HealthDay (6/23, Reinberg) reports, “People with schizophrenia have a suicide rate 170 times higher than the general population,” investigators concluded after examining “20 years of population data, including information on 75,000 patients with schizophrenia,” each of whom “was followed for about 10 years, on average.” The findings were published online June 2 in the journal Schizophrenia Research.

Related Links:

— “Suicide Rate 170 Times Higher for People With Schizophrenia, “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, June 23, 2020

According to MedPage Today (6/22, Hlavinka), children “whose parents were diagnosed with serious mental illness had a greater risk of sustaining injuries through age five years than those with undiagnosed parents,” investigators found. In the study, “among nearly two million parent-child pairs, children whose parents were diagnosed with depression, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder more frequently had injuries requiring a doctor’s visit, like burns, fractures, and poisonings, through age five versus children with undiagnosed parents.” The findings were published online June 22 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Parents’ Severe Mental Illness Tied to Infant, Toddler Injury, “Elizabeth Hlavinka, MedPage Today, June 22, 2020

Healio (6/22, Gramigna) reports, “Several pharmacologic treatments, including vitamin E, may reduce symptoms of tardive dyskinesia,” investigators concluded. Researchers also found that “VMAT2 inhibitors exhibited significant benefit,” as did “vitamin B6.” The findings of the multi-study meta-analysis and systematic review published online May 26 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Vitamins E, B6, VMAT2 inhibitors may reduce tardive dyskinesia symptoms, “Joe Gramigna, Healio , June 22, 2020

HealthDay (6/19, Preidt) reported, “The coronavirus pandemic is adding to the mood issues that many pregnant women and new moms experience, according to a new study.” Among the pregnant women and women who’d given birth in the last year, the research indicates that “before the pandemic, 29% had moderate to high anxiety and 15% reported symptoms of depression,” but “during the pandemic, those rates increased to 72% and 41%, respectively.” Moreover, “sixty-four percent of women said they were getting less physical activity now, while 15% were doing more and 21% had no change in activity,” according to the findings published in the journal Frontiers in Global Women’s Health.

Related Links:

— “Pandemic Affecting Mental Health of Pregnant Women, New Moms, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 19, 2020

USA Today (6/21, O’Donnell) reports that “amid projections of soaring suicide, drug and alcohol deaths from the pandemic-spawned social and economic collapse,” many mental health and substance abuse treatment centers and their patients are struggling. Such facilities have “been largely left out of the murky formula for federal COVID-19 health care funding, which has focused on the immediate financial impact on hospitals caring for patients with the virus and lost revenue from elective procedures.”

Related Links:

— “As suicide, addiction death projections soar amid COVID-19, treatment centers struggle to stay alive too, “Jayne O’Donnell, USA TODAY, June 21, 2020