RESEARCH WEEKLY: May Research Roundup
By Ellen Gurung
Research Roundup is a monthly public service of the Office of Research and Public Affairs. Each edition describes a striking new data point about severe mental illness and summarizes recently published research reports or developments.
DATAPOINT of the month
By age 66, one in four individuals with schizophrenia will have dementia
According to a recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry, by 66 years of age, 27.9% of individuals with schizophrenia will have a dementia diagnosis compared with 1.3% of individuals without schizophrenia. This trend continues as individuals get older, according to the results. At 80 years of age, 70.2% of individuals with schizophrenia will have a dementia diagnosis, compared to 11.3% of individuals without schizophrenia. The study authors suggest these results may be due to the cognitive and functional decline that can impact those with schizophrenia, which can increase the risk and exacerbate symptoms of dementia.
These findings could have major implications for future treatment and service utilization surrounding both dementia and schizophrenia, as well as the care of older adults who may have both diagnoses.
RESEARCH of the month
Children of parents with serious mental illness are more likely to be seriously injured
Young children whose parents have serious mental illness are at an increased risk for injury, including serious injuries that result in hospitalization and death, according to an article published last year in JAMA Pediatrics. The researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from several Taiwanese national databases, which allowed them to follow two million Taiwanese children born between 2004 and 2014. They then compared events resulting in injury, hospitalization and death in Taiwanese children who had parents with serious mental illness versus those who had parents without, from birth to five years of age. Children of parents with serious mental illness had 14% higher rates of injury events, 49% higher rates of hospitalization and 82% higher rates of death. The authors noted that this is possibly due to the parents' symptom and functional impairment making it difficult to evaluate injury severity or protect their child from health hazards.
This article highlights the importance of parental support, mental health treatment and safety training for parents with serious mental illness. The authors suggested that more research is needed for specific types of serious mental illness to help tailor future interventions.
Black Americans with schizophrenia score lower in cognition and everyday living measures
According to a study published October 2020 in Schizophrenia Research, researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that Black Americans with schizophrenia had lower scores in neurocognition, social cognition and everyday living skills compared to white Americans with schizophrenia. The authors examined racial differences surrounding the five domains of function: neurocognition, social cognition, everyday living skills, social skills and community functioning measures in 108 non-Hispanic Black and 61 non-Hispanic white Americans with schizophrenia. Black Americans scored lower in neurocognition, social cognition and everyday living skills, but they did not score lower in social skills or community function. Neighborhood socioeconomic status partially accounted for the relationship between race and neurocognition, which suggests that this relationship may be due to systemic issues surrounding access to treatment, education and other resources that could help foster cognitive stimulation.
Although Black Americans scored lower in certain domains, functional outcomes were also similar with both Black and white Americans with schizophrenia, which highlights the need for more research. The authors noted that neurocognition, social cognition and everyday living skills would be a good place to start for further research surrounding racial disparities in schizophrenia research, which would help improve treatment outcomes for Black Americans.
Asian Americans face major barriers to participation in schizophrenia studies
Compared to other minority groups, Asian Americans are severely underrepresented in studies relating to schizophrenia. This results in major gaps in knowledge surrounding how schizophrenia behaviors, medications and practices impact this community. According to an article published last June in the Community Mental Health Journal by researchers from the University of Southern California, this is largely because Asian Americans with schizophrenia face a variety of barriers that make it difficult for them to participate in and commit to these research studies. The authors highlighted several major barriers: language/cultural diversity in Asian American communities, concerns about research exploitation and existing challenges associated with serious mental illness that make it difficult for participants to participate in a research study.
This article suggested that having resources and interviewers that can account for limited English proficiency, building trust with clients and community leaders and being flexible and accommodating with participants with serious mental illness could improve Asian American representation in schizophrenia studies. The authors emphasized that engaging Asian Americans with schizophrenia in studies is possible, but it is important for researchers to devote time and resources into addressing these challenges.
