“They are less likely to commit any kind of crime than anyone else,” said Dr. Catherine Lord. Studies have established no conclusive link between autism and violent acts.
“You don’t expect to see a sudden change in mental status,” said Dr. Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele, referring to people with autism. “When it happens, it means there’s something else going on.”
"OCD is characterized by the presence of obsessions, compulsions, or both," says Dr. Erin Engle. It's those intrusive thoughts that spur tell-tale OCD behaviors like repeated hand washing.
"While the dropping numbers of American smokers is something to be celebrated, the percentage of smokers who have a mental health issue is on the rise," writes Dr. Ardesheer Talati.
Lower diagnosis rates for Hispanic children and girls might be partly explained by cultural biases and not necessarily a lower risk of autism for these children, said Dr. Jeremy Veenstra-VanderWeele.
Dr. Jonathan Stewart, who is currently running a wake therapy trial, only keeps patients awake for one night. “I couldn’t see a lot of people agreeing to stay in hospital for three nights," he said.
Dr. Drew Ramsey suggests using a sleep app to monitor how much or how little sleep you're getting. “When you see the digital data, it helps people enact behavioral change,” he says.
"Several mental illnesses have at least some genetic component," Dr. Ravi Shah said. "Broadly speaking, family history of mental illness raises the risk of mental illness in patients on average."
