Healio (5/10, Oldt) reports a review has “found little evidence of negative long-term effects of antipsychotics for schizophrenia and indicated significant efficacy for acute psychosis treatment and prevention of relapse.” The findings of the review were published online May 5 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Review supports long-term effects of antipsychotics for schizophrenia,” Goff DC, et al., Healio, May 10, 2017.

HealthDay (5/10, Preidt) reports that research suggests hypertension, “elevated cholesterol or a smoking habit early in life increases your odds for mental decline during middle age.” Investigators looked at “data from thousands of people…who were followed from childhood to adulthood.” The study indicated that hypertension “and high cholesterol in childhood, the teen years and young adulthood – as well as smoking in the teens and young adulthood – were associated with worse midlife mental performance, especially memory and learning.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Related Links:

— “What Harms the Young Heart Also Hurts the Brain Later
,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, May 10, 2017.

Reuters (5/10, Seaman) reports that the risk for having a motor vehicle accident is “significantly reduced” for people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “when they are taking” AD/HD “medication, a 10-year study” revealed. Included in the study were some “2,319,450 people over age 18 with” a diagnosis of AD/HD. Of that group, “about 1.9 million of them received at least one prescription to treat” the disorder during the course of the study. The findings were published online May 10 in JAMA Psychiatry.

According to MedPage Today (5/10, Bachert), the authors of an invited commentary “noted the findings confirm and extend existing experimental studies, and have impressive implications for the use of” medication for AD/HD. Also covering the study are Psychiatric News (5/10), the Washington Times (5/10, Kelly) and Healio (5/10, Oldt).

Related Links:

— “ADHD treatment tied to lower car crash risk,” Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters, May 10, 2017.

The Boston Globe (5/9, Kowalczyk) reports that investigators “posing as the parent of a depressed 12-year-old called hundreds of child psychiatrists and pediatricians looking for appointments, and discovered what many actual parents know through bitter experience: Most of the time the calls were fruitless.” After phoning some 913 physicians listed as in network “by Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations in Boston, Chapel Hill, Houston, Minneapolis, and Seattle,” researchers discovered that “after two attempts, they were able to get an appointment with a pediatrician 40 percent of the time and with a psychiatrist a meager 17 percent.” The findings were published online May 5 in the International Journal of Health Services.

Related Links:

— “Search for mental health care for children is often fruitless,” Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, May 2, 2017.

The Los Angeles Times (5/8, Karlamangla) reports some physicians are referring to their patients to peer support groups to help them cope with chronic diseases that can affect their lifestyles. The article highlights one such group in Los Angeles for patients with diabetes, and points out that the Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recommends peer groups as a way to address concerns that might not be given adequate attention during a short visit with a physician.

Related Links:

— “Doctors turn to the power of peer groups to help diabetics,” Soumya Karlamangla, Los Angeles Times, May 8, 2017.