Depression in the News 2008

It is estimated that 10% to 20% of children suffer from anxiety disorders. Psychiatrists widely use Zoloft "off label" to treat children for depression and a host of anxiety disorders. But, there is a debate about giving antidepressants to children. A new study tested cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and Zoloft in children. It found that 24 percent of patients receiving a placebo improved, 55% of those receiving just Zoloft improved 60% of those receiving just CBT improved and 81% of those receiving both CBT and Zoloft showed improvement. For more see Therapy, Drugs Ease Children's Anxiety in the Wall Street Journal October 31, 2008.

From the New York Times, October 5, 2008. Quoting: "More than one-third of all Americans will soon receive better insurance coverage for mental health treatments because of a new law that, for the first time, requires equal coverage of mental and physical illnesses ... Most employers and group health plans provide less coverage for mental health care than for the treatment of physical conditions like cancer, heart disease or broken bones. They will need to adjust their benefits to comply with the new law, which requires equivalence, or parity, in the coverage." For more see Bailout Provides More Mental Health Coverage.

From the New York Times, September 12, 2008. The Bipolar Puzzle by Jennifer Egan. Quoting: "The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the current edition is referred to as D.S.M.-IV) describes bipolar disorder as a condition whose average age of onset is 20, but virtually all the leaders in the field now say they believe it exists in children too. What they don’t agree on is what, exactly, characterizes the disease in kids, or how prevalent it is; some call it rare, while others say it is common. Many clinicians say the illness looks significantly different in children than in adults, but the question of how it differs, or what diagnostic terms like “grandiosity,” “elevated mood” or “flight of ideas” (all potential symptoms of adult bipolar disorder) even mean when you’re talking about kids, leaves room for interpretation."

From the New York Times, September 8, 2008. Bipolar Disorder Tied to Age of Fathers by Nicholas Bakalar. Quoting: "The older a man is, the more likely he is to father children who develop bipolar disorder as adults, a large Swedish study reports. Previous studies have found an association between paternal age and both autism and schizophrenia, but this is the first time a connection with bipolar illness has been suggested."