart) reported, “There’s a link between
unhealthy behavior and bad grades, according to a new study of high school
students by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” HealthDay
(9/8, Preidt) reported the study suggests US high school students with poor
grades are “much more likely to have unhealthy behaviors – including illegal
drug use – than teens at the top of the class,” researchers concluded after
“analyzing data from a 2015 government survey.” The findings
were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
9/15/17. Because as we all know the incidence of
health problems decreases with age. Risk For Health Anxiety May
Be Increased In Older Adults, Study Suggests. MD Magazine (9/14, Warren) reports, “The risk for
health anxiety...a disorder characterized by a preoccupation with physical
health and/or somatic/body symptoms, is increased in older adults,” researchers
found after assessing “538 primary care patients” ranging in age from 18 to 90.
The findings were published online June 24 in the Journal
of Anxiety Disorders.
9/29/17. They
thought infectious disease occur spontaneously, I guess. Babies with older
siblings may be at higher risk of hospitalization for influenza, researchers
say. In “Well,” the New York Times (9/28, Bakalar, Subscription Publication) reports,
“Having older brothers and sisters puts infants at higher risk for being
hospitalized” for influenza, researchers concluded after studying “1,115
hospital admissions of children under two born in Scotland from 2007 to 2015.”
The findings were published in the European Respiratory Journal.
10/2/17. Because
listening to people talk about the voices in their heads is so relaxing. Caregivers of
Individuals With Schizophrenia Experience High Levels of Distress, Study Finds. Psychological distress among family or friends
who provide unpaid support to people with schizophrenia or schizoaffective
disorder is much higher than the general population, reports a study published
today in Psychiatric Services in Advance.
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10/4/17. I
didn’t know PTSD had anything to do with being traumatized. PTSD Particularly
Common Among People Exposed To Mass Shootings, Studies Indicate. The AP (10/3, Tanner) reports that people who survived
this week’s shootings in Las Vegas may be at risk for post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD). Also at risk for “psychological fallout” are first responders,
medical staff, eyewitnesses, and bystanders. Studies indicate “PTSD is
particularly common among people exposed to mass shootings versus other types
of trauma, with rates as high as 90 percent reported” by some researchers.
10/25/17. Because being abused as a child is good
for your mental health. Young Adults Who Recall Being Maltreated May Have A Particularly
Elevated Risk For Psychopathology, Researchers Say. A study to be
published in the January issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research (10/24,
Newbury, Arseneault, Moffitt, Caspi, Danese, Baldwin, Fisher) “explores the
validity and utility of retrospective self-reports versus prospective
informant-reports of childhood maltreatment.” Study data “were obtained from
the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a
nationally-representative birth cohort of 2,232 children followed to 18 years
of age (with 93% retention).” Researchers evaluated “childhood maltreatment”
through “prospective informant-reports from caregivers, researchers, and
clinicians when children were aged 5, 7, 10 and 12,” and via “retrospective
self-reports of maltreatment experiences occurring up to age 12, obtained at
age 18 using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.” The study revealed that
“young adults who recall being maltreated have a particularly elevated risk for
psychopathology.”
