The Mental Elf

21/11/2025

A first cancer diagnosis carried a significantly higher su***de risk in this Danish population study. 📈
Risk peaked in the first six months and was especially elevated for pancreatic and oesophageal cancers.
Stage 4 cancers carried more than triple the risk.

Read the full summary here 👇
https://buff.ly/usfcyHq

20/11/2025

🔍 What did a study of more than 10,000 Danes teach us about eating disorder recovery?

In this long-term study, nearly 9 in 10 people with anorexia, bulimia, or EDNOS reached a period of remission. Genetic predispositions shaped who recovered, who relapsed, and who switched diagnoses.

Why does this matter?
⭐ It challenges assumptions that eating disorders always follow a chronic path
⭐ It shows why early support and long-term follow-up are essential
⭐ It hints at a future where genetics may help tailor care

Full blog 👇
https://buff.ly/Vz9KOzz

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19/11/2025

Racism and psychosis: how discrimination shapes mental health risk

People from racialised communities are more likely to experience psychosis, but racism itself is rarely studied as a risk factor.

This new umbrella review shows:
⚠️ Consistent links between racial, ethnic, and religious discrimination and psychotic symptoms
🌍 Findings across both clinical and non-clinical populations
💬 Microaggressions and systemic inequities compounding harm

The takeaway? Racism isn’t just a backdrop to mental health. It’s a driver of risk that must be recognised in research, care, and policy.

👉 Read our full summary: https://buff.ly/EysiuO7

18/11/2025

💔 Domestic violence and su***de in women: insights from a national UK study

A new study from the Centre for Mental Health and Safety at the University of Manchester found that 26% of women who died by su***de while under UK mental health care had experienced domestic abuse.

These women were more likely to:
👩 Be younger and unemployed
💰 Experience serious financial problems
⚠️ Have PTSD, self-harm, or addiction problems
🚫 Miss their final contact with services
🏠 Live alone or face social isolation

The findings highlight the need for trauma-informed, proactive care that recognises how violence, inequality, and poverty shape risk and recovery.

👉 Read the full Mental Elf summary: https://buff.ly/NdiOJI9

17/11/2025

⚠️ Predicting psychiatric hospitalisation using routinely-collected measures

Hospital admissions can be lifesaving, but they’re also costly and distressing.

This BMJ Mental Health study by Taquet and colleagues tested whether routinely collected clinical data could help predict who’s most at risk.

📊 37,000 patients from 20 US centres
💡 Model accuracy: C-indexes ranged from 0.74 to 0.81
⚖️ Fair performance across ethnic groups and diagnoses

Early warning scores like this could help clinicians act before a crisis happens, but implementation needs care and ethics.

👉 Read more: https://buff.ly/vkXjTlN

14/11/2025

Mind the age gap: Young adults may benefit less from NHS psychological therapies

A new Lancet Psychiatry study looked at data from 1.5 million people treated for anxiety and depression in NHS Talking Therapies. It found that:
✅ Young adults (16–24) improved less than older adults
📉 They were more likely to deteriorate
💬 And if outcomes were equal, 23,000 more young adults would have recovered

So what’s going wrong and how can we make psychological therapies work better for young people?

👉 Read our full summary: https://buff.ly/IBVwyj9

13/11/2025

🍺 Alcohol causes 2.6 million premature deaths each year, yet remains the world’s favourite drug.

This new Lancet Public Health study reveals:
⚠️ Most countries are missing WHO’s 2030 reduction target
👫 Men drink far more heavily than women
🌍 Europe’s drinking is falling, but harms remain high
💰 Industry lobbying continues to block stronger policy

The result? 60.5 million healthy life years lost (DALYs) annually.

Read the full blog: https://buff.ly/U2150Sr

12/11/2025

🕰️ How to deliver trauma-informed perinatal mental healthcare

One in four women experience mental health difficulties during the perinatal period, yet trauma often goes unrecognised.

This new review brings together international guidance and highlights 8 clear recommendations for trauma-informed care — from sensitive screening to staff supervision.

The takeaway? Sometimes, the most powerful intervention is time: time to listen, to process, and to reflect. 💬

👉 Read the full blog: https://buff.ly/SheP8qa

11/11/2025

Bundle of joy, bundle of nerves: What do we really know about postpartum anxiety? 👶💭

Postpartum anxiety affects around 1 in 8 new mothers worldwide, but researchers still can’t agree on how to define or measure it.

This Lancet Psychiatry review maps the evidence, from risk factors and prevalence to gaps in treatment research. It also calls for a global consensus to improve care for parents and infants alike.

👉 Read the full summary: https://buff.ly/oIc8mjw

Lottie Shipp blogs a state-of-the-art review summarising findings from 850 papers exploring postpartum anxiety. What do we know and what do we not yet know?

10/11/2025

🧠 Inside the diagnostic grey zone: using machine learning to separate bipolar and major depression

High misdiagnosis rates between bipolar and major depressive disorder cause real harm to patients and services.

This new neuroimaging study explored whether brain connectivity and AI could do a better job of telling the two apart — finding promising signals in reward and memory regions, but accuracy was modest and reproducibility remains a big challenge.

Read the blog 👉 https://buff.ly/ZCn9WJT

07/11/2025

Is it a gut feeling? 🦠
Could the gut microbiome help explain why some pregnant women experience depression or anxiety?

This Finnish study explored links between specific bacteria and mental health during and after pregnancy in women with overweight or obesity.

The results suggest certain microbial shifts may be tied to symptoms, but overall gut diversity wasn’t linked to mental health outcomes.

👉 Read the full blog: https://buff.ly/dhvtgP8

07/11/2025

💬 WEBINAR ALERT
🌟 Mental Imagery in Psychosis & Bipolar Disorder: New Research & Insights
📍 11-12 GMT, Wed 4th Feb 2026
https://elfi.sh/imaps

Understanding the role of mental imagery in psychosis & bipolar disorder – latest research findings, lived experience & future directions .