Alcohol use disorder and IQ: Does social context matter?

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Recent research suggests that lower IQ and cognitive performance link to higher alcohol use disorder risk, but education and societal factors can amplify or reduce this vulnerability, not genetics alone.

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A global perspective on personality disorders: common, deadly and underestimated

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Systematic review of 60 studies found personality disorders affect 5.2% in high-income countries, associated with elevated mortality, yet excluded from global disease burden estimates.

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How much does family history increase your mental health risk? New study provides answers

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This Danish study of over 3 million people found that having a first-degree relative with depression increased risk 2.35-times, resulting in 15% lifetime risk (compared to 7.8% in the general population). However, 60% of depression cases occurred in people with no affected close relatives, highlighting that family history is only part of the story.

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Global insights into youth mental health prevalence: challenges and future directions

While the use of a global dataset allows for cross-regional comparisons, there is limited data from low- and middle-income countries, alongside underrepresentation from high-risk groups.

Shuwen Su, a MSc Global Mental Health student from the University of Glasgow, summarises an epidemiological study that estimates the global prevalence and years lived with disability associated with mental health disorders and substance use disorders in young people aged 5-24 years old.

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Not all people who make a suicide attempt have a psychiatric diagnosis

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In her debut blog, Emma Wallace explores a recent US cross-sectional study, which suggests an exclusive focus on the mental health antecedents of suicide will exclude around 20% of people who attempt to take their own lives.

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Self-stigma for people with depression: systematic review presents global prevalence data, risk factors and protective factors

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Pattie Gonsalves blogs about the stigma that people with depression can sometimes feel towards themselves; summarising a recent systematic review that estimates the global prevalence of depression self-stigma, alongside risk factors and protective factors.

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Suicide and self-harm in children: prevalence rates cause for concern

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In Mahmoud Arif’s debut blog, he and Rasanat Fatima Nawaz summarise a meta-analysis published in The Lancet Psychiatry, which estimated the prevalence rates of self-harm behaviours and suicidal ideation in children aged 12 years and under.

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Schizophrenia and educational attainment: mind the gap

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Ian Kelleher considers a new systematic review of papers from across the world, which looks at the enduring gap in educational attainment for people with schizophrenia.

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Caries prevalence and experience in older adults

The authors managed to develop and implement a strategy to reach older adults in rural areas, despite various barriers to access mental health treatment for this population.

This review of the caries prevalence and experience of older adults globally included 39 studies published between 2016 and 2020. The prevalence of caries in older adults was still high in most countries around the globe with a median of mean prevalence for caries of 49%.

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Age at onset of mental disorders: global meta-analysis provides data for targeting effective interventions

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Dona Matthews summarises a comprehensive global meta-analysis that presents our best current knowledge on the age of onset of various mental disorders. This review has major implications for our mental health promotion and prevention efforts.

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