Tuesday November 17, 2009
Depression in teens could be reduced, say researchers, by something simple, yet often lacking: a good night's sleep.
Teenagers should be getting about nine hours of sleep per night, according to experts, but few do. In fact, the average teen only gets about seven hours of sleep per night. While in the past it was believed that poor sleep was simply a byproduct of depression, thinking on this matter is changing. Chronic sleep deprivation may actually be a cause of depression, experts say.
Allison Harvey, a clinical psychologist at UC Berkeley and her team at the university's Sleep and Psychological Disorders Laboratory have plans to research this problem by recruiting 60 middle and high school students to discover if more sleep may indeed be a valid way to prevent or treat teen depression.
The 60 teens who participate in the 12-week study will self-report their sleep habits and participate in 12 one-hour, weekly sessions of cognitive behavior therapy focusing upon sleep and mood patterns.
If results are promising, says Harvey, a larger follow up study will be conducted to confirm the results.
If you live in the Berkeley area, have a middle school or high school aged child who is experiencing depression symptoms and are interested in having them participate in the project you can get more information by calling (510) 643-3797 or emailing teensleepucb@gmail.com.
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Monday November 16, 2009
On Saturday, November 21, 2009, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) will be sponsoring its 11th annual National Survivors of Suicide Day. This event, designed to reach out to those who have lost a loved one to suicide, offers participants a chance to connect with other survivors for support and healing.
Conferences will be offered in cities nationwide, with those conferences being linked by a live national broadcast by satellite/webcast from 1-2:30 p.m. EST. The conference will be broadcast live on the AFSP website at the same time, followed by an online chat. Many of the conference sites will also hold panel discussions, workshops and other activities both for survivors and for professionals.
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Friday November 13, 2009
Women are at somewhat greater risk of suffering from depression following a stroke than are men, according to a new review of the existing medical literature.
Brittany Poynter and colleagues from the University of Toronto examined 56 studies related to stroke and depression, consisting of more than 75,000 people, 12,000 of which were women. The time between the stroke and the onset of depression in these people ranged from between under two weeks to 15 years.
In women, rates of depression after stroke ranged from about 6% to 78%, while in men rates ranged from 4.7% to 65%.
This finding is significant, according to Poynter, because depression after a stroke is associated with greater disability, reduced quality of life and an increased risk of death.
The authors say these higher rates of depression in women might occur because there are higher rates of depression in women in general, not just in those with stroke. They might also occur because women have less access to care.
Regarding treatment, Poynter says that "A multimodal approach may be the most effective," with treatments like exercise, physical rehabilitation and support groups being utilized in addition to the standard treatments of medication and counseling.
Poynter also suggests that stroke patients should be routinely screened for depression, rather than taking a wait-and-see approach.
The review appears in the November issue of the journal Psychosomatics.
Thursday November 12, 2009
In a survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), respondents reported that they do not believe the know much about depression. They are, however, very aware of the risks of not getting treated.
The survey included responses from members of the general public who do not know anyone with depression, caregivers of adults with depression and adults living with the condition. It was conducted online between September 29 and October 7, 2009 and included 1,015 people who did not know anyone with depression, 263 caregivers and 513 with depression.
Some of the survey's other findings:
- Seventy-one percent of the survey takers believe they know some symptoms of depression, while 39% reported that they did not know many or any at all.
- Fifty percent of caretakers admitting to having had depression themselves, but only 25% were actually seeking treatment.
- Nearly 60% of people with depression reported that they depend upon their primary care physician for treatment rather than seeing a mental health professional.
- Among the reasons that people reported discontinuing treatment were: cost, a desire to "make it on my own", a belief that the treatment was not helping and medication side-effects.
The complete survey results can be found at: http://www.nami.org/depression.
