1st November 2024
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News round-up (1 November 2024)
This week we report on two interesting pieces of research. One large-scale study has found that women going through perimenopause have a heightened risk of developing bipolar disorder or depression, while another has found that children whose mothers were obese before pregnancy are more likely to experience neurodevelopmental disorders. Elsewhere, the impact of the introduction of the Right Care Right Person model in policing is now being felt, as one police force, Cumbria, disbands its mental health team. Meanwhile, as we wait the long-promised reform of the Mental Health Act, data from Scotland shows a rise in the numbers of people detained under the Act.
Main stories this week
New mobile app for detecting autism could help children in war-torn countries
A new mobile app for detecting autism and developmental delay in children has been developed by a researcher in Ukraine.
Depression changes the circuits in the brain, study finds
Depression alters the brain’s response to positive and negative stimuli, particularly in the amygdala, a new study has found.
Six NHS trusts create partnership to speed up adoption of AI in radiology
Six NHS trusts have grouped together to adopt a radiology platform based on artificial intelligence (AI).
CQC identifies safety problems on mental health wards
A lack of resources, workforce shortages, ageing estates and poorly designed facilities are affecting the safety of inpatient wards, according to the latest annual State of Care report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC)
Other stories this week
Perimenopause linked with increased risk of bipolar and major depression
Women going through perimenopause have a heightened risk of developing bipolar disorder, a study has found.
Cardiff University researchers used UK Biobank data from 128,294 women to explore the relationship between perimenopause and serious mental health problems. They discovered a 112% increase in new cases of bipolar disorder during perimenopause, as well as a 30% rise in major depressive conditions, compared to earlier stages of the late reproductive period.
The researchers say that their study was the first of its kind to investigate first onsets of bipolar disorder during the perimenopause, adding: “It validates the experiences of women who were previously essentially invisible in the world of research.”
Racism is harming young Black people’s mental health, and mental health services are not doing enough to mitigate these harms, according to a report from Centre for Mental Health, The Diana Award and UK Youth.
The three organisations created a three-year programme called Young Changemakers, which supported young Black people’s social action projects to address the links between racial injustice and mental health among ethnic minority communities in the UK.
More than 100 young people were involved in the programme, including as peer researchers. The young people learned the skills necessary to lead social action projects, and conducted both local and national campaigns to create change. The resulting report, A space to be me, calls for cross-government action to tackle racism and its effects on young people’s mental health. That includes making sure that the new generation of open-access mental health hubs for young people promised in the Labour Party manifesto are designed jointly with young people from racialised communities.
Over 7,000 detentions under Mental Health Act in Scotland last year
Last year, there were more than 7,000 detentions for compulsory mental health care and treatment in Scotland, figures show.
The data, in a report published by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (MWCS), reveals that there were 7,109 detentions between April 1, 2023 and March 30, 2024.
This represents a rise of 5.6% on the previous year, above the average year-on-year increase of 4.2%.
Just under half of the 7,109 detentions started with an emergency detention certificate (EDC), designed to be used in crisis situations to detain someone who requires urgent care or treatment for mental ill health.
Under the Mental Health Act an EDC should be decided by a doctor with the consent of a mental health officer – a specialist social worker – except where obtaining this consent is “impracticable”. The MWCS said it was “concerned” by the fact only 35.8% of emergency detentions in 2023-24 had the consent of a mental health officer, which was the lowest rate for the last 10 years.
Maternal BMI and eating disorders linked to mental health problems in children
Children of mothers who were obese or who had eating disorders before or during pregnancy may face higher risks for neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, a study has found.
Swedish researchers conducted a population-based cohort study to investigate the link between maternal eating disorders and high BMI before pregnancy with psychiatric disorder and neurodevelopmental diagnoses in their children.
They used Finnish national registers to assess all live births from 2004 through 2014, with follow-up until 2021.
They found that maternal eating disorders were associated with psychiatric disorders in children, with the largest effect sizes observed for sleep disorders and social functioning and tic disorders.
Children of mothers with severe pre-pregnancy obesity had a more than twofold increased risk for intellectual disabilities.
Mental health support for military staff and veterans to be expanded
Mental health support for active duty military personnel and veterans is to be expanded, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.
Lord Coaker, the minister of state for defence, said that the MoD is working with Defence Medical Services (DMS), an umbrella group within the MoD, to advance mental health support while promoting resilience and reducing stigma associated with mental health issues. The DMS is implementing a number of reforms to enhance mental health services by “reducing waiting lists, improving timelines for patient recovery and refocusing on earlier intervention”.
This restructuring includes creating a streamlined, single point of access for mental health services, enabling quicker access to assessments and more effective allocation of treatment.
The approach also includes non-medical interventions that complement medical services. Initiatives such as the Defence Senior Leaders Mental Fitness and Resilience course, HeadFIT, and the Annual Mental Fitness Brief provide targeted mental health and stress management training.
Cumbria Police to disband mental health team due to ‘change in demand’
Cumbria Police has said it will disband its mental health team in response to a “change in demand.”
In common with police forces across England, earlier this year the force implemented the Right Care Right Person (RCRP) model, which means that mental health teams, rather than police officers, are called out to respond to an emergency involving someone with serious mental illness.
The model was introduced because a large proportion of police time was taken up with responding to urgent mental health calls. The temporary assistant chief constable David Stalker said: “The new model agreed with partners has seen those in need of specialist support receive it from the relevant agency.” He added: “This model has been well supported by our partners who help to ensure that our communities are receiving the relevant support.”