Sociodemographic Factors Associated with Suicide Outcomes in Transgender and Gender Diverse Young Adults.

OBJECTIVE: Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) populations have a higher prevalence of suicide outcomes compared to cisgender peers. Further, among TGD groups, young adults frequently demonstrate a higher risk compared to other age cohorts. While evidence supports sociodemographic differences in suicide risk, these relationships are not well-established for TGD young adults. METHOD: A secondary data analysis of the young adult (18-24 years) subpopulation of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey was conducted. Predicted probabilities of 12-month and lifetime suicide outcomes by gender identity, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, homelessness, and poverty were estimated comparing fully adjusted models. RESULTS: Gender identity, race/ethnicity, and homelessness were significantly associated with all suicide outcomes. Comparisons of gender identities were significant for all outcomes and varied based on the outcome. American Indian/Alaska Native TGD young adults had the highest predicted probabilities compared to other race/ethnicity groups. Further, having a heterosexual/straight sexual identity was among the lowest predicted probabilities for suicide outcomes and significantly differed from several of the other sexual identities. CONCLUSIONS: Findings underscore the importance of heterogeneity among TGD young adults and the need for intersectional research within this population. Elucidating sociodemographic characteristics that contribute to differential suicide risk is necessary for effective intervention strategies and policy advocacy.

Screening, triage, and referral of patients who report suicidal thought during a primary care visit.

OBJECTIVE: Suicidal youths are rarely identified in primary care settings. We describe here a care process that includes a computerized screen, colocated social workers, and a coordinated suicide-prevention team at a specialty mental health unit. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were 1547 youths aged 11 to 20 years seen in an urban primary care system during 2005 and 2006. We performed an observational study of services provided to youths who screened positive for suicidal ideation on a computerized behavioral health screen during visits to pediatric primary care clinics. Data included clinical records, provider notes, and patients' responses to the screen. RESULTS: A total of 209 (14%) youths reported suicidal thought in the previous month. Suicidal thought was more common among girls, younger youths, substance users, depressed youths, youths who carried weapons, and those who had been in fights; 87% reported at least 1 other serious behavioral health problem. Social workers were able to triage 205 (98%) youths. Triage occurred on the visit day for 193 youths (94%). Mental health evaluations were recommended for 152 (74%) of the triaged youths. Of the 109 subjects referred to a clinic with records accessible for review, 71 (65%) received a mental health service within 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric primary care is a feasible setting in which to screen for suicidal youths and link them with mental health services. Youths who visit primary care clinics are willing to disclose suicidal ideation on a computerized screen. Youths who screen positive for suicide have many associated behavioral health needs. The use of information technology, colocated physician extenders, and a coordinated team on the mental health side can facilitate rapid, personal contact between the family and mental health service providers, and has the potential to overcome barriers to care for youths with suicidal ideation in the primary care setting.

Physical and emotional health of mothers of youth with functional abdominal pain.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if mothers of youth with functional abdominal pain (FAP) experience more anxiety, depressive, and somatic symptoms and disorders than mothers of unaffected children. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Four primary care pediatric practices in western Pennsylvania. PARTICIPANTS: Mothers of 8- to 15-year-old children and adolescents presenting with FAP (59 cases) or for routine care in the absence of recurrent pain (76 controls). OUTCOME MEASURES: Questionnaires and blinded interviews assessing anxiety, depressive, and somatic symptoms and disorders; quality of life; and service use. RESULTS: On univariate analyses, mothers of FAP cases were significantly more likely than mothers of controls to have a lifetime history of irritable bowel syndrome (odds ratio [OR], 3.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5-10.3), migraine (OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.1-5.3), and anxiety (OR, 4.8; 95% CI, 2.2-10.6), depressive (OR, 4.9; 95% CI, 2.2-11.0), and somatoform (OR, 16.1; 95% CI, 2.0-129.8) disorders than mothers of controls, and current anxiety, depressive, and somatic symptoms, poorer overall quality of life, and greater use of ambulatory health, but not mental health, services. Multivariate logistic regression found pediatric FAP to be most closely associated with maternal history of anxiety and depression (adjusted OR, 6.1; 95% CI, 1.8-20.8). CONCLUSIONS: Functional abdominal pain may be better conceptualized as a disorder of emotion than a narrowly defined disorder of gastrointestinal function. Low rates of mental health service use by mothers of youth with FAP suggest that family health and illness attitudes deserve study.

Citalopram treatment of pediatric recurrent abdominal pain and comorbid internalizing disorders: an exploratory study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the potential efficacy, tolerability, and safety of citalopram in the treatment of functional pediatric recurrent abdominal pain and comorbid internalizing disorders. METHOD: Twenty-five clinically referred children and adolescents with recurrent abdominal pain aged 7 to 18 years, inclusive, participated in a 12-week, flexible-dose, open-label trial of citalopram. Primary outcome measure was the Clinical Global Impression Scale-Improvement, with responders defined by ratings of 1 (very much improved) or 2 (much improved). Secondary measures included self- and parent reports of abdominal pain, anxiety, depression, other somatic symptoms, and functional impairment. Side effects were assessed using a standardized checklist. Data were analyzed using an intent-to-treat format and the last observation carried forward procedure. RESULTS: Twenty-one subjects (84%) were classified as responders (Clinical Global Impression Scale-Improvement score < or =2). Citalopram was generally well tolerated. Four subjects withdrew prematurely, one due to reported visual side effects. Ratings of abdominal pain, anxiety, depression, other somatic symptoms, and functional impairment all improved significantly over the course of the study compared with baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Citalopram is a promising treatment for functional pediatric recurrent abdominal pain and deserves additional study with a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Phenomenology of panic disorder in youth.

We compared the demographic and clinical characteristics of youth with panic disorder (PD) (n=42), non-panic anxiety (n=407), and non-anxiety psychiatric disorders (n=1,576). Subjects were recruited from a mood and anxiety disorders clinic and assessed with the KSADS-P. In this large clinical sample, approximately 2% of the patients had PD. Most of these patients were adolescent, female, and Caucasian. PD was associated frequently with comorbid bipolar disorder, MDD, and other anxiety conditions, in particular general anxiety and separation anxiety disorders. Palpitations, chest pain, faintness, and trembling/shaking were the most frequent PD symptoms. In comparison with the other groups, youths with PD were significantly slightly older, Caucasian, and have more comorbid bipolar disorder. Subjects with both panic and non-panic anxiety disorders were more likely to have comorbid major depression and conduct disorders than those with other non-anxiety disorders.

Recurrent abdominal pain, anxiety, and depression in primary care.

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of psychiatric disorder in children and adolescents with functional recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) is unknown. Our aim was to determine whether RAP is associated with psychiatric symptoms and disorders, anxious temperament, and functional impairment in pediatric primary care. METHODS: Children and adolescents who were 8 to 15 years of age, inclusive, and presented with RAP (N = 42) or for routine care in the absence of recurrent pain (N = 38) were identified by a screening procedure in pediatric primary care office waiting rooms and recruited to participate in a case-control study. Outcome measures were psychiatric diagnoses generated by standardized psychiatric interview administered blind to subject status and self, parent, and clinician ratings of child psychiatric symptoms, temperamental traits, and functional status. RESULTS: RAP patients were significantly more likely to receive a diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder, with a categorical anxiety disorder in 33 (79%) and a depressive disorder in 18 patients (43%), and higher levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms, temperamental harm avoidance, and functional impairment than control subjects. Anxiety disorders (mean age of onset: 6.25 [standard deviation: 2.17] years) were significantly more likely to precede RAP (mean age of onset: 9.17 [standard deviation: 2.75] years) in patients with associated anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: Youths who present with RAP in primary care deserve careful assessment for anxiety and depressive disorders. Future studies should examine treatments that are proved to be efficacious for pediatric anxiety and/or depressive disorders as potential interventions for RAP. Longitudinal, family, and psychobiological studies are needed to illuminate the nature of observed associations among RAP, anxiety, and depression.

Is bipolar disorder specifically associated with panic disorder in youths?

OBJECTIVE: To replicate previous findings of high rates of bipolar disorder (BPD) in patients with panic disorder (PD) and determine if youths with both PD and BPD have more severe illness. METHOD: 2025 youths aged 5 to 19 years seen at a mood and anxiety specialty clinic were assessed using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Aged Children-Present Episode, 4th Revision. Diagnoses were made using DSM-III and DSM-III-R criteria and then updated to conform to DSM-IV criteria. Patients were grouped into those with PD (N = 42), those with non-PD anxiety disorders (N = 407), and psychiatric controls with no anxiety diagnosis (N = 1576). RESULTS: Youths with PD were more likely to exhibit comorbid BPD (N = 8, 19.0%) than youths with either non-PD anxiety disorders (N = 22, 5.4%) or other nonanxious psychiatric disorders (N = 112, 7.1%). The symptoms of PD and mania were not affected by the comorbidity between PD and BPD. Youths with both PD and BPD had more psychotic symptoms and suicidal ideation than patients with PD and other non-bipolar psychiatric disorders and BPD patients with other nonanxious comorbid disorders. CONCLUSION: The presence of either PD or BPD in youths made the co-occurrence of the other condition more likely, as has been noted in adults. Patients with both PD and BPD are more likely to have psychotic symptoms and suicidal ideation. In treating youths with PD, clinicians must be vigilant for possible comorbid BPD or risk of pharmacologic triggering of a manic or hypomanic episode. Prospective studies are needed to learn if PD predicts the onset of BPD in children and adolescents.