Tag: psychiatric

Pets provide ‘unique’ support to people with mental illness

Millions of Americans are affected by a serious mental illness every year. In fact, approximately 1 in 5 adults in the United States reportedly experience mental health problems in a given year. Many of these people experience feelings of loneliness and isolation. Sometimes, being diagnosed with a long-term condition means losing one’s previous social status […]

Anorexia: genetic and environmental risk factors uncovered

The team, from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), has published the results in the journal Translational Psychiatry. They note that anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among young people in the US and has a mortality rate of 8-15%. Many people with anorexia view themselves as being overweight, even when they are underweight, […]

Locking doors in mental health hospitals does not lower suicide rate

People with mental health problems have a higher risk of suicide than the general population. Some hospitals that offer psychiatric care lock their wards to try to reduce this risk, while others leave rooms open. Researchers in Germany have compared outcomes for locked and unlocked accommodation in a 15-year study of around 145,000 patients. The […]