A.P. served on the Public Health England expert reference committee contributing to local guidance on commissioning and delivering postvention support (Public Health England, 2016. Support After a Suicide: A Guide to Providing Local Services) and has submitted applications for funding to investigate mediators of suicide risk after suicide bereavement. Since writing this article she has become a Patron of the Support After Suicide Partnership.

None.

© The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2018.

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A.B. was a clinical director of the offender care services at Central and North West London National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust until August 2016, with responsibility for several women’s prison healthcare services in London and the South East, and is currently clinical director of NHS England London Health in Justice Clinical Network, paid as a salary one day a week.

None.

M.M.L. has provided expert testimony in legal proceedings following in-patient suicide. N.K. sits on the Department of Health (England) National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory group.

F.S. is a consultant psychiatrist in Psychiatric Intensive Care at the Maudsley Hospital, London. He is on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care and Low Secure Units, and was a member of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guideline Development Group for the Short-Term Management of Aggression and Violence (2015). J.P. is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University. E.B. is a consultant and expert witness in violence reduction and the use of physical interventions, independent expert to the High Secure Hospitals Violence Reduction Manual Steering Group and a member of the College of Policing Guideline Committee Steering Group and Mental Health Restraint Expert Reference Group. B.P. is the clinical director for Crisis and Aggression Limitation and Management (CALM) Training and formerly a senior lecturer for the Faculty of Health, University of Stirling. He is a nurse and psychotherapist and presently chairs the European Network for Training in the Management of Aggression. A.O'B. is a consultant psychiatrist, the Director of Educational Programmes for the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care and Low Secure Units, and the Dean for Students at St George's University of London.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is considered to be the most effective treatment in severe major depression. The identification of reliable predictors of ECT response could contribute to a more targeted patient selection and consequently increased ECT response rates.

To investigate the predictive value of age, depression severity, psychotic and melancholic features for ECT response and remission in major depression.

A meta-analysis was conducted according to the PRISMA statement. A literature search identified recent studies that reported on at least one of the potential predictors.

Of the 2193 articles screened, 34 have been included for meta-analysis. Presence of psychotic features is a predictor of ECT remission (odds ratio (OR) = 1.47, P = 0.001) and response (OR = 1.69, P < 0.001), as is older age (standardised mean difference (SMD) = 0.26 for remission and 0.35 for response (P < 0.001)). The severity of depression predicts response (SMD = 0.19, P = 0.001), but not remission. Data on melancholic symptoms were inconclusive.

ECT is particularly effective in patients with depression with psychotic features and in elderly people with depression. More research on both biological and clinical predictors is needed to further evaluate the position of ECT in treatment protocols for major depression.

None.

Little is known about the social and emotional well-being of children whose fathers have been deployed to the conflicts in Iraq/Afghanistan or who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

To examine the emotional and behavioural well-being of children whose fathers are or have been in the UK armed forces, in particular the effects of paternal deployment to the conflicts in Iraq or Afghanistan and paternal PTSD.

Fathers who had taken part in a large tri-service cohort and had children aged 3–16 years were asked about the emotional and behavioural well-being of their child(ren) and assessed for symptoms of PTSD via online questionnaires and telephone interview.

In total, 621 (67%) fathers participated, providing data on 1044 children. Paternal deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan was not associated with childhood emotional and behavioural difficulties. Paternal probable PTSD were associated with child hyperactivity. This finding was limited to boys and those under 11 years of age.

This study showed that adverse childhood emotional and behavioural well-being was not associated with paternal deployment but was associated with paternal probable PTSD.

N.T.F. is a trustee of the Warrior Programme, a charity supporting ex-service personnel and their families. She is also a member of the Independent Group Advising on the Release of Data (IGARD). S.W. is a trustee of Combat Stress, a charity supporting ex-service personnel and their families, and President of the Royal Society of Medicine. S.W. is partially funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Emergency Preparedness and Response at King's College London in partnership with Public Health England (PHE), in collaboration with the University of East Anglia and Newcastle University.

Web-based interventions are effective in reducing depression. However, the evidence for the cost-effectiveness of these interventions is scarce.

The aim is to assess the cost-effectiveness of a web-based intervention (GET.ON M.E.D.) for individuals with diabetes and comorbid depression compared with an active control group receiving web-based psychoeducation.

We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis with treatment response as the outcome and a cost-utility analysis with quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) alongside a randomised controlled trial with 260 participants.

At a willingness-to-pay ceiling of €5000 for a treatment response, the intervention has a 97% probability of being regarded as cost-effective compared with the active control group. If society is willing to pay €14 000 for an additional QALY, the intervention has a 51% probability of being cost-effective.

This web-based intervention for individuals with diabetes and comorbid depression demonstrated a high probability of being cost-effective compared with an active control group.

S.N., D.D.E., D.L., M.B. and B.F. are stakeholders of the Institute for Online Health Trainings, which aims to transfer scientific knowledge related to this research into routine healthcare.

Evidence about the effect of intrauterine exposure to pre-eclampsia on offspring autism-spectrum disorder (ASD) is not well established.

To examine the association between pre-eclampsia and ASD.

PubMed, Embase and PsycINFO databases were searched. Pooled relative risks (RR) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran's Q- and the I2−test. The presence of publication bias was evaluated by Egger's test and visual inspection of the symmetry in funnel plots.

Ten studies meet the inclusion criteria. The risk of ASD was 32% higher in offspring who had intrauterine exposure to pre-eclampsia compared with those not exposed (RR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.20–1.45). Sensitivity analysis revealed consistent pooled estimates ranging from RR = 1.30 (95% CI 1.17–1.44) to RR = 1.37 (95% CI 1.26–1.48). We found no significant heterogeneity and evidence of publication bias.

Pre-eclampsia increased the risk of ASD in offspring. The finding suggests a need for early screening for ASD in offspring of women with pre-eclampsia.

None.

In the past 3 years R.H.M.W. has received support for research, expenses to attend conferences and fees for lecturing and consultancy work (including attending advisory boards) from various pharmaceutical companies including Astra Zeneca, Cyberonics, Eli Lilly, Janssen, LivaNova, Lundbeck, MyTomorrows, Otsuka, Pfizer, Roche, Servier, SPIMACO and Sunovion. D.M.B.C. has received fees from LivaNova for attending an advisory board. In the past 3 years A.J.C. has received fees for lecturing from Astra Zeneca and Lundbeck; fees for consulting from LivaNova, Janssen and Allergan; and research grant support from Lundbeck.

In the past 3 years A.C. has received fees for lecturing from pharmaceutical companies namely Lundbeck and Sunovion. In the past 3 years A.L.M. has received support for attending seminars and fees for consultancy work (including advisory board) from Medtronic Inc and LivaNova. R.M. holds joint research grants with a number of digital companies that investigate devices for depression including Alpha-stim, Big White Wall, P1vital, Intel, Johnson and Johnson and Lundbeck through his mindTech and CLAHRC EM roles. M.S. is an associate at Blueriver Consulting providing intelligence to NHS organisations, pharmaceutical and devices companies. He has received honoraria for presentations and advisory boards with Lundbeck, Eli Lilly, URGO, AstraZeneca, Phillips and Sanofi and holds shares in Johnson and Johnson. In the past 3 years P.R.A.S. has received support for research, expenses to attend conferences and fees for lecturing and consultancy work (including attending an advisory board) from life sciences companies including Corcept Therapeutics, Indivior and LivaNova. In the past 3 years P.S.T. has received consultancy fees as an advisory board member from the following companies: Galen Limited, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Europe Ltd, myTomorrows and LivaNova. A.H.Y. has undertaken paid lectures and advisory boards for all major pharmaceutical companies with drugs used in affective and related disorders and LivaNova. He has received funding for investigator initiated studies from AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Lundbeck and Wyeth.

Terrorist attacks occurred in Paris in January 2015.

To assess the mental health impact and the access to psychomedical care of people exposed to the attacks.

We implemented an open-cohort design 6 and 18 months after the attacks. Exposed civilians and rescue workers were included according to the exposure criteria A for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in DSM-5. A face-to-face questionnaire conducted by trained psychologists was used to collect sociodemographic characteristics, exposure level, scores on psychometric scales, an international neuropsychiatric interview and access to care.

Six months after the attacks, 18% of civilians reported symptoms of PTSD, 31% had anxiety disorders and 11% depression. Among rescue workers, 3% reported symptoms of PTSD and 14% anxiety disorders. During the 48 h following the attacks, 53.2% of civilian had access to psychomedical care v. 35% of rescue and police staff.

We found severe psychological consequences, even in people who were less exposed.

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Debate exists as to whether functional care, in which different psychiatrists are responsible for in- and out-patient care, leads to better in-patient treatment as compared with sectorised care, in which the same psychiatrist is responsible for care across settings.

To compare patient satisfaction with in-patient treatment and length of stay in functional and sectorised care.

Patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis of psychotic, affective or anxiety/somatoform disorders consecutively admitted to an adult acute psychiatric ward in 23 hospitals across 11 National Health Service trusts in England were recruited. Patient satisfaction with in-patient care and length of stay (LoS) were compared (trial registration ISRCTN40256812).

In total, 2709 patients were included, of which 1612 received functional and 1097 sectorised care. Patient satisfaction was significantly higher in sectorised care (β = 0.54, 95% CI 0.35–0.73, P<0.001). This difference remained significant when adjusting for locality and patient characteristics. LoS was 6.9 days shorter for patients in sectorised care (β = −6.89, 95% CI –11.76 to −2.02, P<0.001), but this difference did not remain significant when adjusting for clustering by hospital (β = −4.89, 95% CI –13.34 to 3.56, P = 0.26).

This is the first robust evidence that patient satisfaction with in-patient treatment is higher in sectorised care, whereas findings for LoS are less conclusive. If patient satisfaction is seen as a key criterion, sectorised care seems preferable.

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Suicide has been decreasing over the past decade. However, we do not know whether socioeconomic inequality in suicide has been decreasing as well.

We assessed recent trends in socioeconomic inequalities in suicide in 15 European populations.

The DEMETRIQ study collected and harmonised register-based data on suicide mortality follow-up of population censuses, from 1991 and 2001, in European populations aged 35–79. Absolute and relative inequalities of suicide according to education were computed on more than 300 million person-years.

In the 1990s, people in the lowest educational group had 1.82 times more suicides than those in the highest group. In the 2000s, this ratio increased to 2.12. Among men, absolute and relative inequalities were substantial in both periods and generally did not decrease over time, whereas among women inequalities were absent in the first period and emerged in the second.

The World Health Organization (WHO) plan for ‘Fair opportunity of mental wellbeing’ is not likely to be met.

None.

Comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with poorer outcomes of other disorders, but is treatable.

To estimate the frequency of clinically undetected PTSD in secondary care.

A systematic review of studies that screened for PTSD and reported on PTSD documentation in clinical records. Frequency of undetected PTSD was estimated, and reasons for heterogeneity explored.

The median proportion of participants with undetected PTSD (29 studies) was 28.6% (interquartile range 18.2–38.6%). There was substantial heterogeneity, with studies conducted in the USA and those with the highest proportions of in-patients and patients with psychotic disorder reporting higher frequencies of undetected PTSD.

Undetected PTSD is common in secondary care, even if the true value is at the lower limit of the estimates reported here. Trials examining the impact of routine screening for PTSD are required to determine whether such programmes should be standard procedure for all mental health services.

None.

To date no studies have explored the effectiveness of written cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) resources for low mood and stress delivered via a course of self-help classes in a community setting.

To assess the effectiveness of an 8-week community-based CBT self-help group classes on symptoms of depression, anxiety and social function at 6 months (trial registration: ISRCTN86292664).

In total, 142 participants were randomly allocated to immediate (n = 71) or delayed access to a low-intensity CBT intervention (n = 71). Measures of depression, anxiety and social function were collected at baseline and 6 months.

There was a significant improvement for the primary outcome of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score (mean between-group difference: –3.64, 95% CI –6.06 to –1.23; P = 0.004). The percentage of participants reducing their PHQ-9 score between baseline and 6 months by 50% or more was 17.9% for the delayed access group and 43.8% for the immediate access group. Secondary outcomes also improved including anxiety and social function. The intervention was cost neutral. The probabilities of a net benefit at willingness to pay thresholds of £20 000, £25 000 or £30 000 were 0.928, 0.944 and 0.955, respectively.

Low-intensity class-based CBT delivered within a community setting is effective for reducing depression, anxiety and impaired social function at little additional cost.

C.W. is president of British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) – the lead body for CBT in the UK. He is also author of a range of CBT-based resources available commercially. He is developer of the LLTTF classes evaluated in this study. He receives royalty, and is shareholder and director of a company that commercialises these resources.

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been claimed to elicit or aggravate suicidal ideation.

To explore the effect of SSRIs on the suicidality item of the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD).

We undertook a patient-level mega-analysis of adults with depression participating in industry-sponsored studies of sertraline, paroxetine or citalopram, comparing patients on an SSRI (n = 5681) with those on placebo (n = 2581) with respect to HRSD-rated suicidality. Separate analyses were conducted for young adults (age 18–24; n = 537) and adults (age ≥25; n = 7725).

Among adults, the reduction in mean rating of suicidality was larger and the risk for aggravation of suicidality lower in patients receiving an SSRI from week 1 and onwards. In young adults, SSRI treatment neither reduced nor increased suicidality ratings relative to placebo at the end-point.

The net effect of SSRIs on suicidality appears beneficial in people above the age of 24 and neutral in those aged 18–24.

F.H. has received speaker's fees from Servier. E.E. has previously been on the advisory boards and/or received speaker's honoraria and/or research grants from Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Servier and Lundbeck.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the most effective treatments for depression, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Animal studies have shown that electroconvulsive shock induced neuroplastic changes in the hippocampus.

To summarise volumetric magnetic resonance imaging studies investigating the effects of ECT on limbic brain structures.

A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to assess volumetric changes of each side of the hippocampus and amygdala before and after ECT. Standardised mean difference (SMD) was calculated.

A total of 8 studies (n = 193) were selected for our analyses. Both right and left hippocampal and amygdala volumes increased after ECT. Meta-regression analyses revealed that age, percentage of those responding and percentage of those in remission were negatively associated with volume increases in the left hippocampus.

ECT increased brain volume in the limbic structures. The clinical relevance of volume increase needs further investigation.

None.

Mental disorders in children and adolescents have an impact on educational attainment.

To examine the temporal association between attainment in education and subsequent diagnosis of depression or self-harm in the teenage years.

General practitioner, hospital and education records of young people in Wales between 1999 and 2014 were linked and analysed using Cox regression.

Linked records were available for 652 903 young people and of these 33 498 (5.1%) developed depression and 15 946 (2.4%) self-harmed after the age of 12 but before the age of 20. Young people who developed depression over the study period were more likely to have achieved key stage 1 (age 7 years) but not key stage 2 (age 11) (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.79, 95% CI 0.74–0.84) milestones, indicating that they were declining in academic attainment during primary school. Conversely, those who self-harmed were achieving as well as those who did not self-harm in primary school, but showed a severe decline in their attainment during secondary school (HR = 0.72, 95% CI 0.68–0.78).

Long-term declining educational attainment in primary and secondary school was associated with development of depression in the teenage years. Self-harm was associated with declining educational attainment during secondary school only. Incorporating information on academic decline with other known risk factors for depression/self-harm (for example stressful life events, parental mental health problems) may improve risk profiling methods.

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