TODAY (6/16, Hohman) reported that “even in the wake of the 1969 Stonewall riots, homosexuality was a diagnosable illness listed in the first two editions of the APA’s ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,’ often referred to as the ‘DSM,’” and only in 1973 did the APA vote “to remove homosexuality from” it. Saul Levin, MD, MPA, FRCP-E, “current CEO and medical director of the APA, told TODAY, ‘The psychiatrists of APA became emboldened by what’” activists such as Barbara Gittings, Kay Tobin Lahusen and Frank Kameny “were doing and said this has got to end.” Although “activism” has “paved the way for a society more inclusive of gay people, the work is not done, Amit Paley, CEO of The Trevor Project, which provides mental health services for LGBTQ youth, told TODAY.” Paley “pointed to conversion therapy, which is still legal in 30 states, and the ongoing laws and bills targeting trans youth.” Even though “both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Medical Association have put out statements opposing conversion therapy and restrictions on gender-affirming care for trans youth,” the attitude “that there’s something wrong with being LGBTQ” appears to still “have a powerful effect on the community’s mental health.”

Related Links:

— “Lesbian pioneers Kay Lahusen, Barbara Gittings fought medical myths about gays. Their work isn’t finished “Maura Hohman, TODAY, June 16, 2021

Healio (6/17, Gramigna) reports, “Among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, women had poorer subjective recovery-related outcomes and more unmet needs compared with men,” researchers concluded in a study that sought to assess “sex differences in objective and subjective recovery factors and psychiatric rehabilitation needs among 1,055 outpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder according to DSM-5 diagnosis who were recruited from the French National Centers of Reference for Psychiatric Rehabilitation cohort between January 2016 and November 2019.” The findings were published online May 18 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Women with schizophrenia spectrum disorder have poorer subjective outcomes than men “Joe Gramigna, Healio, June 17, 2021

Healio (6/16, Gramigna) reports, “Cannabis use in middle to late adolescence may alter neurodevelopment,” investigators concluded in a study that sought “to evaluate the potential associations between MRI-assessed cerebral cortical thickness development and cannabis use among a longitudinal sample of 799 adolescents (56.3% female; mean age, 14.4 years at baseline and 19 years at follow-up) who reported being cannabis naive at study baseline and who had behavioral and neuroimaging data available at baseline and five-year follow-up.” The findings were published online June 16 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Relevance: “ Analysis revealed that thinning in right prefrontal cortices, from baseline to follow-up, was associated with attentional impulsiveness at follow-up.
Conclusions and Relevance: Results suggest that cannabis use during adolescence is associated with altered neurodevelopment, particularly in cortices rich in cannabinoid 1 receptors and undergoing the greatest age-related thickness change in middle to late adolescence.”

Related Links:

— “Adolescent cannabis use may alter neurodevelopment “Joe Gramigna, Healio, June 16, 2021

HealthDay (6/16, Murez) reports, “When young adults are seeking a casual dating relationship, drinking is likely to follow,” while “those who are already in a serious relationship are likely to drink less,” researchers concluded in a study that “included more than 700 people in the Seattle area, aged 18 to 25, who filled out surveys every month for two years.” The findings were published online June 14 in the journal Substance Use & Misuse.

Related Links:

— “Looking for Love? Young People’s Drinking Goes Up When Dating ” Cara Murez, HealthDay, June 16, 2021

HealthDay (6/16, Murez) reports investigators have “found a correlation between teachers’ depressive symptoms and math skills in early learners enrolled in Head Start programs.” In a study “sample of more than 1,500 children from 212 classroom in 113 centers at 59 Head Start programs in the” US, researchers found that “teachers’ depressive symptoms were significantly associated with children’s math achievement ,” with the linkage “through the quality of the teachers’ relationships with the families, which in turn affected young children’s motivation, engagement and persistence in learning, according to the investigators.” The findingswere published online in the journal Child Development.

Related Links:

— “Treating Teachers’ Depression Could Boost Young Students’ Grades: Study ” Cara Murez, HealthDay, June 16, 2021