NBC News (2/8, Edwards ) reports, “Teenagers with suspected substance use problems say they turn to drugs because of a crushing need to relax and escape worries, according to research published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” These results “follow reports of rising anxiety and depression among the nation’s youth, including unprecedented levels of hopelessness.”

CNN (2/8, McPhillips ) reports, “The most common reason that teens said they turned to drugs and alcohol was to feel mellow, calm or relaxed, with nearly three-quarters citing this reason.” But “many other top reasons were related to methods to cope with stress, with 44% saying they use substances to stop worrying about a problem or forget bad memories and 40% said they use substances to help with depression or anxiety.”

Related Links:

— “CDC report finds teens use drugs — often alone — to ease stress and anxiety,”Erika Edwards, NBC News, February 8, 2024

HealthDay (2/8, Thompson ) reports, “Reducing homelessness by 25% could save nearly 2,000 lives lost each year to opioid overdoses, a new study estimates.” Additionally, it “could save 850 lives from alcohol poisoning and 540 from cocaine overdoses, researchers from the University of Georgia estimate.” The results were published in Health Affairs.

Related Links:

— “Cutting U.S. Homelessness by 25% Could Prevent 2,000 Opioid Deaths Each Year,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, February 8, 2024

Healio (2/8, Weldon) reports, “Children living with parents with mental illness were four times as likely to be placed in out-of-home care than their peers, according to findings from a Swedish study published in Pediatrics.” In the study, researchers “found that children living with mentally ill parents were four times as likely to be placed in OHC than children who were not. The groups most at-risk were children aged 0 to 1 year, children exposed to maternal illness and children exposed to parental intellectual disability.”

Related Links:

— “Children living with parental mental illness more likely to be placed in out-of-home care,”Rose Weldon, Healio, February 8, 2024

Psychiatric News (2/8) reports, “On February 2, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration issued a final rule that permanently allows patients to begin treatment with buprenorphine via telehealth.” The new “rule also allows for increased flexibility related to methadone take-home doses, reducing the number of times patients must visit clinics.” APA had advocated for both provisions “to be included in the final rule, arguing that they would improve access to care while reducing stigma and disruptions to patients’ daily lives.” The new “rule goes into effect on April 2, with a compliance deadline of October 2.”

Related Links:

— “Federal Government Makes Telehealth Buprenorphine Prescribing Permanent, Psychiatric News, February 8, 2024

Healio (2/7, Welsh) reports, “Maternity leave duration has a strong positive association with breastfeeding duration for new mothers with disparities observed among different racial/ethnic groups, according to findings published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.” In the systematic review of 23 studies, “all non-review studies found a positive association between increased maternity leave and breastfeeding duration, and 95.2% of studies found a statistically significant relationship between the two variables.”

Related Links:

— “Parents with shorter maternity leave quit breastfeeding sooner,”Erin T. Welsh, Healio, February 7, 2024

Healio (2/7, Weldon) reports, “Around 20% of U.S. child passenger deaths in auto accidents from 1982 through 2020 involved an alcohol-impaired driver – typically the child’s own driver, according to a study” published in Pediatrics. Researchers found that “of the 7,944 child passengers who died in motor vehicle crashes from 2011 to 2020, 22% died in crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver with a BAC of 0.08 g/dL or greater. In this subgroup, 64% died while riding in the same vehicle as an impaired driver. Additionally, 69% of impaired drivers survived the crash that killed their child passenger.”

Related Links:

— “1 in 5 child deaths in auto accidents involves alcohol-impaired driver,”Rose Weldon, Healio, February 7, 2024

Psychiatric News (2/7) reports, “Community-dwelling children with schizotypal personality disorder may benefit from dietary supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, according to” research. Investigators found that “in the omega-3 only and omega-3 plus CBT groups, total schizotypy was reduced by 28.0% and 21.3%, respectively, by the end of treatment, and by 25.7% and 36.6%, respectively, at 3 months after treatment.” Meanwhile, “children in both groups showed greater improvement than children in the control group at 3 and 6 months, with the greatest improvements seen in children who reported higher omega-3 intake.” The findings on 290 children were published in Schizophrenia Bulletin.

Related Links:

— “Children With Schizotypal Personality Disorder May Benefit From Dietary Supplementation With Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Research Suggests, Psychiatric News, February 7, 2024

NBC News (2/6, Lovelace ) reports, “More than a year after the Food and Drug Administration announced a nationwide shortage of Adderall, doctors and patients say they are still struggling to get their hands on ADHD medications.” And “despite repeated promises from drugmakers that the supply crunches would be resolved soon, shortages persist and frustration is growing.” High demand, “coupled with drugmakers’ claim that they’re being restricted in how much they can make, has fueled a nationwide shortage, experts say.”

Related Links:

— “‘I’m fed up’: Frustrations grow as ADHD drug shortage continues,”Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, February 6, 2024

Psychiatric News (2/6) reports, “Black adults who have been exposed to gun violence at any point in their lives may have a higher risk of suicidal ideation, planning a suicide, or attempting a suicide, a study…has found.” More than 3,000 Black adults in the US were surveyed. Investigators found that “overall, 56% of participants reported being exposed to at least one type of gun violence, and 12% reported being exposed to at least three types of gun violence.” The researchers found that “participants who were exposed to one or two types of gun violence had 1.69 times the odds of reporting lifetime suicidal ideation, whereas those who were exposed to three or more types of gun violence had 2.27 times the odds of reporting lifetime suicidal ideation.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Exposure to Gun Violence Increases Risk of Suicidality in Black Adults, Psychiatric News, February 6, 2024

HCP Live (2/6, Derman) reports, “Lurasidone is linked to improving social functioning in patients with schizophrenia, a new study found.” The researchers “leveraged data from a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group 6-week JEWEL study which started in May 2016 and ended in November 2018, as well as a subsequent 12-week open-label extension study to evaluate longer-term changes.” The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Lurasidone Linked to Improving Social Functioning for Schizophrenia,”Chelsie Derman, HCP Live, February 6, 2024