Australian Rotary Health

Professor Valsamma Eapen

Liverpool Hospital, University of New South Wales
Evaluation of Mental Health Services Provision 2009

Valsamma Eapen MB BS (India), DPM (India), DFT (UK), PhD (UK), FRCPsych (UK); FRANZCP (Australia)

Current positions: Professor of Infant, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, UNSW; Chair, Infant, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, Sydney South West Area Health Service

Past Position (till 2007): Professor of Child Psychiatry, United Arab Emirates University, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

Memberships & Consultancies: Member of the Governing Council of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) (2005-), Member of the Executive Committee of the International Neuropsychiatric Association (2007-), Member of the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation Genetics Collaborative (2005-), Expert Member, Mental Health Network, World Federation for Mental Health, (2004-2007), Member of the Working Group on Global Developmental Delay, Montreal, Canada, (2007-), Member of the Homozygosity Mapping Collaborative for Autism, Professional Member, UK Tourette Syndrome Association, Scientific Advisor to Rett Syndrome Association, India, Reviewer, McMaster Online Rating of Evidence,  Expert Panel Member, American Psychiatric Association’s Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Founding Member, UAE Neuroscience Group and Chair, International Neuroscience Conference, Al Ain, 2005, Member of many professional societies and committees and editorial boards of journals. Referee for many international journals. 

Research: Research in the areas of Tourette Syndome, Autism, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, ADHD, Social Anxiety in children, Schizophrenia and Metabolic Syndrome in adolescents.
Autism: Professor Eapen is a member of the Homozygosity Mapping Collaborative for Autism, which is an international group with Prof. Christopher Walsh at Harvard Medical School, USA, and several centres in the Middle East, looking for genes involved in brain development and neuro-developmental disorders using Homozygosity Mapping that has identified genes of interest in autism (ref>). Another significant collaboration with the Institute of Virology, Vienna, Austria, is exploring the role of mitochondrial DNA in autism (ref). In addition to genetic aspects, Professor Eapen has been involved in other areas of research including epidemiology, phenomenology and clinical management of developmental disorders including autism (ref).

Publications: Three books; 10 Book Chapters, 70 Conference presentations, and more than 100 peer-reviewed original publications in international journals.

SUMMARY OF PROJECT:

Evaluation of health promotion and preventive life style intervention program for young patients receiving antipsychotic medication: Impact on weight gain and quality of life.

Obesity, the sixth major risk factor for the overall burden of disease globally, is associated with a collection of metabolic disturbances that start early in life.

Compared with the general population, patients with severe mental illness have elevated rates of obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Young mentally ill patients are particularly vulnerable! The risks for ‘antipsychotic medication-induced weight gain’ and other metabolic changes are more pronounced in young people.

Professor Eapen’s study - for patients receiving antipsychotic medication in three adolescent inpatient units in the Sydney South West Area Health Service - will evaluate:

These young people are simultaneously affected by the emotional distress and social impairment linked to their mental illness. Early intervention can have a significant impact on patients’ long term outcomes and recovery rates.

This study is the first to address the issue of ‘antipsychotic medication-induced weight gain’ and related effects in adolescents. Findings will provide valuable information about the effectiveness of this program. These early intervention strategies could become an integral part of the comprehensive management of these vulnerable patients. 

FINAL REPORT:

Of the 102 patients, 58.3% were on second generation antipsychotics (SGAs) at the time of the evaluation, 73 were females. 46% of subjects were found to be “at risk for adverse health outcome” with one or more metabolic abnormalities and 4.6% qualified for a diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome (MS).