MedPage Today (8/16, Monaco) reports, “Use of antipsychotics during pregnancy did not seem to have a significant developmental impact on babies,” researchers concluded “in an analysis of more than 300,000 mother-child pairs.” The study revealed that children of mothers “who were taking an antipsychotic during pregnancy showed no increased risk for developing” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), “or of being born small for gestational age.” The findings were published online Aug. 16 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Psychiatric News (8/16) reports that even though “there was a small increased risk of preterm birth of children exposed to prenatal antipsychotics, additional analysis suggested this may be due to maternal psychiatric illness and not the medication.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (8/13, Gramigna) reported, “College students had significantly higher alcohol and cannabis use, depressive symptoms and anger during the COVID-19 lockdown compared with before it,” researchers concluded in a 4,749-participant survey study, the findings of which were published online ahead of print in the October issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

Related Links:

— “Alcohol, cannabis use higher among college students after COVID-19 lockdowns “Joe Gramigna, Healio, August 13, 2021

HealthDay (8/13, Preidt) reported, “Young Americans from low-income homes are more likely than those whose families are better off to be unhappy with the way they look and to have an eating disorder,” investigators concluded after examining “2010-18 data from Project EAT, a long-running study tracking the general health and well-being of teens as they move into adulthood.” The study revealed that “high body dissatisfaction and unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals were more common among low-income girls.” The findings were published in the August issue of the journal Eating Behaviors.

Related Links:

— “Odds for an Eating Disorder May Vary by Income ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, August 13, 2021

Psychiatric News (8/12) reports, “Older adults who were physically active reported significantly slower cognitive decline compared with sedentary adults,” investigators concluded after examining “data from 1,159 participants (63% women and 60% African American) in the Chicago Health and Aging Project, a population-based cohort study that followed adults over 65 years of age from four Chicago communities between 1993 and 2012.” The study also revealed that “the association between physical activity and cognitive function was most dramatic among adults who had elevated levels of the Alzheimer’s-associated tau protein in their blood.” The findings were published online Aug. 11 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Physical Activity Linked to Slower Cognitive Decline in Adults With Elevated Tau Levels, Psychiatric News, August 12, 2021

HealthDay (8/12, Preidt) reports research indicates that “death, injuries, abuse and mental health disorders are among the many harms faced by children whose parents are heavy drinkers.” Investigators arrived at this conclusion after reviewing “91 studies of hospital and other centralized records to provide a more accurate assessment of how a family member’s drinking can affect children.” The scoping review “identified several consequences among kids whose parents drank heavily – including death during infancy or childhood, mental health disorders and criminal convictions later in life.” In addition, these youngsters “more likely to do poorly in school, to suffer abuse and/or neglect, to wind up in foster care and be hospitalized for physical illness and injury.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Related Links:

— “Kids of Heavy Drinkers Face Multiple Threats to Health “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, August 12, 2021