The aim was to examine suicides by burning (SBB) occurring in England and Wales.

The method was a retrospective case note examination of death certificates, coroners' inquest notes and GP notes for all SBBs registered in 1991 by OPCS in England and Wales, and an examination of SBB statistics from 1979–1992.

In 24% of cases the incident involved others either as intended or actual victims or as witnesses, and three distinct groups (Asian-born women, schizophrenics, and homicide–suicides) were over-represented. The majority were not in contact with current psychiatric services, and 43% had never had contact with psychiatric services. There was no trend in SBB compared to other suicides in 1979–1992.

While SBB may be associated with Asian-born women, homicide–suicide and schizophrenia, the majority of cases did not have these characteristics, and the overall psychiatric contact rate was similar to suicide by unspecified means.

From 1978 to 1979, a group of people in Taiwan were exposed to high levels of heat-degraded polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) owing to accidental ingestion of contaminated rice oil. Children born to mothers following the exposure (‘Yucheng’ children) were known to have hyperpigmented skin and other dysmorphology after birth.

To determine the effect of prenatal exposure to PCBs on cognitive development in Yucheng children.

One hundred and eighteen Yucheng children prenatally exposed to PCBs and degradation products, and community-matched control children who were exposed to background levels only, were followed from 1985 to 1998. The Bayley Scale for Infant Development, Chinese version of the Stanford – Binet IQTest, Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices and Raven's Standardised Progressive Matrices were used to assess the cognitive development of these children.

The Yucheng children scored lower than control children on each of these methods of measurement between the ages of 2 and 12 years.

Prenatal exposure to PCBs and their derivatives has long-term adverse effects on cognitive development in humans.

There is an emerging evidence base about best practice in supporting recovery. This is usually framed in relation to general principles, and specific pro-recovery interventions are lacking.

To develop a theoretically based and empirically defensible new pro-recovery manualised intervention – called the REFOCUS intervention.

Seven systematic and two narrative reviews were undertaken. Identified evidence gaps were addressed in three qualitative studies. The findings were synthesised to produce the REFOCUS intervention, manual and model.

The REFOCUS intervention comprises two components: recovery-promoting relationships and working practices. Approaches to supporting relationships comprise coaching skills training for staff, developing a shared team understanding of recovery, exploring staff values, a Partnership Project with people who use the service and raising patient expectations. Working practices comprise the following: understanding values and treatment preferences; assessing strengths; and supporting goal-striving. The REFOCUS model describes the causal pathway from the REFOCUS intervention to improved recovery.

The REFOCUS intervention is an empirically supported pro-recovery intervention for use in mental health services. It will be evaluated in a multisite cluster randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN02507940).

An association between depression and headache is well established, but the specificity to migraine is unclear.

To investigate the specificity of the association of depression and migraine.

People with recurrent depression (n=1259) were compared with psychiatrically healthy controls (n=851) to investigate headache defined according to International Headache Society criteria in each group.

All headache types were more prevalent in the case group than in the controls. However, the strongest association was between depression and migraine with aura (OR=5.6). Among participants with recurrent headaches, migraine with aura (but not other forms of headache) was highly significantly associated with depression.

The data suggest that not only is there a general relationship between headache and depression but also that among people with recurrent headache there is a specific association between depression and migraine with aura. The association is likely to be explained by overlapping aetiological risk factors.

Epidemiological data on the association between mental disorders and the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) severity are limited.

To evaluate the association between mental disorders and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes following COVID-19.

We performed a cohort study using the Korean COVID-19 patient database based on national health insurance data. Each person with a mental or behavioural disorder (diagnosed during the 6 months prior to their first SARS-CoV-2 test) was matched by age, gender and Charlson Comorbidity Index with up to four people without mental disorders. SARS-CoV-2-positivity risk and the risk of death or severe events (intensive care unit admission, use of mechanical ventilation and acute respiratory distress syndrome) post-infection were calculated using conditional logistic regression analysis.

Among 230 565 people tested for SARS-CoV-2, 33 653 (14.6%) had mental disorders; 928/33 653 (2.76%) tested SARS-CoV-2 positive and 56/928 (6.03%) died. In multivariable analysis using the matched cohort, there was no association between mental disorders and SARS-CoV-2-positivity risk (odds ratio OR = 0.95; 95% CI 0.87–1.04); however, a higher risk was associated with schizophrenia-related disorders (OR = 1.50; 95% CI 1.14–1.99). Among confirmed COVID-19 patients, the mortality risk was significantly higher in patients with than in those without mental disorders (OR = 1.99, 95% CI 1.15–3.43).

Mental disorders are likely contributing factors to mortality following COVID-19. Although the infection risk was not higher for people with mental disorders overall, those with schizophrenia-related disorders were more vulnerable to infection.

None.

Previous studies in schizophrenia revealed abnormalities in the cortico-cerebellar-thalamo-cortical circuit (CCTCC) pathway, suggesting the necessity for defining thalamic subdivisions in understanding alterations of brain connectivity.

To parcellate the thalamus into several subdivisions using a data-driven method, and to evaluate the role of each subdivision in the alterations of CCTCC functional connectivity in patients with schizophrenia.

There were 54 patients with schizophrenia and 42 healthy controls included in this study. First, the thalamic structural and functional connections computed, based on diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, white matter tractography) and resting-state functional MRI, were clustered to parcellate thalamus. Next, functional connectivity of each thalamus subdivision was investigated, and the alterations in thalamic functional connectivity for patients with schizophrenia were inspected.

Based on the data-driven parcellation method, six thalamic subdivisions were defined. Loss of connectivity was observed between several thalamic subdivisions (superior-anterior, ventromedial and dorsolateral part of the thalamus) and the sensorimotor system, anterior cingulate cortex and cerebellum in patients with schizophrenia. A gradual pattern of dysconnectivity was observed across the thalamic subdivisions. Additionally, the altered connectivity negatively correlated with symptom scores and duration of illness in individuals with schizophrenia.

The findings of the study revealed a wide range of thalamic functional dysconnectivity in the CCTCC pathway, increasing our understanding of the relationship between the CCTCC pathway and symptoms associated with schizophrenia, and further indicating a potential alteration pattern in the thalamic nuclei in people with schizophrenia.

None.