Ambulances meant for people having a mental health crisis could help folks get the care they need with less confrontation and friction, a new study says.

People transported to the hospital by a "psychiatric ambulance"required fewer restraints or coercive ...

Severe mental illness can contribute to a decline in a person's physical health, with many chronic conditions slowly eroding their wellness, a new review finds.

People with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are more than twice as likely to have multiple chronic health problems such as heart di...

Two-thirds of homeless people are experiencing some form of mental health disorder, a large, new review of data on the subject.

The analysis found that men who are homeless are more likely to be battling mental illness than women, although rates were high for both genders compared to the general population.

There are signs that rates of mental illness may be on the rise among homele...

Overuse of marijuana is increasingly being linked to dangerous bouts of psychosis, and a new study finds that antipsychotics may be needed to keep such patients out of the hospital.

Psychotic episodes involve a dangerous psychiatric state in which people lose their c...

Specialized brain scans may accurately predict whether a psychotic patient will go on to develop treatment-resistant schizophrenia, Dutch researchers report.

The scan -- called a neuromelanin-sensitive MRI, or NM-MRI for short -- zeroes in on a brain pigment called neuromelanin. This pigment c...

When it comes to giving at-risk Americans access to the mental health services they need, prevention is far better than detention, new research confirms.

However, a majority of the 950 U.S. counties surveyed in the report do not offer access to the types of mental health and substance use disorder services that can save communities money and prevent incarceration.

"Most co...

Researchers say they have developed a blood test for schizophrenia.

More than 3 million people in the United States have schizophrenia, a disorder marked by hallucinations and delusions, or a related psychotic illness. 

The new test, which is expected to be available later this year from MindX Sciences, identifies markers in the blood that objectively measure a person's risk fo...

For people with schizophrenia hospitalized after a psychotic episode, getting a long-acting antipsychotic injection works far better than pills to keep them from returning to hospital care.

That's the finding of a new study from researchers at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

They found that injected antipsychotic meds -- which provide continuous treatment from two weeks up...

Severe inflammation very early in childhood might hamper the development of key brain cells, perhaps setting the stage for conditions such as autism or schizophrenia, new research suggests.

The origins of many neurodevelopment disorders remain mysterious. But the new study of postmortem brain tissue from children who died between the ages 1 and 5 shows how inflammation affects brain cells...

It's commonly thought that having a companion animal -- be it a dog, cat or bird -- is good for the owner's mental health.

A new study suggests that's not so, at least for people with severe mental illness and for pets that aren't trained therapy animals. Pets may, however, be an important part of the social network for folks with severe mental illness.

Having pets was not significa...

The use of antipsychotic medication in children is continuing to plummet, likely because of better policies and education, new research shows.

The study found a 43% drop in antipsychotic prescriptions for Medicaid-enrolled children in 45 states, a stark contrast from the sharp rise in the 2000s.

"The decline we observed likely reflects the convergence of multiple state safer-use pol...

A subset of people may be at high risk for both psychiatric disorders and for using marijuana, based on their genetics, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Oslo in Norway have found that some of the genetic variants associated with cannabis use are also linked to psychiatric disorders.

"These findings are important as they show that the complex links betwee...

Marijuana appears to significantly increase young men's risk of developing schizophrenia, a new study suggests.

Up to 30% of schizophrenia cases among men aged 21 to 30 are related to heavy and problematic use of marijuana, according to the findings.

The researchers also found a tripled overall risk of schizophrenia linked to cannabis use in young men compared to women: Around 15% o...

Consistently good sleep is important for everyone, but it is particularly important for patients with schizophrenia, a new study suggests.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, along with collaborators in Italy, used wrist monitors to measure activity and rest in 250 people, including 150 patients with schizophrenia, in both outpatient settings and in psychiatric hospitals.

One group of Americans drinks more caffeinated beverages than all others.

That's people who smoke cigarettes and also have serious mental illness, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, according to new research.

While Americans overall are drinking more caffeinated beverages than ever, this group consumes the highest amount and also has the highest risk of negative health ...

More than 70 genes are very strongly associated with autism and more than 250 are linked to the condition, a major new genetic analysis has revealed.

The analysis is the largest of its kind to date, involving more than 150,000 participants, including 20,000 diagnosed with autism.

The researchers found t...

Amid a stark shortage of psychiatric beds that only worsened for millions suffering from mental illnesses during the pandemic, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is rolling out a new model that can help communities determine exactly how many beds they need.

Having enough in-patient beds would cut down on overcrowding in emergency departments and early release from needed care, the...

Many people who get a diagnosis for one mental illness may find they have additional psychiatric conditions, and new genetic research offers an explanation why.

A number of mental illnesses share genetic similarities, researchers found. This discovery helps explain why multiple conditions are common among people with psychiatric disorders, the investigators pointed out in a new study.

People with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other severe mental illnesses are at increased risk of death from heart problems, a large research review finds.

"Our systematic review and meta-analysis of over 100 studies has confirmed a strong association between severe mental illness and cardiovascular disease which became stronger in the 1990s and 2000s," said study author Amanda Lambe...

People with substance abuse disorders, depression and other mental health conditions may be at higher risk for COVID-19 -- even when they are fully vaccinated, new research suggests.

"Individuals with psychiatric disorders, and especially older adults with psychiatric disorders, may be particularly vulnerable to breakthrough infections," said study author Kristen Nishimi, a postdoctoral f...

The future of diagnosing and targeting treatments for serious mental health disorders may include MRI brain scans.

Researchers in the United Kingdom found that brain scans enabled them to identify which patients with major depression or