HealthDay (9/10, Gotkine) reports a study suggests that “a ketogenic diet (KD) is a feasible adjunctive therapy and is associated with improvements in depression symptoms among young adults with major depressive disorder (MDD).” Study participants received “standard-of-care counseling and/or medication treatment and were enrolled in a 10- to 12-week KD intervention.” Researchers observed that “73 percent of the time, nutritional ketosis was achieved. Postintervention, depressive symptoms decreased by 69 and 71 percent with the Patient Health Questionnaire and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, respectively; improvement occurred within two to six weeks. There was a nearly threefold increase in global well-being.” In addition, “both body mass and fat mass decreased (−6.2 and −13.0 percent, respectively). A decrease was seen in serum leptin (−52 percent), while there was an increase in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (+32 percent). On several cognitive tasks, performance improved.” The study was published in Translational Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Adjunctive Ketogenic Diet Shows Promise In Alleviating Symptoms In Young Adults With MDD, Study Suggests,”Elana Gotkine, HealthDay, September 10, 2025

HealthDay (9/10, Solomon) reports a study found that “dementia odds significantly increase with the number of psychiatric comorbidities.” The researchers “assessed the odds of dementia (all types) among individuals with several psychiatric disorders and identified relevant co-occurrence patterns.” They observed that “compared with those with one psychiatric disorder (70.7 percent of patients), the odds of dementia were higher for those with two comorbidities (21.4 percent of patients) and even higher for those with four comorbidities (1.8 percent). For patients with co-occurrence of mood and anxiety disorders, the mean posterior probability of dementia ranged from 48 to 89.6 percent.” The study was published in BMJ Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “Dementia Odds Significantly Increase With More Psychiatric Comorbidities,”Lori Solomon, HealthDay, September 10, 2025

HealthDay (9/9, Solomon) reports a study found that “loneliness, hopelessness, and feelings of worthlessness and failure are key factors driving suicidal feelings in adults with autism.” The researchers conducted “an online survey of 1,369 participants with autism to understand factors contributing to suicidal thoughts.” They found “that of the 19 factors examined, loneliness, feelings of worthlessness/failure, hopelessness, and mental illness were the highest-rated contributing factors to suicidal thoughts and feelings, particularly by women and sex/gender minorities with autism. Notable differences in ratings were seen also by age.” The study was published in Autism in Adulthood

Related Links:

— “Loneliness, Hopelessness, Worthlessness Tied to Suicidal Feelings in Adults With Autism, “Lori Solomon, HealthDay, September 9, 2025

Healio (9/5, Laboy) reported, “A smartphone app designed for therapeutic intervention did not impact time until suicide attempt after hospitalization but did reduce repeated attempts for patients with prior suicide attempts, according to results of a randomized study.” One researcher said, “Our results suggest that the app may be most helpful for patients who had previously attempted suicide – an especially high-risk subgroup.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Suicide-focused CBT app shows most efficacy for patients with prior history of attempts,” Locas Laboy, Healio, September 5, 2025

Psychiatric News (9/4) reports a study found that “hospitalized teenagers at risk of suicide can articulate their own personal reasons for living, which can be an important aspect of safety planning and treatment.” The researchers “used retrospective data from the electronic medical records of 211 teenagers (71% female) who were admitted to the adolescent unit of a psychiatric hospital in 2023 for suicidal thoughts or behaviors.

As part of the unit’s routine clinical services, staff collected data on demographic characteristics, suicide risk, referral details for individual therapy, and reasons for living.” They found the results were “varied but were often related to family, friends, and pets as well as the adolescents’ future aspirations.”

Researchers concluded, “Identification of individualized reasons for living can provide unique insights into who and what is most important to adolescents. Reasons for living can feasibly be used to build rapport, establish therapy goals, and personalize evidence-based treatments, thereby reducing adolescents’ suicidal thoughts and behaviors.” The study was published in Psychiatric Services.

Related Links:

— “Reasons Why Suicidal Adolescents Want to Live: A Corpus-Driven Language Analysis,” Ana M. Ugueto, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., Lauren A. O’Hagan, Ph.D., and Mathijs F. G. Lucassen, Ph.D., Psychiatric Services, September 4, 2025