The burden of perinatal mental illness in migrant women: new evidence on prevalence and risk factors

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In her debut Mental Elf blog, Gilda Spaducci explores the global prevalence of perinatal mental disorders among migrant women; summarising a recent review which finds that “one in four experience perinatal depression, one in five perinatal anxiety, and one in eleven perinatal PTSD”.

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Genetic risk for schizophrenia is associated with changes in heart structure and function

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Nadine Parker and Ole Andreassen summarise a recent UK population-based cohort study, which looks at the impact of polygenic risk for schizophrenia on cardiac structure and function in over 32,000 people.

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Smoking and bipolar disorder: the physical and mental health impact of tobacco cessation

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Hannah Walsh explores the clinical and research implications of this French cohort study on bipolar disorder and smoking status, and how risks differ for current, former and never smokers.

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Where I lay my head is home: residential instability and earlier onset of psychosis

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Liana Romaniuk summarises a recent US cross-sectional study which suggests that residential instability (moving home a lot) may lead to disrupted social networks and relationships, predisposing vulnerable youth to greater stress, which can increase their risk of psychosis.

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Suicide prevention for autistic people: the importance of belonging, mental health and movement

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Shania Lorenz summarises a recent network analysis on the complex pathways to suicide and suicidal thoughts among autistic people, which may include a lack of caring and supportive friends, feeling like an outsider, movement differences like restlessness, and mental health problems like anxiety.

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Oral leukoplakia – malignant transformation rate

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This review of the rate of malignant transformation (MT) of oral leukoplakia and potential risk factors included 26 mainly retrospective studies. The findings indicate a MT of 7.2% (95%CI; 5.40 to 9.10%) similar to those of another recent review whihc estimated MT as 9.8% (95%CI; 7.9 to 11.7%).

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Is trauma a transdiagnostic risk for mental health problems? Recent umbrella meta-analysis suggests yes

Mental health services worldwide operate using discrete categories, but significant symptom overlap between different mental health disorders suggests that transdiagnostic approaches may be plausible.

In her debut blog, Megan Bailey summarises an umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on whether psychological trauma can be considered as a transdiagnostic risk factor for mental health disorders.

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What impact has the Russian invasion had on youth mental health in Ukraine?

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In his debut blog, Tyler Elliot considers a case-control study focusing on the impact of the Russian invasion on the mental health of adolescents in Ukraine that suggest the risk for developing mental health conditions has likely been exacerbated in war-affected areas.

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Blood-based inflammatory markers in acute vs chronic schizophrenia

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Éimear Foley summarises a recent meta-analysis, which looks at alteration patterns of peripheral concentrations of cytokines and associated inflammatory proteins in acute and chronic stages of schizophrenia.

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Addressing premature mortality in mental illness: the “Gone Too Soon” framework

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Alvin Richards-Belle and Humma Andleeb review the Gone Too Soon framework, published yesterday in The Lancet Psychiatry, which suggests priorities for action to prevent premature mortality associated with mental illness and mental distress.

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