Tag: BMJ

Reading of the Week: Exercise for Depression – the new BMJ Study; Also, Pogue on Her Career & Illness

February 22, 2024 /

From the Editor

Studies have shown that exercise is helpful for those with depression. But is one type of exercise better than the others? How much exercise? And what should you tell your patients when they ask?

Michael Noetel (of the University of Queensland) and his co-authors attempt to answer these questions in a new study for The BMJ. They did a systematic review and network meta-analysis, drawing on 218 studies with almost 14  200 participants. “Exercise is an effective treatment for depression, with walking or jogging, yoga, and strength training more effective than other exercises, particularly when intense.” We look at the study, the accompanying editorial, and consider the implications for practice.

And, in the other selection from Psychiatric Services, Ye Zhang Pogue (of RTI International) writes about her advocacy for those with mental illness and her hesitation in disclosing her own diagnosis. In a personal essay, she talks about her aspirations, her fears, and her experiences with discrimination. She calls for a change to corporate culture. “Changing corporate culture will be a slow process, but the cumulative efforts of individuals will make a difference on a systemic level.” Note that this was the most-read paper in any APA journal in 2023.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Depression & Lived Experience – the new World Psych Paper; Also, the Life of Dr. John Talbott and Chairs & Patient Satisfaction

December 21, 2023 /

From the Editor

“For me, it feels like gravity just starts working on my body harder than it works everywhere else in the world.”

So comments a person with depression about his experience. Typically, we describe depression with a list of symptoms from the DSM-5. But how do patients understand their illness? In a new World Psychiatry paper, Dr. Paolo Fusar-Poli (of King’s College London) and his co-authors attempt to answer that question with a “bottom-up” approach. “To our best knowledge, no [depression] studies have adopted a bottom-up approach (from the lived experience to theory), whereby a global network of experts by experience and academics are mutually engaged in co-writing a joint narrative.” We look at the paper and its implications.

In the second selection, from The New York Times, reporter Trip Gabriel writes an obituary for Dr. John A. Talbott, an American psychiatrist who had championed deinstitutionalization, only to later regret the move away from hospital care. Dr. Talbott once wrote: “The disaster occurred because our mental health delivery system is not a system but a non-system.”

At this time of year, The BMJ runs its light-hearted Christmas issue, featuring much British humour. In the third selection, Ruchita Iyer (of the University of Texas Southwestern) and her co-authors describe a deception trial that increased patient satisfaction without increasing physician time. The “nudge” intervention involved: “Chair placement, defined as positioning the chair within 3 feet (0.9 m) of the bedside and facing the bed.” 

There will be no Readings for the next two weeks. We will return with force (though no British humour) on 11 January 2024.

All the best in the holiday season.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Mental Health Tsunami? The New BMJ Study on COVID; Also, Burnout & Professionalism (JAMA Health) and Buprenorphine (CMAJ)

April 6, 2023 /

From the Editor

How has COVID-19 impacted mental health? What to make of the forecasts of a mental health tsunami?

In a new BMJ paper, Ying Sun (of the Jewish General Hospital) and her co-authors do a systematic review and meta-analysis to try to answer these questions. Drawing on 137 studies, they consider mental and the pandemic. They find: “Most symptom change estimates for general mental health, anxiety symptoms, and depression symptoms were close to zero and not statistically significant, and significant changes were of minimal to small magnitudes…” We look at the paper and its clinical implications.

In the second selection, Dr. Dhruv Khullar (of Cornell University) writes about burnout and professionalism for JAMA Health Forum. He argues that burnout is common and costly, and points a way forward, in part by reducing clerical tasks. “A better path is one that strenuously removes the obstacles to physician and patient well-being and that actively promotes the deep work of doctoring.”

In the third selection, Dr. Ari B. Cuperfain (of the University of Toronto) and his colleagues consider extended-release buprenorphine, a subcutaneous monthly depot injection used to treat opioid use disorder in a short CMAJ paper. They make several observations about titration, effectiveness, and safety.

DG

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Reading of the Week: PTSD & Healthcare Workers – the New Lancet Psych Paper; Also, Social Media and Youth (Aust Psych) and BMJ’s Xmas Call to Action

December 22, 2022 /

From the Editor

We talk about the virus’ effects on our patients, both in terms of physical and mental health. But what has it done to us?

Health-care workers have been on the front lines of this pandemic and have experienced the psychological toll. While past studies have considered mental disorders of health-care workers, their methodology hasn’t been strong, often relying on online surveys. In the first selection, Hannah Scott (of King’s College London) and her co-authors look at mental disorders and the pandemic in a new Lancet Psychiatry paper. Importantly, they did a two-phase, cross-sectional study comprising of diagnostic interviews. They write: “The prevalence estimates of common mental disorders and PTSD in health-care workers were considerably lower when assessed using diagnostic interviews compared with screening tools.” Still, they found that about one in five met threshold for a mental disorder and “thus might benefit from clinical intervention.” We consider the paper and its implications.

In the second selection, Beatrice Webb (of Flinders University) and her co-authors look at social media and young people. In a Point of View paper for Australasian Psychiatry, they note problems with mental health including the rise in psychological distress – something tied to social media. They also observe some benefits to Instagram and other online platforms. The paper is practical and offers advice, including: “We encourage clinicians to explore social media use in the assessment of young people, due to potential impacts on depression, anxiety and self-harm.”

At this time of year, The BMJ runs its Christmas issue, meant to be light-hearted and with liberal use of British humour. In the third selection, Ryan Essex (of the University of Greenwich) considers calls to action in the medical literature. In an Editorial, he opines: “The call to action has several obvious advantages over actually acting. Making that call allows you to salve your conscience, to ‘do something’ without the hard work of actually doing something.”

There will be no Readings for the next two weeks. We will return with force (but a lack of British humour) on 12 January 2023 when we will review the best papers of the year. A quick word of thanks for your continuing interest.

All the best in the holiday season.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Health Care Workers’ Mental Health – There’s an App for That; Also, Treating Opioids (BMJ) & Dr. Bhushan on Her Bipolar (LA Times)

September 15, 2022 /

From the Editor

With the pandemic dragging on, health care workers report more and more burnout; some complain of depression and anxiety.

What could help? Dr. Sam N. Gnanapragasam (of King’s College London) and his co-authors consider an app designed to provide CBT and mindfulness techniques in a new British Journal of Psychiatry paper. The RCT study involves 16 English sites with over 1000 health care workers. They conclude: “our study suggests that the app was of modest benefit with no adverse effects for a sample of HCWs in England.” We look at the paper.

How to respond to the opioid crisis? In a new analysis paper for BMJ, Dr. Robert A. Kleinman (of the University of Toronto) and his colleagues argue for a different approach to the prescribing of opioid agonist therapy, drawing on the changes made in response to the pandemic. “Embracing a more flexible model of buprenorphine-naloxone dosing would allow better alignment of prescribing practices with the needs and preferences of clients.”

And in the third selection, Dr. Devika Bhushan writes about bipolar disorder for the Los Angeles Times. The essay is very personal: the pediatrician, who serves as California’s acting surgeon general and graduated from Harvard, describes her own experiences. As she notes, during her training, she “had a secret.” Now, however, she speaks openly about her illness. “Today, I live with bipolar disorder as a chronic and manageable health condition.” 

DG

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Reading of the Week: Our Pandemic Reality – How It Affected Our Patients, How It Changed Our Practice, How It Changed Us

March 18, 2021 /

From the Editor

A year ago this week, provinces across the country ordered the first lockdown. In the days that followed, I remember driving to the hospital and noting the eerie quiet of the streets with almost no cars or trucks on the morning commute.

Now, a year later, we can ask some questions. How has the pandemic affected our patients? How did it change our practice? How has it changed us?

This week, we have four selections that explore our pandemic reality.

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We begin by focusing on patients. In the first selection, we look at a paper from Annals of Internal Medicine. Dr. Jonathan S. Zipursky (of the University of Toronto) and his co-authors consider alcohol sales and ED visits. They find that there was an increase in alcohol sales of 38% at the start of the pandemic. They write: “Higher alcohol sales during the lockdown are worrisome because alcohol consumption can cause poor judgment, medical complications, and immune suppression.”

In the second selection, we consider an editorial from BMJ. Though some have predicated a significant increase in suicide completions, there is little evidence. Still, the authors write: “We must remain vigilant and responsive, sharing evidence early and internationally… in these evolving uncertain times.”

Then we pivot and look at providers. In the third selection, Dr. Daniel Guinart (of Hofstra/Northwell) and his co-authors report on the findings of a survey on telepsychiatry. “In this study, we report highly favorable attitudes toward telepsychiatry in its diverse forms, across a large and wide array of mental health care professionals.”

In the fourth selection, Andrea Frolic (of McMaster University) talks about the pain of the past year. After breaking a toe, she notes about the psychological injuries of our pandemic life. “As a health care leader, I am supposed to be a cheerleader, a silver-lining finder, an opportunity-seeker – a hero, not a human.”

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Some good news: the Reading of the Week was just awarded the Ivan Silver Innovation Award by Continuing Professional Development of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine. Many thanks to Drs. Rajeevan Rasasingham and Sanjeev Sockalingam for the nomination.

But I’m committed to developing this program further, not resting on our laurels – in late April, we will be conducting focus groups to better understand what works and what needs improvement. Interested in being involved? Please contact smit.mistry@camh.ca. Time commitment: under one hour.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Lithium vs. Newer Meds for Bipolar – What’s Best? Also, Nudging Vaccines and Beale on Her Illness Experience & Being a Doctor (BMJ)

February 18, 2021 /

From the Editor

In the past, lithium had a large role – in the treatment of bipolar, yes, and before that, as a general remedy for a variety of conditions. Indeed, lithium could be found in various things, including pop (see the picture of the ad for 7 Up below). But times have changed. Lithium prescriptions are less common, and bipolar management increasingly involves other medications. (And, no, 7 Up doesn’t contain that salt anymore.)

How does lithium compare to these medications for people with bipolar? Dr. Jens Bohlken (of the University of Leipzig) and his co-authors do a retrospective study drawing on a national database from Germany. “When treatment failure was defined as discontinuing medication or the add-on of a mood stabilizer, or antipsychotic, antidepressant, or benzodiazepine, lithium appears to be more successful as monotherapy maintenance treatment than olanzapine, citalopram, quetiapine, valproate, and venlafaxine.” We look at the big study, and mull its implications on this side of the Atlantic.

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Can we nudge people to vaccinate? As the world works to get more shots in arms, Dr. Mitesh Patel (of the University of Pennsylvania) argues that behavioural economics will be important. In Nature, he writes that we have a golden opportunity to learn from the vaccine roll-out: “Each institution should report its vaccination efforts and performance, and conduct rapid experiments on how best to encourage people to get their vaccines – especially their second doses.”

Finally, some physicians have commented that being touched by illness has helped them become better doctors. Dr. Chloe Beale, a British psychiatrist, agrees to disagree in a blog for BMJ. “I can’t give the expected, tidy narrative of emerging stronger for having my illness.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Lithium Prescribing – Rare, Too Rare (CJP)? Also, Social Media & Medical Research (Nat Med) and Chocolate Survival Time (BMJ)

December 19, 2019 /

From the Editor

Lithium is effective as a medication. How often is it prescribed?

This week, there are three selections, and we open with a small paper with a big finding.

In the first selection, Dr. Scott B. Patten and Jeanne V. A. Williams (both of the University of Calgary) draw on national survey data to consider lithium prescribing in Canada. “The frequency of lithium use is surprisingly low,” they find.

lithium-on-the-periodic-tableLithium: on the Periodic Table, but not in the drug cabinet

In the second selection, we look at a Nature Medicine article that contemplates social media and medical research. Writer Nicole Wetsman quotes Dr. Esther Choo, an emergency physician who is prominent on Twitter: “It’s incredible medical education.”

Finally, for the third selection, we tip our hats to the holiday season, and consider a not-so-new BMJ paper on holiday chocolates. Published as part of a past Christmas issue – the popular, annual tradition that takes a light-hearted approach to inquiry – Bedford Hospital’s Parag R. Gajendragadkar and his co-authors ask a not-so-weighty question: how long do holiday chocolates last on hospital wards?

Note that there will be no Reading next week. Happy Holidays.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Physician, Heal Thyself: Residents and Depression, and More

December 17, 2015 /

From the Editor

This week – like last week – we pick a few interesting readings to consider.

This week’s selections: a chef and his addiction, a major new JAMA paper on resident physicians and depressive symptoms, and a big paper from BMJ comparing CBT and meds for depression.

Next week: the best of the year (the annual tradition). Suggestions are welcome for the best papers of 2015.

DG

Selection 1

“Three years after his mysterious disappearance, former Langdon Hall chef breaks his silence”

Mark Schatzker, The Globe and Mail, 1 December 2015

On the night of Dec. 28, 2012, Jonathan Gushue, one of Canada’s most decorated chefs, disappeared. He finished a dinner service at Langdon Hall that included pickerel in crème fraîche with black radish and black-pepper honey, got into his car and never arrived home.

No one, including Gushue’s wife, his sous chefs and his friends, knew what had happened to the 41-year-old father of three who, just two years earlier, had put Langdon Hall, in Cambridge, Ont., on the prestigious San Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list. As the chef’s disappearance made headlines from coast to coast, mysterious details began leaking out – his phone was found at an upscale Toronto hotel – but nothing more.

Thirteen days later, Gushue was found and reported safe. Several months later, he left Langdon Hall, then vanished from public life.

Jonathan Gushue

Gushue had it all – a young family and a soaring career. He also had alcoholism. Continue reading