The New York Times (7/30, Belluck, Subscription Publication) reports that an analysis published in the American Journal of Psychiatry has found that New York’s controversial Kendra’s Law, which requires patients with severe mental illness “to receive treatment when they are not hospitalized, has had positive results,” leading to reductions in readmissions, arrests, and increased medication compliance, and associated mental health and Medicaid costs have dropped by more than half. The program costs New York State $32 million annually to treat around 2,000 to 2,500 court ordered patients each year, providing “intensive monitoring by caseworkers,” and an additional “$125 million a year for enhanced outpatient mental health services for others.”

Related Links:

— “Program Compelling Outpatient Treatment for Mental Illness Is Working, Study Says, ” Pam Belluck, The New York Times, July 30, 2013.

Medwire (7/26, McDermid) reports that adult males “with psychosis tend to have lower than average IQ, along with evidence of learning difficulties in childhood,” according to a study published online July 22 in the journal Psychiatry Research. After studying about 50,000 military draftees in Switzerland, researchers “found that the 61 men who had psychotic disorders diagnosed, based on their responses to a psychiatric screening questionnaire, had a significantly lower average IQ than those without mental disorders.”

Related Links:

— “IQ may forewarn of psychosis vulnerability, “Eleanor McDermid, Medwire News, July 26, 2013.

Bloomberg News (7/26, Gerlin) reports that patients taking ACE inhibitors to treat high blood pressure and heart failure “had lower rates of deterioration caused by certain types of dementia, according to researchers who reviewed Canadian hospital records.” The researchers, led by William Molloy of University College Cork in Ireland, “examined records of past treatment of 361 dementia patients at two memory clinics in Ontario, Canada,” finding that those who were taking ACE inhibitors showed a smaller drop in their score on a test measuring cognitive ability than those who weren’t on the drug. The study, published in the online journal BMJ Open, “indicate that ACE inhibitors hold promise as an inexpensive way to ease the burden of dementia, Molloy said.”

Related Links:

— “Dementia Slowed in Patients on Blood-Pressure Drugs, “Andrea Gerlin, Bloomberg News, July 25, 2013.

CQ (7/24, Adams, Subscription Publication) reports that a new national campaign focusing on mental illness awareness has been launched by the National Association of Broadcasters [NAB]. The campaign will “publicize a national crisis hotline and provide an online community for people affected by mental illness.” To publicize the campaign, television and radio public service announcements will be run across the US. CQ notes that “Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made brief remarks in the Rayburn office building at the launch of the campaign,” in which she pointed out that 20% of Americans will end up with a mental health diagnosis at some time in their lives and that the ACA will help by expanding mental health coverage.

Reuters (7/24, Doyle) reports that psychotic symptoms in teenagers may predict a greater risk for attempted suicide, according to a study of 1,112 teens aged 13 to 16 published online July 17 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Medwire (7/24, Piper) reports that of the 7% of teens who reported having psychotic symptoms at the start of the study, “7% reported a suicide attempt by the three-month follow up, and 20% by the 12-month follow up, giving odds ratios of 10.01 and 11.27, respectively, compared with the rest of the group.”

Related Links:

— “Kids ‘hearing voices’ may be at high suicide risk, “Kathryn Doyle, Reuters, July 23, 2013.