How consistent are international treatment guidelines for bipolar disorder?

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Steven Marwaha publishes his debut blog on a review article that asks if there is consensus across international evidence-based guidelines for the management of bipolar disorder.

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Severe mental illness in offspring may not be linked to smoking during pregnancy

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Andrew Jones considers a recent cohort study that looks into the associations between maternal smoking during pregnancy and severe mental illness in offspring.

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Periodontal treatment during pregnancy-no evidence of impact on preterm birth

Routine specialist pregnancy care involved an initial meeting to discuss quitting smoking and set a quit date, followed by 4 weekly telephone calls, and free nicotine replacement therapy for 10 weeks.

15 RCTs were included in this Cochrane review of impact of periodontal treatment on adverse pregnancy outcomes. all the included studies were considered to be at high risk of bias. There was no evidence that periodontal treatment reduces the number of preterm babies.

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OCD risk may increase following perinatal complications

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Alan Underwood summarises a population based cohort study of 2.4 million Swedish children, which highlights links between perinatal risk factors such as smoking during pregnancy, and later development of obsessive compulsive disorder.

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Oral Clefts and maternal smoking associated suggests review

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This review examined the link between maternal smoking and oral clefts. 29 studies ( 6 Cohorts & 23 case control studies) were included and a positive association has noted. No quality assessment of the included studies was presented.

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Cannabis use during pregnancy: little known about impact on child or maternal health

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Ellen Grimas summarises a systematic review on prenatal exposure to cannabis and maternal and child health outcomes, which highlights the lack of high quality research in this area.

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Does taking antidepressants during pregnancy harm the child? Here are the facts

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Ian Jones summarises a number of studies that consider the benefits and harms of antidepressants during pregnancy, including a recent cohort study that found that exposure to antidepressants in the womb is associated with a modest increased risk of speech and language disorders.

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Psychotropic medication in pregnancy: new evidence may help achieve a safe balance

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Joanne Wallace considers a recent health technology assessment on the risks and benefits of psychotropic medication in pregnancy, which supports previous associations between valproate and adverse child outcomes.

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Suicide during the perinatal period

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Katrina Witt reviews a new UK study, which finds that women who ended their own lives during the perinatal period were significantly more likely to have a recent onset of depression, and were less likely to be receiving active treatment, and particularly medication, at their time of their death.

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