Tag: Mental Health

Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on Emergency Hospital Admissions in Older Adults with Multimorbidity and Depression

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare systems worldwide grappled with unprecedented challenges, particularly in managing vulnerable populations. Among these, older adults with multimorbidity and depression faced heightened risks, underscoring the need for targeted healthcare interventions to improve their health outcomes. Our recent study published in PLOS ONE offers helpful insights into this issue, focusing on unplanned emergency hospital admissions among patients aged 65 and older with multimorbidity and depression in Northwest London during and after the COVID-19 lockdown.

The study used retrospective cross-sectional data analysis, leveraging the Discover-NOW database for Northwest London. It included a sample of 20,165 registered patients aged 65+ with depression, analysing data across two periods: during the COVID-19 lockdown (23rd March 2020 to 21st June 2021) and an equivalent-length post-lockdown period (22nd June 2021 to 19th September 2022). Using multivariate logistic regression, we examined the impact of sociodemographic and multimorbidity-related characteristics on the likelihood of at least one emergency hospital admission during each period.

Key Findings:

– Men had a higher risk of emergency hospitalisation compared to women in both periods, with a noticeable increase post-lockdown.

– The risk of hospitalisation significantly increased with age, higher levels of deprivation, and a greater number of comorbidities across both periods.

– Asian and Black ethnicities showed a statistically significant protective effect compared to White patients during the post-lockdown period only.

The study’s conclusions highlight the need for proactive case reviews by multidisciplinary teams, especially for men with multimorbidity and depression, patients with a higher number of comorbidities, and those experiencing greater deprivation. The findings underscore the importance of understanding the specific healthcare needs of vulnerable populations during health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent unplanned admissions, improve health outcomes and reduce pressures on health systems.

This research not only contributes to the body of knowledge on healthcare use during the COVID-19 pandemic but also provides valuable insights for healthcare providers, policymakers, and researchers on the care of older adults with multimorbidity and depression. The findings emphasise the importance of tailored healthcare strategies to address the complex health needs of these patients, thereby ensuring that healthcare systems are better prepared for future public health emergencies.

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and How is it Managed?

At this time of year, I am often asked by patients about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). This is a is a type of low mood or depression that is related to changes in the seasons. It typically begins and ends at about the same times every year. Most people with SAD experience symptoms starting in the Autumn that continue into the winter months.

Symptoms of SAD may include:

– Feeling depressed most of the day, nearly every day
– Losing interest in activities you once enjoyed
– Low energy and fatigue
– Sleep disturbances (oversleeping or insomnia)
– Changes in appetite or weight (often craving for foods high in carbohydrates)
– Feeling sluggish or agitated
– Difficulty concentrating
– Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, or guilt

In more severe cases there can also be thoughts of self-harm, death or suicide.

The causes of SAD are not fully understood but are believed to be related to the reduction in sunlight in Autumn and Winter. This decrease in sunlight may disrupt the body’s internal clock and lead to feelings of depression.

Reduced sunlight can also cause a drop in serotonin, a brain chemical (neurotransmitter) that affects mood, and affect the balance of melatonin, which plays a role in sleep patterns and mood.

Patients also ask how can SAD be treated and the symptoms of SAD improved?

– Get regular exercise. Exercise can help to improve your mood and sleep. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week.

– Eat a healthy diet. Eating healthy foods can help to boost your mood and energy levels. Aim to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

– Get enough sleep. Most adults need around 7-8 hours of sleep per night. However, people with SAD may need more sleep than this.

– Spend time outdoors. Even if it’s cold, try to get outside for at least 30 minutes each day. Getting some sunlight can help to improve your mood and sleep.

– Talk to a doctor or therapist. If you’re struggling to manage your symptoms, talk to your doctor, therapist or local mental health team. They can help you to develop a treatment plan that works for you.

– Self- Referral. Many parts of England allow you to refer yourself to local mental health services without requiring a referral from your doctor.

Effectiveness of mental health workers colocated within primary care

Mental health disorders contribute significantly to the global burden of disease and lead to extensive strain on health systems. The integration of mental health workers into primary care has been proposed as one possible solution, but evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness of this approach is unclear. In a paper published in the journal BMJ Open, we reviewed the clinical and cost effectiveness of mental health workers colocated within primary care practices.

Fifteen studies from four countries were included. Mental health worker integration was associated with mental health benefits to varied populations, including minority groups and those with comorbid chronic diseases. The interventions were correlated with high patient satisfaction and increases in specialist mental health referrals among minority populations. However, there was insufficient evidence to suggest clinical outcomes were significantly different from usual general practitioner care.

We concluded that while there appear to be some benefits associated with mental health worker integration in primary care practices, we found insufficient evidence to conclude that an onsite primary care mental health worker is significantly more clinically or cost effective when compared with usual general practitioner care. There should therefore be an increased emphasis on generating new evidence from clinical trials to better understand the benefits and effectiveness of mental health workers colocated within primary care practices.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042052

Associations of Social Isolation with Anxiety and Depression During the Early COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Older Adults in London

The COVID-19 pandemic is imposing a profound negative impact on the health and wellbeing of societies and individuals, worldwide. One concern is the effect of social isolation as a result of social distancing on the mental health of vulnerable populations, including older people. Our findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Within six weeks of lockdown, we initiated the CHARIOT COVID-19 Rapid Response Study, a bespoke survey of cognitively healthy older people living in London, to investigate the impact of COVID-19 and associated social isolation on mental and physical wellbeing. The sample was drawn from CHARIOT, a register of people over 50 who have consented to be contacted for aging related research. A total of 7,127 men and women (mean age=70.7 [SD=7.4]) participated in the baseline survey, May–July 2020. Participants were asked about changes to the 14 components of the Hospital Anxiety Depression scale (HADS) after lockdown was introduced in the UK, on 23rd March. A total of 12.8% of participants reported feeling worse on the depression components of HADS (7.8% men and 17.3% women) and 12.3% reported feeling worse on the anxiety components (7.8% men and 16.5% women). Fewer participants reported feeling improved (1.5% for depression and 4.9% for anxiety).

Women, younger participants, those single/widowed/divorced, reporting poor sleep, feelings of loneliness and who reported living alone were more likely to indicate feeling worse on both the depression and/or anxiety components of the HADS. There was a significant negative association between subjective loneliness and worsened components of both depression (OR 17.24, 95% CI 13.20, 22.50) and anxiety (OR 10.85, 95% CI 8.39, 14.03). Results may inform targeted interventions and help guide policy recommendations in reducing the effects of social isolation related to the pandemic, and beyond, on the mental health of older people.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.591120

Bringing together physical and mental health within primary care

Reducing fragmentation between different parts of the health system is a key priority for the National Health Service (NHS) and for health systems internationally, if they are to meet the challenges they face. One of the deepest fault-lines in the NHS is the disconnection of mental healthcare from the rest of the system; this has to be addressed as part of efforts to improve integrated care and make care more person centred.

In an article published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Preety Das, Chris Naylor and I discuss this issue. Developing integrated approaches towards mental and physical health is increasingly becoming a policy priority; the report of the independent mental health taskforce to the NHS identified this as one of the top three priorities for the next five years. There has been recent investment in integrating mental and physical health within secondary care, for example, liaison psychiatry in acute general hospitals and perinatal mental healthcare. While such investment is also crucial, we believe that there is great unrealised opportunity for integration in developing new approaches to mental health within primary care.

Read the full article in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

The burden of disease in the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Region

I contributed to a series of papers on health in the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean Region. Key steps that need to be taken to improve the health and well-being of people in the region must include ending the wars and conflicts in the region, as well as improving education and employment opportunities, particularly among women. Health systems must be strengthened as well, for example, through building up primary care and using health programmes to target the causes of ill-health, such as high-calorie diets, smoking, physical inactivity and obesity. In addition, health workers and governments should aim to improve maternal and child health and ensure that immunisation rates are high, as well as addressing environmental factors such as air pollution. You can read more on the Imperial College Website.

The papers were published in the International Journal of Public Health. Papers in the series include:

Diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

doi:10.1007/s00038-017-1014-1

Burden of obesity in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 study

doi:10.1007/s00038-017-1002-5

Transport injuries and deaths in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: findings from the Global Burden of Disease 2015 Study