Mental health - Special interest

Bipolar disorder is a complex, recurrent, severe and potentially lifelong mental illness. The peak age of onset is 15-19 years, with most cases developing before the age of 30. It is crucial to distinguish bipolar from unipolar depression not only as an essential starting point for appropriate treatment and risk management, but also to avoid antidepressant monotherapy which can exacerbate the frequency and severity of mood symptoms and cause resistance to appropriate medications.

In a large meta-analysis, the prevalence of depression was twice as common in adolescents (5.7%) than children (2.8%). The 2:1 female to male ratio of depression seen in adults becomes apparent from the age of 12 years. Three quarters of children aged 3-17 years with depression also have anxiety, and almost half have associated behaviour problems. Depression should be treated by child and adolescent mental health services unless the episode is mild and of < 2-3 months’ duration.

After a potentially traumatic event (PTE), many individuals experience either no distress or only transient distress, while others suffer considerable morbidity and may develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Around one-third of people experiencing a PTE will develop PTSD, though this varies depending on the type of traumatic event and rates of PTSD are higher with type 2 trauma. Type 2 trauma involves repeated traumatic experiences over extended periods. Although PTSD symptoms can be present acutely, the diagnosis requires the persistence of symptoms for at least one month and the symptoms should cause functional impairment.

Common mental health disorders affect around one in five women during pregnancy and the first year following childbirth. Depression and anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental health disorders during this period as they are at other times of life. It is important to distinguish postnatal depression from baby blues, which is common and requires no treatment, although it is a potential risk factor for postnatal depression. Postpartum psychosis affects 1 in 1,000 women and can develop very quickly in the first two weeks postpartum, often requiring urgent admission to a specialised mother and baby unit. One in six women with bipolar disorder will develop postpartum psychosis. 

In patients with suspected dementia, the history should cover cognitive, behavioural and psychological symptoms, and the impact symptoms have on daily life. A physical examination is necessary to look for any focal neurological signs and to exclude any visual or auditory problems. Baseline blood tests should be carried out. A medication review should be undertaken as many commonly prescribed drugs have anticholinergic effects which can exacerbate cognitive impairment. A brief cognitive screening test should be performed before referral to a memory clinic.

Fluoxetine, either alone or in combination with cognitive behaviour therapy, appears to be the most effective treatment for children and adolescents with moderate to severe depression, a systematic review and network meta-analysis has concluded. NICE recommends that antidepressants should not be initiated in primary care.

Delirium is associated with an increased risk of subsequent cognitive decline and there is evidence to suggest that the association is causal, a systematic review and meta-analysis has found. Every study found that those with delirium experienced greater cognitive decline than controls and the combined odds for a given cognitive decline were more than doubled in patients with delirium; OR 2.30. Subgroup analyses provided evidence that delirium is a causative factor rather than a marker of vulnerability to dementia.