Healio (7/2, Gramigna) reported, “Sleep problems during early childhood may be associated with the onset of psychosis and borderline personality disorder, or BPD, in adolescence,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data of 13,488 participants of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children birth cohort who had data available for more than 13 years.” The findings of the “cohort study” were published online June 30 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Childhood sleep problems linked to adolescent psychosis, borderline personality disorder, “Joe Gramigna , Healio, July 2, 2020

HealthDay (7/3, Preidt) reported, “Having multiple surgeries for cleft lip and palate doesn’t appear to have a major impact on children’s mental health,” investigators concluded. The 55-teen study, however, did reveal there could be “one three-year period” between ages eight to ten “that ups the odds for anxiety and depression.” The findings were published in the July issue of the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Related Links:

— “Multiple Surgeries for Cleft Lip, Palate Won’t Cause Major Psychological Damage, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 3, 2020

The Washington Post (7/1, Wan, Long) reports, “Nationwide, federal and local officials are reporting alarming spikes in drug overdoses – a hidden epidemic within the coronavirus pandemic.” Now, “emerging evidence suggests that the continued isolation, economic devastation and disruptions to the drug trade in recent months are fueling the surge.” Due to “how slowly the government collects data, it could be five to six months before definitive numbers exist on the change in overdoses during the pandemic,” but the “data obtained by The Washington Post from a real-time tracker of drug-related emergency calls and interviews with coroners suggest that overdoses have not just increased since the pandemic began but are accelerating as it persists.” Recently, “the American Medical Association…issued a warning, citing reports from officials in 34 states of rising overdoses and the increased spread of…synthetic drugs.”

Related Links:

— “‘Cries for help’: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic, ”
William Wan and Heather Long, The Washington Post, July 1, 2020

PatientEngagementHIT (7/1, Heath) reports a survey of 1,000 patients conducted by Wakefield Research shows that “nearly three-quarters of patients accessed their first-ever telehealth visit during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and most of them [75%] reported high patient satisfaction with the experience.” Of those who accessed telehealth, 41% used it “for a wellness visit and 30 percent for chronic disease management,” while 20% used it for “acute care needs or mental health” and 14% used it “to check in on COVID-19 symptoms.” In addition, the survey shows that “patients expect telehealth to become a standard part of healthcare,” and 50% “would be willing to switch healthcare providers if it meant they would be able to continue accessing telehealth regularly.” Furthermore, 21% said they would use it “on a limited basis even if their insurance did not cover it, while 28 percent said they would whenever possible.”

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Patient Satisfaction High, Paves Path for Future Access, “Sara Heath, PatientEngagementHIT, July 1, 2020

Medscape (7/1, Davenport, Subscription Publication) reports, “Community-based services that tap into local environments not only reduce the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) but also provide improved long-term outcomes for patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP),” investigators concluded in two studies. In one study, researchers “developed a program to reduce DUP to complement their first-episode service,” finding that they were “able to nearly halve the time from diagnosis to initiation of antipsychotic treatment.” The second study, which included more than 400 patients with FEP, found that early intervention services “significantly improved both symptoms and quality of life and reduced inpatient days in comparison with standard care.” The findings of both studies were scheduled for presentation “at the Congress of the Schizophrenia International Research Society…2020, but the meeting was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.”

Related Links:

— “Community Programs Improve Psychosis Outcomes, “Liam Davenport, Medscape, July 1, 2020