This meta-analysis evaluates alterations of neurometabolites in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. PubMed was searched to find controlled studies evaluating N-acetylaspartate (NAA), Choline (Cho) and Creatine (Cr) assessed with 1H-MRS (proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy) in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder up to September 2010. Random effects meta-analyses were conducted to estimate pooled standardized mean differences. I2 statistic was used to quantify inconsistencies. Subgroup analyses were conducted to explore potential explanations for inconsistencies. 146 studies with 5643 participants were included in the systematic review. NAA levels were affected in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Decreased levels in the basal ganglia and frontal lobe were the most consistent findings in schizophrenia, decreased levels in the basal ganglia were the most consistent findings in bipolar disorder. Cho and Cr levels were not altered in either disorder. Findings for Cr were most consistent in the thalamus, frontal lobe and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in schizophrenia and the basal ganglia and frontal lobe in bipolar disorder. Findings for Cho were most consistent in the thalamus, frontal lobe and anterior cingulate cortex in schizophrenia and basal ganglia in bipolar disorder. Large, carefully designed studies are needed to better estimate the extent of alterations in neurometabolites.

Police face an increased risk of developing mental health problems, yet reliable estimates of their psychological difficulties remain unknown. This systematic review and meta-analysis estimate the pooled prevalence and risk factors for mental health problems among police personnel worldwide. Three independent reviewers searched 16 databases and screened 11 506 articles published between January 1980 and October 2019. Eligible studies involved at least 100 active police professionals and used validated instruments to ascertain specific mental health problems. Estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analyses. In total, 60 cross-sectional and seven longitudinal studies, involving 272 463 police personnel from 24 countries met criteria for inclusion. The overall pooled point prevalence was 14.6% for depression (95% CI 10.9% to 18.6%), 14.2% for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD; 95% CI 10.3% to 18.7%), 9.6% for a generalised anxiety disorder (95% CI 6.7% to 12.9%), 8.5% for suicidal ideation (95% CI 6.1% to 11.2%), 5.0% for alcohol dependence (95% CI 3.5% to 6.7%) and 25.7% for hazardous drinking (95% CI 19.6% to 32.4%). The strongest risk factor for depression and suicidal ideation was higher occupational stress, and the strongest risk factors for PTSD were higher occupational stress and avoidant coping strategies. Higher levels of peer-support were associated with significantly lower PTSD symptoms. Our findings suggest that the prevalence of mental health problems among police exceeds twice that previously reported in mixed samples of first responders, and is associated with poor social support, occupational stress and maladaptive coping strategies. Without effective intervention, psychological difficulties will remain a substantial health concern among police.

Summary Background Rising annual incidence of involuntary hospitalisation have been reported in England and some other higher-income countries, but the reasons for this increase are unclear. We aimed to describe the extent of variations in involuntary annual hospitalisation rates between countries, to compare trends over time, and to explore whether variations in legislation, demographics, economics, and health-care provision might be associated with variations in involuntary hospitalisation rates. Methods We compared annual incidence of involuntary hospitalisation between 2008 and 2017 (where available) for 22 countries across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. We also obtained data on national legislation, demographic and economic factors (gross domestic product [GDP] per capita, prevalence of inequality and poverty, and the percentage of populations who are foreign born, members of ethnic minorities, or living in urban settings), and service characteristics (health-care spending and provision of psychiatric beds and mental health staff). Annual incidence data were obtained from government sources or published peer-reviewed literature. Findings The median rate of involuntary hospitalisation was 106·4 (IQR 58·5 to 150·9) per 100 000 people, with Austria having the highest (282 per 100 000 individuals) and Italy the lowest (14·5 per 100 000 individuals) most recently available rates. We observed no relationship between annual involuntary hospitalisation rates and any characteristics of the legal framework. Higher national rates of involuntary hospitalisation were associated with a larger number of beds (β coefficient 0·65, 95% CI 0·10 to 1·20, p=0·021), higher GDP per capita purchasing power parity (β coefficient 1·84, 0·30 to 3·38, p=0·019), health-care spending per capita (β coefficient 15·92, 3·34 to 28·49, p=0·013), the proportion of foreign-born individuals in the population (β coefficient 7·32, 0·44 to 14·19, p=0·037), and lower absolute poverty (β coefficient −11·5, −22·6 to −0·3, p=0·044). There was no evidence of an association between annual involuntary hospitalisation incidence and any other demographic, economic, or health-care indicator. Interpretation Variations between countries were large and for the most part unexplained. We found a higher annual incidence of involuntary hospitalisation to be associated with a lower rate of absolute poverty, with higher GDP and health-care spending per capita, a higher proportion of foreign-born individuals in a population, and larger numbers of inpatient beds, but limitations in ecological research must be noted, and the associations were weak. Other country-level demographic, economic, and health-care delivery indicators and characteristics of the legislative system appeared to be unrelated to annual involuntary hospitalisation rates. Understanding why involuntary hospitalisation rates vary so much could be advanced through a more fine-grained an...

Using four brief assessment scales, profiles of mental health and psychological well-being were obtained from 507 old (aged 65-74 years) and 535 very old (aged 75+) individuals randomly sampled from the community. Assessments of dementia and depression were subsequently validated against diagnostic ratings made by experienced psychogeriatricians. Levels of agreement between psychometric and clinical ratings of dementia (kappa = 0.83) and depression (kappa = 0.66) were satisfactory. The old and very old groups reported similar levels of anxiety and personal disturbance, and showed a similar prevalence of depression. However, those aged 75+ showed higher levels of dementia and significantly lower levels of social involvement and morale.