People from racialised communities face higher risks of psychosis, yet racism itself is rarely studied. A new umbrella review shows why discrimination needs to be recognised as a genuine risk factor, not just a background influence.
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Psychiatric hospitalisation can save lives, but it also carries major personal and economic costs. Could early warning scores help predict who’s most at risk, allowing for earlier, more targeted support? This new BMJ Mental Health study by Taquet and colleagues explores the potential.
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High misdiagnosis rates between bipolar and major depressive disorder cause real harm to patients and services. This new neuroimaging study tested whether brain connectivity and machine learning could do a better job of telling the two apart, with interesting but limited results.
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What if perinatal mental health started in the gut? New research from Finland suggests certain bacteria may be associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy and after birth, raising questions about inflammation, causality, and the future of microbiome-based screening and treatment.
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Vaping is helping millions quit smoking, but concerns about teen uptake remain. A new blog explores whether the ‘gateway hypothesis’ stands up to scrutiny in the latest umbrella review of vaping harms in young people.
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Depression, anxiety, and suicidality are higher among LGBTQ+ workers, especially in hostile or unsupportive workplaces. But are research and policy keeping up? This new review sets out the case for change.
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Self-harm is common among adolescents and a strong predictor of suicide risk. A major new cohort study in the British Journal of Psychiatry explores how genetic risk and brain differences might explain who’s most at risk, and why.
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Could years of commuting through city smog be leaving lasting marks on our brains? A major UK birth cohort study suggests that midlife exposure to nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants may lead to smaller hippocampal volumes and slower cognitive processing in later life, even after accounting for social and educational factors.
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Not all childhood trauma has the same biological impact. A new study finds that adversity in late childhood is most strongly linked to immune dysregulation at age 24.
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How safe is it to treat ADHD in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders? New long-term data offers pragmatic reassurance, but also some warnings.
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