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Objective: Online supermarkets are increasingly used both by consumers and as a source of data on the food environment. We compared product availability, nutritional information, front-of-pack (FOP) labelling, price and price promotions for food and drink products between physical and online supermarkets.Design: For physical stores, we collected data on price, price promotions, FOP nutrition labels and nutrition information from a random sample of food and drinks from six UK supermarkets. For online stores, we used foodDB, a research-ready dataset of over 14 million observations of food and drink products available in online supermarkets.Setting: Six large supermarket stores located near Oxford, UK.Participants: General sample with 295 food and drink products, plus boost samples for both fruit and vegetables, and alcohol.Results: In the general sample, 85 % (95 % CI 80, 90 %) of products found in physical stores could be matched with an online product. Nutritional information found in the two settings was almost identical, for example, concordance correlation coefficient for energy = 0·995 (95 % CI 0·993, 0·996). The presence of FOP labelling and price promotions differed between the two settings (Cohen's kappa = 0·56 (95 % CI 0·45, 0·66) and 0·40 (95 % CI 0·26, 0·55), respectively). Prices were similar between online and physical supermarkets (concordance correlation coefficient > 0·9 for all samples).Conclusions: Product availability, nutritional information and prices sourced online for these six retailers are good proxies of those found in physical stores. Price promotions and FOP labelling vary between the two settings. Further research should investigate whether this could impact on health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: There are concerns that price promotions encourage unhealthy dietary choices. This review aims to answer the following research questions (RQ1) what is the prevalence of price promotions on foods in high-income settings, and (RQ2) are price promotions more likely to be found on unhealthy foods?Design: Systematic review of articles published in English, in peer-review journals, after 1 January 2000.Setting: Included studies measured the prevalence of price promotions (i.e. percentage of foods carrying a price promotion out of the total number of foods available to purchase) in retail settings, in upper-mid to high-income countries.Participants: 'Price promotion' was defined as a consumer-facing temporary price reduction or discount available to all customers. The control group/comparator was the equivalent products without promotions. The primary outcome for this review was the prevalence of price promotions, and the secondary outcome was the difference between the proportions of price promotions on healthy and unhealthy foods.Results: Nine studies (239 344 observations) were included for the meta-analysis for RQ1, the prevalence of price promotions ranged from 6 % (95 % CI 2 %, 15 %) for energy-dense nutrient-poor foods to 15 % (95 % CI 9 %, 25 %) for cereals, grains, breads and other starchy carbohydrates. However, the I-squared statistic was 99 % suggesting a very high level of heterogeneity. Four studies were included for the analysis of RQ2, of which two supported the hypothesis that price promotions were more likely to be found on unhealthy foods.Conclusions: The prevalence of price promotions is very context specific, and any proposed regulations should be supported by studies conducted within the proposed setting(s). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The greenbug, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani), is a major pest of cereals in some parts of the world and is of particular concern because it can be resistant to some insecticides and overcome the resistance of crops. In the UK, it has never been found on crops, but two rather little-known and closely-related species (Schizaphis holci and Schizaphis agrostis) are associated with the wild grasses, Holcus lanatus and Agrostis stolonifera. Since 1987, winged (alate) aphids morphologically resembling the greenbug have been found in increasing numbers in 12.2 m high suction-trap samples of the Rothamsted Insect Survey (RIS); hence, studies were undertaken to establish their identity. Clones (=asexual lineages) established from populations collected from H. lanatus in southern England showed strong preference for Holcus over Agrostis and Hordeum in laboratory tests and produced sexual morphs when transferred to short-day conditions, the males being apterous, as expected for S. holci. Multivariate morphometric comparisons of alatae caught in UK RIS suction traps in 2007 and 2011 with named specimens from museum collections, including S. graminum from many countries, indicated that the suction-trapped alatae were mostly S. agrostis and S. holci. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) mtDNA obtained from 62 UK specimens from suction-traps had 95.4–100% sequence identity with US specimens of S. graminum. Two of the UK specimens had identical COI sequence to the US sorghum-adapted form of S. graminum, and these specimens also had 100% identity with a 640 bp fragment of nDNA CytC, indicating that this form of S. graminum may already be present in the UK. Present and future economic implications of these results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The ICD-10 and DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for hyperkinetic disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) require symptoms or impairment in two or more settings. Thus, information on children's symptoms in school is usually required. This paper presents the Child ADHD Teacher Telephone Interview (CHATTI), an instrument aimed at systematically obtaining this information.Aims: To examine the stability, test-retest reliability and criterion validity of the CHATTI for children referred with a suspected diagnosis of ADHD.Method: Data were obtained from 79 teachers, of whom 36 were interviewed on two occasions.Results: Overall, the CHATTI shows good stability, test-retest reliability and criterion validity for symptom scores. Test-retest reliability for some individual items was low. Reliability for the operationalised criteria of 'pervasiveness' (i.e. symptoms at school and home) and 'school impairment' was excellent (kappa=1).Conclusions: The CHATTI appears to be a promising tool for assessing ADHD symptoms in a school setting and could be useful in clinical as well as research settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the frequently reported association between maternal depression and childhood psychopathological disorder, few studies have attempted to intervene with both conditions.Aims: To evaluate the effect of group cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) on child behaviour problems and maternal depression in a group of women with young children.Method: An assessor-masked, randomised placebo-controlled trial compared three treatments: CBT for depression and parenting skills enhancement; a mothers' support group; and no intervention. An epidemiological (general population) sample was recruited.Results: Analysis showed no significant difference between the groups. Within-group comparison suggested that at the end of treatment and at 6-month and 12-month follow-up, child problems and maternal depression had improved significantly in the CBT group.Conclusions: There was no statistically significant difference between groups. Both contact interventions seemed to provide some benefits to mothers with depression, with a possibly improved outcome resulting from CBT for children with behavioural problems. The results must be treated with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Strong links exist between juvenile and adult depression, but comorbid conduct disorder may be associated with worse adult social difficulties.Aims: To test the impact of comorbid conduct disorder on social adjustment and dysfunction, suicidality and criminality of adults who had had depression as youths.Method: Subjects (n=149) assessed at the Maudsley Hospital in 1970-1983 and meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder with (CD-MDD; n=53) or without (MDD; n=96) conduct disorder were interviewed 20 years later. Data were collected on lifetime psychiatric disorders and adult social/personality functioning. Death certificates and criminal records were obtained.Results: The suicide risk was 2.45%, and 44.3% of the sample had attempted suicide once in their lives. Compared with the MDD group, the CD-MDD group had higher rates of suicidal behaviours and criminal offences, and exhibited more pervasive social dysfunction.Conclusions: Adolescent depression is associated with raised risks of adult suicidality and with persistent interpersonal difficulties. Youths with CD-MDD show more severe and pervasive social dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder (CD) frequently co-occur, the underlying mechanisms for this comorbidity are not well understood.Aims: To examine whether ADHD and conduct problems share common risk factors and whether ADHD+CD is a more heritable variant of ADHD.Method: Questionnaires were sent to 2846 families. Parent-rated data were obtained for 2082 twin pairs and analysed using bivariate genetic analysis and a liability threshold model approach.Results: The overlap of ADHD and conduct problems was explained by common genetic and non-shared environmental factors influencing both categories. Nevertheless, the two categories appeared to be partly distinct in that additional environmental factors influenced conduct problems. It appeared that ADHD+CD was a genetically more severe variant of ADHD.Conclusions: Conduct problems and ADHD share a common genetic aetiology; ADHD+CD appears to be a more severe subtype in terms of genetic loading as well as clinical severity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Strong links exist between juvenile and adult depression but comorbid conduct disorder in childhood may mitigate this continuity.Aims: To test the impact of comorbid conduct disorder on psychiatric adult outcomes.Method: A group of 149 subjects assessed at the Maudsley Hospital in the period 1970-1983 and meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder with (n=53) or without (n=96) conduct disorder were interviewed 20 years later. Data were collected on the lifetime history of psychiatric disorders.Results: Adult depressive recurrence was high for major depression (62.4%) and any depression (75.2%), and survival analyses showed no difference between the two groups. The group with conduct disorders had higher rates of drug misuse and dependence, alcoholism and antisocial personality disorders.Conclusions: Adolescent depression carries an elevated risk of adult depression irrespective of comorbidity. Comorbid conduct disorder in childhood is associated with raised rates of other psychiatric outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Current concepts and measures of personality disorder are in many respects unsatisfactory. Aims To establish agreement between two contrasting measures of personality disorder, and to compare subject-informant agreement on each. To examine the extent to which trait abnormality can be separated from interpersonal and social role dysfunction. Method Fifty-six subjects and their closest informants were interviewed and rated independently. Personality functioning was assessed using a modified Personality Assessment Schedule (M-PAS), and the Adult Personality Functioning Assessment (APFA). Results Subject- informant agreement on the M-PAS was moderately good, and agreement between the M - PAS and the APFA, across and within subjects and informants, was comparable to that for the M-PAS. This was equally the case when M-PAS trait plus impairment scores and trait abnormality scores were used. Conclusions The M-PAS and the APFA are probably assessing similar constructs. Trait abnormalities occur predominantly in an interpersonal context and could be assessed within that context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Needs assessment is a frequently used term by all agencies involved in the welfare of children and adolescents, and is a key method in health service planning (Stevens & Raftery, 1994). However, there is often a lack of clarity about the meaning of the phrase 'needs assessment' (Cohen & Eastman, 1997). In addition, for CAMHS services there are few established research or clinical instruments to assess the needs of individuals. This review sets out first to describe some key concepts and issues and, second, to describe the development of a needs assessment instrument for adolescents with complex and multiple problems, and how such an instrument can be used in clinical and research settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hyperkinetic disorder or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an important clinical condition.Aims: The research evidence for a genetic contribution to ADHD is reviewed.Method: Measurement of the phenotype, the extent to which attention deficit and hyperactivity are heritable and molecular genetic findings are discussed. Future research directions are also considered.Results: ADHD is a familial disorder. Available adoption evidence suggests genetic influences are important. Twin studies have primarily focused on trait measures which have consistently been found to be highly heritable Molecular genetic studies of clinical disorder so far have suggested the involvement of the dopamine DRD-4 receptor gene and dopamine transporter gene (DAT1). However, these findings await further replication.Conclusions: Advances in psychiatric genetics and current research interest in the genetics of ADHD should improve our understanding of aetiological factors and have an impact on treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little evidence exists regarding the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of alternative treatment services in the field of child and adolescent psychiatry.Aims: To assess the cost-effectiveness of a home-based social work intervention for young people who have deliberately poisoned themselves.Method: Children aged < or = 16 years, referred to child mental health teams with a diagnosis of deliberate self-poisoning were randomly allocated to either routine care (n = 77) or routine care plus the social work intervention (n = 85). Clinical and resource-use data were assessed over six months from the date of trial entry.Results: No significant differences were found between the two groups in terms of the main outcome measures or costs. In a sub-group of children without major depression, suicidal ideation was significantly lower in the intervention group at the six-month follow-up (P = 0.01), with no significant differences in cost.Conclusions: A family-based social work intervention for children and adolescents who have deliberately poisoned themselves is as cost-effective as routine care alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background This paper reviews research on the psychological treatment of depression in children. Method Manual and computer literature searches were performed. Results The most promising psychological interventions for depression in children are individual rather than family therapies. Cognitive—behavioural therapy seems to be an effective treatment for depressive symptoms and mild depressive disorders. It may also be a useful preventive intervention, though this remains to be conclusively demonstrated. There have been no systematic studies comparing psychological treatments with medication. Conclusions Studies comparing psychological treatments and medication are now required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The features of adolescents who had taken an overdose were assessed to determine the focus for a treatment trial.Method: Overdose cases were compared with psychiatric and community controls who had not taken an overdose in respect of mental disorders and family background.Results: Overdose cases had high rates of major depression, but most of them recovered from depression within six weeks of the overdose. There was a specific association between taking an overdose and family dysfunction.Conclusions: Family dysfunction could be a useful focus in a clinical trial of the aftercare of adolescents who have taken an overdose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In uncontrolled studies, several behavioural methods, including habit reversal, were said to be useful in writer's cramp. In this controlled study, 23 subjects with writer's cramp recruited from a neurology clinic were randomly allocated to five sessions over four weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the issue about variations in the cost of child and adolescent psychiatric in-patients units. According to the author, only very few of the young people with mental health problems requires in-patient provision. Despite the wide perception of the services as costly, there are still no national data collections that provide accurate economic data ever established. Due to this concern, the Department of Health commissioned a national study that will focus on exploring the costs between psychiatric in-patient units for children and adolescents.

The article presents a study on developmental psychopathology focusing on the continuities and discontinuities over time and the linkages between normal and abnormal development. According to the authors, longitudinal research designs have been the key feature of a developmental psychopathology. However, only very few developmental researches use long-term follow-up studies into adulthood. The author stressed that studies on child development and child psychiatric disorders were already been separated.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Jonathan Hill and colleagues on the risk of depression associated with childhood sexual abuse and another by Judy Silberg and colleagues on the effects of independent life events on adolescent depression.

The article comments on the paper "Treatment interventions and findings from research: bridging the chasm in child psychiatry," by P. Graham, which appeared in volume 176 of the periodical. One of the most important questions raised by Graham's paper is how far clinical practice should be determined by the results of randomized controlled trials (RCT). The author believes that child psychiatry needs a new generation of large pragmatic RCT and these trials must tackle clinically relevant questions and use interventions that are capable of implementation.