Psychiatric News (10/20) reports research tracking “patients with first-episode psychosis over a 12-year period points to several characteristics of patients that may predict those most likely to develop treatment-resistant schizophrenia.” For the study, investigators “identified 617 patients with a diagnosis of first-episode schizophrenia-spectrum disorders enrolled in early intervention services” who were then “matched by sex, diagnosis, and age with 617 patients with first-episode psychosis who had received standard care services.” The study revealed that “patients with younger age of onset, poorer premorbid social adjustment during adulthood, longer duration of first episode, a greater number of relapses, and a higher level of [daily defined dose] of antipsychotic medication in the first 24 months had an increased risk of developing TRS [treatment-resistant schizophrenia] earlier.” The findings were published online in the Schizophrenia Bulletin.

Related Links:

— “Study Identifies Predictors of Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia, Clozapine-Resistant Schizophrenia, Psychiatric News, October 20, 2020

Healio (10/20, Gramigna) reports “flexible assertive community treatment (FACT)…a Dutch model of community-based mental healthcare that provides flexible, multidisciplinary support to people with severe mental illness,” appears to be “more effective than other models for individuals with severe mental illness,” investigators concluded in a large study that included data on “887 individuals in the CMHT-FACT group, 887 in the matched CMHT group, 130 in the ACT-FACT group and 130 in the matched ACT group.” The findings were published online Oct. 19 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Community treatment model effective for individuals with severe mental illness “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 20, 2020

Modern Healthcare (10/19, Bannow, Subscription Publication) reports “all of the health systems that responded to a recent” Kaufman Hall survey “expect it will be at least 2022 before their operations return to anything resembling a pre-pandemic ‘normal.’” The survey, conducted in August, “included 64 mostly hospital and health system respondents,” of which, “nearly three-quarters of respondents said they were moderately or extremely concerned about the financial viability of their organizations in the absence of an effective COVID-19 vaccine or treatment.” One-third “said they experienced year-over-year operating margin declines in excess of 100% between the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020.”

Related Links:

— “Pre-pandemic ‘normal’ not expected until 2022, hospital execs say “Tara Bannow, Modern healthcare, October 19, 2020

MedPage Today (10/19, George) reports the narcolepsy medications “modafinil (Provigil) and armodafinil (Nuvigil) were both associated with major congenital malformations,” investigators concluded in “a post-marketing report.” That report revealed that “of 102 prospective live births in the U.S. Provigil/Nuvigil Pregnancy Registry, 13% had major congenital malformations, considerably above the prevalence of about 3% in the general population.” The findings were published online in a research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Medscape (10/19, Greb, Subscription Publication) reports researchers found “insomnia with objective short sleep duration is associated with a significantly increased risk of cognitive impairment, particularly as it relates to cardiometabolic health.” The findings were published in Sleep.

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Healio (10/19, Gramigna) reports, “Individuals with visual and/or hearing impairments were at increased risk for cognitive decline and depression,” investigators concluded after “analyzing data of 18,038 participants of a 2015 survey of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, which collected responses of adults aged 45 years or older and their spouses.” The findings of the “cross-sectional study” were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Visual, hearing impairments may increase risk for cognitive decline, depression “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 19, 2020

HealthDay (10/16, Preidt) reported, “Women who suffer severe morning sickness may have higher risk of depression during and after pregnancy,” investigators concluded in a study that “enrolled 214 women in London during the first trimester of pregnancy.” Half of the participants “had severe morning sickness; half did not.” The findings were published online Oct. 14 in BMJ Open.

Related Links:

— “Severe Morning Sickness Linked to Depression Before and After Birth “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, October 16, 2020

Pulmonology Advisor (10/16, Beth Maslowski) reported, “Patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and a preexisting psychiatric illness, particularly generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), were more likely to develop intensive care unit (ICU) delirium, according to study results presented at the CHEST Annual Meeting, held virtually October 18 to 21.” Specifically, “researchers identified 150 patients with ARDS, 58 (38.7%) of whom were diagnosed with ICU delirium.” What’s more, “of the patients with ARDS and ICU delirium, 22.1% of patients were on anxiolytics prior to admission, compared to 7.6% of patients without delirium.”

Related Links:

— “ARDS With Preexisting Psychiatric Illness More Likely to Develop ICU Delirium “Mary Beth Maslowski, Pulmonology Advisor, October 16, 2020

CNN International (10/17, LeBlanc) reported that on Saturday, President Trump signed into law “the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act,” a “bipartisan bill that will make 9-8-8 the universal telephone number to reach the national suicide prevention hotline starting in 2022.” The bill, “which passed the House of Representatives last month after approval from the Senate and the Federal Communications Commission, will allow individuals seeking help to dial the three-digit number and be directed to the hotline.”

Related Links:

— “Trump signs law designating 9-8-8 as universal number for national suicide hotline starting in 2022 “Paul LeBlanc, CNN, October 17, 2020

Healio (10/15, Gramigna) reports, “Psychosocial interventions in combination with psychotherapy appeared beneficial for outpatients with bipolar disorder,” researchers concluded in a study that “included 39 randomized clinical trials with 3,863 participants that compared pharmacotherapy plus manualized psychotherapy with pharmacotherapy plus a control intervention for patients with bipolar disorder.” The findings were published online Oct. 14 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Psychiatric News (10/15) quotes an accompanying editorial that observes the study “may further serve as a call to action to enhance availability and uptake of these treatments in the community.” The editorialists added, “Unfortunately, data suggest substantially lower rates of psychotherapy receipt (26%-50%) compared with medication management (46%-90%) among adults with [bipolar disorder].”

Related Links:

— “Adjunctive psychotherapy may benefit patients with bipolar disorder “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 15, 2020