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Archive
-
2024
-
January
- Professor Ulrike Schmidt recognised in New Year Honours
- Volume of grey brain matter significantly lower in people with Early Onset Psychosis
- An interview with... Professor Richard Emsley
- Deputy Director for NIHR King’s Clinical Research Facility (CRF) appointed
- Pioneering dance performance explores ‘living well with technology’ at King’s Chapel
- Mood interventions may reduce inflammation in Crohn’s and Colitis
- Clinician and patient views on a new rheumatology drug: Article published by a Patient Researcher
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February
- Study estimates number of patients for potential new Alzheimer’s disease treatments
- Pioneering link between census data and electronic mental health records
- Patterns of brain connectivity differ between pre-term and term babies
- King’s College London announced winner of the Government’s AI Fairness Innovation Challenge
- FREED launches online training resources to ease transition from child to adult eating disorder services
- New digital therapy reduces anxiety and depression in people living with long-term physical health conditions
- King’s led Multiple Sclerosis fatigue app part of government’s £10M medtech investment
- March
- April
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May
- Professor Gráinne McAlonan appointed as new Director of the NIHR Maudsley BRC
- Day workshop in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy effectively reduces depression in 16-18 year olds
- Why diversity in nature could be the key to mental wellbeing
- £4.8 million Wellcome funding to predict outcomes following anxiety treatment
- Self-harm and digital technology overuse in young people with lived mental health experience
- Ancient viral DNA in the human genome linked to major psychiatric disorders
- Depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder linked with ancient viral DNA in our genome – new research
- New Doctoral Training Centre to investigate Multiple Sclerosis (MS) symptom management
- Professor Ammar Al-Chalabi elected as Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
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January
-
2023
-
January
- New framework aims to unlock the potential for social media research into young people's mental health
- Relatives' experiences of violence from people living with severe mental health conditions: a neglected and poorly understood issue
- UKCRF Network awarded £2.4 million in public funding to support the delivery of early phase research studies
- £1.3 million Wellcome funding awarded to SlowMo
- Amelia Te appointed as Team Lead for King’s Clinical Research Facility (CRF)
- February
- March
-
April
- New app could help more patients access treatment for psychosis
- Breaking the barriers between offenders and academia
- Researchers uncover new biological mechanisms underlying the link between childhood trauma and psychosis
- 'Our Research Themes': introducing our ten themes and the people leading them
- Experts update global guidelines on treating eating disorders with medication
- Higher rates of HIV diagnoses found amongst mental health service users
- 60 seconds interview with Dani Nebres
-
May
- 60 seconds interview with Angelo Jornacion
- Interview with Emily Lam for International Nurses Day
- Molecular ageing clocks – making the links between mental illness and shorter lifespans
- Dementia Awareness Week: An interview with Miguel Vasconcelos Da Silva
- New CEDI Champion for the NIHR Maudsley BRC
- Professor Ulrike Schmidt elected as Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
- New Deputy Director of NIHR Maudsley BRC announced
- £42m boost to mental health research announced by Office for Life Sciences
- More depressed patients than previously estimated could have increased activation of their immune system
-
June
- Working with students and teachers to evaluate secondary school stress workshops
- Celebrating research with the launch of a new Take Part in Research online database, and lighting up buildings for #Red4Research day
- Antidepressants prescription associated with a lower risk of testing positive for COVID-19
- UK funders invest £4.25 million into new eating disorders research
- July
-
August
- Children and Families Policy Research Unit awarded £5.5m by NIHR
- Exposure to air pollution is associated with increased use of psychiatric services in people with dementia
- New brain scan study discovers possible biological basis of visual snow syndrome
- Identifying mentions of pain in mental health records text: A natural language processing approach
- NIHR Pre-Doctoral Fellowships awarded to eight applicants from King’s IoPPN
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September
- Inflammation may influence weight loss surgery outcomes, new study reveals
- Critical care admissions for people with dementia are increasing for those in their last year of life
- From Patient to Advocate: A patient's journey of research participation and passion for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
- King’s innovative AI projects funded to tackle fatal opioid overdoses
- Inflammatory signs for adolescent depression differ between boys and girls
- East and South East Asian Heritage Month: an interview with Michelle
- Lord O’Shaughnessy visits King’s College London and the NIHR King’s Clinical Research Facility
- World Alzheimer's Day: An interview with Miguel Vasconcelos Da Silva
-
October
- Major advance for detecting brain conditions in babies
- What can humans do to guarantee an ethical AI in healthcare? (Blog: Part I)
- What can humans do to guarantee an ethical AI in healthcare? (Blog: Part II)
- People with severe mental illness at 50 per cent higher risk of death following COVID-19 infection
- £14m provided for research into the brain development of children who were "in the womb" during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Children with ADHD frequently use healthcare service before diagnosis, study finds
-
November
- Empowering voices: A public member's story in the fight against Mouth Cancer
- International Stress Awareness Week: Insights from a public member
- Brain health in over 50s deteriorated more rapidly during the pandemic
- King's CRF Nurse Team Lead: Why I love research
- A showcase of research in eating and weight disorders celebrates the launch of CREW
- New Psychedelics and Mental Health Research Centre Officially Opens
- Interview with Professor Mitul Mehta, Director of the Centre for Innovative Therapeutics (C-FIT)
- Disability History Month (16 November - 16 December)
- Breaking down barriers: Advancing gender equity in psychiatry
- December
-
January
-
2022
-
January
- New study demonstrates link between brain chemical and visual processing in autism
- Psilocybin, in 10mg or 25mg doses, has no detrimental effects in healthy people
- No convincing scientific evidence that hangover cures work, according to new research
- Next generation of rapid-acting antidepressants: Can ketamine help prevent suicide?
- New collaboration with digital therapeutics company to investigate preventable opioid respiratory deaths
- Bringing together imaging and genetic mapping to investigate patterns of vulnerability in the brain
- Love Your Liver Month
- A virtual reality ‘Shopping Task’ could help test for cognitive decline in adults
- Genetics helps estimate the risk of disease – but how much does it really tell us?
-
February
- CUES-Ed: Promoting mental health and wellbeing among primary school children
- Involving more voices in research through the Race and Ethnicity Advisory Group
- My JournE: Smartphone-based routine mental health monitoring in schools
- MyHealthE: Digital Innovation in Child and Adolescent Mental Health
- Novavax COVID-19 jab trialled at King’s CRF approved by UK drugs agency
- Lessons learnt as addictions researchers during a global pandemic
- Young women with epilepsy at greater risk of stress induced seizures and drug resistance
-
March
- New research suggests a causal link between blood group and severe COVID-19
- Telling our stories of research through a new microsite
- Multi-variant vaccine study opens at King's CRF
- New centre to accelerate psychedelic research and models of care for mental health in the UK
- VIEWER platform receives high commendation for Best Mental Health Partnership with the NHS at 2022 HSJ Partnership Awards
- New Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champion appointed
- Topping Out ceremony marks a milestone for The Pears Maudsley Centre for Children and Young People’s Mental Health
- April
-
May
- NIHR Maudsley BRC researchers lead first study of psilocybin in adults with autism
- Loneliness – so obviously important but very under-reported
- Professor Peter Goadsby elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society
- Professor Peter Goadsby elected to the Royal Society Fellowship
- My research journey: Jemma's story
- Making referrals to the AVATAR2 trial: An interview with Dr Helen Harding
- Unplanned hospital admissions for people with dementia higher in the last year of life
- #BePartOfResearch campaign: Our activity
- June
-
July
- We need to put equity at the heart of pain management
- People with depression “stagnating” in primary care, says top UK Psychiatrist
- Hidden figures: Unveiling differences in diabetes care in people living with mild and moderate-to-severe dementia
- Bringing experience and research together to understand psychosis
- New multi-centre clinical trial to investigate psilocybin therapy in anorexia nervosa
-
August
- BRC PhD students attend NIHR Academy Doctoral Research Training Camp
- South Asian Heritage Month - an interview with Pratik
- Mental health stigma on Twitter during COVID-19: service user perspectives
- In search of lost treatment: how mental health research can be part of patient care plans
- ‘Drug related deaths are avoidable’ - South London and Maudsley and King's College London mark International Overdose Awareness Day 2022
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September
- Going with the flow: study shows canals help boost your mood
- The power of co-production: Building service user research skills with the Recovery College
- Professor Sally Marlow to be first Researcher in Residence at BBC Radio 3
- Diagnosis of a genetic cause in hundreds of people with motor neuron disease could be missed due to “arbitrary age limits and rules” on genetic testing, new study shows
- October
-
December
- Adults living in areas with high air pollution are more likely to have multiple long-term health conditions
- How to Do Research and How to Be a Researcher
- Healthcare workers in England experience PTSD at twice the rate of the general public
- Evaluating effectiveness of treatment for adults with chronic fatigue syndrome
- A Year in Review 2022
-
January
-
2021
-
January
- Fellows award for Dr Katherine Young for work on the mental health of young people during and after the pandemic
- NEWS2 evaluated for prediction of severe COVID-19 outcome in large international study
- SIREN study finds past COVID-19 infection provides some immunity for at least five months
- Interview with Miguel Vasconcelos Da Silva
- COVID-19 lockdown loneliness linked to more depressive symptoms in older adults
- The significant effect of lockdown on gambler’s mental health
- Antibiotic may improve outcomes for depression in people with low level inflammation
- Novavax trial reveals 89.3% effectiveness in preventing COVID-19
- Case studies
- February
-
March
- Deciphering the genetics behind eating disorders
- NIHR appoints Senior Investigators for 2021
- Depression and anxiety are associated with disagreement between patient and doctor assessments of psoriasis severity.
- Professor Peter Goadsby awarded world’s top Brain Prize 2021
- Interview with Dr Parisa Mansoori
- New study highlights the urgent need to reduce inflammation in overweight people with depression
- Novavax confirms vaccine provides 100% protection against severe COVID-19
- NIHR welcomes new vision for the Future of UK Clinical Research Delivery
- COVID-19 pandemic leads to rapid uptake of remote consultations in mental healthcare
- April
-
May
- An Interview with Chifundo Stubbs
- Brain scans could offer sign of postpartum psychosis risk
- Innovative UK data hub to enable research and innovation to tackle mental illness
- Inflammation is a core feature of depression: new evidence from large-scale study
- Mothers’ depression impacts mother-infant relationships
- Shifts to remote mental health services continued after lockdown, according to new study
-
June
- An interview with Zunera Khan
- Silent MRI: improving access to neuroimaging research
- Simple blood test can accurately reveal underlying neurodegeneration, according to new research
- New research from King's has identified three key inflammatory proteins which are lower in individuals at risk of severe COVID-19.
- New insight into how anti-inflammatory effects of omega-3 fatty acids could help reduce depression
- Five ways universities could improve mental health support for male students
- CogStack wins an Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care Award
- Volunteer calls for others to support dementia research in south London
- Europe's first 'game-changing' portable MRI machine arrives at King's Health Partners
- Global ALS/MND recognition Day
- Multiple long-term physical health problems increase risk of depression later in life
-
July
- An interview with Dr Marija-Magdalena Petrinovic
- COVID-19 variant vaccine begins recruiting in south London
- New Race and Ethnicity Advisory (READ) group is recruiting members
- NIHR Fellowship awarded to Dr Brendon Stubbs for research in persistent pain and serious mental illness
- Knowing what we don’t know: How statistics can help autistic people to live their best life
-
August
- New funding for innovative neuroimaging research
- Words don’t come easy: identifying perinatal self-harm in healthcare records
- Problems in thinking and attention linked to COVID-19 infection
- Opportunity for researchers to consult with new Race and Ethnicity Advisory group
- Exposure to air pollution linked with increased mental health service-use, new study finds
- Maudsley Hospital and King’s College London’s National Addiction Centre light up purple to raise awareness for International Overdose Awareness Day
-
September
- An interview with Charles Curtis
- Join our Adolescent Mental Health Advisory Group
- Common factors within the gut associated with depression and bipolar disorder
- SURE Recovery App – two years on after its launch
- Using CRIS to map the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – service user and carer priorities
- Genetic risks for depression differ between East Asian and European groups
-
October
- Excess deaths in people with mental health conditions increased during the COVID-19 pandemic
- ADHD Awareness Month: Developing neurofeedback as a new treatment for ADHD
- Genetic risk of mental health conditions may influence where people choose to live, study suggests
- Eating disorders are just as likely to start in adulthood as childhood, report finds
-
November
- An interview with Dr Charlotte Tye
- NIHR: Your Path in Research
- Rett Syndrome Awareness Month
- Using MRI to investigate the brain response to inflammatory stimuli
- MANTRA training developed at SLaM to be rolled out to adult eating disorder services across the UK
- Six years of memory decline seen in anxious, depressed older people during pandemic
- An interview with Dr Katherine Young
- The silent and widely impacting cost of Vulvodynia: lessons learned and future recommendations
- What can research tell us about engaging adolescent boys into school-based mental health workshops?
-
December
- Diagnosis of depression in adolescents can negatively impact educational performance, study shows
- Using neurofeedback as a means of treating feelings of self-blame in depression
- Review looks at benefits and barriers following shift to remote mental health services during pandemic
- What is treatment-resistant depression? New report calls for clearer definition to inform research and improve treatment
- NIHR Maudsley BRC: A Year in Review 2021
- UK Disability History Month - an interview with Naomi
- People feel lonelier in crowded cities – but green spaces can help
- Vitamin D supplementation does not improve symptoms in people with psychosis, study finds
-
January
-
2020
-
January
- BRC researchers on the Highly Cited list doubles to twenty
- CRIS Blog: Are we under-estimating self-harm rates due to differences in hospital admittance procedures?
- BRC Researchers celebrated at the King’s Awards
- New study finds evidence for reduced brain connections in schizophrenia
- Exposure to trauma ‘activates’ genes into causing depression
- Nurses in research blog: Emma and Naomi
- New findings on the effects of cannabidiol on people with psychosis
-
February
- New centre of excellence for children and young people's mental health launched
- High volumes of mental health-related tweets associated with crisis referrals
- Call opens to drive the future of health data research
- CRIS Blog: Answering real-world questions about medication and mental health through pharmacoepidemiology
- CRIS Blog: Appropriate use of healthcare records for research
- CRIS Blog: Artificial Intelligence and Data in Suicide Prevention
- Largest ever study of eating disorders launches in England
- C4C research register now totals 20,000 people
-
March
- Georgia’s research secondment
- Study finds that Community Treatment Orders do not reduce hospital readmission rates or stays
- 10,000 people could benefit from new migraine drug
- Thirty risk factors found during and after pregnancy for children developing psychosis
- Heroin injection associated with respiratory disorder
-
April
- Researchers appeal to public for help to assess mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
- CRIS Blog: CRIS in the time of coronavirus
- Depression and anxiety increase premature death by up to 134%
- Mental health and brain research must be a higher priority in global response to tackle COVID-19 pandemic
- Stories from our students: Becki
- COPE Study: Investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and well-being
-
May
- Thought provoking men’s mental health film released
- Animated parenting tips for struggling households
- Researchers track COVID-19 isolation effects on older people’s health and wellbeing
- From Babylonian blood-letting practices to wearable tech, new film on the evolution of depression perceptions and treatment
- Patient and public recommendations for getting involved in BRC research
- Cognitive behavioural therapy reduces the impact of dissociative seizures
- Mind the Gap 17-25: A diagnosis doesn’t define you
- Sarah Markham writes about her experiences in research
- Covid-19 Psychiatry and Neurological Genetics (COPING) study
-
June
- Trial testing a unique formulation of ibuprofen to treat COVID-19 launches
- New study to monitor the real-time effect of COVID-19 on mental health services
- Introducing the CRIS Natural Language Processing (NLP) Service
- Study shows Cognitive Remediation Therapy leads to improvement in cognitive skills and well-being in people with bipolar disorder
- New Research Training and Capacity Development lead announced
-
July
- Growing numbers of alcohol related hospital admissions linked to local spending cuts
- ACE inhibitors and ARBs not associated with severity of Coronavirus
- Data linkages animation explores the evolution of healthcare records in research
- Study estimates impact of COVID-19 pandemic on UK mental health after first month of lockdown
- Genes related to inflammation and stress may help tailor treatments for depression
- Can wearables like Fitbit devices be used to help detect COVID-19?
- Lithium in drinking water linked with lower suicide rates
- August
- September
-
October
- Loss of potential: teens diagnosed with depression show reduction in educational achievement from primary school to GCSE
- £1.2 million to roll-out dementia care home programme to COVID-hit sector
- NIHR announces mental health research goals for next decade
- Rosalind helps researchers navigate personal health data
- An interview with Dr Ndaba Mazibuko
- National study into neurological impact of COVID-19
- Study supports link between traffic-related air pollution and mental disorders
- How our eLIXIR research database helps reduce risk of health problems in mothers and children
- November
- December
-
January
-
2019
- January
-
February
- Eating a healthy diet can ease symptoms of depression
- CRIS Blog: Pathfinders and the public
- NIHR Maudsley BRC researchers host dementia discussion in collaboration with South London Theatre
- Could intranasal oxytocin be used to treat people at clinically high risk of psychosis?
- CRIS blog: Using data on hospital episodes to look at the physical health of people with personality disorders
- Cannabis-based medicine to be tested in Alzheimer's trial
- Largest ever study of depression and anxiety now recruiting individuals from Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales
- March
- April
- May
- June
-
July
- One in ten UK hospital inpatients is alcohol dependent
- CRIS Blog: Art and Value at Bethlem Gallery: an art-science collaboration with Sarah Carpenter and CRIS
- Genetic study reveals metabolic origins of anorexia
- Compensatory strategies to disguise autism spectrum disorder may delay diagnosis and have negative consequences for mental health
- Close monitoring essential to ensure safety of ketamine for depression
- August
-
September
- Six BRC academics promoted to new positions, including two new professorships
- CRIS Blog: Medichec - A tool to make prescribing safer for people with dementia
- Study gets under way to test psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression
- 'An inspiring day': BRC community gathers to share knowledge at conference
-
October
- CRIS Blog: CRIS data demonstrates need for better physical healthcare for people who use heroin
- SURE Recovery: the new addiction recovery app designed alongside service users
- Our first ever artist residency to kick off with Afrobeat and Dub gig in South London
- Expert panel examines barriers faced by working class academics
- December
-
2018
- January
- February
- March
-
April
- UK Biobank mental health study
- CRIS blog: Using CRIS to evaluate mental health diagnoses in routine national statistics
- Engaging in physical activity decreases people’s chance of developing depression
- Unprecedented study identifies 44 genetic risk factors for major depression
- New research: Hospitals often missing dementia despite prior diagnosis
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
-
November
- 2018 Takeover Challenge
- CRIS blog: The future of psychiatry research
- CRIS blog: Do long-term prescriptions of multiple antipsychotics contribute to the reduced life expectancy of patients with serious mental illness?
- Improving dementia care and treatment saves thousands of pounds in care homes
- New service in south London reduces hospital readmissions for people with bipolar disorder
- Ten BRC researchers and academics among most cited in the world
- Students 'take over' the BRC
-
December
- Computers can ‘spot the difference’ between healthy brains and the brains of people with Dissociative Identity Disorder
- Service User Advisory Group for 12-16-year-olds
- New Clinical Disorders and Health Behaviours cluster lead announced
- Blog: The SLG Arts Assassins collaborate with the BRC
- Professor Matthew Hotopf receives CBE at Buckingham Palace
-
2017
- January
- February
-
March
- Professor Robert Stewart awarded ‘Collaborate to Innovate’ project
- NIHR Maudsley BRC researchers receive Senior Investigator awards
- Research blog: Using social media to recognise mental health conditions
- Department of Health Chief Scientific Adviser Chris Whitty visits Maudsley BRC
- NIHR Maudsley BRC commences five-year research programme
- IMPARTS Seminar Learning from experience
-
April
- New research highlights higher hospitalisation rates in people with intellectual disabilities
- Digital Technology for Mental Health: Asking the right questions
- Maudsley becomes London’s Global Digital Exemplar
- CRIS blog: An online risk calculator to identify candidates for early intervention services
- May
- June
-
July
- NIHR Maudsley BRC researcher wins award to understand suicide warning signs in children
- Who are the NIHR? #WeAreNIHR
- Brain stimulation may improve cognitive performance in people with schizophrenia
- Risk for bipolar disorder associated with faster ageing
- Omega-3 fatty acids improve symptoms in children and adolescents with ADHD
- August
-
November
- Professor Oliver Howes receives Royal College of Psychiatrists Award
- First network analysis of patient flow in two UK hospitals published
- Honorary Degree for Professor Dame Til Wykes
- Concentrated naloxone nasal spray as good as injection
- Professor Matthew Hotopf appointed Vice Dean
- Potential for machine learning to predict unknown adverse drug reactions
- Complications at birth associated with lasting chemical changes in the brain
- Study examines opiate-dependent patient deaths
- NIHR Lectureship awarded
- Treatment cuts migraine days by half
- December
-
2016
- January
- February
-
March
- CRIS Blog: Serious Mental Illness and Pregnancy
- Kings world-class contribution to understanding of clozapine
- Research blog: PROMPT project reveals complex profile of people using psychological therapy services
- Tony David John Toulmin Lecture
- Crick synapse event
- IMPARTS Seminar Harnessing digital technology in mental and physical healthcare
-
April
- CRIS blog: Eight years on
- Experts call for greater recognition of little-known forms of dementia
- Event: Clinical Research Facility Research Forum
- Ewan Birney MRC SGDP Seminar
- Al Chalabi Sheila Essey Award
- Event Pint of Science 2016
- RADAR CNS smartphone wearable devices transform medical care
- Cardiovascular drug underprescribing
- Consultation reveals better integration between physical & mental health physicians as top priority
- Prestigious Fellowships awarded to BRC researchers
-
May
- Dermatology clinic psychology screening project shortlisted for BMJ Awards
- Independent Researcher Awards 2016
- BMJ Award for team who are incorporating mental health service into dermatology clinic
- Research blog systematic biases in death certification
- Victoria Derbyshire show inheritance mental illness
- BRC spin out Mindwave launches
- Research blog: Learning how to be a critical friend to researchers
- Research blog International Clinical Trials Day
-
June
- Blood test to personalise depression treatment for the first time
- Centre for Translational Informatics launches
- Professor John Strang receives Knighthood
- Film mental health summer school
- Mental health hackday - your help needed
- Research blog: Trialling an online tool to help women make decisions about antidepressants in pregnancy
- Data linkage group your help needed
-
July
- CRIS blog: Investigating the impact of antipsychotic medications used to treat people with serious mental illness
- Research blog Maudsley BRC part of winning team at NIHR training camp
- Neuroimaging theme research funding
- NIHR Maudsley BRC announces 2016 Youth Awards winners
- Event: Illusions A window to your brain
- August
-
September
- Matthew Hotopf wins prestigious Katon Research Award
- IMPARTS shortlisted for HSJ award
- NIHR Maudsley BRC receives £66m new investment from government
- NIHR Maudsley BRC researchers win prestigious awards
- Event NIHR i4i Programme Mental Health Challenge Awards Launch
- Genetic tests could help predict which psychosis patients will develop schizophrenia
-
October
- Event No Exchange, Same Pain, No Gain - Risk-Reward of Wearable Healthcare Disclosure for Receiving Pain Treatment
- C4C recruits 10k
- Research blog: How fatty clues in the blood are improving our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease
- Early intervention shows promising long-term reduction in severity of autism symptoms
- Bringing mental health education to a classroom of 300
-
November
- South London and Maudsley rated top mental health trust for recruiting patients to clinical studies
- Mental Health & Technology: Ideas Generation Workshop
- NIHR i4i mental health challenge launch
- UK Government announces £4m investment in NIHR Wellcome Trust King’s Clinical Research Facility
- NIHR Maudsley BRC PhD student wins International Society for the History of Neurosciences book prize
- NIHR Maudsley BRC's takeover challenge
-
December
- Event Suicide detection and prevention using mobile technology, social media and informatics
- Event Misconceptions and Reconceptualisations in Digital Mental Health
- Research blog: Defining treatment resistance in schizophrenia
- Mental health needs of baby boomers covered in new report from England’s Chief Medical Officer
- 2015
Study estimates impact of COVID-19 pandemic on UK mental health after first month of lockdown
Mental health declined substantially after the first month of COVID-19 lockdown, a survey of UK households published today in The Lancet Psychiatry journal suggests.
Mental distress increases
Among the 17,452 people who responded to the survey, the average level of mental distress increased in April 2020, compared to average scores before the pandemic (1.1 point increase in average mental distress score, from 11.5/36 points to 12.6/36 points). This increase in mental distress was 0.5 points higher than would be expected based on upward trends that have been observed over the past five years.
During late April 2020, more than one quarter of study participants reported a level of mental distress that is potentially clinically significant (27.3%), compared with one in five people before the pandemic (18.9%). However, the researchers stress their study is based on survey responses rather than clinical assessment and this does not mean that one in four people has a clinical mental illness.
The research was a collaboration, led by University of Manchester and including a number of researchers from King’s College London and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC).
Health inequalities
The study reveals that some mental health inequalities that were present before the pandemic have widened. The increase in mental distress was greater among women than men (women: average adjusted increase of 0.92/36, men: 0.06/36), and in younger age groups than older people (16-24 year olds average adjusted increase: 2.69 points, 70 and over average increase: 0.17 points).
The findings also reveal new mental health inequalities after one month of lockdown, with people living with young children showing greater increases in mental distress than people from child-free homes.
Professor Matthew Hotopf, contributing author and Director of the NIHR Maudsley BRC said:
"‘This study shows for the first time the impact of the pandemic on symptoms of distress on the whole UK population and we need further population research to determine if these signals indicate a prolonged worsening of mental health.
The harmful economic impacts of the pandemic and rise in unemployment suggest there may be pronounced longer term effects. We need to be particularly mindful of how young people, women and those with children at home have been affected – and why this might be. It suggests that closing schools, nurseries and higher education may have had disproportionate effects on population mental health."
The researchers say the increase in mental health distress in April 2020 may represent a spike in emotional response that might have stabilised or reduced as people adjusted to the restrictions imposed on daily life. However, as the economic fallout from the pandemic progresses, when furloughs turn into redundancies and mortgage holidays time out, the researchers say mental health inequalities will likely widen and deepen and must be monitored closely so that steps can be taken to mitigate against a rise in mental illness in these groups.
Dr Matthias Pierce, lead author from the University of Manchester, said: ‘This is the first peer-reviewed study to track changes in UK population mental health from before the COVID-19 pandemic and into the subsequent lockdown period. Previous studies have focused on specific groups, such as key workers, rather than a random sample of the whole population. And many have used non-validated measures of mental health, or lacked comparable pre-COVID-19 baseline data against which to measure change.’
UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS)
The latest findings are based on a long-term study of more than 40,000 UK households that has been tracking the mental health of the nation at annual intervals for more than ten years, called the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS).
The researchers used the 12-item General Health Questionnaire, which is a validated tool for measuring levels of mental distress. Participants are asked to reflect on the previous two weeks and report how often they have experienced symptoms such as difficulties sleeping or concentrating, problems with decision making or feeling overwhelmed.
Each question is rated between 0 and 3, giving a total potential score of 36, where higher scores represent higher levels of mental distress. The researchers defined a clinically-relevant threshold of mental distress as experiencing four or more different symptoms at a higher level than usual. This was used to calculate the proportion of respondents experiencing clinically-relevant levels of mental distress.
Between 23 and 30 April 2020, one month after the UK lockdown was introduced, people who had responded to the most recent UKHLS surveys were invited to complete an online version of the questionnaire.
Some 17,452 people responded to the online survey out of a total study population of 42,330. All those included in the study were aged 16 and over in April 2020. Baseline data of mental health levels before the pandemic were available for comparison for 15,376 participants who were aged over 16 when they responded to either of the two previous UKHLS questionnaires.
Findings for women
The results highlight mental health inequalities that were present before the pandemic. Women had higher levels of mental distress than men on average (women: 13.6/36, men: 11.5/36). When comparing data from individuals from before and after lockdown and adjusting for prior trends, women also showed a greater increase in mental distress (women: average increase of 0.92/36, men: 0.06/36). Around one in three women had a score above the clinically-relevant threshold compared with one in five men (women: 33.3%, men: 20.4%). However, the researchers say mental distress in men may be more likely to manifest in ways not captured by the General Health Questionnaire, such as alcohol misuse, and further research is needed to examine this.
When scores from individual participants were compared before COVID-19 and in April 2020, the greatest increase in mental distress was seen in young people aged 18 to 24 (average increase of 2.69 points) and those aged 25 to 34 (average increase of 1.57 points), after adjustment for prior trends and other factors.
Findings for people living alone
Other mental health inequalities that were present before the pandemic persisted, but did not widen. People living without a partner (13.8/36) and those with a pre-existing health condition that would make them more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection (13.7/36) had higher levels of mental distress than the average population (12.6/36). However, comparison of individuals’ responses before and after lockdown did not reveal a larger than average increase in mental distress for these groups.
Findings for living in low-income households and unemployed
Mental distress was more common among people living in low income households (average score 13.9/36 in households of lowest income, compared with 12.0/36 for highest income homes). In addition, people who were unemployed before the lockdown had higher mental distress scores than those in employment (unemployed: 15.0/36, employed: 12.5/36).
However, the increase in mental distress relative to prior trends was greater among those who had jobs before the pandemic (average increase 0.63/36 points for employed vs -0.48/36 points for unemployed, after adjusting for other factors). This group includes those who may have been furloughed, lost their job or worried about losing their job, as well as those shifting to working from home. The researchers say this trend should be monitored closely as the effects of the pandemic on employment take hold and expected redundancies come to fruition.
Another inequality that emerged is that people living with young children aged 5 and under also showed a substantial increase in levels of mental distress scores (average increase of 1.45/36 points), compared with child-free households (average increase of 0.33/36 points).
There were too few responses to examine changes in mental health within ethnic groups from before and after the pandemic. However, average mental distress scores were higher for Asian people than white British (Asian: 13.7/36, white British: 12.5/36), but not enough people responded to provide the numbers to detect a change for other ethnic groups.
Hear from the authors
Professor Stephani Hatch contributing author from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London said:
"In this analysis, we provide initial national evidence suggesting that the pandemic may exacerbate ethnic inequalities in mental health. However, our inability to identify and disaggregate differences within and between ethnic groups is very concerning given the evidence showing the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on racial and ethnic minority groups.
Across all research, we must do more to engage with ethnic minority communities to identify and address the underlying issues contributing to the low response rates hampering our ability to advance mental health research and related policies."
Key workers had a similar average score of mental distress to the general population (keyworker: 12.7/36, general population: 12.6/36), but were more likely to have a score above the clinically relevant threshold (keyworker: 29.9%, general population: 27.3%).
Sally McManus, joint senior author, of City, University of London, UK, said:
"The pandemic has brought people’s differing life circumstances into stark contrast. We found that, overall, pre-existing inequalities in mental health for women and young people have widened. At the same time new inequalities have emerged, such as for those living with pre-school children.
These findings should help inform social and educational policies aimed at mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the nation’s mental health, so that we can try to avoid a rise in mental illness in the years to come."
Before the pandemic, the UKHLS questionnaire was carried out in person or over the phone using an interview format. The April wave of the study was carried out entirely online. The researchers caution that this may affect the answers that are given and could introduce bias. However, the degree of change in mental distress they observed means it is likely that these are attributable to the virus and the events associated with the pandemic.
Professor Kathryn Abel, joint senior author, of the University of Manchester, UK, said:
"While COVID-19 infection is a greater physical health risk to older people, our study suggests that young people’s mental health is being disproportionately affected by efforts to stop transmission of the virus. We would recommend policies focused on women, young people and those with preschool aged children as a priority to prevent future mental illness."
Based on a press release issued by The Lancet.
Reference: Pierce, M et al. (2020) Mental health before and during the Covid-19 pandemic: a longitudinal probability sample survey of the UK population. The Lancet Psychiatry
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By NIHR Maudsley BRC at 21 Jul 2020, 23:30 PM
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