Association Between Psychiatric Disorders and Age of Onset: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study of 50 Cases

Mental health services are constantly evolving with the gradual introduction of functionalized care, which means medical intervention has become more focused on a particular clinical area or stage of the illness. This has progressed to having designated teams for inpatient psychiatry. Usually, psychiatrists manage their patients both in outpatient and inpatient settings while working in a particular geographical area or sector. Moving away from this model to a functionalized inpatient setting, where other psychiatrists take care of their patients, is seen as a breach in continuity of care. In this context, it was intended to review the current literature for the experience of clinicians and patients in these sectorized (medical continuity) or functionalized models of psychiatric inpatient care. A narrative review of the current literature from multiple databases was conducted. The results suggested that there are positive and negative observations in both models. It appeared that neither met the expectations of patients nor clinicians. Patients preferred to be seen by the same consultant in community and inpatient settings, but clinical outcomes were not significantly different in the two models. The functionalized care was mostly medical continuity rather than multidisciplinary. Any changes in the care models may be driven by local facilities and issues. There is a need to improve the quality of care through existing models before any changes. More studies are needed to improve the evidence on the effectiveness of these service models.

Psychotherapy is supported by evidence across several psychological conditions, yet its value cannot be understood solely through symptom change. This thematic integrative review examines psychotherapy as both an intervention and a relational setting in which psychological safety, trust, collaboration, and self-understanding may support change. Literature discussed in the source synopsis is organized around three themes: psychotherapy outcomes across mood, anxiety, trauma-related, and personality difficulties; the therapeutic alliance and safety; and adapted, neurodiversity-affirming support for autistic people. Meta-analytic and theoretical literature generally supports psychotherapy effectiveness, while alliance research identifies the therapeutic relationship as a robust correlate of outcomes. Work on autistic youth suggests that adapted interventions can be beneficial, although outcomes and methods vary. Across these areas, the review identifies a need to connect clinical outcomes with clients? lived experience of safety, identity, accessibility, and agency. The review is integrative rather than systematic: the source material does not document reproducible database searches, screening counts, or formal quality appraisal. Accordingly, conclusions are interpretive and should not be treated as a comprehensive estimate of treatment effects. The paper argues for therapeutic spaces that combine evidence-informed care with collaborative, individualized, and affirming relationships.

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia in which the normal muscle atonia of REM sleep is lost, and patients act out their dreams.Serotonergic antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a recognized trigger, but in psychiatric patients the nocturnal behaviors are easily attributed to stress or to the primary illness.We report the case of a 46-year-old man with schizoaffective disorder, depressive type, maintained on aripiprazole 15 mg daily, who was started on escitalopram 10 mg at bedtime (day one); the dose was reduced to 5 mg on day 77.Around day 430, about 14 months after starting escitalopram and while taking 5 mg, he began to walk in his sleep and act out his dreams, including punching movements and, on one occasion, walking while holding a clothing iron, with no recollection on waking.The episodes occurred late in the night, with his eyes closed, two to three times a month and were accompanied by sleep paralysis and daytime sleepiness.His mental status examination and routine blood tests were unremarkable.He declined polysomnography and brain imaging, so a diagnosis of probable RBD, possibly associated with escitalopram, was made on clinical grounds; a non-REM parasomnia could not be excluded.On day 616, escitalopram was stopped and clonazepam 0.5 mg at bedtime was started at the same time.The episodes had stopped by day 665.Clonazepam was discontinued on day 772, and at the latest follow-up on day 1962 there had been no recurrence.Because clonazepam was started when escitalopram was withdrawn, the improvement cannot be attributed to stopping escitalopram alone, although the absence of recurrence after clonazepam was discontinued supports a role for the antidepressant.Clinicians who prescribe serotonergic antidepressants should take a sleep history from patients and their bed partners, arrange polysomnography where it is available, and review the suspected drug.

Mental health disorders are a major concern with millions of people living with mental illnesses, but only a small fraction of them have access to treatment due to stigma attached, lack of resources and trained personnel. Therefore, the inclusion of mental healthcare services in primary health care (PHC) is essential for improving its accessibility. The present review investigates the effectiveness, the different models, and the barriers in integrating mental health services into primary health care in India. The review was conducted following the PRISMA protocol using database like PubMed and Scopus between January 2016 and January 2026. The systematic search yielded 62 results, of which 23 were selected based on established inclusion criteria and were subsequently analyzed thematically. Successful integration of mental health services into primary healthcare was identified as including, but not limited to, task-sharing, use of digital technologies, use of telepsychiatry, and creating an improved policy-driven system. Task-sharing with lay personnel was found to greatly increase the identification and management of people with mental illnesses, while digital technology and telepsychiatry led to better access to mental health services, especially in rural areas. Barriers to implementing integrated mental health services included a lack of training, stigma, insufficient workforce, and limited infrastructure. Integrated mental health services into primary healthcare exist and demonstrate positive results, but to sustain successful implementation, the identified barriers to integration must be eliminated or mitigated to reduce the existing treatment gap for mental illness in India.

BACKGROUND: Understanding prescription trends and costs of psychotropic drugs is essential to inform mental healthcare policy and practice. However, comprehensive national evidence across psychotropic drug classes is limited, and little is known on how prescription volumes changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. AIMS: We examined prescription trends and costs of psychotropic drugs in the UK and assessed changes in prescription volumes following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: We analysed national Prescription Cost Analysis data from 2013 to 2023, for six major psychotropic drug classes. Annual prescription volumes, total costs and average costs per drug were estimated. Linear regression was used to assess temporal trends and changes in prescription volume during the pandemic years. Costs were adjusted for inflation to 2023 prices. RESULTS: Between 2013 and 2023, psychotropic prescriptions grew 4% (95% CI 3.9-4.2) annually. Prescriptions for antidepressants, antipsychotics, stimulants and anti-dementia drugs increased, but not for hypnotics and anxiolytics and drugs used in substance dependence. In contrast, total costs declined by approximately £328 million, and the average cost per drug dropped from £11 to £5.9. Prescription volume remained unchanged during the pandemic years, except for anti-dementia medications, which showed an annual reduction of 17.2% (95% CI 7.8-26.6) relative to the underlying temporal trend during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Our observed rising prescription trend is consistent with global evidence on availability and use of psychotropic drugs. Furthermore, we found a decrease both in total drug costs and average costs per drug.