Validation of a youth suicide risk calculator in an adult sample with bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: Bipolar disorder (BD) conveys the highest risk of suicide of all mental disorders. We sought to externally validate a risk calculator (RC) of suicide attempts developed in youth with BD from the Course and Outcome of Bipolar Youth (COBY) study in an adult sample. METHODS: A prospective cohort of adults with BD from the National Institute of Mental Health Collaborative Depression Study (CDS; N = 427; mean (+/- SD) age at intake (36 +/- 13 years)) was secondarily analyzed to validate the COBY RC for one-year risk of suicide attempts/deaths. Nine of the ten predictor variables from the COBY RC were available in the CDS and used: age, age of mood disorder onset, first and second (partial) degree family history of suicide, history of psychotic symptoms, substance use disorder, prior suicide attempt, socioeconomic status, and non-suicidal self-injury (prospectively, incompletely at baseline). RESULTS: Over a mean (SD) follow-up of 19 (10) years, 29 % of the CDS sample attempted suicide. The RC predicted suicide attempts/deaths over one-year follow-up with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.78 (95 % CI 0.75-0.80). The RC performed slightly better in those with a younger age of mood disorder onset. LIMITATIONS: Clinical samples may limit generalizability; the RC does not assess more acute suicide risk. CONCLUSIONS: One-year risk of suicide attempts/deaths can be predicted with acceptable accuracy in youth and adults with BD, comparable to commonly used RCs to predict cardiovascular risk. This RC may help identify higher-risk individuals with BD for personalized treatment and research. https://cobysuicideattemptsrc.shinyapps.io/Shiny.

Associations of Restraint and Seclusion With Race and Ethnicity on an Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry Service.

There is limited work examining the association of race and ethnicity with restraint and seclusion (R/S) in pediatric inpatient psychiatric units. The present study assessed risk of R/S by race and ethnicity based on a retrospective review of electronic medical records (EMRs) from an adolescent inpatient psychiatric service. Demographic, diagnostic, and R/S data were analyzed for all 1,865 admissions of 1,327 patients from an adolescent unit at a child and adolescent psychiatric hospital from June 2018 to June 2021. R/S occurred in 459 of the admissions. For the purpose of patient privacy and statistical analysis, race was grouped into the following: Black or African American, other (American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, multiracial, other), and White. Patients identified as unknown were not included in the analysis. A binary logistic regression with a repeated subject effect regressed R/S onto race and adjusted for age, gender, and length of stay (LOS). There was an overall significant association of R/S and race (χ22 = 16.81, p < .001), but not ethnicity. In a regression model adjusted for age, gender, and LOS, patients identified as Black or African American were at significantly higher risk of R/S compared with patients identified as White (odds ratio = 1.66, p = .036). There was no significant difference in risk of R/S between patients identified as White vs other. Younger age and longer LOS were also significantly associated with R/S. These findings highlight a critical health care disparity related to race on an inpatient adolescent psychiatry service. There is likely a combination of individual and systemic factors leading to discriminatory practices in the use of R/S. Future work will assess potential associations with diagnosis and child welfare involvement and will examine additional characteristics of R/S. Focus groups held with hospital and community stakeholders will guide next steps to address these findings.

Systematic Review: White Matter Microstructural Organization in Adolescents With Depression.

Objective: A growing body of literature has focused on the neural mechanisms of depression. Our goal was to conduct a systematic review on the white matter microstructural differences in adolescents with depressive disorders vs adolescents without depressive disorders. Method: We searched PubMed and PsycINFO for publications on August 3, 2022 (original search conducted in July 2021). The review was registered on PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42021268200), and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Eligible studies were original research papers comparing diffusion tensor/spectrum imaging findings in adolescents with vs without depression (originally ages 12-19 years, later expanded to 11-21 years). Studies were excluded if they focused on depression exclusively in the context of another condition, used only dimensional depressive symptom assessment(s), or used the same dataset as another included publication. Results: The search yielded 575 unique records, of which 14 full-text papers were included (824 adolescents with depression and 686 without depression). The following white matter regions showed significant differences in fractional anisotropy in at least 3 studies: uncinate fasciculus, cingulum, anterior corona radiata, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and corpus callosum (genu and body). Most studies reported decreased, rather than increased, fractional anisotropy in adolescents with depression. Limitations include the possibility for selective reporting bias and risk of imprecision, given the small sample sizes in some studies. Conclusion: Our systematic review suggests aberrant white matter microstructure in limbic-cortical-striatal-thalamic circuits, and the corpus callosum, in adolescents with depression. Future research should focus on developmental trajectories in depression, identifying sources of heterogeneity and integrating findings across imaging modalities.

International perspective on integrated care models in child and adult mental health.

The dearth of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) is a global problem. Integrating CAMHS in primary care has been offered as a solution. We sampled integrated care perspectives from colleagues around the world. Our findings include various models of integrated care namely: the stepped care model in Australia; shared care in the United Kingdom (UK) and Spain; school-based collaborative care in Qatar, Singapore and the state of Texas in the US; collaborative care in Canada, Brazil, US, and Uruguay; coordinated care in the US; and, developing collaborative care models in low-resource settings, like Kenya and Micronesia. These findings provide insights into training initiatives necessary to build CAMHS workforce capacity using integrated care models, each with the ultimate goal of improving access to care. Despite variations and progress in implementing integrated care models internationally, common challenges exist: funding within complex healthcare systems, limited training mechanisms, and geopolitical/policy issues. Supportive healthcare policy, robust training initiatives, ongoing quality improvement and measurement of outcomes across programs would provide data-driven support for the expansion of integrated care and ensure its sustainability.

Assessing the Quality of Patient Responses to a Psychosocial Intervention Implemented on an Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Unit: Devising the Safety Plan Quality Metric.

The Safety Planning Intervention (SPI) helps patients use coping strategies when in a suicidal crisis. This project aimed to characterize SPI quality and determine if it is associated with reduced risk of readmission to psychiatric hospitals. The sample included 145 participants hospitalized on an adolescent psychiatric unit from May to December 2018 who met suicidal criteria per items 18 and 91 on the Youth Self Report. The Safety Plan Quality Metric was created to rate SPI quality. A significant association between higher-quality SPI and fewer instances of readmission was identified (X2 (1, N = 94) = 4.32, p = .038). A logistic regression conducted to determine the impact of other patient factors on readmission did not yield a statistically significant model, (X2 (5, N = 94) = 8.43, p = 0.13). The results suggest that patients with higher quality SPIs were less likely to be rehospitalized.

Recognizing Suicidal Risk in Very Young Children.

Suicidal thought and behavior (STB) in preschool and kindergarten-age children is an alarming event. Until recently, these young children's experiences have been under recognized, in part due to an under appreciation for their awareness of the finality of death. Although rare, serious suicide attempts and death by suicide among preschool and kindergarten-age children are well documented. There is limited research on the risk factors that contribute to STB in very young children. We present de-identified case descriptions of very young children seen for psychiatric treatment at a day hospital program who presented with self-injurious behavior and suicidal ideation (SI). The patients described have common risk factors, including exposure to trauma, family conflict and family history of suicidal behavior. It is critical that children presenting with STB be assessed and offered services to mitigate these risks.

Higher socioeconomic status and less parental psychopathology improve prognosis in youths with bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: To identify prospectively ascertained individual and family factors that are associated with improvement in Bipolar Disorder (BD) among youths who initially presented with poor course. METHODS: 82 youths with BD with persistent poor mood symptomatology ("predominantly ill course") were compared to 70 youths with BD who at intake had poor course, but showed improvement during the follow-up ("ill with improving course"), (ages 12.3 ± 3.3, vs. 11.7 ± 3.3 years old, at intake). Improvement was measured by the percentage of time euthymic during a mean follow-up of 12.8 years. Youths and parents were interviewed to assess psychopathology, functioning, treatment, and familial functioning and psychopathology. RESULTS: Compared to the ill group, since intake, the improving group showed significantly lower subthreshold depression and hypo/mania, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Disruptive Behavior Disorders. Parental Socioeconomic Status (SES) remained unchanged over time in the ill group, but progressively increased in the improving group. Importantly, the change in SES predated the improvement in the mood trajectory. The most influential variables that predicted improvement were higher SES, and absence of parental BD and Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Parental SUD also negatively affected the parental SES, which was directly associated with worse mood course. LIMITATIONS: Predominantly self-reported White samples may limit generalizability; other factors potentially associated with outcome (e.g., treatment adherence), were not ascertained. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to treating mood/comorbid psychopathology in symptomatic BD youths, to improve their prognosis, it is crucial to address their parent's BD and SUD and promote parental education/employment.

13 Reasons Why: Perceptions and Correlates of Media Influence in Psychiatrically Hospitalized Adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: The Netflix series 13 Reasons Why (13RW) has sparked controversy due to graphic depictions of youth suicide, bullying, and sexual assault. However, further research is needed examining experiences of the show among youth with psychiatric illness. This exploratory, mixed-methods study examines adolescents' perceptions of 13RW and associations among viewership, suicide-related media influence processes, and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs). METHOD: Participants were 242 adolescents hospitalized in a psychiatric inpatient facility; 60.7% female, 30.2% male, 9.1% other genders; ages 11 to 18; and 74.3% White, 7.5% Black, and 21.8% Hispanic. Participants completed measures of series viewership, media message processing, and SITBs. Participants who watched completed open-ended questions regarding beliefs and opinions about the series. RESULTS: In all, 50.4% of participants watched 13RW, with girls (63.3%) more likely to have watched than boys (26.0%). More than half (55.9%) of youth expressed negative reactions to the show, while approximately one-third (33.8%) expressed positive reactions. Having watched the series was associated with greater likelihood of past-year non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), but not with suicidal ideation or past-year suicide attempts. Youth's interpretation of media messages in 13RW, including greater identification with and perceived likeability of the main character, were associated with suicidal ideation and past-year NSSI. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest high rates of 13RW viewership among psychiatrically hospitalized youth, particularly girls, and provide insight into factors that may affect youths' vulnerability to suicide-related media effects.

Incisor position and alveolar bone thickness.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate incisor position and its relationship to alveolar bone in untreated optimal occlusions and in untreated Class II malocclusions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-seven lateral cephalograms of individuals with naturally occurring optimal occlusions (mean age = 23 years) were used to assess positions of central incisors and their relationships to alveolar bone. Data were compared to a sample of 57 individuals with untreated Class II malocclusions with concurrent anterior-posterior (AP) skeletal discrepancies (mean age = 16.9 years). RESULTS: Significant intergroup differences were found for AP jaw relationship, maxillary alveolar bone thickness, mandibular incisor inclination, maxillary incisor root distance to labial surface of alveolar bone, and mandibular incisor root apex distance to labial surface of alveolar bone. Small differences between females and males existed for several variables. In both samples, maxillary incisor roots were located closer to the labial surface of alveolar process than to the palatal surface by roughly a 2:1 ratio. Mandibular incisor root apices were generally equidistant from the labial and lingual surfaces of the alveolus in the optimal sample but closer to the lingual surface in the Class II sample. CONCLUSIONS: Maxillary incisors tend to occupy the anterior one-third of the alveolus in untreated individuals, regardless of AP interarch dental relationships or AP jaw relationships. Mandibular incisor root apices tend to be centered within the alveolus in untreated optimal occlusions but are more positively inclined, and their root apices are more posterior in untreated Class II malocclusions.

Relationship between cognitive flexibility and subsequent course of mood symptoms and suicidal ideation in young adults with childhood-onset bipolar disorder.

Neurocognitive deficits, such as cognitive flexibility impairments, are common in bipolar disorder (BD) and predict poor academic, occupational, and functional outcomes. However, the association between neurocognition and illness trajectory is not well understood, especially across developmental transitions. This study examined cognitive flexibility and subsequent mood symptom and suicidal ideation (SI) course in young adults with childhood-onset BD-I (with distinct mood episodes) vs. BD-not otherwise specified (BD-NOS) vs. typically-developing controls (TDCs). Sample included 93 young adults (ages 18-30) with prospectively verified childhood-onset DSM-IV BD-I (n = 34) or BD-NOS (n = 15) and TDCs (n = 44). Participants completed cross-sectional neuropsychological tasks and clinical measures. Then participants with BD completed longitudinal assessments of mood symptoms and SI at 6-month intervals (M = 39.18 ± 16.57 months of follow-up data). Analyses included ANOVAs, independent-samples t tests, chi-square analyses, and multiple linear regressions. Participants with BD-I had significant deficits in cognitive flexibility and executive functioning vs. BD-NOS and TDCs, and impaired spatial working memory vs. TDCs only. Two significant BD subtype-by-cognitive flexibility interactions revealed that cognitive flexibility deficits were associated with subsequent percentage of time depressed and with SI in BD-I but not BD-NOS, regardless of other neurocognitive factors (full-scale IQ, executive functioning, spatial working memory) and clinical factors (current and prior mood and SI symptoms, age of BD onset, global functioning, psychiatric medications, comorbidity). Thus, cognitive flexibility may be an important etiological brain/behavior mechanism, prognostic indicator, and intervention target for childhood-onset BD-I, as this deficit appears to endure into young adulthood and is associated with worse prognosis for subsequent depression and SI.

Preliminary evidence supporting the practice of psychosis-risk screening within an inpatient psychiatric setting serving adolescents.

Evidence supports the use of brief psychosis-spectrum screening measures to identify individuals at elevated risk for psychosis, however, there is limited research on psychosis-spectrum screening among adolescents hospitalized for acute mental health concerns. Given the psychiatric vulnerability of this population, screening efforts within inpatient settings may help identify adolescents at greatest risk for ongoing mental health concerns including psychosis. This study investigates the use of two brief screening tools to identify psychosis-spectrum symptoms in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. Upon intake, adolescents completed two screening measures, the PRIME Screen-Revised and the Youth Self-Report Thought Problems scale, followed by a brief interview to evaluate psychosis-spectrum diagnoses. Associations between screening scores and diagnostic status were explored to evaluate the use of these tools to identify psychosis-spectrum conditions in this population. The sample included 57 adolescents, 28 of whom met psychosis-spectrum criteria. Psychosis-spectrum status was strongly correlated with PRIME scores (r = 0.59) and Thought Problems T scores (r = 0.55). Logistic regression analyses indicated that both screening measures demonstrate promising accuracy (74-81%) for identifying adolescents meeting psychosis-spectrum criteria. The PRIME and Thought Problems scale may be appropriate screening tools for use in adolescent inpatient settings to identify those experiencing clinically significant psychosis-spectrum symptoms.

Experimental demonstration of confidential communication with quantum security monitoring.

Security issues and attack management of optical communication have come increasingly important. Quantum techniques are explored to secure or protect classical communication. In this paper, we present a method for in-service optical physical layer security monitoring that has vacuum-noise level sensitivity without classical security loopholes. This quantum-based method of eavesdropping detection, similar to that used in conventional pilot tone systems, is achieved by sending quantum signals, here comprised of continuous variable quantum states, i.e. weak coherent states modulated at the quantum level. An experimental demonstration of attack detection using the technique was presented for an ideal fibre tapping attack that taps 1% of the ongoing light in a 10 dB channel, and also an ideal correlated jamming attack in the same channel that maintains the light power with excess noise increased by 0.5 shot noise unit. The quantum monitoring system monitors suspicious changes in the quantum signal with the help of advanced data processing algorithms. In addition, unlike the CV-QKD system which is very sensitive to channel excess noise and receiver system noise, the quantum monitoring is potentially more compatible with current optical infrastructure, as it lowers the system requirements and potentially allows much higher classical data rate communication with links length up to 100 s km.

Social media use, sleep, and psychopathology in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents.

Sleep disruption among adolescents represents a major public health concern, and social media use may play an important role in affecting sleep and subsequent mental health. While prior studies of youth sleep and mental health have often focused on social media use frequency and duration, adolescents' emotional experiences related to social media have been underexplored, particularly among clinically acute populations. This study offers a preliminary investigation of associations among negative emotional experiences using social media, sleep disturbance, and clinical symptom severity in a sample of psychiatrically hospitalized youth. A sample of 243 adolescents (Mage = 15.34) completed self-report measures at a single time point. Measures assessed social media use, including frequency and duration, subjective experiences of use, and emotional responses to use, as well as sleep disturbance and clinical symptom severity, including suicidal ideation, internalizing symptoms, and attention problems. Results revealed that more frequent negative emotional responses to social media use were linked to greater sleep disturbance and higher clinical symptom severity. Furthermore, sleep disturbance mediated the relation between negative emotional responses to social media and clinical symptom severity. While gender differences were revealed in characteristics of social media use, sleep disturbance, and clinical outcomes, the associations among these constructs did not vary across gender groups. Overall, these findings highlight sleep disturbance as a potential mechanism through which negative emotional experiences on social media may impact clinical symptoms in psychiatrically vulnerable youth.

Validation of the youth mood recurrences risk calculator in an adult sample with bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: The ability to predict an individual's risk of mood episode recurrence can facilitate personalized medicine in bipolar disorder (BD). We sought to externally validate, in an adult sample, a risk calculator of mood episode recurrence developed in youth/young adults with BD from the Course and Outcome of Bipolar Youth (COBY) study. METHODS: Adult participants from the National Institute of Mental Health Collaborative Depression Study (CDS; N=258; mean(SD) age=35.5(12.0) years; mean follow-up=24.9 years) were utilized as a sample to validate the youth COBY risk calculator for onset of depressive, manic, or any mood episodes. RESULTS: In this older validation sample, the risk calculator predicted recurrence of any episode over 1, 2, 3, or 5-year follow-up intervals, with Area Under the Curves (AUCs) approximating 0.77. The AUC for prediction of depressive episodes was about 0.81 for each of the time windows, which was higher than for manic or hypomanic episodes (AUC=0.72). While the risk calculator was well-calibrated across the range of risk scores, it systematically underestimated risk in the CDS sample by about 20%. The length of current remission was a highly significant predictor of recurrence risk in the CDS sample. LIMITATIONS: Predominantly self-reported White samples may limit generalizability; the risk calculator does not assess more proximal risk (e.g., 1 month). CONCLUSIONS: Risk of mood episode recurrence can be predicted with good accuracy in youth and adults with BD in remission. The risk calculators may help identify higher risk BD subgroups for treatment and research.

Predictors and moderators of marijuana and heavy alcohol use outcomes in adolescents treated for co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders in a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The current study identifies predictors and moderators of substance use outcomes for 111 adolescents with co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders who participated in a randomized controlled trial that compared the effectiveness of two home-based treatments: an integrated cognitive behavioral therapy (I-CBT) protocol, in which masters-level clinic staff received intensive training and ongoing supervision in the use of this protocol versus a treatment-as-usual (TAU) comparison condition in which therapists received a continuing education-style CBT workshop in the same protocol. METHOD: The study conducted exploratory predictor and moderator analyses of marijuana and heavy alcohol use outcomes using candidate variables across four domains of psychological characteristics: adolescent substance use, adolescent psychiatric symptoms, parent, and family. RESULTS: Regardless of treatment condition, low parental monitoring at baseline, as assessed by a videotaped interaction task, but not self-report, predicted greater percentage of marijuana use and heavy alcohol use days over the 6-month follow-up period. If parents entered treatment with low levels of parental monitoring, adolescents in the I-CBT condition reduced their percentage of heavy alcohol use days significantly more than adolescents in TAU over the 6-month follow-up period. Greater adolescent aggression and parental emotion dysregulation at baseline also predicted greater percentage of marijuana use days over the 6-month follow-up period for the sample as a whole. Adolescents in the I-CBT condition who reported low positive urgency at baseline reduced their percentage of heavy alcohol use days significantly more than adolescents in TAU care over the 6-month follow-up period. CONCLUSION: The article discusses implications for clinical decision-making, improving treatment effectiveness, and tailoring interventions for adolescents with co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders.