Thursday, May 29, 2003

Perspectives in Serious Mental Illness
Article in Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health - "The term "serious and persistent mental illness," or SPMI, is the currently accepted term for a variety of mental health problems that lead to tremendous disability. Although commonly associated with the illness schizophrenia, the severely and persistently mentally ill include people with a variety of psychiatric diagnoses. More than just a difference of diagnoses, there is a difference in culture when people speak of SPMI...." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

Association Between Antidepressant Prescribing and Suicide in Australia, 1991-2000: Trend Analysis
Article (in Adobe Acrobat format) from the British Medical Journal available at the Open Minds web site - "We examined the association between changes in antidepressant prescribing in Australia for 1991-2000 and changes in rates of suicide. We analyzed differences in suicide trends between men and women in different age groups to assess whether age and sex rates in suicide were related to differences between age and sex groups in exposure to antidepressant medication. We also examined any differences between age and sex groups in rates of antidepressant prescribing and whether these were related to trends in suicide rates in these age and sex groups."