{"title":"Climate change, biodiversity and mental health","authors":"Rachel Jenkins","doi":"10.1192/bji.2022.21","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bji.2022.21","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change is closely linked to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and methane due to human activities, and soaring temperatures might themselves pose a risk to natural carbon sequestration in the land. This editorial introduces three papers in the current issue exploring the adverse effects on mental health of climate-related loss of biodiversity and cultural heritage markers and the beneficial effects of adopting a plant-based diet. It also suggest three simple steps that clinicians can themselves take to act against climate change: choosing and recommending a plant-based diet, reducing personal use of fossil fuels and integrating climate change in discourse in all areas of their professional work.","PeriodicalId":36441,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych International","volume":"19 1","pages":"81 - 83"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45762726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
P. Cianconi, Daniel Hirsch, S. Chiappini, G. Martinotti, L. Janiri
{"title":"Climate change, biodiversity loss and mental health: a global perspective","authors":"P. Cianconi, Daniel Hirsch, S. Chiappini, G. Martinotti, L. Janiri","doi":"10.1192/bji.2022.20","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bji.2022.20","url":null,"abstract":"Climate change can have various psychopathological manifestations which have been more actively addressed by scientific research only in recent years. Indeed, extreme weather events and environmental changes have been shown to be associated with a range of mental health problems. Following the destruction of ecosystems, biodiversity loss can cause mental distress and emotional responses, including so-called ‘psychoterratic’ syndromes arising from negatively felt and perceived environmental change. Studies investigating relationships between biodiversity and mental health reveal a complex landscape of scientific evidence, calling for a better understanding of this challenging issue.","PeriodicalId":36441,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych International","volume":"19 1","pages":"83 - 86"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48766480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Addiction medicine in modern contexts: hot topics from around the globe.","authors":"Hussien Elkholy","doi":"10.1192/bji.2022.13","DOIUrl":"10.1192/bji.2022.13","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Addiction is a chronic yet treatable disorder. Patterns of addiction, whether substance related or behavioural, vary among countries and regions. Addiction medicine practice and approaches used in management are not only different from one country to another but are influenced by other factors, including environmental ones. The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the major environmental changes that had an impact on addiction. In this editorial, light will be shed on three articles covering recent updates in addiction medicine, ranging from types of substances and service provision to inclusion of gaming disorder in ICD-11.</p>","PeriodicalId":36441,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych International","volume":"19 1","pages":"57-58"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9540567/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48320002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiang Long, Roshan Bhad, Marc N Potenza, Laura Orsolini, Vicky Phan, Mitika Kanabar, Sophia Achab
{"title":"Public health approaches and policy changes after the inclusion of gaming disorder in ICD-11: global needs.","authors":"Jiang Long, Roshan Bhad, Marc N Potenza, Laura Orsolini, Vicky Phan, Mitika Kanabar, Sophia Achab","doi":"10.1192/bji.2021.57","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bji.2021.57","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The World Health Organization (WHO) has added gaming disorder to ICD-11 as a clinical condition associated with distress or interference with personal functioning. This inclusion leads to clinical and public health benefits, such as harmonising terminology, offering clinical landmarks and improving monitoring capabilities and data comparability. Training health professionals to identify and manage gaming disorder is a key challenge for countries. In the present paper we compiled opinions from different countries around the globe on their state of preparedness and needs to tackle this issue. The global views on the topic feed arguments for developing an evidence-based and cross-cultural training tool for gaming disorder management by health professionals.</p>","PeriodicalId":36441,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych International","volume":"19 3","pages":"63-66"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9540648/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9166919","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha, Jenna Butner, Enjeline Hanafi, Mehdi Farokhnia, Roshan Bhad, Fatemeh Chalabianloo, Christos Kouimtsidis, Alexander Baldacchino, Shalini Arunogiri
{"title":"Harm reduction and abstinence-based models for treatment of substance use disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic: a global perspective.","authors":"Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha, Jenna Butner, Enjeline Hanafi, Mehdi Farokhnia, Roshan Bhad, Fatemeh Chalabianloo, Christos Kouimtsidis, Alexander Baldacchino, Shalini Arunogiri","doi":"10.1192/bji.2022.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bji.2022.1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected treatment services for people with substance use disorders (SUDs). Based on the perspectives of service providers from eight countries, we discuss the impact of the pandemic on SUD treatment services. Although many countries quickly adapted in provision of harm reduction services by changes in policy and service delivery, some went into a forced abstinence-based strategy. Similarly, disruption of abstinence-based approaches such as therapeutic communities has been reported. Global awareness is crucial for responsible management of SUDs during the pandemic, and the development of international health policy guidelines is an urgent need in this area.</p>","PeriodicalId":36441,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych International","volume":"19 3","pages":"66-69"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9540565/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9324358","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hossein Mohaddes Ardabili, Abolfazl Akbari, Parnian Rafei, Jenna Butner, Riaz Khan, Yasser Khazaal, Abdulmalik Zuhair Arab, Mohammed Rafiq Qazizada, Basma Al-Ansari, Alexander Mario Baldacchino
{"title":"Tramadol, captagon and khat use in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: opening Pandora's box.","authors":"Hossein Mohaddes Ardabili, Abolfazl Akbari, Parnian Rafei, Jenna Butner, Riaz Khan, Yasser Khazaal, Abdulmalik Zuhair Arab, Mohammed Rafiq Qazizada, Basma Al-Ansari, Alexander Mario Baldacchino","doi":"10.1192/bji.2021.53","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1192/bji.2021.53","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As defined by the World Health Organization, the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), given its special geopolitical situation and internal/external conflicts, faces an increase in illegal activities such as drug production and trafficking, highlighting the need for a comprehensive understanding of the substance use situation. On the basis of a review of published papers between 2015 and 2021 we briefly review substance use in the EMR with special focus on the emerging drugs pertinent to this region, namely tramadol, captagon and khat.</p>","PeriodicalId":36441,"journal":{"name":"BJPsych International","volume":"19 3","pages":"58-62"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9540563/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9324359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}