The Journal of clinical psychiatry
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By forcing closure of schools, curtailing outpatient services, and imposing strict social distancing, the COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly affected the daily life of millions worldwide, with still unclear consequences for mental health. This study aimed to evaluate if and how child and adolescent psychiatric visits to hospital emergency departments (EDs) changed during the pandemic lockdown, which started in Italy on February 24, 2020. ⋯ In the first 8 weeks of the COVID-19-induced social lockdown, the number of child and adolescent psychiatric ED visits significantly decreased, with an increase in patient age. This decrease does not appear to be explained by severity-driven self-selection and might be due to a reduction in psychiatric emergencies or to the implementation of alternative ways of managing acute psychopathology.
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To assess the relationships between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and comorbid Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) substance use and mental health disorders across 5 sexual orientation subgroups: lesbian/gay, bisexual, unsure, discordant heterosexual (ie, heterosexual-identified with same-sex attraction or behavior), and concordant heterosexual. ⋯ Sexual minorities are exposed to more ACEs than their heterosexual counterparts in the US. We found evidence that US sexual minorities are at higher risk of comorbid substance use and mental health disorders. These findings reinforce the importance of identifying exposure to ACEs and developing trauma-informed interventions to treat comorbidities in those exposed to multiple ACEs, especially sexual minorities..
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Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) is a highly treatable neurologic condition that can cause psychosis. Screening for AE is not currently recommended in routine workup for first-episode psychosis (FEP), owing partly to the high cost of testing for AE-associated neuronal autoantibodies. ⋯ Routine screening for AE in patients with FEP may be cost-effective in the United States. As further immunotherapy effectiveness data become available, a more definitive recommendation to perform routine screening could be warranted.