MedPage Today (5/20, Susman) reports a study found that “pregnant women have a higher risk of postpartum psychosis if their sisters had the same condition.” Researchers observed that the “relative recurrence risk of postpartum psychosis for siblings adjusted for birth year was 10.34, indicating that a woman is over 10 times more likely to develop postpartum psychosis if her sister had the condition compared with a woman whose sister did not have the condition.” Furthermore, they noted “the relative recurrence risk of postpartum psychosis in full siblings was 10.69 when adjusted for year of and age at childbirth.” They concluded, “Despite the higher familial risk of postpartum psychosis among full siblings, the absolute risk for women with an affected sibling was relatively low, estimated at 1.60% within the entire population.” The study was published in The American Journal of Psychiatry and presented at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting.

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MedPage Today (5/20, George ) reports a study of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries showed that “dementia incidence decreased in the U.S. from 2015 to 2021 but prevalence increased.” Researchers noted that “approximately 5 million cases of incident dementia were documented from 2015 to 2021.” They found that “age- and sex-standardized incidence rates fell from 3.5% in 2015 to 2.8% in 2021, but prevalence rose from 10.5% to 11.8%.” According to researchers, “incidence was highest in 2015 for Black beneficiaries (4.2%), followed by Hispanic beneficiaries (3.7%) and white beneficiaries (3.4%). In 2021, incidence was still highest for Black beneficiaries (3.1%), but for white beneficiaries, it was 2.8% and for Hispanic beneficiaries, it was 2.6%.” Overall, they said “those living in socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods had the highest incidence and prevalence.” The study was published in The BMJ.

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MedPage Today (5/19, Susman ) reports a scoping review presented at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting suggested that “Asian American and Pacific Islander sexual and gender minority young adults are at increased risk of substance use and mental health issues, but research on this group is sparse.” Researchers found that “of 172 articles screened, only six met final inclusion criteria for U.S.-based studies on psychosocial factors – stigma, discrimination, and family and social support – influencing mental health and substance use outcomes among this population of patients.” Researchers noted that “suicide is the leading cause of death among Asian Americans ages 10-24, but they have the lowest use of mental health services among any racial or ethnic group.”

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MedPage Today (5/19, Susman) reports research presented at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting found that “people who died by suicide frequently presented to hospitals within the previous year, indicating that these visits could be an opportunity for suicide risk assessment.” Researchers observed that “among 1,924 people who died by suicide, 57.5% had visited a hospital between >7 to <365 days of their death, with 45.9% of visits categorized as related to mental health.” They said “of these visits, 51.1% were related to substance abuse, 16.7% were related to suicidal ideation and substance abuse, and 12.3% were related to self-harm.” Researchers concluded, “Our findings suggest that visits with substance abuse-related concerns may present opportunities for delivery of novel suicide screenings and interventions in hospital settings, particularly in the emergency department environment.” Related Links:

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The New York Times (5/17, Span ) reported a study found that “over five years, study participants’ performance on cognitive tests” after a transient ischemic attack “drops as steeply as it does among victims of a full-on stroke.” Researchers said, “If you have one stroke or one T.I.A., with no other event over time and no other change in your medical status, the rate of cognitive decline is the same.” They observed that “even if the symptoms resolve – typically within 15 minutes to an hour – T.I.A.s set people on a different cognitive slope later in life.” Furthermore, after a TIA, “neurologists put the risk of a subsequent stroke within 90 days at 5 percent to 20 percent, with half that risk occurring in the first 48 hours.” The study was published in JAMA Neurology.

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