Psychiatric News (9/29) reports that while “specialty team-based services for first-episode psychosis (FEP) have the potential to improve outcomes among patients with schizophrenia,” in a viewpoint article, psychiatrists Maria Ferrara, MD, and Vinod H. Srihari, MD, of Yale University “described several factors that may disadvantage women in terms of both access to and quality of care in FEP services.” Those factors include “age of onset,” “clinical presentation,” “pathways to care,” “sexual and reproductive health,” and “preventive medicine.” The viewpoint was published online Sept. 23 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Women With First-Episode Psychosis Not Getting Targeted Care They Need Psychiatric News, September 29, 2020

The AP (9/28, Morgan) reports, “While suicide has long been a problem in the U.S. military, numbers have risen this year by as much as 20% as service members struggle with isolation and other impacts of COVID-19, added to the pressures of deploying to war zones and responding to national disasters and civil unrest.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, soldiers returning home earlier this year were restricted from visiting families and friends out-of-state and “patriotic welcome home ceremonies were replaced with a mandatory two-week quarantine.” The AP adds that the US Army is considering different measures, such as shortening deployment periods, to improve well-being and reduce suicides.

Related Links:

— “As suicides rise, Army brass reassessing outreach “Sarah Blake Morgan, AP, September 28, 2020

Healio (9/28, Miller) cites researchers in reporting that “the FDA has often approved new drug applications for opioids based on trials of inadequate length that included only patients who could tolerate the drugs.” The researchers “examined 48 new drug applications (NDAs) that were approved by the FDA between 1997 and 2018.” The trials that supported the applications “lasted a median of 84 days” though according to one researcher, many patients would take these medications for longer than that. The findings were published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “FDA approved opioids based on limited data, sometimes ‘flawed’ trial designs “Janel Miller, Healio, September 28, 2020

Medical Daily (9/28) reports, “Alcohol use during pregnancy causes problems with the baby’s brain as it develops,” research indicates. The study revealed that “children whose mothers drank even small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy had behavior and emotional problems.” The findings were published online Sept. 25 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Psychiatric News (9/28) reports investigators came to the study’s conclusion after analyzing “data from 9,719 children aged 9 to 11 who are part of the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development” study.

Related Links:

— “Think 1 Drink Won’t Harm Your Unborn Baby? Think Again Medical Daily, September 28, 2020

According to Healio (9/28, Gramigna), “young adults with” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), especially “women, were at increased risk for depression, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts vs. those without” the disorder, investigators concluded after analyzing “commercial claims data to determine the impact of” AD/HD and gender “on risk for depression, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts among 162,263 and 22,705 young adult women and men, respectively.” The findings were published online Sept. 22 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Young adults with ADHD at increased risk for depression, suicidal behavior “Joe Gramigna, Healio, September 28, 2020