MedPage Today (5/26, Grant) reports, “Adults with schizophrenia, particularly young adults, have a significantly higher suicide rate compared with the U.S. general population,” investigators concluded after analyzing “five national retrospective longitudinal cohorts of patients with schizophrenia in the Medicare program from January 2007 to December 2016 who were split up by age groups – 18 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 to 54, 55 to 64, and 65 and older,” including “668,836 patients with schizophrenia (52.5% men), 2,997,308 years of follow-up, and 2,218 suicide deaths.” The study revealed that “the rate of suicide per 100,000 person-years among” adults with schizophrenia “was 74.0, which is 4.5 times higher than the rate for the general population,” with “suicide risk…highest among the youngest group of adults – ages 18 to 34 – with a suicide rate of 141.95.” The findings were published online May 26 in JAMA Psychiatry. Healio (5/26, Gramigna) also covers the study.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (5/25, Gramigna) reports, “Most patients with bipolar disorder endorsed involuntary treatment via self-binding directives on the basis of impaired decision-making abilities,” investigators concluded after conducting “a qualitative study in which they analyzed data from an internet-based survey sent to the mailing list of the U.K. charity Bipolar U.K.” According to Healio, “a total of 932 participants with a self-reported clinical diagnosis of bipolar disorder completed the survey; 565 of them, most of whom were white British, gave free-text responses to the open question.” Of those “565 participants, 82% (n = 63) endorsed self-binding directives, and of these individuals, 89% (n = 411) said their main reason for endorsement was a determinate shift to distorted thinking and decision making when unwell.” The findings were published online May 20 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

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— “Most patients with bipolar disorder support self-binding involuntary treatment directives “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 25, 2021

HealthDay (5/24) reports, “Americans with drinking problems are rarely referred for treatment, even though most say a” physician “has asked about their alcohol use,” investigators concluded in a study that “is not the first to uncover low rates of treatment for alcohol use disorders (AUDs).”

Healio (5/24, Weller) reports researchers “used data from the 2015 to 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to determine the prevalence of” AUDs among US “adults as well as the proportion of adults with AUDs who used health care services in the previous 12 months; were screened for alcohol use; received a brief intervention for alcohol misuse; received information about treatment; and received treatment for AUD.” The study authors wrote that they “advocate for increased engagement of this high-risk population by implementing evidence-based treatment in the primary care setting.” The findings were published online May 16 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

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— “Just 1 in 10 People With Alcohol Problems Get Treatment “Amy Norton, HealthDay , May 24, 2021

Psychiatric News (5/24) reports research indicates that “over 99% of prescriptions for the anticonvulsant gabapentin are off label, including many prescriptions for psychiatric disorders.” What’s more, “nearly 60% of the patients prescribed gabapentin were also found to be taking central nervous system depressants…such as benzodiazepines,” investigators concluded in a study that “specifically focused on data gathered from 2011 to 2016, which included 205,417 office visits involving patients aged 18 and older.” Of these visits, 5,732 involved a gabapentin prescription. The findings were published online May 21 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

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— “Off-Label Psychiatric Use of Gabapentin Found to Be Frequent, Risky, Psychiatric News, May 24, 2021

The AP (5/22, Tanner) reported, “The pandemic created treacherous conditions for eating disorders, leading to a surge of new cases and relapses that is not abating as restrictions are loosened and COVID-19 cases subside in many places, doctors and other specialists say.” Jennifer Wildes, “an associate psychiatry professor and director of an outpatient eating disorders program at the University of Chicago Medicine, said: ‘We are absolutely seeing massive increases.’” The Emily Program, “a University of Minnesota-affiliated eating disorders treatment program, is experiencing the same thing.”

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— “Pandemic has fueled eating disorder surge in teens, adults “Lindsey Tanner, AP, May 22, 2021