Healio (10/14, Herpen) reported, “In older adults with dementia, Black patients were less likely to receive a diagnosis than white patients, with the difference increasing over three years following symptom onset,” investigators concluded after conducting “a retrospective cohort study utilizing survey data from the 1995 to 2016 Health and Retirement Study…linked with Medicare fee-for-service claims.” The findings of the 3,435-older adult study were published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Related Links:

— “Diagnosis gap widens from symptom onset between Black, white patients “Robert Herpen, Healio, October 14, 2022

MedPage Today (10/15, George) reported, “Signs of brain impairment appeared as early as nine years before people received a diagnosis for Alzheimer’s or other dementia-related diseases,” investigators concluded in a study that “assessed baseline cognitive and functional measures in 2,778 participants who subsequently developed Alzheimer’s, 2,370 who developed Parkinson’s, 211 who developed frontotemporal dementia,” 133 “who developed progressive supranuclear palsy,” 40 “who developed dementia with Lewy bodies,” and “73 who developed multiple system atrophy.” Next, the study team “compared these individuals against baseline data from 493,735 Biobank controls who were not diagnosed later with a neurodegenerative diagnosis.” The findings were published online in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (10/14, Herpen) reported, “Those who received psychiatric care through a telehealth platform saw a greater level of remission in suicidal ideation after 12 weeks compared with those who did not receive similar care,” investigators concluded after conducting “a longitudinal observational study” that “utilized patient records…to include 8,581 U.S.-based adults (8,366 in the treatment group and 215 in the control group) seeking treatment for depression, anxiety or both, between October 2018 and April 2021.” The findings were published in the September issue of the journal JMIR Formative Research.

Related Links:

— “Use of telehealth platform linked to higher remission rate of suicidal ideation “Robert Herpen, Healio, October 14, 2022

MedPage Today (10/12, Firth) reports “suicides jumped 29% among adolescents ages 15 to 19 during the pandemic compared with prior years, according to” a “new edition of America’s Health Rankings Health of Women and Children Report from the United Health Foundation” that “captures 121 health measures based on the most recently available public health data from 30 different sources.” In addition, the report “captured trends related to women’s health,” finding that “across the country, the share of women reporting ‘frequent mental distress’ rose from 17% in 2017-2018 to 19.4% in 2019-2020 – an increase of 14%, or more than 1.2 million women.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Reuters (10/12, Satija) reports that the FDA “said on Wednesday there was a shortage of Adderall [amphetamine and dextroamphetamine], a treatment for” patients with “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, following intermittent manufacturing delays at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.” While “other manufacturers continue to produce amphetamine mixed salts, but there is not sufficient supply to continue to meet U.S. market demand through those producers, the U.S. health regulator said.”

ABC News (10/12, Pezenik, Salzman, Egan) reports that “Dr. ​​Anish Dube from the American Psychiatric Association told ABC News” that “while stopping Adderall is generally not life-threatening, rebound symptoms, including inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity, may return and be distressing.”

Related Links:

— “U.S. FDA warns of ADHD drug Adderall shortage on Teva manufacturing delays ” Bhanvi Satija, Reuters, October 12, 2022

Medscape (10/11, Haelle, Subscription Publication) reports, “Opioids are the most common cause of fatal poisonings in young children, and their contribution to children’s deaths has been increasing, according to research” that “found that the proportion of deaths in U.S. children linked to opioids has doubled since the mid-2000s.” The study identified “731 child poisoning deaths” between 2005 and 2018 and found that “most of the deaths (61%) occurred in the child’s home, and in even more cases (71%) the child was being supervised when the poisoning occurred, most often by a parent (58.5%).” The findings were presented at the 2022 AAP National Conference & Exhibition.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Kaiser Health News (10/11, Bebinger) reports, “Hospitals typically employ all sorts of [healthcare professionals] who specialize in the heart, lungs, and kidneys.” However, “for patients with an addiction or a condition related to drug or alcohol use, few hospitals have a clinician – whether that be a physician, nurse, therapist, or social worker – who specializes in addiction medicine.” This “absence is striking at a time when overdose deaths in the U.S. have reached record highs, and research shows patients face an increased risk of fatal overdose in the days or weeks after being discharged from a hospital.”

Related Links:

— “Hospitals Have Been Slow to Bring On Addiction Specialists ” Martha Bebinger, Kaiser Health News, October 11, 2022

According to the New York Times (10/11, Pearson), on Oct. 11, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) “recommended for the first time that primary care” physicians “screen all children ages eight to 18 for anxiety, new guidance that highlights the ongoing mental health crisis among American youth.” Additionally, the USPSTF “reaffirmed its position that all adolescents ages 12 to 18 should be screened for depression.” By “making its recommendations, the task force hopes to reduce the number of children whose mental health conditions go undetected and untreated.”

Reuters (10/11, Steenhuysen) reports the task force’s recommendations “come at a time of rising rates of diagnosed mental health disorders among American young people.” It recommended “using screening questionnaires to identify children at risk, noting that studies show that children with such conditions benefit from treatment that may include cognitive behavioral therapy or psychotherapy.” The USPSTF, however, “found insufficient evidence to recommend routine screening of asymptomatic children or adolescents for suicide risk.”

HealthDay (10/11) provides links to the evidence report for depression, the final recommendation statement for depression, the evidence report for anxiety, and the final recommendation statement for anxiety, all of which are published in JAMA.

NBC News (10/11, Edwards) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “U.S. experts urge anxiety screening for children 8 and older “Julie Steenhuysen, Reuters, October 11, 2022

According to the AP (10/10, Khalil), the Pentagon is working “to confront spiraling suicide rates in the military ranks.” Earlier this year, “Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the creation of an independent committee to review the military’s mental health and suicide prevention programs.” DOD data indicate “suicides among active-duty service members increased by more than 40% between 2015 and 2020,” and in 2020 alone, “the numbers jumped by 15%.”

Related Links:

— “As suicides rise, US military seeks to address mental health “Ashraf Khalil, AP, October 10, 2022

Psychiatric News (10/7) reported, “Patients with first-episode psychosis [FEP] have a lower risk of work disability during periods when taking antipsychotics compared with periods not taking the medications,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 21,551-patient study published online Oct. 6 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Patients With FEP Appear To Have Lower Risk Of Work Disability During Periods When Taking Antipsychotics Compared With Periods Not Taking The Medications, Study Suggests, Psychiatric News, October 7, 2022