Monthly Archives:
November 2022

Risk of Major Mental Disorder after Severe Bacterial Infections in Children and Adolescents: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study
Hsu TW, Chu CS, Tsai SJ, Bai YM, Su TP, Chen TJ, Chen MH, Liang CS. Risk of Major Mental Disorder after Severe Bacterial Infections in Children and Adolescents: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study. Neuropsychobiology. 2022 Nov 18:1-11. doi: 10.1159/000526984.
    14,024 children and adolescents with hospitalized bacterial infection, and noninfected controls were 1:4 matched from a nationwide cohort between 1997 and 2012,

  • 11 investigated pathogens, namely, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Hemophilus, Mycoplasma, Tuberculosis, Meningococcus, Escherichia, Chlamydia, and Scrub typhus.
  • The primary outcomes were the subsequent risk of seven MMDs: 1- autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 2- attention-deficiency hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), 3- obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), 4- tic disorder, -5 schizophrenia, 6- bipolar disorder, 7- depressive disorder.
  • The secondary outcomes were the subsequent risk of exposure to psychotropic medications.
Conclusions: After bacterial infection, the risk of MMDs increased in children and adolescents compared to controls, and such associations varied with different pathogens. Future studies are warranted to validate our study findings and investigate the potential mechanisms.
A Survey of Demographics, Symptom Course, Family History, and Barriers to Treatment in Children with Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infections
SL O’Dor, S Homayoun, OM.Downer, MA Hamel, JS Zagaroli, KA Williams.A Survey of Demographics, Symptom Course, Family History, and Barriers to Treatment in Children with Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infections.Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology.Nov 2022.476-487.http://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2022.0063
  • At onset, OCD was the most common psychiatric symptom 83.06% reported in children, along with a high percentage of medical and psychiatric comorbidities.
  • Most psychiatric comorbidities began or worsened at the onset of PANS/PANDAS symptoms. However, major depressive disorder was the most frequently reported psychiatric disorder to develop after PANS/PANDAS onset (10%).
  • Family members report high frequency of autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, with 29.95% of mothers endorsing one or more autoimmune conditions.
  • Mean caregiver burden is above “burnout” level. Caregivers had mildly elevated levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.
Preexisting Neuropsychiatric Conditions and Associated Risk of Severe COVID-19 Infection and Other Acute Respiratory Infections

Ranger TA, Clift AK, Patone M, et al. Preexisting Neuropsychiatric Conditions and Associated Risk of Severe COVID-19 Infection and Other Acute Respiratory Infections. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online November 09, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2022.3614

Conclusions and Relevance  In this longitudinal cohort study, UK patients with preexisting neuropsychiatric conditions and treatments were associated with similarly increased risks of severe outcome from COVID-19 infection and SARIs, except for dementia.