News round-up (26 July 2024)

Women are more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety, and men with autism – but why? New analysis of more than 1,000 MRI scans suggests the answer may lie in the structures of the brain. Another research study from Australia shows a strong link in older people between a diagnosis of anxiety and the risk of developing dementia. This week, too, the heavily-criticised Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust has produced an analysis of how thousands of its mental health patients died, after losing track of the numbers. Finally, good news for games fans – Irish researchers have found that playing Dungeons and Dragons can boost people’s mental health.

 

Main stories from the week

Increase in use of AI in healthcare sector leads to data security concerns

Many health care organisations adopting artificial intelligence (AI) do not have appropriate security practices in place, a report from the software provider SOTI has found.

 

NHS mental health services should partner with voluntary sector to transform care, report argues

The NHS needs to build partnerships with the voluntary sector in order to improve mental health care, according to a new report from the Centre for Mental Health.

 

AI can improve cancer detection rates – and speed up diagnosis of heart problems

GP practices have been using artificial intelligence (AI) software to scan patient records and find particular patterns to help them detect more cases of cancer.

 

New video guides will help people with autism to prepare for maternity and GP appointments

New video guides will be made available to help people with autism prepare for health appointments.

The Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (ICB) has received funding to design the materials, which will focus on people attending appointments with maternity services or GP practices.

 

Other stories from the week

Anxiety later in life increases risk of dementia seven-fold

People diagnosed with new anxiety between the ages of 60 and 70 are seven times more likely to develop dementia, according to a new Australian study.

The researchers evaluated 2,132 participants above age 60. Just over half were female. Patients were divided into three groups based on age: 60-70, 71-80 and 81+. Anxiety was measured once at the start of the study (wave 1) and again after five years (wave 2). Patients with “chronic” anxiety showed symptoms at the beginning and end of the experiment, while those who were just anxious at the beginning had “resolved” anxiety. Patients who only displayed symptoms toward the end had “new” anxiety.

Over the 10-year study period, 3% of participants developed dementia and 7% died. The researchers found that, on average, participants with chronic anxiety were 2.8 times more likely to develop dementia, and those with new anxiety were 3.2 times more likely.

Patients aged 60 to 70 with chronic anxiety were 4.6 times more likely to develop dementia, increasing to 7.2 times for those in that age group with new anxiety.

The study also showed that participants whose anxiety was cured between waves 1 and 2 were not at any increased risk, showing that treatment through therapy and medication was effective in lowering risk.

 

Playing Dungeons and Dragons can support mental health 

Playing Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) can benefit players’ mental health, a new study has found.

The study, carried out by University College Cork (UCC), found that the game helped in several ways, though escapism, exploration of self, creative expression, providing for others, social support and routine.

Orla Walsh, the researcher, said: “Players reported feeling a strong sense of control in-game during times when they felt they did not have control outside of the game. Whilst many hobbies may allow for creative expression, D&D uniquely allows players to collaboratively build and inhabit worlds of their creation. The social support nurtured by playing D&D gives players emotional and social connection and offers them a space in which they can express themselves freely.”

The study shows that D&D has potential to be used in a therapeutic setting, as players felt more comfortable exploring problems and practising skills in a space that was separate from the real world.

 

Mental health trust obtains ‘accurate’ death figures

An NHS mental health trust said it had finally established how thousands of its patients died, after losing track of the numbers.

The Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) analysed 12,000 deaths over a four-year period. About half of those patients were under NSFT’s care in the last six months of their lives.

Of the 6,385 patients in NSFT’s care during that period, 92% died from natural causes while 7% (418) were deemed “unexpected and unnatural” deaths

For 1% (76) of patients, the cause remained unknown.

Last year, the auditing firm Grant Thornton examined the way the trust recorded and reported morality data, and found that the cause of death had not been established in more than three quarters of cases, with discrepancies between internal systems as well as board reports.

 

Charities urge reform of benefits system to protect children’s mental health

The government must overhaul the benefits system to tackle poverty and boost children’s mental health, according to a new report from three charities: Centre for Mental Health, Save the Children UK and the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition.

The report, entitled A Dual Crisis, argues that living in poverty is having a “devastating” impact on children’s mental health across the UK. It says that inadequate levels of benefits and the use of sanctions are driving family poverty and damaging the mental health of both parents and children.

Children are being failed by the state’s inability to combat the dual crisis of poverty and mental ill health, the report argues. Based on research with parents and children, and a review of the evidence, it notes that the number of children living in poverty has risen sharply to 4.3 million, while one in five children and young people aged eight to 25 now has a diagnosable mental health problem.

 

Mental health rucksacks help school students

Rucksacks have been given to 1,200 school children aged between 10 and 12 to help them with their mental health.

Eight schools in Berkshire and Oxfordshire are taking part in the project, known as Resilience Rucksack.

The scheme is led by academics at the University of Reading, who worked with young people, teachers, parents and mental health experts to create rucksacks.

The rucksacks contain, among other things, comic books, playing cards and journals. The project focuses on four key themes: sleep, movement, self-compassion and friendship. It is aimed at pupils in years six and seven who are making the transition to secondary education.

Lucy Moore, a teacher at Trinity secondary school in Newbury, said: “Mental health and well-being has been impacted for young people by lots of different factors and we just want to support them as best we can, now and in the future.

“The idea of this project is that they will get this physical rucksack with tools to support them lifelong.”

 

Brain microstructure linked to gender differences in mental health, study shows

Differences between male and female brain structure have been identified by a team of neuroscientists and behavioural specialists in the US, New Zealand and Canada.

The differences are in areas associated with decision-making, memory processing and handling emotions.

The study compared more than 1,000 brain scans in order to understand why men and women are more prone to different kinds of brain illness. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety disorders than men, while men are more likely to be diagnosed with autism or ADHD.

They focused their attention on subcortical grey matter regions that prior researchers have associated with mental health including the amygdala and the thalamus. They looked for differences in brain microstructure, such as the way cells are concentrated, their arrangement or even their physical characteristics.

The researchers found “large, sex-related differences in microstructures,” adding that such changes were still apparent after adjusting for age and the relative size of the brains under study.