HCPlive (10/3, Derman) reports, “Antipsychotic dose reduction or discontinuation increases the risk of severe relapse in people with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 253-patient study published online Sept. 28 ahead of print in The Lancet Psychiatry. The study found that “gradually reducing antipsychotic dosage increases the risk of relapse for people with psychotic disorders and does not improve social functioning.”

Related Links:

— “Antipsychotic Dose Reduction or Discontinuation Can Lead to Severe Relapse,”Chelsie Derman, HCPlive, October 3, 2023

According to HealthDay (10/3, Murez), “spending on mental health services for U.S. children and adolescents has risen sharply since 2020,” climbing “26% for youths aged 19 and younger between March 2020 and August 2022,” RAND researchers concluded. After examining “claims from health benefit manager Castlight Health” that “involved 1.9 million children and teens with commercial insurance from January 2019 through August 2022,” investigators also found that “use of mental health services increased by 22%” along “a large group whose families had employer-provided insurance.” The findings were published online Oct. 3 in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Spending on Kids’ Mental Health Keeps Rising,”Cara Murez, HealthDay, October 3, 2023

HCPlive (10/2, Derman) reports, “A child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at 12-26 months of age may not meet the diagnostic criteria for autism years later,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 213-child “cohort study” published online in JAMA Pediatrics. The study suggested that “children with higher baseline adaptative functioning scores, as well as girls, were more likely to have nonpersistent autism spectrum disorder in later years.”

Related Links:

— “Autism Diagnosis at Toddler Age May Not Persist to Elementary School Years,”Chelsie Derman, HCPlive, October 2, 2023

CNN (10/2, Ronald) reports that research has found that “parents, teachers, coaches and other adults shouting at, denigrating or verbally threatening children can be as damaging to their development as sexual or physical abuse.” The research, “which studied the impact of shouting by adults such as parents, teachers and coaches, cited several papers that suggested the lasting effects of childhood verbal abuse can manifest as mental distress, such as depression and anger; externalizing symptoms, such as committing crimes, substance use or perpetrating abuse; and physical health outcomes, such as developing obesity or lung disease.” The findings were published in Child Abuse & Neglect.

Related Links:

— “Adults shouting at children can be as harmful to a child’s development as sexual or physical abuse, study finds,”Issy Ronald, CNN, October 2, 2023

CNN (10/2, Choi) reports, “Children and teens in the US are dying of gun-related homicides and suicides in record numbers, according to the most recent data from the” CDC. In 2021, “there were 2,279 firearm homicides in children and teens (ages one to 18),” which is “double the number of deaths recorded a decade prior, according to the CDC’s WONDER database.” Additionally, “suicides by gun were…up 11% from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.”

Related Links:

— “Gun homicides and suicides in US children and teens are at a record high,”Annette Choi, CNN, October 2, 2023

Healio (9/29, Bascom) reported, “Increased intake of ultraprocessed foods, especially artificially sweetened beverages and artificial sweeteners, was linked to a high risk for depression,” researchers concluded in “a prospective cohort study of 31,712 women aged 42 to 62 years who were enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II between 2003 and 2017.” The study also revealed that “reducing consumption of ultraprocessed foods by at least three servings daily lowered that risk.” The findings were published online Sept. 20 in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “High intake of artificially sweetened drinks associated with higher depression risk,”Emma Bascom, Healio, September 29, 2023

Psychiatric News (9/29) reported, “Emergency department” (ED) “visits for substance use may be associated with an increased risk of developing a schizophrenia spectrum disorder,” researchers concluded in a study revealed that “people who were seen in the emergency department for cannabis-induced psychosis had the highest risk of transitioning to a schizophrenia spectrum disorder within three years.” The study, which “examined data from more than 9.8 million Ontario residents aged 14 to 65 years between January 2008 and March 2022,” was published online Sept. 27 in a brief report in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Emergency Department Visits for Substance Use Linked to Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders, Psychiatric News, September 29, 2023

The New York Times (9/29, Hubler) reported “policymakers in California have been trying for years to change longstanding laws and bring people with severe mental illness in from the streets.” Now, California “is trying a course correction, and one of the most closely watched measures will start” this week. A novel “program known as CARE Court – the acronym stands for Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment – will give relatives, health care” professionals “and homeless outreach workers standing to ask state courts to compel certain people with severe mental illness to accept treatment, to be provided by county government.” The new “measure will apply only to untreated people who have diagnoses of schizophrenia or certain other psychotic disorders.”

Related Links:

— “A New Approach for People With Severe Mental Illness,”Shawn Hubler, The New York Times, September 29, 2023

CNN (9/29, McPhillips) reported, “States with the weakest gun safety laws saw the rate of gun suicides jump 39% over the past two decades – from about eight gun suicides for every 100,000 people in 1999 to nearly 12 in 2022, according to” the findings of “an analysis from the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety.” In those “states with the strongest gun safety laws,” however, “gun suicide rates decreased slightly over that time – down from 3.6 to 3.4 gun suicides for every 100,000 people.”

Related Links:

— “With gun suicides at record levels in the US, rates differ markedly by state policies on gun safety, new report shows,”Deidre McPhillips, CNN, September 29, 2023

HCPlive (9/28, Derman) reports, “People with schizophrenia or those at a risk for psychosis have deviations in the emotional experience – and view pleasant stimuli less positively than someone who does not have schizophrenia nor is prone to psychosis,” according to a meta-analysis that “included data from 111 emotion-induced studies and 6913 participants.” The results were published online September 27 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “People with Schizophrenia, High Psychosis Risk Experience Fewer Positive Emotions,”Chelsie Derman, HCPlive , September 28, 2023