Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood

Urban residence is associated with a higher risk of some psychiatric disorders, but the underlying drivers remain unknown. There is increasing evidence that the level of exposure to natural environments impacts mental health, but few large-scale epidemiological studies have assessed the general existence and importance of such associations. Here, we investigate the prospective association between green space and mental health in the Danish population. Green space presence was assessed at the individual level using high-resolution satellite data to calculate the normalized difference vegetation index within a 210 × 210 m square around each person’s place of residence (∼1 million people) from birth to the age of 10. We show that high levels of green space presence during childhood are associated with lower risk of a wide spectrum of psychiatric disorders later in life. Risk for subsequent mental illness for those who lived with the lowest level of green space during childhood was up to 55% higher across various disorders compared with those who lived with the highest level of green space. The association remained even after adjusting for urbanization, socioeconomic factors, parental history of mental illness, and parental age. Stronger association of cumulative green space presence during childhood compared with single-year green space presence suggests that presence throughout childhood is important. Our results show that green space during childhood is associated with better mental health, supporting efforts to better integrate natural environments into urban planning and childhood life.

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Genetic influences across the age span

Oxford Textbook of Public Mental Health ◽

10.1093/med/9780198792994.003.0006 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 55-58

Author(s):

Edward Shaw ◽

Daniel J. Smith

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Risk Factors ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

Large Scale ◽

Genetic Research ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Significance

Most psychiatric disorders have a genetic component. Mental illness tends to occur as a consequence of the dynamic interaction between genetic vulnerabilities and environmental risk factors. Future advances in public mental health should bear in mind the important role of genetics in determining mental health and well-being. Genetic research raises important ethical considerations. The challenges of discovering genetic risk factors for psychiatric disorders are outlined, along with examples of recent discoveries from large-scale genetic epidemiological research. The focus is on an age span perspective, with consideration of the role of epigenetic processes during development. Discoveries in childhood (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), adulthood (schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) and older-age (Alzheimer’s disease) are summarized. The public health significance of psychiatric genetics is considered within the context of ongoing global efforts to understand the causes of mental illness and how this might lead to new approaches to diagnosis, classification, and treatment.

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Chronic Mental Illness in Prisons

Chronic Illness and Long-Term Care ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-7122-3.ch028 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 568-589

Author(s):

Meghamala S. Tavaragi

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

General Public ◽

Psychiatric Illness ◽

Medical Intervention ◽

Remedial Measures ◽

Mentally Disordered ◽

Mentally Disordered Offender ◽

Hospital Systems

It has been known that psychiatric disorders are highly prevalent among prisoners. Many people with identifiable psychiatric illness do conflict with the law, often by no fault of their own but because of symptoms of their psychiatric illness and end up in jails. Poor communication between the prison, court, and hospital systems hinders the assessment and management of the mentally disordered offender, and medical intervention can actually delay release from custody. In conclusion Prisons are detrimental to mental-health, and the standards of psychiatric care are significantly lower than those for the general public. Certain remedial measures are to be implemented for a better future of prison and community because ultimately these prisoners will be released from prison and become a part of community. Beginning of reforms is the immediate need as a long journey ahead.

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Chronic Mental Illness in Prisons

Advances in Psychology, Mental Health, and Behavioral Studies - Chronic Mental Illness and the Changing Scope of Intervention Strategies, Diagnosis, and Treatment ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-0519-8.ch011 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 203-224

Author(s):

Meghamala S Tavaragi

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

General Public ◽

Psychiatric Illness ◽

Medical Intervention ◽

Remedial Measures ◽

Mentally Disordered ◽

Mentally Disordered Offender ◽

Hospital Systems

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Biopsychosocial pathways to mental health and disease across the lifespan: The emerging role of epigenetics

Psychiatry Reborn: Biopsychosocial psychiatry in modern medicine ◽

10.1093/med/9780198789697.003.0012 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 190-206

Author(s):

Charlotte A.M. Cecil

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Mental Health ◽

Dna Methylation ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

Regulate Gene Expression ◽

Health And Disease ◽

Regulate Gene ◽

Epigenetic Processes

The biopsychosocial (BPS) model of psychiatry has had a major impact on our modern conceptualization of mental illness as a complex, multi-determined phenomenon. Yet, interdisciplinary BPS work remains the exception, rather than the rule in psychiatry. It has been suggested that this may stem in part from a failure of the BPS model to clearly delineate the mechanisms through which biological, psychological, and social factors co-act in the development of mental illness. This chapter discusses how epigenetic processes that regulate gene expression, such as DNA methylation, are fast emerging as a candidate mechanism for BPS interactions, with potentially widespread implications for the way that psychiatric disorders are understood, assessed, and, perhaps in future, even treated.

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Australia’s economic transition, unemployment, suicide and mental health needs

Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0004867416675035 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 51 (2) ◽

pp. 119-123 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Nicholas Myles ◽

Matthew Large ◽

Hannah Myles ◽

Robert Adams ◽

Dennis Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Large Scale ◽

Manufacturing Industry ◽

Job Loss ◽

Substantial Reduction ◽

Public Mental Health ◽

Public Mental Health Care ◽

The Impact

Objective: There have been substantial changes in workforce and employment patterns in Australia over the past 50 years as a result of economic globalisation. This has resulted in substantial reduction in employment in the manufacturing industry often with large-scale job losses in concentrated sectors and communities. Large-scale job loss events receive significant community attention. To what extent these mass unemployment events contribute to increased psychological distress, mental illness and suicide in affected individuals warrants further consideration. Methods: Here we undertake a narrative review of published job loss literature. We discuss the impact that large-scale job loss events in the manufacturing sector may have on population mental health, with particular reference to contemporary trends in the Australian economy. We also provide a commentary on the expected outcomes of future job loss events in this context and the implications for Australian public mental health care services. Results and conclusion: Job loss due to plant closure results in a doubling of psychological distress that peaks 9 months following the unemployment event. The link between job loss and increased rates of mental illness and suicide is less clear. The threat of impending job loss and the social context in which job loss occurs has a significant bearing on psychological outcomes. The implications for Australian public mental health services are discussed.

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M108. CONCA: AN ONLINE COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT FOR USE WITH PATIENTS WITH PSYCHOSIS

Schizophrenia Bulletin ◽

10.1093/schbul/sbaa030.420 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S176-S176

Author(s):

Amy Lynham ◽

Jeremy Hall ◽

Ian Jones ◽

James Walters

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Bipolar Disorder ◽

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

Cognitive Assessment ◽

Large Scale ◽

Cognitive Testing ◽

World Health ◽

Web Based ◽

Highly Educated ◽

Treatment Research

Abstract Background Cognition is impaired in patient with psychosis and is predictive of functional outcomes. Despite this, cognitive function is not routinely assessed in clinical services in the United Kingdom. Collecting cognitive data for research is also labour-intensive and expensive. Web-based assessments may be a solution for these issues but to date, these have not been utilised in patients with psychosis or other psychiatric disorders. Methods We have developed an online cognitive battery for use in psychosis research (and broader mental health research) in collaboration with The Many Brains Project, website developers, patients and clinicians (Cardiff ONline Cognitive Assessment, CONCA). Tasks were selected to measure the domains outlined by the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) initiative. We have undertaken a cross-validation study in those with schizophrenia (N=15), bipolar disorder (N=16), depression (N=15) and healthy controls (N=19) to compare the online tasks with the MATRICS battery. Following validation, we invited participants from the Cardiff Cognition in Schizophrenia Study (CardiffCOGS) and the National Centre for Mental Health (NCMH) to complete CONCA. Results Correlations between CONCA and MATRICS tasks ranged from 0.25 to 0.73 in our validation sample (N=65). A total of 6960 individuals were invited to participate and 1227 consented to take part. There was a better response rate from NCMH participants (who were recruited more recently) compared to those from CardiffCOGS. Online participants recruited from NCMH were more highly educated (W=1171600, p<0.001) and more likely to be professionals (χ2(1)=5.4, p=0.02) than the original NCMH cohort. In CardiffCOGS, online participants were more highly educated than non-responders (W=7786.5, p=0.003). A total of 887 individuals met inclusion criteria for our analyses including 43 participants with schizophrenia, 146 with bipolar disorder, 261 with unipolar depression, 187 controls and 250 participants with other psychiatric disorders. Consistent with studies using offline assessments, participants with schizophrenia were the most severely impaired group (compared to controls: g=1.36, p<0.001), exhibiting greater impairments than participants with depression (g=1.04, p<0.001) and bipolar disorder (g=0.71, p=0.002). Of note, lower performance on the battery was associated with poorer functional outcome as assessed using the World Health Organisation’s Disability Assessment Scale (B=-1.77, SE=0.3, p=5.8 x 10–9). Discussion Web-based cognitive testing is a suitable method for collecting large-scale data in psychiatric populations, although there was some evidence of recruitment bias. The results of the validation and recruitment phases were used to inform selection of the final battery. We consulted with patients and health professionals from a youth psychosis service and NCMH’s patient involvement group to create a user-friendly interface and will continue to work with these groups to develop clinically useful feedback to facilitate patient monitoring in early intervention psychosis services.

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Enhancing Health Through Access to Nature: How Effective are Interventions in Woodlands in Deprived Urban Communities? A Quasi-experimental Study in Scotland, UK

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11123317 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (12) ◽

pp. 3317 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Catharine Ward Thompson ◽

Aldo Elizalde ◽

Steven Cummins ◽

Alastair H. Leyland ◽

Willings Botha ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Community Engagement ◽

Perceived Stress ◽

Green Space ◽

Landscape Planning ◽

Public Health Problem ◽

Natural Environments ◽

Major Public Health Problem ◽

Post Intervention

High prevalence of poor mental health is a major public health problem. Natural environments may contribute to mitigating stress and enhancing health. However, there is little evidence on whether community-level interventions intended to increase exposure to natural environments can improve mental health and related behaviours. In the first study of its kind, we evaluated whether the implementation of a programme designed to improve the quality of, and access to, local woodlands in deprived communities in Scotland, UK, was associated with lower perceived stress or other health-related outcomes, using a controlled, repeat cross-sectional design with a nested prospective cohort. Interventions included physical changes to the woodlands and community engagement activities within the woodlands, with data collected at baseline (2013) and post-intervention (2014 and 2015). The interventions were, unexpectedly, associated with increased perceived stress compared to control sites. However, we observed significantly greater increases in stress for those living >500 m from intervention sites. Visits to nearby nature (woods and other green space) increased overall, and moderate physical activity levels also increased. In the intervention communities, those who visited natural environments showed smaller increases in stress than those who did not; there was also some evidence of increased nature connectedness and social cohesion. The intervention costs were modest but there were no significant changes in quality of life on which to base cost-effectiveness. Findings suggest factors not captured in the study may have contributed to the perceived stress patterns found. Wider community engagement and longer post-intervention follow-up may be needed to achieve significant health benefits from woodland interventions such as those described here. The study points to the challenges in evidencing the effectiveness of green space and forestry interventions to enhance health in urban environments, but also to potential benefits from more integrated approaches across health and landscape planning and management practice.

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The Gut Microbiome and Mental Health: What Should We Tell Our Patients?: Le microbiote Intestinal et la Santé Mentale : que Devrions-Nous dire à nos Patients?

The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0706743719874168 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 64 (11) ◽

pp. 747-760 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mary I. Butler ◽

Sabrina Mörkl ◽

Kiran V. Sandhu ◽

John F. Cryan ◽

Timothy G. Dinan

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

Gut Microbiome ◽

Treatment Strategies ◽

Health Benefit ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Current Evidence Base

The gut microbiome as a potential therapeutic target for mental illness is a hot topic in psychiatry. Trillions of bacteria reside in the human gut and have been shown to play a crucial role in gut–brain communication through an influence on neural, immune, and endocrine pathways. Patients with various psychiatric disorders including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism spectrum disorder have been shown to have significant differences in the composition of their gut microbiome. Enhancing beneficial bacteria in the gut, for example, through the use of probiotics, prebiotics, or dietary change, has the potential to improve mood and reduce anxiety in both healthy people and patient groups. Much attention is being given to this subject in the general media, and patients are becoming increasingly interested in the potential to treat mental illness with microbiome-based therapies. It is imperative that those working with people with mental illness are aware of the rationale and current evidence base for such treatment strategies. In this review, we provide an overview of the gut microbiome, what it is, and what it does in relation to gut–brain communication and psychological function. We describe the fundamental principles and basic techniques used in microbiome–gut–brain axis research in an accessible way for a clinician audience. We summarize the current evidence in relation to microbiome-based strategies for various psychiatric disorders and provide some practical advice that can be given to patients seeking to try a probiotic for mental health benefit.

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Community Psychiatry — A Hard Look at Feasibility toward a Socioanalytic Understanding

Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal ◽

10.1177/070674377401900604 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 19 (6) ◽

pp. 555-562 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

James Henderson

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Health Personnel ◽

Large Scale ◽

Community Psychiatry ◽

Training Programs ◽

Professional Role ◽

Object Relatedness ◽

Definition Of ◽

Community Psychiatrist

This paper has reviewed the concept of community transference and has discussed its relation with the use of illusory phenomena in alleviating the discomfort of maintaining object-relatedness (23), and with nonpathological paranoia as a practically universal phenomenon of human groups (19-21). The importance of community transference in contemporary psychiatry is discussed and its challenge is described to the community psychiatrist who aspires to a clearer definition of his professional role. Training programs for community mental health personnel are proposed as a pragmatic response to a call for effective parsimonious services, and as a plausible alternative to woolly notions of the large scale prevent-ability of mental illness.

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Neurocognitive Impairment in Severe Mental Illness. Comparative study with Spanish Speaking Patients

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11030389 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 389

Author(s):

Gabriel De la Torre ◽

Sandra Doval ◽

David López-Sanz ◽

Manuel García-Sedeño ◽

Miguel Ramallo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Comparative Study ◽

Psychiatric Disorders ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Analysis Of Covariance ◽

Attention And Memory ◽

Neurocognitive Deficits ◽

Spanish Speaking ◽

Neuropsychological Status

Background. Serious mental illness (SMI) represents a category of psychiatric disorders characterized by specific difficulties of personal and social functioning, derived from suffering severe and persistent mental health problems. Aims. We wanted to look into differences in cognitive performance among different SMI patients. Methods. Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) screening was applied in one sample of SMI patients (n = 149) and another of healthy comparison participants (n = 35). Within the SMI sample, three different subsamples were formed: one with 97 patients with schizophrenia, a second with 29 patients with mood disorders, and a third with 23 patients with personality disorder. We performed a comparative study within and between groups. Results. Analysis of covariance was performed. Significant differences were found for cognitive functioning including attention and memory. Conclusions. RBANS can be recommended for the detection of neurocognitive deficits in psychiatric disorders, especially in Schizophrenia.

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