The prognostic impact of previous depression on myocardial infarction survival remains poorly understood.

To examine the association between depression and all-cause mortality following myocardial infarction.

Using Danish medical registries, we conducted a nationwide population-based cohort study. We included all patients with first-time myocardial infarction (1995–2014) and identified previous depression as either a depression diagnosis or use of antidepressants. We used Cox regression to compute adjusted mortality rate ratios (aMRRs) with 95% confidence intervals.

We identified 170 771 patients with first-time myocardial infarction. Patients with myocardial infarction and a previous depression diagnosis had higher 19-year mortality risks (87% v. 78%). The overall aMRR was 1.11 (95% CI 1.07–1.15) increasing to 1.22 (95% CI 1.17–1.27) when including use of antidepressants in the depression definition.

A history of depression was associated with a moderately increased all-cause mortality following myocardial infarction.

Lithium and quetiapine are considered standard maintenance agents for bipolar disorder yet it is unclear how their efficacy compares with each other.

To investigate the differential effect of lithium and quetiapine on symptoms of depression, mania, general functioning, global illness severity and quality of life in patients with recently stabilised first-episode mania.

Maintenance trial of patients with first-episode mania stabilised on a combination of lithium and quetiapine, subsequently randomised to lithium or quetiapine monotherapy (up to 800 mg/day) and followed up for 1 year. (Trial registration: Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry – ACTRN12607000639426.)

In total, 61 individuals were randomised. Within mixed-model repeated measures analyses, significant omnibus treatment × visit interactions were observed for measures of overall psychopathology, psychotic symptoms and functioning. Planned and post hoc comparisons further demonstrated the superiority of lithium treatment over quetiapine.

In people with first-episode mania treated with a combination of lithium and quetiapine, continuation treatment with lithium rather than quetiapine is superior in terms of mean levels of symptoms during a 1-year evolution.

Depression has been cross-sectionally associated with short telomeres as a measure of biological age. However, the direction and nature of the association is currently unclear.

We examined whether short telomere length is associated with depression cross-sectionally as well as prospectively and genetically.

Telomere length and three polymorphisms, TERT, TERC and OBFC1, were measured in 67306 individuals aged 20–100 years from the Danish general population and associated with register-based attendance at hospital for depression and purchase of antidepressant medication.

Attendance at hospital for depression was associated with short telomere length cross-sectionally, but not prospectively. Further, purchase of antidepressant medication was not associated with short telomere length cross-sectionally or prospectively. Mean follow-up was 7.6 years (range 0.0–21.5). The genetic analyses suggested that telomere length was not causally associated with attendance at hospital for depression or with purchase of antidepressant medication.

Short telomeres were not associated with depression in prospective or in causal, genetic analyses.

Brief cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) is an emerging treatment for schizophrenia in community settings; however, further trials are needed, especially in non-Western countries.

To test the effects of brief CBT for Chinese patients with schizophrenia in the community (trial registration: ChiCTR-TRC-13003709).

A total of 220 patients with schizophrenia from four districts of Beijing were randomly assigned to either brief CBT plus treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU alone. Patients were assessed at baseline, post-treatment and at 6- and 12-month follow-ups by raters masked to group allocation.

At the post-treatment assessment and the 12-month follow-up, patients who received brief CBT showed greater improvement in overall symptoms, general psychopathology, insight and social functioning. In total, 37.3% of those in the brief CBT plus TAU group experienced a clinically significant response, compared with only 19.1% of those in the TAU alone group (P = 0.003).

Brief CBT has a positive effect on Chinese patients with schizophrenia in the community.

International guidelines advocate depression screening in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and other chronic illnesses, but evidence is lacking.

To test the differential efficacy of written patient-targeted feedback v. no written patient feedback after depression screening.

Patients with CHD or hypertension from three cardiology settings were randomised and screened for depression (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01879111). Compared with the control group, where only cardiologists received written feedback, in the intervention group both cardiologists and patients received written feedback regarding depression status. Depression severity was measured 1 month (primary outcome) and 6 months after screening.

The control group (n = 220) and the patient-feedback group (n = 155) did not differ in depression severity 1 month after screening. Six months after screening, the patient-feedback group showed significantly greater improvements in depression severity and was twice as likely to seek information about depression compared with the control group.

Patient-targeted feedback in addition to screening has a significant but small effect on depression severity after 6 months and may encourage patients to take an active role in the self-management of depression.

The current popularity of mindfulness-based practices has coincided with the increase in access to mobile technology. This has led to many mindfulness apps and programs becoming available, some specifically for children. However, little is known about the experience of engaging with mindfulness through these mediums.

To explore children's experience of mindfulness delivered both face-to-face and through a computer game to highlight any differences or similarities.

A two-armed qualitative focus groups design was used to explore children's experiences. The first arm offered mindfulness exercises in a traditional face-to-face setting with guided meditations. The second arm offered mindfulness exercises through a computer game avatar.

Themes of relaxation, engagement, awareness, thinking, practice and directing attention emerged from both arms of focus groups. Subthematic codes highlight key differences as well as similarities in the experience of mindfulness.

These results indicate that mindfulness delivered via technology can offer a rich experience.

Observational studies report associations between early menarche and higher levels of depressive symptoms and depression. However, no studies have investigated whether this association is causal.

To determine whether earlier menarche is a causal risk factor for depressive symptoms and depression in adolescence.

The associations between a genetic score for age at menarche and depressive symptoms at 14, 17 and 19 years, and depression at 18 years, were examined using Mendelian randomisation analysis techniques.

Using a genetic risk score to indicate earlier timing of menarche, we found that early menarche is associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms at 14 years (odds ratio per risk allele 1.02, 95% CI 1.005–1.04, n=2404). We did not find an association between the early menarche risk score and depressive symptoms or depression after age 14.

Our results provide evidence for a causal effect of age at menarche on depressive symptoms at age 14.

Computerised cognitive–behavioural therapy (cCBT) for depression has the potential to be efficient therapy but engagement is poor in primary care trials.

We tested the benefits of adding telephone support to cCBT.

We compared telephone-facilitated cCBT (MoodGYM) (n = 187) to minimally supported cCBT (MoodGYM) (n = 182) in a pragmatic randomised trial (trial registration: ISRCTN55310481). Outcomes were depression severity (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9), anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire (GAD)-7) and somatoform complaints (PHQ-15) at 4 and 12 months.

Use of cCBT increased by a factor of between 1.5 and 2 with telephone facilitation. At 4 months PHQ-9 scores were 1.9 points lower (95% CI 0.5–3.3) for telephone-supported cCBT. At 12 months, the results were no longer statistically significant (0.9 PHQ-9 points, 95% CI −0.5 to 2.3). There was improvement in anxiety scores and for somatic complaints.

Telephone facilitation of cCBT improves engagement and expedites depression improvement. The effect was small to moderate and comparable with other low-intensity psychological interventions.

There is a need for clinical tools to identify cultural issues in diagnostic assessment.

To assess the feasibility, acceptability and clinical utility of the DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI) in routine clinical practice.

Mixed-methods evaluation of field trial data from six countries. The CFI was administered to diagnostically diverse psychiatric out-patients during a diagnostic interview. In post-evaluation sessions, patients and clinicians completed debriefing qualitative interviews and Likert-scale questionnaires. The duration of CFI administration and the full diagnostic session were monitored.

Mixed-methods data from 318 patients and 75 clinicians found the CFI feasible, acceptable and useful. Clinician feasibility ratings were significantly lower than patient ratings and other clinician-assessed outcomes. After administering one CFI, however, clinician feasibility ratings improved significantly and subsequent interviews required less time.

The CFI was included in DSM-5 as a feasible, acceptable and useful cultural assessment tool.

The efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in psychosis has been reported but not for medication-resistant psychosis.

To test the efficacy of ACT in a sample of community-residing patients with persisting psychotic symptoms. (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12608000210370.)

The primary outcome was overall mental state at post-therapy (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale –total); secondary outcomes were psychotic symptom dimensions and functioning. In total, 96 patients were randomised to ACT (n = 49) or befriending (n = 47). Symptom, functioning and process measures were administered at baseline, post-therapy and 6 months later.

There was no group difference on overall mental state. In secondary analyses the ACT group showed greater improvement in positive symptoms and hallucination distress at follow-up: Cohen's d = 0.52 (95% CI 0.07–0.98) and 0.65 (95% CI 0.24–1.06), respectively.

Improvements reflected the treatment focus on positive symptoms; however, absence of process-measure changes suggests that the ACT intervention used did not manipulate targeted processes beyond befriending. Symptom-specific therapy refinements, improved investigation of process and attention to cognitive functioning and dose are warranted in future research.

Long-term conditions often coexist with depression and anxiety.

To assess the effectiveness of stepped-care psychological therapies for patients with long-term conditions.

Data from 28 498 patients were analysed using regression to model depression (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)) and anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD-7)) outcomes. Post-treatment symptoms and effect sizes (d) were estimated for individuals with and without long-term conditions, controlling for covariates. The likelihood of access and response to intensive psychological interventions was also examined.

Higher post-treatment symptoms were predicted for patients with musculoskeletal problems (d = 0.22–0.27), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (d = 0.26–0.33), diabetes (d = 0.05–0.13) and psychotic disorders (d = 0.50–0.58). Most long-term conditions were associated with greater odds of accessing high-intensity therapies, yet individuals who accessed these continued to have higher average post-treatment symptoms.

Some long-term conditions are associated with greater intensity of care and poorer outcomes after therapy.

Ketamine has recently become an agent of interest as an acute treatment for severe depression and as the anaesthetic for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Subanaesthetic doses result in an acute reduction in depression severity while evidence is equivocal for this antidepressant effect with anaesthetic or adjuvant doses. Recent systematic reviews call for high-quality evidence from further randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

To establish if ketamine as the anaesthetic for ECT results in fewer ECT treatments, improvements in depression severity ratings and less memory impairment than the standard anaesthetic.

Double-blind, parallel-design, RCT of intravenous ketamine (up to 2 mg/kg) with an active comparator, intravenous propofol (up to 2.5 mg/kg), as the anaesthetic for ECT in patients receiving ECT for major depression on an informal basis. (Trial registration: European Clinical Trials Database (EudraCT): 2011-000396-14 and clinicalTrials.gov: NCT01306760.)

No significant differences were found on any outcome measure during, at the end of or 1 month following the ECT course.

Ketamine as an anaesthetic does not enhance the efficacy of ECT.

Democratic therapeutic community (DTC) treatment has been used for many years in an effort to help people with personality disorder. High-quality evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is absent.

To test whether DTC treatment reduces use of in-patient services and improves the mental health of people with personality disorder.

An RCT of 70 people meeting DSM-IV criteria for personality disorder (trial registration: ISRCTN57363317). The intervention was DTC and the control condition was crisis planning plus treatment as usual (TAU). The primary outcome was days of in-patient psychiatric treatment. Secondary outcomes were social function, mental health status, self-harm and aggression, attendance at emergency departments and primary care, and satisfaction with care. All outcomes were measured at 12 and 24 months after randomisation.

Number of in-patient days at follow-up was low among all participants and there was no difference between groups. At 24 months, self- and other directed aggression and satisfaction with care were significantly improved in the DTC compared with the TAU group.

DTC is more effective than TAU in improving outcomes in personality disorder. Further studies are required to confirm this conclusion.