Alcohol use disorders
The Lancet Psychiatry
Published: October 17, 2019
Alcohol use disorders are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and of immense importance to all mental health professionals. This new Series puts heavy drinking and alcohol use disorder in clinical and public health contexts, providing clinicians with a concise but comprehensive summary of current knowledge and future directions for research and care. Topics include screening, brief intervention, and referral for treatment; evidence-based behavioural interventions; medication-assisted treatment; and technology-based and population-level interventions. It also covers alcohol use disorder co-occurring with mental health disorders, summarising and exploring hypotheses as to why these conditions so frequently co-exist, and outlining various possible causal pathways.
Catatonia
The Lancet Psychiatry
Published: June 10, 2019
Catatonia has been known to medicine for almost 150 years, but it is currently little discussed by mental health clinicians and researchers, and poorly understood. The first paper in this Series from The Lancet Psychiatry examines evidence regarding the structural and neural mechanisms underlying catatonia, outlines current treatment options, and maps a path for future research. The second paper examines the links between the cutting-edge science of neuroimmunology and catatonia, and explores the evidence that implicates glutamatergic hypofunction in its development. Finally, a Comment addresses the need to refine definitions of, and diagnostic criteria for, catatonia, in order to develop new treatments for this neglected condition.
Institutionalisation and deinstitutionalisation of children
Published: June 23, 2020
This Lancet Group Commission advocates global reform of the care of separated children through the progressive replacement of institutional provision with safe and nurturing family-based care. It provides essential information on both the global scale of institutionalisation and its physical, social, and mental health consequences. It presents a pragmatic roadmap for carefully managed change.
A blueprint for protecting physical health in people with mental illness
The Lancet Psychiatry
Published: July 16, 2019
People with mental illness have an increased risk of physical disease, as well as reduced access to adequate health care. Physical-health disparities are observed across all mental illnesses in all countries. The high rate of physical comorbidity, which often has poor clinical management, reduces life expectancy for people with mental illness, and increases the personal, social, and economic cost of mental illness across the lifespan. This Commission summarises advances in understanding on the topic of physical health in people with mental illness, and presents clear directions for health promotion, clinical care, and future research. It aims to: (1) establish highly pertinent aspects of physical health-related morbidity and mortality that have transdiagnostic applications; (2) highlight the common modifiable factors that drive disparities in physical health; (3) present actions and initiatives for health policy and clinical services to address these issues; and (4) identify promising areas for future research that could identify novel solutions.