Mental Disorders

CHICAGO -- Fat people are not more jolly, according to a study that found obesity is strongly linked with depression and other mood disorders. Whether obesity might cause these problems or is the result of them is not certain, and the research does not provide an answer, but there are theories to support both arguments. Depression often causes people to abandon activities, and some medications used to treat mental illness can cause weight gain. On the other hand, obesity is often seen as a stigma, and overweight people are subject to teasing and other hurtful behavior.

Federal officials overseeing a fast-growing $10 billion children's disability program have failed to follow up on the progress of 400,000 beneficiaries with behavioral, learning, and mental disorders, allowing families to receive monthly cash benefits for years even if their children's condition has improved, according to a draft report from the Government Accountability Office obtained by the Globe. The report by the investigative branch of Congress estimated that the Social Security Administration, which runs the Supplemental Security Income program, might save $9 for...

In this corner: Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, senior lecturer in social medicine at Harvard Medical School, and frequent critic of the pharmaceutical industry. In the opposite corner: Dr. Peter Kramer, Brown University psychiatry professor and author of the mega-selling "Listening to Prozac," a book that helped convince thousands of Americans to live better, chemically. At issue: a two-part article by Angell, published in The New York Review of Books, that assails psychiatrists and their pharmaceutical helpmeets, mainly antidepressants, on several fronts.

Federal officials overseeing a fast-growing $10 billion children's disability program have failed to follow up on the progress of 400,000 beneficiaries with behavioral, learning, and mental disorders, allowing families to receive monthly cash benefits for years even if their children's condition has improved, according to a draft report from the Government Accountability Office obtained by the Globe. The report by the investigative branch of Congress estimated that the Social Security Administration, which runs the Supplemental Security Income program, might save $9 for every $1 it...

Anyone who follows psychiatry has noticed that the field is now in the midst of a debate that galvanizes its members every 10 to 20 years. At the center of the hubbub is psychiatry's most sacred text: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The DSM, for short, is a compendium of over 350 ways our minds can fail us, from autism to kleptomania to voyeurism. What makes it onto the list matters: The DSM's definition of "mental illness" can dictate whether an insurance company covers a treatment, or even whether a murderer is fit to stand trial.

Wayside Youth and Family Support Network is sponsoring a free talk about proposed changes in how autism spectrum disorders are labeled in the American Psychiatric Association's next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5, on May 9 at 7 p.m. in the Waltham Public Library. The draft of the new manual, a resource for diagnosing mental conditions and developmental disabilities, would classify Asperger's disorder, PDD-NOS, and childhood disintegrative disorder under one entry for "autism spectrum disorder" and list the previously stand-alone conditions as...

WHAT'S SUGGESTED but not spelled out in Latif Nasser's excellent article "The pibloktoq problem" (Ideas, Jan. 8) is how the power of suggestion affects much of what's called "mental illness. " As social beings we take our behavioral cues from those around us; mental disorders are no exception. Anxiety, sadness, and uncertainty are integral elements of our humanity, but we've started tailoring these feelings to the diagnoses presented us. Foreign "culture-bound syndromes" may seem odd to us because we haven't been exposed to them.

WASHINGTON - The House voted yesterday to require equal health insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses when policies cover both. The 268-to-148 roll call was cheered by advocates who have been fighting more than a decade for what has come to be called mental health parity. Supporters said the measure would help end the stigma of mental illness and create greater access for people needing mental health and addiction treatment. Opponents warned it could drive up healthcare costs and force some employers to drop insurance coverage.

NEW YORK - Proposed changes in the definition of autism would sharply reduce the skyrocketing rate at which the disorder is diagnosed and may make it harder for many people who would no longer meet the criteria to get health, education, and social services, a new analysis suggests. The definition is under review by a special panel appointed by the American Psychiatric Association, which is completing work on the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

WASHINGTON - Indigent children who grew up as part of a $10 billion federal disability program often do not fare well in early adulthood: Four out of 10 are high school dropouts, and eight out of 10 are unemployed within five years of their 18th birthday, according to congressional testimony yesterday. More than half of the young adults who are part of the children's Supplemental Security Income program eventually seek benefits from the adult part of the same program, creating a disturbing cycle of government dependency and poverty, said David Wittenburg, a senior researcher at...

Wayside Youth and Family Support Network is sponsoring a free talk about proposed changes in how autism spectrum disorders are labeled in the American Psychiatric Association's next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5, on May 9 at 7 p.m. in the Waltham Public Library. The draft of the new manual, a resource for diagnosing mental conditions and developmental disabilities, would classify Asperger's disorder, PDD-NOS, and childhood disintegrative disorder under one entry for "autism spectrum disorder" and list the previously stand-alone conditions as subtypes.

NEW YORK - Proposed changes in the definition of autism would sharply reduce the skyrocketing rate at which the disorder is diagnosed and may make it harder for many people who would no longer meet the criteria to get health, education, and social services, a new analysis suggests. The definition is under review by a special panel appointed by the American Psychiatric Association, which is completing work on the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

WHAT'S SUGGESTED but not spelled out in Latif Nasser's excellent article "The pibloktoq problem" (Ideas, Jan. 8) is how the power of suggestion affects much of what's called "mental illness. " As social beings we take our behavioral cues from those around us; mental disorders are no exception. Anxiety, sadness, and uncertainty are integral elements of our humanity, but we've started tailoring these feelings to the diagnoses presented us. Foreign "culture-bound syndromes" may seem odd to us because we haven't been exposed to them.

Anyone who follows psychiatry has noticed that the field is now in the midst of a debate that galvanizes its members every 10 to 20 years. At the center of the hubbub is psychiatry's most sacred text: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The DSM, for short, is a compendium of over 350 ways our minds can fail us, from autism to kleptomania to voyeurism. What makes it onto the list matters: The DSM's definition of "mental illness" can dictate whether an insurance company covers a treatment, or even whether a murderer is fit to stand trial.

WASHINGTON - Indigent children who grew up as part of a $10 billion federal disability program often do not fare well in early adulthood: Four out of 10 are high school dropouts, and eight out of 10 are unemployed within five years of their 18th birthday, according to congressional testimony yesterday. More than half of the young adults who are part of the children's Supplemental Security Income program eventually seek benefits from the adult part of the same program, creating a disturbing cycle of government dependency and poverty, said David Wittenburg, a senior researcher at...

Some 38 percent of Europeans, or 165 million people, suffer from mental illness or neurological disorders on a broad spectrum ranging from anxiety to dementia, a new study published Tuesday says. Most are not being treated, though some experts said many may not need psychiatric help. Researchers drew on previous surveys of mental health and applied specific criteria to determine how many people had a disorder. The data covered more than 500 million people in the 27 European Union countries plus Switzerland, Iceland and Norway, according to the study paid for...

Federal officials overseeing a fast-growing $10 billion children's disability program have failed to follow up on the progress of 400,000 beneficiaries with behavioral, learning, and mental disorders, allowing families to receive monthly cash benefits for years even if their children's condition has improved, according to a draft report from the Government Accountability Office obtained by the Globe. The report by the investigative branch of Congress estimated that the Social Security Administration, which runs the Supplemental Security Income program, might save $9 for...

Federal officials overseeing a fast-growing $10 billion children's disability program have failed to follow up on the progress of 400,000 beneficiaries with behavioral, learning, and mental disorders, allowing families to receive monthly cash benefits for years even if their children's condition has improved, according to a draft report from the Government Accountability Office obtained by the Globe. The report by the investigative branch of Congress estimated that the Social Security Administration, which runs the Supplemental Security Income program, might save $9 for...

In this corner: Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, senior lecturer in social medicine at Harvard Medical School, and frequent critic of the pharmaceutical industry. In the opposite corner: Dr. Peter Kramer, Brown University psychiatry professor and author of the mega-selling "Listening to Prozac," a book that helped convince thousands of Americans to live better, chemically. At issue: a two-part article by Angell, published in The New York Review of Books, that assails psychiatrists and their pharmaceutical helpmeets, mainly antidepressants, on several fronts.

I AM writing in response to the editorial on perceived abuses of the Supplemental Security Income program (“Mislabeling kids as ADHD? Investigate federal rules,’’ May 29). As a physician specializing in the care of disabled adults and children, I take issue with any suggestion that mental, learning, or behavioral disorders do not qualify as sufficient disabilities to receive SSI benefits. Children with mental, learning, or behavioral disorders require therapies as intense and expensive as those for children with purely physical disorders.