Discontinuation of antipsychotic medication may be linked to high risk of relapse, hospitalization and mortality. This study investigated the use and discontinuation of antipsychotics in individuals with first-episode schizophrenia in relation to cohabitation, living with children, employment, hospital admission and death.

Danish registers were used to establish a nationwide cohort of individuals ⩾18 years with schizophrenia included at the time of diagnosis in1995–2013. Exposure was antipsychotic medication calculated using defined daily dose and redeemed prescriptions year 2–5. Outcomes year 5–6 were analysed using binary logistic, negative binomial and Cox proportional hazard regression.

Among 21 351, 9.3% took antipsychotics continuously year 2–5, 38.6% took no antipsychotics, 3.4% sustained discontinuation and 48.7% discontinued and resumed treatment. At follow-up year 6, living with children or employment was significantly higher in individuals with sustained discontinuation (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.53–2.56 and OR 2.60, 95% CI 1.91–3.54), non-sustained discontinuation (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.05–1.48 and 2.04, 95% CI 1.64–2.53) and no antipsychotics (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.69–2.38 and 5.64, 95% CI 4.56–6.97) compared to continuous users. Individuals with non-sustained discontinuation had more psychiatric hospital admissions (IRR 1.27, 95% CI 1.10–1.47) and longer admissions (IRR 1.68, 95% CI 1.30–2.16) year 5–6 compared to continuous users. Mortality during year 5–6 did not differ between groups.

Most individuals with first-episode schizophrenia discontinued or took no antipsychotics the first years after diagnosis and had better functional outcomes. Non-sustained discontinuers had more, and longer admissions compared to continuous users. However, associations found could be either cause or effect.

There is evidence that depression can be prevented; however, traditional approaches face significant scalability issues. Digital technologies provide a potential solution, although this has not been adequately tested. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new smartphone app designed to reduce depression symptoms and subsequent incident depression amongst a large group of Australian workers.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted with follow-up assessments at 5 weeks and 3 and 12 months post-baseline. Participants were employed Australians reporting no clinically significant depression. The intervention group (N = 1128) was allocated to use HeadGear, a smartphone app which included a 30-day behavioural activation and mindfulness intervention. The attention-control group (N = 1143) used an app which included a 30-day mood monitoring component. The primary outcome was the level of depressive symptomatology (PHQ-9) at 3-month follow-up. Analyses were conducted within an intention-to-treat framework using mixed modelling.

Those assigned to the HeadGear arm had fewer depressive symptoms over the course of the trial compared to those assigned to the control (F3,734.7 = 2.98, p = 0.031). Prevalence of depression over the 12-month period was 8.0% and 3.5% for controls and HeadGear recipients, respectively, with odds of depression caseness amongst the intervention group of 0.43 (p = 0.001, 95% CI 0.26–0.70).

This trial demonstrates that a smartphone app can reduce depression symptoms and potentially prevent incident depression caseness and such interventions may have a role in improving working population mental health. Some caution in interpretation is needed regarding the clinical significance due to small effect size and trial attrition.

Trial Registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (www.anzctr.org.au/) ACTRN12617000548336

Refugees report elevated rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but are relatively unlikely to seek help for their symptoms. Mental health stigma is a key barrier to help-seeking amongst refugees. We evaluated the efficacy of an online intervention in reducing self-stigma and increasing help-seeking in refugee men.

Participants were 103 refugee men with PTSD symptoms from Arabic, Farsi or Tamil-speaking backgrounds who were randomly assigned to either receive an 11-module online stigma reduction intervention specifically designed for refugees (‘Tell Your Story’, TYS) or to a wait-list control (WLC) group. Participants completed online assessments of self-stigma for PTSD and help-seeking, and help-seeking intentions and behaviors at baseline, post-intervention, and at a 1 month follow-up.

Intent-to-treat analyses indicated that, compared to the WLC, TYS resulted in significantly smaller increases in self-stigma for seeking help from post-treatment to follow-up (d = 0.42, p = 0.008). Further, participants in the TYS conditions showed greater help-seeking behavior from new sources at follow-up (B = 0.69, 95% CI 0.19–1.18, p = 0.007) than those in the WLC. The WLC showed significantly greater increases in help-seeking intentions from post-intervention to follow-up (d = 0.27, p = 0.027), relative to the TYS group.

This is the first investigation of a mental health stigma reduction program specifically designed for refugees. Findings suggest that evidence-based stigma reduction strategies are beneficial in targeting self-stigma related to help-seeking and increasing help-seeking amongst refugees. These results indicate that online interventions focusing on social contact may be a promising avenue for removing barriers to accessing help for mental health symptoms in traumatized refugees.

Little is known about potential harmful effects as a consequence of self-guided internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy (iCBT), such as symptom deterioration rates. Thus, safety concerns remain and hamper the implementation of self-guided iCBT into clinical practice. We aimed to conduct an individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis to determine the prevalence of clinically significant deterioration (symptom worsening) in adults with depressive symptoms who received self-guided iCBT compared with control conditions. Several socio-demographic, clinical and study-level variables were tested as potential moderators of deterioration.

Randomised controlled trials that reported results of self-guided iCBT compared with control conditions in adults with symptoms of depression were selected. Mixed effects models with participants nested within studies were used to examine possible clinically significant deterioration rates.

Thirteen out of 16 eligible trials were included in the present IPD meta-analysis. Of the 3805 participants analysed, 7.2% showed clinically significant deterioration (5.8% and 9.1% of participants in the intervention and control groups, respectively). Participants in self-guided iCBT were less likely to deteriorate (OR 0.62, p < 0.001) compared with control conditions. None of the examined participant- and study-level moderators were significantly associated with deterioration rates.

Self-guided iCBT has a lower rate of negative outcomes on symptoms than control conditions and could be a first step treatment approach for adult depression as well as an alternative to watchful waiting in general practice.

Insomnia treatment using an internet-based cognitive–behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) program reduces depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and suicidal ideation. However, the speed, longevity and consistency of these effects are unknown.

To test the following: whether the efficacy of online CBT-I was sustained over 18 months; how rapidly the effects of CBT-I emerged; evidence for distinct trajectories of change in depressive symptoms; and predictors of these trajectories.

A randomised controlled trial compared the 6-week Sleep Healthy Using the Internet (SHUTi) CBT-I program to an attention control program. Adults (N=1149) with clinical insomnia and subclinical depression symptoms were recruited online from the Australian community.

Depression, anxiety and insomnia decreased significantly by week 4 of the intervention period and remained significantly lower relative to control for >18 months (between-group Cohen's d=0.63, 0.47, 0.55, respectively, at 18 months). Effects on suicidal ideation were only short term. Two depression trajectories were identified using growth mixture models: improving (95%) and stable/deteriorating (5%) symptoms. More severe baseline depression, younger age and limited comfort with the internet were associated with reduced odds of improvement.

Online CBT-I produced rapid and long-term symptom reduction in people with subclinical depressive symptoms, although the initial effect on suicidal ideation was not sustained.

There have been limited data available on the prevalence of structural brain abnormalities in asymptomatic individuals and a growing interest in the various ethical issues related to reporting of such findings. This study evaluated the prevalence of incidental abnormalities on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a random sample of 60- to 64-year-old community-dwelling individuals as well as successfully followed a referral pathway taking into account of the various ethical issues related to the referral process. The Personality and Total Health (PATH) Project was designed to study the risk and protection factors of normal ageing, dementia and other neuropsychiatric disorders.

MRI scans were performed in randomly selected 478 healthy, community-dwelling 60- to 64-year-old individuals. All scans were reported for abnormalities by a radiologist.

Abnormalities were detected in 22 (4.8%) subjects, comprising 10 tumours (pituitary adenoma 4, meningioma 3, suprasellar tumour 1, cavernous haemangioma 1, subarachnoid lipoma 1), 6 infarct-like lesions, 2 arachnoid cysts, 1 possible normal pressure hydrocephalus, and 1 each of unconfirmed aneurysm and mesial temporal sclerosis. Further evaluation led to novel intervention in one case of pituitary adenoma, and adjustment of drug treatment to modify risk factors in two cases with subclinical infarction.

While no case required immediate referral or urgent surgical intervention, the change in the outcome of treatment of some cases suggests that appropriate referral process should be in place when researchers study large number of subjects in the community using MRI of the brain.

Few randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have examined potential preventive agents in high-risk community populations.

To determine whether a mental health literacy intervention, the promotion of physical activity, or folic acid plus vitamin B12 reduce depression symptoms in community-dwelling older adults with elevated psychological distress.

An RCT with a completely crossed 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design: (400 mcg/d folic acid + 100 mcg/d vitamin B12v. placebo)×(physical activity v. nutrition promotion control) × (mental health literacy v. pain information control). The initial target sample size was 2000; however, only 909 adults (60–74 years) met the study criteria. Interventions were delivered by mail with telephone calls. The main outcome was depressive symptoms on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ–9) at 6 weeks, 6, 12 and 24 months. The Clinicaltrials.gov registration number is NCT00214682.

The drop-out rate was low (13.5%) from randomisation to 24-month assessment. Neither folic acid + B12 (F(3,856) = 0.83, P = 0.476) nor physical activity (F(3,856) = 1.65, P = 0.177) reduced depressive symptoms at any time point. At 6 weeks, depressive symptoms were lower for the mental health literacy intervention compared with its control condition (t(895) = 2.04, P = 0.042).

Mental health literacy had a transient effect on depressive symptoms. Other than this, none of the interventions significantly reduced symptoms relative to their comparator at 6 weeks or subsequently. Neither folic acid plus B12 nor physical activity were effective in reducing depressive symptoms.

Research has reported that pregnant women and mothers become forgetful. However, in these studies, women are not recruited prior to pregnancy, samples are not representative and studies are underpowered.

The current study sought to determine whether pregnancy and motherhood are associated with brief or long-term cognitive deterioration using a representative sample and measuring cognition during and before the onset of pregnancy and motherhood.

Women aged 20–24 years were recruited prospectively and assessed in 1999, 2003 and 2007. Seventy-six women were pregnant at follow-up assessments, 188 became mothers between study waves and 542 remained nulliparous.

No significant differences in cognitive change were found as a function of pregnancy or motherhood, although late pregnancy was associated with deterioration on one of four tests of memory and cognition.

The hypothesis that pregnancy and motherhood are associated with persistent cognitive deterioration was not supported. Previous negative findings may be a result of biased sampling.

An earlier paper reported positive outcomes immediately following access to a cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) internet intervention and a depression information website.

To determine 6-month and 12-month outcomes of the interventions relative to a placebo control condition.

Participants allocated to the depression information website condition, the CBT internet intervention and the placebo control condition were followed up at 6 and 12 months by survey. The primary outcome measure was the Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression (CES–D) scale. Of 525 participants recruited, 79% completed their assigned intervention and 60% were retained at 12-month follow-up. Attrition was handled using mixed-model repeated-measures ANOVA.

Both the CBT site and depression information sites were associated with statistically significant benefits in CES–D score reduction compared with controls at post-test. At 6-months follow-up, the reduction seen for the people allocated to the CBT arm remained significant, whereas that for the depression information website arm was not. At 12 months, both active interventions were statistically significantly superior to the control condition.

There is some evidence that benefits of these brief internet interventions are retained beyond their endpoint. The impact of human support provided by interviewers in the trial must be considered when comparing these outcomes to routine use of both internet interventions.

Little is known about the efficacy of educational interventions for reducing the stigma associated with depression.

To investigate the effects on stigma of two internet depression sites.

A sample of 525 individuals with elevated scores on a depression assessment scale were randomly allocated to a depression information website (BluePages), a cognitive–behavioural skills training website (MoodGYM) or an attention control condition. Personal stigma (personal stigmatising attitudes to depression) and perceived stigma (perception of what most other people believe) were assessed before and after the intervention.

Relative to the control, the internet sites significantly reduced personal stigma, although the effects were small. BluePages had no effect on perceived stigma and MoodGYM was associated with an increase in perceived stigma relative to the control. Changes in stigma were not mediated by changes in depression, depression literacy or cognitive–behavioural therapy literacy.

The internet warrants further investigation as a means of delivering stigma reduction programmes for depression.

Community surveys have reported a higher rate of mental health problems in combined groups of homosexual and bisexual participants, but have not separated these two groups.

To assess separately the mental health of homosexual and bisexual groups compared with heterosexuals.

A community survey of 4824 adults was carried out in Canberra, Australia. Measures covered anxiety depression, suicidality alcohol misuse, positive and negative affect and a range of risk factors for poorer mental health.

The bisexual group was highest on measures of anxiety depression and negative affect, with the homosexual group falling between the other two groups. Both the bisexual and homosexual groups were high on suicidality. Bisexuals also had more current adverse life events, greater childhood adversity, less positive support from family, more negative support from friends and a higher frequency of financial problems. Homosexuals reported greater childhood adversity and less positive support from family.

The bisexual group had the worst mental health, although homosexual participants also tended to report more distress.

The study aimed to compare the beliefs of health professionals about the potential helpfulness of various mental health interventions with those of the general public.

Surveys were carried out in Australia of 872 general practitioners, 1128 psychiatrists, 454 clinical psychologists and 2031 members of the public. Respondents were presented with a case vignette describing either a person with depression or one with schizophrenia. Respondents were asked to rate the likely helpfulness of various types of professional and nonprofessional help and of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.

The professionals gave much higher ratings than the public to the helpfulness of antidepressants for depression, and of antipsychotics and admission to a psychiatric ward for schizophrenia. Conversely, the public tended to give much more favourable ratings to vitamins and minerals and special diets for both depression and schizophrenia, and to reading self-help books for schizophrenia.

The beliefs that health practitioners hold about mental disorders differ greatly from those of the general public. There is a need for mental health education campaigns to help close the gap between professional and public beliefs.