COVID-19 Spreads Through Psych Wards; Liquid Quetiapine OK’d

Patients admitted to inpatient psychiatric wards were more likely to contract COVID-19 than those in the community, a retrospective study from London found. (The Lancet Psychiatry)

LGBTQ teens and young adults are experiencing much higher rates of anxiety and depression during the pandemic relative to straight youths, with 75% reporting increased loneliness during this time. (NBC News)

OWP Pharmaceuticals announced that the FDA approved the first-ever liquid formulation of quetiapine fumarate for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Following the FDA’s boxed warning on antidepressants in 2003 regarding suicidality, adolescent suicides quickly spiked thanks to declines in depression treatment. “Our findings suggest the boxed warnings may have contributed to the very thing the FDA was trying to prevent,” said study lead author Stephen Soumerai, ScD, of Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute in Boston. (Psychiatric Research and Clinical Practice)

Kids with gaming addictions didn’t seem to have any higher risk for other psychiatric conditions, like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or depression. (ScienceDaily)

Adults who started on newer antipsychotic agents saw a higher risk for mortality versus those who were given a second antidepressant for treating depression. “Our study suggests that physicians should consider prescribing antipsychotics to adults with depression carefully, as the potential health risks are substantial and the benefits are quite modest and controversially debated,” said Tobias Gerhard, PhD, of Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy in Piscataway, New Jersey. (PLOS One)

Better psychosocial resilience, like feeling in control of your environment, was tied to better cardiovascular health for Black adults. “Almost everything we know about Black Americans and their health focuses on deficits, yet we really need to begin to identify strengths,” said study author Tené Lewis, PhD, of Emory University in Atlanta. (Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes)

Going under general anesthesia didn’t seem to increase one’s risk of developing dementia, according to a matched study of adults age 66 and older. (Journal of the American Geriatrics Society)

Last Updated October 07, 2020