The AP (3/19, Cheng) reports, “Smoking high-potency marijuana every day could increase the chances of developing psychosis by nearly five times,” researchers concluded in a study comprised of “about 900 people who were diagnosed with a first episode of the disorder at a mental health clinic, including those with delusions and hallucinations,” who “were compared with more than 1,200 healthy patients.” The findings were published online March 19 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Also covering the study are Reuters (3/19, Kelland), The Guardian (UK) (3/19, Davis), BBC News Online (UK) (3/20, Roberts), the Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer (3/19, Wood), The Hill (3/19, Burke), the NPR (3/19, Chatterjee) “Shots” blog, NBC News (3/19), and HealthDay (3/19, Thompson).

Related Links:

— “Smoking strong pot daily raises psychosis risk, study finds, “Maria Cheng, AP, March 19, 2019

Psychiatric News (3/18) reports, “About 12% of adolescents who had suicidal thoughts or engaged in self-harm at age 16 went on to attempt suicide by age 21, but the risk factors for transition differed from established thinking on the subject,” investigators concluded in “a large, longitudinal study of adolescents” published online March 14 in The Lancet Psychiatry. In “participants with suicidal thoughts at age 16, the following factors strongly predicted a suicide attempt by age 21, all of which were associated with two to three times higher risk of suicide attempt: Nonsuicidal self-harm; cannabis use; other illicit drug use,” and “higher levels of the personality type intellect/openness.”

Related Links:

— “Study Suggests Factors Linked to Teens’ Suicide Attempts, Psychiatric News, March 18, 2019

Reuters (3/18, Rapaport) reports a study suggests “the number of young people visiting U.S. emergency rooms with psychiatric problems is rising, driven largely by a surge in teens and minority youth seeking urgent help for mental illnesses.” The study found a 28 percent increase between 2011 and 2015 among young people aged six to 24 visiting psychiatric emergency departments.

HealthDay (3/18, Mozes) reports the findings were published online March 18 in the journal Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “More U.S. youth seeking help during psychiatric emergencies, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, March 18, 2019

Healio (3/15, Demko) reported, “A cross-validated model that included self-reported history and severity of suicidality, positive screens for mental disorders and Army career characteristics was associated with suicide attempts 18 to 45 months later among soldiers with suicide ideation,” researchers concluded after following “3,649 soldiers – from baseline to 18-45 months – who completed surveys in Army STARRS and reported lifetime suicidal ideation.” The study also revealed that “10% of soldiers with suicidal ideation who had the highest predicted risk accounted for 39.2% of later suicide attempts.” The findings were published online March 15 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Self-report battery may improve risk assessment in soldiers with suicidal ideation, “Savannah Demko, Healio, March 15, 2019

In an opinion piece for the New York Times (3/15), author, physician, and psychiatrist in training Lisa Pryor observed, “With [its] focus on diagnosis and classification, you would be forgiven for thinking that psychiatry is a profession devoted merely to sorting and labeling humans,” as is “highlighted by the common description of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – the thick volume published by the American Psychiatric Association listing the various diseases of the mind – as the ‘bible’ of psychiatry.” In real life, however, the DSM “is an explanation of the human mind no more than a dictionary is an explanation of literature,” Dr. Pryor wrote. Instead, she promoted the concept of “psychiatric formulation.” Under that concept, “a formulation gathers up all the biological, psychological and social factors that have led to a person becoming unwell and considers how these factors interconnect,” and in so doing, “provides clues to the pathway out of suffering.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Illness Isn’t All in Your Head, “Lisa Pryor, The New York Times, March 15, 2019