HealthDay (2/14, Miller) reports, “When bullies destroy a young victim’s trust, mental health problems are likely to follow them into adulthood, a new study warns.” Investigators “looked at data from 10,000 children in the U.K. who were followed for nearly 20 years.” The “researchers found that kids who were bullied at age 11 and then became distrustful by age 14 were roughly 3.5 times more likely to have mental health problems by age 17 than those who were more trusting.” The research was published in Nature Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “Being Bullied in Childhood More Than Triples Risk of Mental Health Struggles Later,”Carole Tanzer Miller, HealthDay, February 14, 2024

HCP Live (2/13, Derman) reports, “Video and phone telehealth appointments, non-English speakers, older adults > 75 years old, and patients on Medicaid were less likely to have depression screenings during” the COVID-19 pandemic “than in-person visits, English speakers, patients aged 18 – 30 years, and patients with private insurance, a new study found.” This study, which “examined 57,301 eligible visits with 37,250 patients,” was published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Depression Screening Rates during COVID-19 Low Among Telehealth Appointments,”Chelsie Derman, HCP Live , February 13, 2024

Healio (2/13, Rhoades) reports, “A greater daily intake of sugar in people’s diets was associated with a higher prevalence of depression, according to a study.” Investigators “found that, after adjusting for several confounders, a 100 g per day increase in sugar was associated with a 28% higher prevalence of depression.” The researchers also found that “compared with participants in the first quartile of daily sugar intake — meaning, those who consumed the least amount of sugar each day — participants in the fourth quartile had an OR of 1.33…for depression.” The findings were published in BMC Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Study: High daily sugar intake increases risk for depression,”Andrew (Drew) Rhoades, Healio, February 13, 2024

NBC News (2/13, Bendix ) reports that a study “suggests that familiar scents could help unlock” specific memories in people with depression. Investigators found that “people with depression recalled more specific memories when they were exposed to familiar scents — such as ground coffee or tobacco — than when they heard words that corresponded to those smells, such as ‘coffee’ or ‘cigarette.’” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Familiar scents unlock memories in people with depression. Could ‘smell therapy’ help patients?,”Aria Bendix, NBC News, February 13, 2024

Healthcare Finance News (2/12, Lagasse ) reports, “The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through its Office for Civil Rights and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), has finalized modifications to the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records regulations, which protect the privacy of patients’ SUD treatment records.” In particular, “the final rule increases coordination among [healthcare professionals] treating patients for SUDs, strengthens confidentiality protections through civil enforcement, and enhances the integration of behavioral health information with other medical records to improve patient health outcomes.”

Related Links:

— “HHS seeks to enhance care for substance use disorder,”Jeff Lagasse, Healthcare Finance News, February 12, 2024