Published: September 24, 2009
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It might be obvious to many, and reading this particular press release my first reaction was …OK… it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that adolescent depression and anxiety disorders are two distinct psychiatric disorders and are classified thus in the revised fourth edition of the DSM-IV. However it has been suggested that these two disorders be given a join classification in the DSM-V. Dr. William W. Hale III(a researcher of the Langeveld Institute for the Study of Education and Development in Childhood and Adolescence at Utrecht University) and his colleagues completed a five-year study which concluded that while adolescent anxiety and depression were strongly related to one another, adolescent depression and anxiety disorder symptoms are in fact best classified as two distinct disorders.As such Hale argues that the classification of adolescent depression and anxiety disorders be preserved in the DSM-V
This publication will appear in the October issue of The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and can be found online at : http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgibin/fulltext/122473904/PDFSTART
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People are routinely asked by doctors about their family history of medical problems such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. But up until now, this has not been the case for mental illnesses.
New findings by an international group including University of Otago researchers make a strong case for changing current practice. They report that a short question-and-answer session about a person’s relatives and their symptoms of depression, anxiety, or substance abuse is enough to predict not only whether the interviewee is at greater risk for developing each disorder, but also how severe that future illness is likely to be. [continue reading…]
Katie Balestra Washington Post, takes a look at anti anxiety drugs and their problems Anti-anxiety drugs raise new fears
Benzodiazepines, often prescribed to manage anxiety, panic and sleep disorders, include Xanax, Ativan, Valium and Klonopin. Originally pushed as an alternative to barbiturates, their use has grown rapidly in the past 30 years. But critics say their long-term effects have gone largely unaddressed. Health professionals and consumers are increasingly recognizing that taking the drugs for more than a few weeks can lead to physical dependence, often ending with a grueling withdrawal. link to continue reading
The article highlights how routinely these drugs are prescribed, (in 2008, 85 million prescriptions were filled for the top 20 benzodiazepines) , and how their use has boomed. The article concludes:
Some physicians recommend that people experiencing anxiety and panic attacks exhaust other options before turning to the drugs. According to Jerilyn Ross, the director of the Ross Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders in Washington, cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most effective ways to treat anxiety and panic disorders; she said it is effective on its own 90 percent of the time.
Source: Washington Post
Two new studies show that problems with the mind can play a significant role in problems of the heart.
One study found that anxiety and depression can increase the incidence of angina, the chest pain that sends many people to the doctor, said Dr. Mark Sullivan, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington, and senior author of one of the reports in the June 29 online issue of Circulation.
“The overwhelming focus in the United States has been on ischemia,” the blockage of heart arteries, Sullivan said. “That is pretty unique in the world. The rest of the world takes a much more multi-modal approach to chest pain. Ischemia is not the only or most important cause of what patients are feeling.”… continue readingÂ
Source: ABC:Â Sullivan, M.D., Ph.D., professor, psychiatry and behavioral sciences, University of Washington, Seattle; Nancy Frasure-Smith, Ph.D., senior research associate, Montreal Heart Institute; June 29, 2009, Circulation, online 
