News from: media

February 8, 2008

Headline News Highlights (1st-8th February 2008)

Mental Health

Low-income work risks health
Irish Health (Thu, 7 Feb 2008)
Low-income work is putting employees’ health at risk, according to a new report by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.  The study by the European Risk Observatory found that low-income workers were at risk of mental and behavioural health problems because of stress surrounding employment contracts, job insecurity, intense work environments, high emotional demands, violence at work and a poor work-life balance.

Bullying ups mental health risk
Irish Health (Thu, 7 Feb 2008)
Children who are bullied are much more likely to experience internalising problems, such as depression, the results of a new study indicate.  A team of UK researchers set out to determine whether being bullied led to an increase of internalised symptoms in children. Internalising problems are psychological problems in which negativity is directed inward.  They can include depression, anxiety, and withdrawn behaviour.

Asylum process causes refugees 'severe distress'
Sunday Times (Sun, 3 Feb 2008)
Having to wait years for a decision on their applications is having a detrimental effect on the mental health of asylum seekers, almost half of whom are suffering "severe distress". A study by psychologists at University College Dublin has found that 46% of refugees are acutely distressed by their experiences in Ireland. Follow-up interviews a year or two later found that only refugees who had secured legal status showed signs of improved psychological health.

Suicide Prevention

Anti-smoking pill linked to suicides
Irish Examiner (Tue, 5 Feb 2008)
An anti-smoking drug widely available in Ireland will not be removed from the market after being linked with more than 400 cases of suicidal behaviour in the US.  However, the drug, called Champix in Europe and Chantix in the US, which has been' available on prescription .here for more than a year, will carry a stronger warning.  The US Food and Drug Administration said it was "increasingly likely" the drug might be linked with serious psychiatric symptoms.

Shocking youth culture behind 'chain'of suicides
Irish Independent Health & Living (Mon, 4 Feb 2008)
A coroner in Wales announced last week that he was investigating the link between the internet and the suicides of seven young people, ranging in age from 17 to 20. The possibility that these deaths are part of a suicide chain operating through the internet is also being investigated.  However, apart from internet and social connections between some, the most pertinent association is that all come from Bridgend. 

Bipolar Disorder

Study provides bipolar clues
Irish Health (Tue, 5 Feb 2008)
People with bipolar disorder have a distinct chemical signature in their brains, the results of a new study indicate. The findings may also indicate how drugs used to treat the condition, such as lithium, work.

 Schizophrenia

Pregnancy stress, schizophrenia linked
Irish Health (Tue, 5 Feb 2008)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     It is already widely thought that a mother’s psychological state can influence the health of her unborn baby.  Now new research has found that babies who are exposed to severe maternal stress during the first trimester are at an increased risk of later developing schizophrenia.

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