According to Psychiatric News (1/14), the FDA “has issued a Drug Safety Communication [PDF] about dental problems associated with the use of buprenorphine products that dissolve in the mouth (transmucosal) and is requiring that a new warning about the risk of dental problems be added to the prescribing information and patient medication guides for these products.” Among these dental problems are “tooth decay, cavities, dental abscesses/infection, tooth erosion, or tooth loss.”

Related Links:

— “FDA Issues Warning About Dental Risk With Transmucosal Buprenorphine, Psychiatric News, January 14, 2022

Reuters (1/14, Goldberg) reported, “In just six months, 988 goes live as the shortcut to call or text the U.S. suicide hotline at a time when the pandemic is ramping up the need for mental health services,” however, “many states are lagging on the rollout, and some were struggling to cope with pleas for help even before the three-digit number was envisioned.”

Related Links:

— “U.S. suicide hotline 988 is set to go live, but many states may not be ready “Barbara Goldberg, Reuters, January 14, 2022

The New York Times (1/13, Ghorayshi) reports, “Clinicians are divided over new” draft guidelines saying that transgender “teens should undergo mental health screenings before receiving hormones or gender surgeries.” This comes as “an upsurge in teenagers requesting hormones or surgeries to better align their bodies with their gender identities has ignited a debate among” physicians and other healthcare professionals “over when to provide these treatments.” In the new 350-page guidelines, a “chapter dedicated to adolescents says that they must undergo mental health assessments and must have questioned their gender identity for ‘several years’ before receiving” surgeries or medications, a stance that has divided “experts in transgender health” and reflects “a fraught debate over how to weigh conflicting risks for young people, who typically can’t give full legal consent until they are 18 and who may be in emotional distress or more vulnerable to peer influence than adults are.”

Related Links:

— “Doctors Debate Whether Trans Teens Need Therapy Before Hormones “Azeen Ghorayshi, The New York Times, January 13, 2022

Healio (1/13, Herpen) reports, “The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a drop in hospitalization for self-harm or overdose in adolescents and young adults compared to the two years before,” researchers concluded after culling “information from 1,690,733 young persons born between 1990 and 2006, in Ontario, Canada, aged 14 to 24 years between March 1, 2018, and June 30. 2021,” then breaking down data by frequency of emergency department “visits or hospitalizations due to either self-harm or overdose.” The findings were published online Jan. 12 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Hospitalization for self-harm, overdose lower during start of pandemic vs. before “Robert Herpen, Healio, January 13, 2022

Healio (1/12, Marabito) reports, “Opioid overdose deaths among older adults increased significantly from 1999 to 2019, especially among non-Hispanic Black men,” investigators concluded in a “longitudinal cross-sectional study” that “examined data on opioid overdose deaths among adults aged 55 years and older from the CDC’s Multiple Cause of Death database.” The findings of the 79,893-adult study were published online Jan. 11 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Opioid overdose deaths increased drastically among older Black men over a decade “Maria Marabito, Healio, January 12, 2022

According to HCPlive (1/12, Walter), an 85,490-participant study “examined the genetic architecture of treatment resistant schizophrenia (TRS) through the reassessment of genetic data from schizophrenia studies and its validation in ascertained clinical samples.” The study revealed that “treatment resistance is generally a polygenic trait with detectable heritability of 1-4%,” and there also appears to be “a positive association between TRS and a history of taking clozapine.” The findings were published online Jan. 12 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Genetic Data Explains Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, January 12, 2022

The New York Times (1/12, Dodge) delves into whether “neurofeedback, a therapy some say can improve our attention, moods, sleeping habits and even our athletic ability by measuring brain activity and showing it to us – either on a screen or through headphones – in real time,” is effective. Currently, “neurofeedback is still not accepted as a mainstream treatment within mental health circles – and the most robust research into the intervention so far suggests it is no more effective than a placebo.” While neurofeedback is safe and has no side effects, it often is not covered by insurance and may serve to delay patients from an accepted therapy that can “actually work.”

Related Links:

— “Can Monitoring Brain Waves Boost Mental Health? “David Dodge, The New York Times, January 12, 2022

According to USA Today (1/11, Yasharoff), a “report from Truth Initiative, an anti-smoking group, says that watching some of the year’s biggest TV shows, movies and music videos…exposed young people to frequent scenes of smoking and vaping imagery.” The report on streaming in 2020 “estimates that 27 million young people were exposed to smoking and vaping imagery…from streaming shows alone.” In addition, the report found that over 60% “of the most popular binge-watched shows among 15- to 24-year-olds featured depictions of tobacco use.”

Related Links:

— “Exclusive: Study finds tobacco imagery persists in TV, movies and music videos viewed by young audiences “Hannah Yasharoff, USA TODAY, January 11, 2022

HealthDay (1/11, Roberts Murez) reports “previous shifts from in-person to remote or hybrid learning…during the COVID-19 pandemic have posed challenges for kids that have caused them to act out, according to” study findings published in JAMA Pediatrics. Researchers conducted “four surveys of 405 parents” on “their child’s general behavioral health, including a number of ‘maladaptive’ behaviors, including aggression or withdrawal.” According to the parents, “compared to when they were in school, kids showed more of these unwanted behaviors while learning remotely – and their general behavior was worse overall.”

Related Links:

— “Kids’ Behavior Worsened With Remote Learning: Study “Cara Murez, HealthDay , January 11, 2022