MD Magazine (6/15) reports, “Familial psychiatric history could correlate with the risk of severe bipolar disorder activity in an individual,” investigators concluded after examining “both the Bipolar CHOICE (Clinical Health Outcomes Initiative in Comparative Effectiveness) comparing lithium with quetiapine and the LiTMUS trial, which compared optimized treatment with and without lithium.” In the trials were “a total of 757 patients.” The study revealed that “familial psychiatric history correlated with several disease severity measures, including hospitalizations, suicide attempts, and earlier onset.” The findings were published online ahead of print in the August issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Family History Link Found in Bipolar Disorder, “Kenny Walter, MD Magazine, June 15, 2020

Psychiatric News (6/12) reported, “Volunteering at least two hours a week may increase longevity and improve mental health in adults over age 50,” investigators concluded after examining “data from approximately 13,000 participants in the Health and Retirement Study, a large, ongoing study of adults aged 50 years and older in the United States that began in 2006.” The findings were published online June 11 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Volunteering May Boost Longevity, Mental Health in Adults Over 50, Psychiatric News , June 12, 2020

NBC News (6/13, Fitzsimons) reported, “The United Nations released a report [PDF] documenting the global reach and impact of gay and transgender ‘conversion therapy,’ calling for nations around the” globe “to work to ban the scientifically discredited practice.” Jack Turban, an LGBTQ youth mental health researcher at Harvard Medical School, stated, “There is broad consensus among the medical community, including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, that conversion therapy for gender identity or sexual orientation is dangerous and should be banned.

Related Links:

— “U.N. calls for global end to conversion therapy, says it ‘may amount to torture’, “Tim Fitzsimons, NBC News, June 13, 2020

MedPage Today (6/12, Lou) reported, “Behavioral counseling and multidisciplinary care coordination together helped lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in people with serious mental illness,” investigators concluded.

Healio (6/12, Dobkowski) reported that “in the IDEAL trial…researchers analyzed data from 269 patients…who attended outpatient psychiatric rehabilitation programs and clinics and had dyslipidemia (n = 175), hypertension (n = 142), diabetes (n = 93), overweight/obesity (n = 242) and/or were current tobacco smokers (n = 138).” Patients were randomized to “the intervention (n = 132; mean age, 49 years; 47% men) or control (n = 137; mean age, 49 years; 48% men).” The study revealed that patients who had the intervention ended up having “a net percentage reduction of 12.7% for the 10-year global Framingham Risk Score.” The findings were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Care Coordination Intervention Cuts Heart Risk Among the Mentally Ill, ” Nicole Lou, MedPage Today, June 15, 2020

Psychiatric News (6/11) reports research indicates that “handgun ownership is associated with an elevated risk of suicide by firearm, particularly immediately after the gun is acquired.” For the study, investigators “tracked firearm ownership and mortality over 12 years (2004-2016) among 26.3 million adults in California.” The findings were published online June 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine. According to Psychiatric News, the authors of an accompanying editorial posited that “assessments of suicide risk should include questions about recent gun ownership and access to firearms, for example, and women, as well as men, should be questioned about gun ownership.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide Risk Increases Immediately After Gun Purchase, Psychiatric News, June 11, 2020