Healio (4/15, Gramigna) reports investigators “have reported additional evidence suggesting an independent association between advanced parental age and increased risk for autism spectrum disorder [ASD] among offspring.” For the study, researchers used “data from Danish national health registries” to construct “a parental age cohort to evaluate the relationship of parental age and ASD among 1,476,783 singleton children born from 1990 to 2013,” then “also constructed a multigenerational cohort that included 362,438 fathers and 458,234 mothers born from 1973 to 1990 for whom grandparental age data were available.” The findings of the “population-based, multigenerational cohort study” were published online April 15 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Study suggests link between parental, grandparental age, increased ASD risk, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, April 15, 2020

CNN (4/15, Woodyatt) reports mental health and brain research “must be a higher priority in the response to the coronavirus pandemic, scientists have said, warning that the crisis could have a ‘profound’ and ‘pervasive impact’ on global mental health now and in the future.” In a paper “published Wednesday in the Lancet Psychiatry journal, researchers called for better monitoring of mental health as part of the global response to the pandemic.” The paper, “which draws on the work of 24 mental health experts, including neuroscientists, psychiatrists, psychologists and public health experts, also noted that little is known about the impact of Covid-19 itself on the human nervous system.”

Related Links:

— “Experts warn of urgent need for Covid-19 mental health research, “Amy Woodyatt, CNN, April 15, 2020

HealthDay (4/14, Preidt) reports that “interviews with 750 private security guards in the United Kingdom revealed that nearly 40% had symptoms of PTSD, and also that security guard companies provide them with little mental health support.” In addition, investigators found that “security guards often face verbal and physical abuse – including violent assaults – from the public.” The research was conducted by a team from the University of Portsmouth in England. The article does not disclose where the study was published or presented.

Related Links:

— “4 in 10 Security Guards Suffer PTSD, Study Finds, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 14, 2020

MD Magazine (4/14, Campbell) reports researchers are “shedding light on a potential link between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia in patients with stable coronary artery disease [CAD].” The 303-patient study revealed that “patients who survived a recent myocardial infarction (MI) and had PTSD were at a greater risk of developing myocardial ischemia than those who did not have PTSD.” The findings were published online April 14 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “PTSD Associated With Increase of Mental Stress Induced Myocardial Infarction, “Patrick Campbell, MD Magazine, April 14, 2020

Psychiatric News (4/14) reports that in a viewpoint published online April 10 in JAMA Internal Medicine, Sandro Galea, MD, of Boston University School of Medicine; Raina M. Merchant, MD, of Perelman School of Medicine; and Nicole Lurie, MD, of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations in Norway, “recommended three steps they believe can help…address the likely rise of mental disorders and related challenges from the” COVID-19 pandemic. The three steps include making “plans to address loneliness and its aftereffects as populations physically isolate and to develop ways to intervene,” having “mechanisms in place for surveillance, reporting, and intervention, particularly when it comes to domestic violence and child abuse,” and bolstering “the mental health system.”

Related Links:

— “Take Steps Now to Mitigate Mental Health Effects of COVID-19, Psychiatric News, April 14, 2020

HealthDay (4/14, McNiff) reports, “Teenagers who use marijuana to fall asleep may be setting themselves up for insomnia later in life,” researchers concluded after analyzing “the sleep habits and history of marijuana use among 1,882 teens from Colorado.” The study revealed that “roughly one-third of the participants who started using marijuana before age 18 had insomnia later in life.” In comparison, just “20% of the other participants – who either never became regular marijuana users or started their use at age 18 or older – had insomnia in adulthood.” The findings were published online in the journal Sleep.

Related Links:

— “Using Pot to Help You Sleep? It Could Backfire, “Serena McNiff, HealthDay, April 14, 2020

Psychiatric News (4/14) reports that in a viewpoint published online April 10 in JAMA Internal Medicine, Sandro Galea, MD, of Boston University School of Medicine; Raina M. Merchant, MD, of Perelman School of Medicine; and Nicole Lurie, MD, of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations in Norway, “recommended three steps they believe can help…address the likely rise of mental disorders and related challenges from the” COVID-19 pandemic. The three steps include making “plans to address loneliness and its aftereffects as populations physically isolate and to develop ways to intervene,” having “mechanisms in place for surveillance, reporting, and intervention, particularly when it comes to domestic violence and child abuse,” and bolstering “the mental health system.”

Related Links:

— “Take Steps Now to Mitigate Mental Health Effects of COVID-19, Psychiatric News, April 14, 2020

According to HealthDay (4/13, Norton), “people who carry a gene called APOE4 face an increased risk of Alzheimer’s,” an effect that “may be lessened if they” carry another gene called “klotho.” Investigators arrived at that conclusion after “collecting data on more than 20,000 people age 60 and up – some with Alzheimer’s, some with milder impairment, and some with intact thinking and memory skills.” The study revealed that “among APOE4 carriers, those who also had one copy of the protective klotho variant were 30% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s by age 80.” It does not appear, however, “that the klotho variant protected people who did not carry the APOE4 variant.” The findings were published online April 13 in JAMA Neurology. MedPage Today (4/13, George) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Certain Gene Might Help Shield At-Risk People From Alzheimer’s, “Amy Norton, HealthDay, April 13, 2020

Psychiatric News (4/13) reports, “The rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to dramatic public health actions at a national level to reduce human contact in hopes of slowing virus transmission,” but in a viewpoint published online April 10 in JAMA Psychiatry, “mental health experts discuss the potential of this long-term isolation to increase suicide risk.” In order to help mitigate “these risks, psychiatrists and mental health professionals should determine ways to incorporate mental health screening into COVID-19 screening and prevention efforts.” In addition, they should “consider ways to reach patients who are using tele-mental health services or receiving care in alternative treatment settings (such as a private space outside).”

Related Links:

— “Experts Warn of Potential of COVID-19 to Increase Suicide Risk, Psychiatric News, April 13, 2020

MedPage Today (4/13, Hlavinka) reports that even though “personal protection is often cited as a motive for firearm ownership, self-defense homicides accounted for far fewer firearm-related deaths than accidental deaths and suicides in Washington state’s King County,” research indicated. The study revealed that “for each case of self-defense homicide to occur in the home from 2011 to 2018, there were 44.1 suicides…7.3 criminal homicides,” and “0.9 unintentional deaths.” What’s more, “across the seven-year period, the incidence rate of firearm deaths was 3.9 per 100,000 person-years,” investigators learned. The findings were published online April 13 in a research letter published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)