Thursday, July 07, 2005

Effect of globalisation on children's mental health   British Medical Journal article that was the basis for a story noted earlier this week - "Children's behaviour is influenced by child rearing philosophies and cultural socialisation processes. Globalisation is imposing Western culture and views of mental health around the world with the assumption that they are superior to those in non-Western cultures. Although there are numerous examples of problematic child rearing beliefs in many non-Western cultures (such as female circumcision), many practices are effective and should be preserved. Indeed, child psychiatrists in the West could gain new knowledge from examining childcare practices across the world. "  
  

The Lifetime Risk of Suicide in Schizophrenia: A Reexamination A March 2005 Archives of General Psychiatry article recently reprinted at Medscape - " The prevalence of suicide in patients with schizophrenia has traditionally been quoted at approximately 10%. However, studies on which this figure is based have evaluated proportionate mortality rates -- namely, the suicide percentages among all who died in a particular cohort over a given duration of time; this method probably leads to an overestimation of suicide rates. It is believed that suicide risk in persons with schizophrenia is highest during the early stages of the disease. Thus, as a particular cohort ages, the number of patients with schizophrenia committing suicide may decrease, while death by other means would increase. The use of a case fatality methodology, therefore, might be more accurate for assessing schizophrenia-related suicide. Case fatality looks at the percentage of the original cohort who died specifically by suicide..." [Viewing Medscape resources requires registration, which is free].  
  

US prescription drug abusers top 15 million- study  Reuters story at Yahoo - "The number of Americans who admit abusing prescription drugs nearly doubled to over 15 million from 1992 to 2003, with abuse among teens tripling, according to a new study released on Thursday. The report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University suggested that more Americans were abusing controlled prescription drugs than cocaine, hallucinogens, inhalants and heroin combined." See also the full report, Under the Counter: The Diversion and Abuse of Controlled Prescription Drugs in the U.S. (in PDF format).  
  

Drug Lobby Second to None: How the pharmaceutical industry gets its way in Washington Report at the Center for Public Integrity web site - "The pharmaceutical and health products industry has spent more than $800 million in federal lobbying and campaign donations at the federal and state levels in the past seven years, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found. Its lobbying operation, on which it reports spending more than $675 million, is the biggest in the nation. No other industry has spent more money to sway public policy in that period. Its combined political outlays on lobbying and campaign contributions is topped only by the insurance industry. The drug industry's huge investments in Washington—though meager compared to the profits they make—have paid off handsomely, resulting in a series of favorable laws on Capitol Hill and tens of billions of dollars in additional profits..."  
  

Recent Developments in State Medicaid Programs Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report coverage of recent developments in Alaska, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Washington. In Georgia, "The state Department of Community Health on Tuesday said that a June agreement with CMS to stop using a financing tactic deemed inappropriate will result in a $300 million budget gap for Medicaid next year, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The shortfall this year will be about $146 million. State officials said they plan to assess a fee on HMOs that serve Medicaid beneficiaries to recover some of the funding."