HealthDay (10/7, Norton) reports, “Americans are increasingly viewing people with mental illnesses as a violent threat, despite scientific evidence to the contrary,” research indicated. Investigators “found that compared with 10 to 20 years ago, more Americans today believe that people with schizophrenia are a violent threat toward others.” Specifically, “by 2018, over 60% of study respondents held that view – and a similar percentage thought people with the disorder should be forced into hospitalization.” The researchers’ conclusions “are based on a national survey conducted in three waves – 1996, 2006 and 2018,” in which “there were about 1,100 to 1,500 participants in each wave.” The findings were published online Oct. 7 in the journal Health Affairs.

Related Links:

— “Spurred by Mass Shootings, More Americans View Mentally Ill as Violent, “Amy Norton, HealthDay, October 7, 2019

Reuters (10/7, Rapaport) reports, “Young people who attempt suicide by poisoning often use antidepressants or over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen, ibuprofen and aspirin,” researchers concluded after examining “U.S. Poison Center data from 2000-2018 on 1.68 million suspected cases of suicide by self-poisoning among people ages 10 to 25.” The findings were published online Oct. 6 in the Journal of Clinical Toxicology. HealthDay (10/7, Gordon) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Youth suicide attempts often involve over-the-counter painkillers, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, October 7, 2019

Healio (10/7, Gramigna) reports, “Current evidence does not support claims of adverse health outcomes associated with antidepressant use, and such claims are likely exaggerated by confounding by indication,” investigators concluded in an umbrella review that included “45 meta-analyses of observational studies and 252 full-text articles.” The findings were published online Oct. 2 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants not associated with adverse health outcomes, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 7, 2019

Recent reports show a small but growing number of people are taking very high doses of loperamide, an anti-diarrheal medication, in an attempt to self-manage opioid withdrawal or to achieve a euphoric high. These individuals may be at risk of severe or fatal cardiac events. Download resources on loperamide misuse to share with your colleagues and patients.

Related Links:

— Prevent Loperamide Abuse

Newsweek (10/4, Gander) reported, “Transgender people who have gender-affirming surgery are less likely to need mental health treatment,” researchers concluded after examining “data collected between 2005 and 2015 from a Swedish population register linked to a national healthcare database,” then assessing “the available information on the 2,679 individuals diagnosed with gender incongruence.” The findings were published online Oct. 4 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Transgender People Who Have Gender-Affirming Surgery Less Likely To Need Mental Health Treatment, “Kashmira Gander, Newsweek, October 4, 2019

MedPage Today (10/5, Monaco) reported, “Among patients with schizophrenia, most preferred long-acting injectable antipsychotics when given a choice,” research indicated. “A post-hoc analysis of a randomized, controlled study found 77% of the 1,402 participants surveyed preferred long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics over daily” oral medications, “according to a poster presented…at Psych Congress 2019.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Reuters (10/3, Rapaport) reports, “People with a positive outlook on life may be less likely than pessimists to experience events like a heart attack or stroke, and they may live longer,” researchers concluded after examining “data from 15 studies with a total of 229,391 participants who were followed for an average of about 14 years.” The data revealed that the “most optimistic people were 35% less likely than the least optimistic to have cardiovascular events like heart attacks or strokes, and 14% less likely to die for any reason.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Optimism tied to lower rates of heart attacks, death, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, October 3, 2019

HealthDay (10/3, Reinberg) reports research suggests hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe morning sickness condition, in early pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk in autism in children. The studypublished the American Journal of Perinatology “found a 53% increased risk of a child being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder if their mother suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum.” Moreover, “the earlier that women experienced severe morning sickness, the stronger the tie to autism,” the study indicates.

Related Links:

— “Severe Morning Sickness Tied to Autism Risk in Kids, “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, October 3, 2019

Medscape (10/2, Anderson, Subscription Publication) reports research indicates “use of oral contraceptives is associated with an increased risk for depressive and other psychiatric symptoms in young women.” The study of 1,010 Dutch teens “showed that individuals who took oral contraceptive pills (OCPs) reported experiencing more crying, eating problems, and hypersomnia compared to their counterparts who did not take OCPs.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry. Maureen Sayres Van Niel, MD, president of the Women’s Caucus of the American Psychiatric Association, “described the study as ‘important’ and ‘well done,’” saying, “This study collected data over a long period of time, which is exactly the kind of data we need.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

According to HealthDay (10/2), girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) may be “six times more likely to wind up as teenage moms,” research indicated. Included in the study were “more than 384,000 Swedish women and girls between the ages of 12 and 50 who gave birth between 2007 and 2014,” some 6,400 of whom had been given a diagnosis of AD/HD. The findings were published online Oct. 2 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Pregnancy Much More Likely for Teen Girls With ADHD, “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, October 2, 2019