Domestic violence has been linked with many mental disorders, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders and psychosis.

To estimate the prevalence (adult lifetime and past year) of different types of domestic violence experienced by men and women receiving psychiatric treatment.

In a systematic review, a search of 18 electronic databases was supplemented by hand searching, citation tracking and updating a recent systematic review of criminal victimisation in psychiatric populations. Two reviewers independently extracted data and appraised study quality.

Forty-two studies were included. The median prevalence of lifetime partner violence reported in high-quality papers was 30% (interquartile range (IQR) 26–39) among female in-patients and 33% (IQR 21–53) among female out-patients. Among male patients, one high-quality study reported a lifetime prevalence of 32% across mixed psychiatric settings. No study included a control group.

Psychiatric patients experience a high prevalence of domestic violence but there is limited information on family (non-partner) domestic violence, the prevalence of emotional abuse and the extent of risk compared with non-psychiatric controls.

There is conflicting evidence about the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and depression, and a systematic assessment of the literature has not been available.

To determine the relationship, if any, between vitamin D deficiency and depression.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and randomised controlled trials was conducted.

One case-control study, ten cross-sectional studies and three cohort studies with a total of 31 424 participants were analysed. Lower vitamin D levels were found in people with depression compared with controls (SMD = 0.60,95% Cl 0.23–0.97) and there was an increased odds ratio of depression for the lowest v. highest vitamin D categories in the cross-sectional studies (OR = 1.31, 95% CI 1.0–1.71). The cohort studies showed a significantly increased hazard ratio of depression for the lowest v. highest vitamin D categories (HR=2.21, 95% CI 1.40–3.49).

Our analyses are consistent with the hypothesis that low vitamin D concentration is associated with depression, and highlight the need for randomised controlled trials of vitamin D for the prevention and treatment of depression to determine whether this association is causal.

Offspring of mothers with depression are at heightened risk of psychiatric disorder. Many mothers with depression have comorbid psychopathology. How these co-occurring problems affect child outcomes has rarely been considered.

To consider whether the overall burden of co-occurring psychopathology in mothers with recurrent depression predicts new-onset psychopathology in offspring.

Mothers with recurrent depression and their adolescent offspring (9–17 years at baseline) were assessed in 2007 and on two further occasions up to 2011. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing depression severity, anxiety, alcohol problems and antisocial behaviour. Psychiatric disorder in offspring was assessed using the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment.

The number of co-occurring problems in mothers (0, 1 or 2+) predicted new-onset offspring disorder (odds ratio (OR) = 1.80, 95% CI 1.17–2.77, P = 0.007). Rates varied from 15.7 to 34.8% depending on the number of co-occurring clinical problems. This remained significant after controlling for maternal depression severity (OR = 1.73, 95% CI 1.03–2.89, P = 0.040).

The burden of co-occurring psychopathology among mothers with recurrent depression indexes increased risk of future onset of psychiatric disorder for offspring. This knowledge can be used in targeting preventive measures in children at high risk of psychiatric disorder.

Inequality in health and treatment of disease across socioeconomic status groups is a major public health issue.

To examine differences in socioeconomic status in common mental disorders and use of psychotherapy provided by the public and private sector in the UK between 1991 and 2009.

During these years, 28 054 men and women responded to annual surveys by the nationally representative, population-based British Household Panel Survey (on average 7 measurements per participant; 207 545 person-observations). In each year, common mental disorders were assessed with the self-reported 12-item General Health Questionnaire and socioeconomic status was assessed on the basis of household income, occupational status and education.

Higher socioeconomic status was associated with lower odds of common mental disorder (highest v. lowest household income quintile odds ratio (OR) 0.88, 95% CI 0.82–0.94) and of being treated by publicly provided psychotherapy (OR = 0.43, 95% CI 0.34–0.55), but higher odds of being a client of private psychotherapy (OR = 3.33, 95% CI 2.36–4.71). The status difference in publicly provided psychotherapy treatment was more pronounced at the end of follow-up (OR = 0.36, 95% CI 0.23–0.56, in 2005–2009) than at the beginning of the follow-up period (OR =0.96, 95% CI 0.66–1.39, in 1991–1994; time interaction P<0.001). The findings for occupational status and education were similar to those for household income.

The use of publicly provided psychotherapy has improved between 1991 and 2009 among those with low socioeconomic status, although social inequalities in common mental disorders remain.

Depression is a common and costly comorbidity in dementia. There are very few data on the cost-effectiveness of antidepressants for depression in dementia and their effects on carer outcomes.

To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of sertraline and mirtazapine compared with placebo for depression in dementia.

A pragmatic, multicentre, randomised placebo-controlled trial with a parallel cost-effectiveness analysis (trial registration: ISRCTN88882979 and EudraCT 2006-000105-38). The primary cost-effectiveness analysis compared differences in treatment costs for patients receiving sertraline, mirtazapine or placebo with differences in effectiveness measured by the primary outcome, total Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) score, over two time periods: 0–13 weeks and 0–39 weeks. The secondary evaluation was a cost-utility analysis using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) computed from the Euro-Qual (EQ-5D) and societal weights over those same periods.

There were 339 participants randomised and 326 with costs data (111 placebo, 107 sertraline, 108 mirtazapine). For the primary outcome, decrease in depression, mirtazapine and sertraline were not cost-effective compared with placebo. However, examining secondary outcomes, the time spent by unpaid carers caring for participants in the mirtazapine group was almost half that for patients receiving placebo (6.74 v. 12.27 hours per week) or sertraline (6.74 v. 12.32 hours per week). Informal care costs over 39 weeks were £1510 and £1522 less for the mirtazapine group compared with placebo and sertraline respectively.

In terms of reducing depression, mirtazapine and sertraline were not cost-effective for treating depression in dementia. However, mirtazapine does appear likely to have been cost-effective if costing includes the impact on unpaid carers and with quality of life included in the outcome. Unpaid (family) carer costs were lower with mirtazapine than sertraline or placebo. This may have been mediated via the putative ability of mirtazapine to ameliorate sleep disturbances and anxiety. Given the priority and the potential value of supporting family carers of people with dementia, further research is warranted to investigate the potential of mirtazapine to help with behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia and in supporting carers.

Cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) is a theoretically coherent approach developed to address common processes underlying personality disorders, but is supported by limited empirical evidence.

To investigate the effectiveness of time-limited CAT for participants with personality disorder.

A service-based randomised controlled trial (trial registration: ISRCTN79596618) comparing 24 sessions of CAT (n = 38) and treatment as usual (TAU) (n = 40) over 10 months for individuals with personality disorder. Primary outcomes were measures of psychological symptoms and interpersonal difficulties.

Participants receiving CAT showed reduced symptoms and experienced substantial benefits compared with TAU controls, who showed signs of deterioration during the treatment period.

Cognitive analytic therapy is more effective than TAU in improving outcomes associated with personality disorder. More elaborate and controlled evaluations of CAT are needed in the future.

Cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT)-based guided self-help is recommended as a first step in the treatment of bulimia nervosa.

To evaluate in a randomised controlled trial (Clinicaltrials.gov registration number: NCT00461071) the long-term effectiveness of internet-based guided self-help (INT-GSH) compared with conventional guided bibliotherapy (BIB-GSH) in females with bulimia nervosa.

A total of 155 participants were randomly assigned to INT-GSH or BIB-GSH for 7 months. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, month 4, month 7 and month 18.

The greatest improvement was reported after 4 months with a continued reduction in eating disorder symptomatology reported at month 7 and 18. After 18 months, 14.6% (n = 7/48) of the participants in the INT-GSH group and 25% (n = 7/28) in the BIB-GSH group were abstinent from binge eating and compensatory measures, 43.8% (n = 21/48) and 39.2% (n = 11/28) respectively were in remission. No differences regarding outcome between the two groups were found.

Internet-based guided self-help for bulimia nervosa was not superior compared with bibliotherapy, the gold standard of self-help. Improvements remain stable in the long term.

The physical environment is presumed to have an effect on aggression and also on the use of seclusion on psychiatric wards. Multicentre studies that include a broad variety of design features found on psychiatric wards and that control for patient, staff and general ward characteristics are scarce.

To explore the effect of design features on the risk of being secluded, the number of seclusion incidents and the time in seclusion, for patients admitted to locked wards for intensive psychiatric care.

Data on the building quality and safety of psychiatric as well as forensic wards (n = 199) were combined with data on the frequency and type of coercive measures per admission (n = 23 868 admissions of n = 14 834 patients) on these wards, over a 12-month period. We used non-linear principal components analysis (CATPCA) to reduce the observed design features into a smaller number of uncorrelated principal components. Two-level multilevel (logistic) regression analyses were used to explore the relationship with seclusion. Admission was the first level in the analyses and ward was the second level.

Overall, 14 design features had a significant effect on the risk of being secluded during admission. The ‘presence of an outdoor space’, 'special safety measures' and a large ‘number of patients in the building’ increased the risk of being secluded. Design features such as more ‘total private space per patient’, a higher ‘level of comfort’ and greater ‘visibility on the ward’, decreased the risk of being secluded.

A number of design features had an effect on the use of seclusion and restraint. The study highlighted the need for a greater focus on the impact of the physical environment on patients, as, along with other interventions, this can reduce the need for seclusion and restraint.