Research Snapshot

New Studies Add to Understanding of Mental Illness Development: Two studies published in the Archives of General Psychiatry add to a growing understanding of how genetics and the environment interact in the development of mental illnesses. The first study found that adults who are abused as children and who have a variation of a gene that regulates a specific stress hormone are less likely than those without the gene variation to develop depression. Researchers in the second study found that children born to women who suffered major emotional losses early in pregnancy are more likely than other children to develop schizophrenia as adults. “It is not a question of genes versus environment. It is a question of how genes interact with whatever the environmental factors might be. And that is probably true of all of the disorders that we call mental illness,” said National Institute of Mental Health Director Thomas Insel. (Reuters, 2/4/08)

Hostility, Depression Affect Older Adults' Hearts: Older adults 50-70 years old who are hostile and depressed simultaneously may be at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, researchers report in Psychosomatic Medicine. People who fall into this group tend to have elevated levels of two inflammatory proteins that increase the risk for heart disease. (Reuters, 2/20/08)

Persistent Depression After Heart Problems Linked to Worse Physical Health: People who have depression after a heart attack or severe chest pain a year after the event tend to be in worse physical health than people who have similar heart problems without depression or who experience only fleeting symptoms, researchers report in the American Journal of Cardiology. The researchers recommend that physicians assess patients’ symptoms of depression during their initial treatment for heart problems as well as during subsequent follow-up visits. (Reuters, 2/5/08)

Stress Linked Again to Heart Disease: In a study that examined more than 10,000 British civil servants, researchers report that there is a clear link between workplace stress and heart disease. The study appears in the European Heart Journal. The link was strongest among people younger than 50. One reason for the link might be that people who are under chronic stress are more likely to engage in behaviors such as smoking that can lead to heart disease. The workers in the study who were under stress also had more signs of poorly functioning hearts than others and higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood streams. (Reuters, 1/22/08)

Suicide Risk Factors Common Throughout World: A large World Health Organization study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry indicates that the risk factors for suicide are the same in 17 nations but the likelihood of suicidal behavior varies from country to country. Overall, 9.2 percent of the world’s population has thought about suicide and about 3 percent have actually made suicide attempts. The researchers also found that while mood disorders are most often linked to suicidal behaviors in wealthy countries, impulse control disorders are more strongly tied to suicidal behaviors in less wealthy nations. (Reuters, 2/6/08)

Caregivers Face Big Emotional Toll: Providing care to men who have prostate cancer can exact a toll on the emotional health of wives and others who provide that care, a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology indicates. This toll includes anxiety, depression, substantial fatigue and bodily pain. Because these symptoms and problems can interfere with the quality of care that they provide, ensuring that caregivers get the emotional help that they need is not just important for their own health, the researchers said, but also for the health of their loved ones. (Reuters, 2/13/08)

In Memoriam

Carol Walker Garvin
1934-2007

Mental Health America is deeply saddened by the passing of Carol Walker Garvin, a friend and advocate for the mental health movement, who died Dec. 6, 2007.

Carol’s voice shaped policy in South Carolina for more than a decade. She served at various times as chair of the board of the MHA of Aiken County and for the MHA of South Carolina. Carol also served as chair of the South Carolina Mental Health Commission, the governing body of the state mental health system. Carol went on to serve on the board of Mental Health America and led the organization as chair of the board in 1989.

Carol will always be remembered as a fearless advocate who combined great intelligence and a thorough knowledge of the issues with a passionate but gracious style that engaged friends and opponents equally.

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