Prof Joseph F Hayes
@jfhayes.bsky.social
Searching for better mental health treatments
Prof of Psychiatry, Division of Psychiatry, UCL
Honorary General Adult Psychiatrist, NLFT
Group Leader, aiMH-lab
Co-founder & CMO, juli Inc
Prof of Psychiatry, Division of Psychiatry, UCL
Honorary General Adult Psychiatrist, NLFT
Group Leader, aiMH-lab
Co-founder & CMO, juli Inc
Reposted by Prof Joseph F Hayes
We have a ✨NEW PREPRINT✨! Using data from the @clscohorts.bsky.social Millennium Cohort Study and linked healthcare records, we tested the association between social media use and psychiatric diagnoses in secondary care in young people in England. This is still a work in progress - feedback welcome!
Characterising the longitudinal relationship between social media use and psychiatric diagnoses in secondary care in adolescents in England: https://osf.io/87cze
July 14, 2025 at 5:59 AM
We have a ✨NEW PREPRINT✨! Using data from the @clscohorts.bsky.social Millennium Cohort Study and linked healthcare records, we tested the association between social media use and psychiatric diagnoses in secondary care in young people in England. This is still a work in progress - feedback welcome!
Since Davies & Read review of 2019 Sameer Jauhar and I have been trying to get closer to the truth about AD discontinuation. It’s entered guidelines as FACT: 50% will experience difficulty stopping. So we completed the DEFINITITIVE meta-analysis of trial data.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Incidence and Nature of Antidepressant Discontinuation Symptoms
This systematic review and meta-analysis examines the presence and incidence of discontinuation symptoms in individuals who stop taking antidepressants.
jamanetwork.com
July 9, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Since Davies & Read review of 2019 Sameer Jauhar and I have been trying to get closer to the truth about AD discontinuation. It’s entered guidelines as FACT: 50% will experience difficulty stopping. So we completed the DEFINITITIVE meta-analysis of trial data.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
The association between gabapentinoids and risk of self-harm is multifaceted: These findings do not support a direct effect of gabapentinoid treatment on self-harm but underscore the necessity for close patient monitoring throughout the gabapentinoid treatment journey www.bmj.com/content/389/...
Use of gabapentinoid treatment and the risk of self-harm: population based self-controlled case series study
Objective
To estimate the effect of gabapentinoid treatment on self-harm.
Design
A population based self-controlled case series study.
Setting
UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum data...
www.bmj.com
May 9, 2025 at 9:48 AM
The association between gabapentinoids and risk of self-harm is multifaceted: These findings do not support a direct effect of gabapentinoid treatment on self-harm but underscore the necessity for close patient monitoring throughout the gabapentinoid treatment journey www.bmj.com/content/389/...
Thanks for your interest in our study. I agree with your summary and the issues raised.
NEW EDITORIAL 📢
Seena Fazel and Amir Sariaslan respond to a paper looking at the risk of self-harm in people prescribed gabapentinoids (gabapentin and pregabalin) - a class of drugs which are often used to treat epilepsy and pain disorders Read it in the BMJ: www.bmj.com/content/389/...
Seena Fazel and Amir Sariaslan respond to a paper looking at the risk of self-harm in people prescribed gabapentinoids (gabapentin and pregabalin) - a class of drugs which are often used to treat epilepsy and pain disorders Read it in the BMJ: www.bmj.com/content/389/...
Use of real world data to understand self-harm risk in people prescribed gabapentinoids
Consider routine follow-up, especially after medication has been stopped
Gabapentinoids, including gabapentin and pregabalin, are a class of drugs that have anticonvulsant, analgesic, and anxiolytic ...
www.bmj.com
May 9, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Thanks for your interest in our study. I agree with your summary and the issues raised.
Metformin is recommended for antipsychotic associated weight gain. However, in >25k patients initiating antipsychotics, only 3.3% received metformin in the first 2 years. In this small group, it seems to work: patients lost 0.65% of their body weight vs. gaining 4.16% on antipsychotics alone.
Co-prescription of metformin and antipsychotics in severe mental illness: a UK primary care cohort study
Background Metformin is a pharmacological candidate to mitigate second-generation antipsychotic (SGA)-induced weight gain in patients diagnosed with severe mental illnesses (SMI).Objective To determin...
mentalhealth.bmj.com
April 6, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Metformin is recommended for antipsychotic associated weight gain. However, in >25k patients initiating antipsychotics, only 3.3% received metformin in the first 2 years. In this small group, it seems to work: patients lost 0.65% of their body weight vs. gaining 4.16% on antipsychotics alone.
FDA removes risk evaluation and mitigation for clozapine, including neutrophil monitoring www.fda.gov/drugs/postma...
Information on Clozapine
Information on Clozapine
www.fda.gov
February 26, 2025 at 7:47 AM
FDA removes risk evaluation and mitigation for clozapine, including neutrophil monitoring www.fda.gov/drugs/postma...
It’s generally agreed that aripiprazole conveys less cardiometabolic risk than the other, commonly prescribed, second gen antipsychotics, but that it’s potentially less effective. But there is a lack of evidence for this position.
Comparative cardiometabolic safety and effectiveness of aripiprazole in people with severe mental illness: A target trial emulation
In a target trial emulation, Alvin Richards-Belle and colleagues compare the efficacy and safety profile of aripiprazole and other second-generation antipsychotics in patients diagnosed with severe me...
journals.plos.org
January 27, 2025 at 1:42 PM
It’s generally agreed that aripiprazole conveys less cardiometabolic risk than the other, commonly prescribed, second gen antipsychotics, but that it’s potentially less effective. But there is a lack of evidence for this position.
New #datamind paper: physical health screening in people with severe mental illness in the UK is insufficient. Until it improves, it seems hard to see how we will move the needle on premature mortality in this population
Prevalence and patient characteristics associated with cardiovascular disease risk factor screening in UK primary care for people with severe mental illness: an electronic healthcare record study
Background People with severe mental illness (SMI) are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), and initiatives for CVD risk factor screening in the UK have not reduced disparities.
Objecti...
mentalhealth.bmj.com
January 16, 2025 at 8:42 PM
New #datamind paper: physical health screening in people with severe mental illness in the UK is insufficient. Until it improves, it seems hard to see how we will move the needle on premature mortality in this population
Unfortunately a nuanced story is far less compelling than pitching this as a simple “good vs evil”.
2/2 I suppose that rigorous rebuttals which demonstrate the flaws in a piece of research are just not considered interesting by @thetimes.com journalists.
rdcu.be/d50Xp
@sameerjauhar.bsky.social @jfhayes.bsky.social @profrobhoward.bsky.social @dranniehickox.bsky.social @carminepariante.bsky.social
rdcu.be/d50Xp
@sameerjauhar.bsky.social @jfhayes.bsky.social @profrobhoward.bsky.social @dranniehickox.bsky.social @carminepariante.bsky.social
A leaky umbrella has little value: evidence clearly indicates the serotonin system is implicated in depression
Molecular Psychiatry - A recent “umbrella” review examined various biomarkers relating to the serotonin system, and concluded there was no consistent evidence implicating serotonin in...
rdcu.be
January 13, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Unfortunately a nuanced story is far less compelling than pitching this as a simple “good vs evil”.
New (expensive) drugs don’t gain QALYs www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Population-health impact of new drugs recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in England during 2000–20: a retrospective analysis
During 2000–20, NHS coverage of new drugs displaced more population health than it generated. Our results highlight the inherent trade-offs between individuals who directly benefit from new drugs and those who forgo health due to the reallocation of resources towards new drugs.
www.thelancet.com
January 3, 2025 at 1:10 PM
New (expensive) drugs don’t gain QALYs www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
In the UK, 80% of antipsychotic prescribing is for one of 4 drugs: olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone or aripiprazole
Prescribing of antipsychotics for people diagnosed with severe mental illness in UK primary care 2000–2019: 20-year investigation of who receives treatment, with which agents and at what doses | The B...
Prescribing of antipsychotics for people diagnosed with severe mental illness in UK primary care 2000–2019: 20-year investigation of who receives treatment, with which agents and at what doses
www.cambridge.org
December 18, 2024 at 10:09 PM
In the UK, 80% of antipsychotic prescribing is for one of 4 drugs: olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone or aripiprazole
I stand by everything I've ever said on Twitter, so I've put it all here. Lets see how it fairs, shorn of any context. New material coming soon.
November 21, 2024 at 8:21 PM
I stand by everything I've ever said on Twitter, so I've put it all here. Lets see how it fairs, shorn of any context. New material coming soon.
Is @altmetric a good enough reason to stay on X?
November 22, 2024 at 12:00 PM
Is @altmetric a good enough reason to stay on X?
Like data science and health informatics for mental health? Come and work with us:
November 22, 2024 at 12:00 PM
Like data science and health informatics for mental health? Come and work with us:
DOI: 10.4088/JCP.13m08978 and DOI: 10.4088/JCP.11m06831 #ICanHazPDF
November 22, 2024 at 12:00 PM
DOI: 10.4088/JCP.13m08978 and DOI: 10.4088/JCP.11m06831 #ICanHazPDF
November 22, 2024 at 11:59 AM
.@TheLancetPsych This: appears to be a Chat-GPT copy of of our 2019 article:
November 22, 2024 at 11:59 AM
.@TheLancetPsych This: appears to be a Chat-GPT copy of of our 2019 article:
Basically, everything needs to be improved to retain doctors in the UK.
November 22, 2024 at 11:59 AM
Basically, everything needs to be improved to retain doctors in the UK.
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods deliver significant health benefits
November 22, 2024 at 11:59 AM
Low Traffic Neighbourhoods deliver significant health benefits
Just received a great email auto reply that was essentially “I’m currently very busy doing my job, so I can’t get back to you” and I have found my new motto!
November 22, 2024 at 11:59 AM
Just received a great email auto reply that was essentially “I’m currently very busy doing my job, so I can’t get back to you” and I have found my new motto!
Brief comment from me in Science about a new paper showing the association between air pollution and suicide in China
November 22, 2024 at 11:59 AM
Brief comment from me in Science about a new paper showing the association between air pollution and suicide in China
Strange bedfellows. The anti-psychiatry crew always get so upset when it’s suggested they are furthering a right wing agenda.
November 22, 2024 at 11:59 AM
Strange bedfellows. The anti-psychiatry crew always get so upset when it’s suggested they are furthering a right wing agenda.
Happy birthday @Kurt_Vonnegut (yesterday)
November 22, 2024 at 11:59 AM
Happy birthday @Kurt_Vonnegut (yesterday)
Happy birthday @Kurt_Vonnegut
November 22, 2024 at 11:59 AM
Happy birthday @Kurt_Vonnegut