MedPage Today (6/21, George) reports, “Repetitive head-impact exposure in American tackle football was linked with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),” investigators concluded. After evaluating “data from 631 brain donors who played American tackle football for an average of 12.5 years, and who died at a mean age of 59.7 years,” the study team found that “cumulative repetitive head impacts were associated with CTE status, CTE severity, and pathologic burden…among brain donors who played football an average of 12.5 years.” The study also revealed, however, that “concussion counts alone were not associated with CTE risk.” The findings were published online in the journal Nature Communications.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HCPlive (6/21, Walter) reports, “Addressing alcohol consumption in late teen years could help reduce the risk of developing depression in young adulthood,” investigators concluded in a 3,902-adolescent study that examined “whether alcohol dependence, but not high frequency or quantity of consumption, during adolescence increased the risk of depression in young adulthood.” The study revealed “a positive association between alcohol dependence at 18 years (latent intercept) and depression at age 24 years,” but found “no association between the rate of change…and depression.” Additionally, after adjustments, there was “no evidence showing an association between alcohol consumption and depression.” The findings were published online June 1 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

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— “Reducing the Risk of Alcohol Use During Adolescents Drops Risk of Depression in Adulthood,”Kenny Walter, HCPlive, June 21, 2023

HealthDay (6/21, Mann) reports, “A growing number of states are legalizing marijuana for recreational use, and it may be leading to an unexpected side effect among millennials and Gen Xers: binge drinking,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health of people aged 12 and older from 2008 to 2019.” When the study team examined “binge drinking before and after recreational cannabis laws were put in place, they noted a 4.8% decrease in binge drinking among 12- to 20-year-olds, but increases in all other age groups: up 1.7% among 31- to 40-year-olds; 2.5% for those 41 to 50; and 1.8% for those aged 51 and older.” The findings were published online June 15 ahead of print in the August issue of the International Journal of Drug Policy.

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— “Legalizing Marijuana Tied to More Binge Drinking in Folks Over 30,”Denise Mann, HealthDay , June 21, 2023

Healio (6/20, Swain) reports, “Among patients who received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator” (ICD), “a diagnosis or clinically relevant symptoms consistent with anxiety, depression or PTSD were common, especially in the first year, researchers” concluded in the findings of a 109-study systematic review and meta-analysis encompassing 39,954 patients and published in the June issue of the journal Europace.

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— “Mood disorders common in first year after ICD implantation,” Erik Swain, Healio, June 20, 2023

According to Modern Healthcare (6/20, Tepper, Subscription Publication), although “the U.S. faces an ongoing mental health crisis in the aftermath of the illness, death, social disruption and economic hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic…chronic gaps persist in access to mental healthcare despite the enactment of major” mental health parity “laws meant to guarantee that health insurance covers these services.”

This year, “more than 20% of U.S. adults reported having mental illnesses…according a survey by the advocacy organization Mental Health America,” and “among those, 55% said they were unable to obtain treatment.” While “a shortage of mental and behavioral health practitioners is a significant part of the problem, as is a stigma against seeking care,” it still comes down to the fact that “health insurance coverage of mental healthcare doesn’t measure up to other forms of care, particularly when it comes to the size and variety of clinicians participating in provider networks.”

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— “Why insurers’ mental health coverage falls short,” Nona Tepper, Modern Healthcare, June 20, 2023

MedPage Today (6/20, Henderson) reports, “Most parents and caregivers said they supported mental health screening for their children in primary care settings, according to” the findings of “a multinational survey” published online June 20 in JAMA Network Open. The study revealed that “among over 900 parents and caregivers from the U.S., U.K., and Canada, as well as 16 other countries, 92.1% said they wanted their child screened for mental health issues at regular intervals.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

According to the Washington Post (6/20, Bever), primary care professionals may begin asking patients “about feelings of anxiety as part of a routine checkup, based on” a new recommendation statement from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published June 20 in JAMA. The USPSTF’s recommendations stem “from concerns about a burgeoning mental health crisis, with growing concerns about depression, anxiety and suicide.” The task force’s “new guidelines state that asymptomatic adults ages 19 through 64, including those who are pregnant and postpartum, should be screened for anxiety disorders, using questionnaires and other screening tools.” While “primary care physicians can prescribe medication,” in those “cases in which the severity of the illness becomes too complex for primary care physicians to manage with medication, a psychiatrist would take over medication management, said” Petros Levounis, MD, MA, President of the American Psychiatric Association.

NBC News (6/20, Edwards) reports, “This is the first time the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended routine mental health screening in primary care settings.” The task force’s “guidance may influence insurance company reimbursements, but” physicians “are not required to follow the group’s recommendations.” The USPSTF’s “recommendations are considered final,” however, “and mirror draft guidance on the topic was released last fall.”

According to Psychiatric News (6/20), Murray B. Stein, MD, MPH, and Linda L. Hill, MD, MPH, both of the University of California, San Diego, wrote an accompanying editorial in which they observed, “The uptake of these new anxiety screening recommendations should provide an impetus and an opportunity for primary care clinicians to become more comfortable with diagnosing and treating anxiety disorders, which may require additional training.”

Also covering the story are MedPage Today (6/20, DePeau-Wilson), Healio (6/20, Bascom), HealthDay(6/20, Gotkine), and HCPlive (6/20, Walter).

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— “All adults under 65 should be screened for anxiety, health panel says,” Erika Edwards, NBC News, June 20, 2023

CNN (6/19, LaMotte) reports a study suggests that “people with alcohol use disorder…were significantly impaired on cognitive and motor tests up to three hours after downing an alcoholic drink designed to mimic their typical habits.” The research appears to dispel the “popular perception that experienced drinkers can handle their liquor.” The findings were published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.

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— “Heavy drinkers really don’t ‘handle their liquor,’ study says,” Sandee LaMotte, CNN, June 19, 2023

Psychiatric News (6/16) reported, “The first two years of oral contraceptive use may raise the risk of depression in women and adolescents compared with their peers who have never used oral contraceptives,” investigators concluded after having “analyzed data from 264,557 women from the UK Biobank.” The study revealed that women “who used oral contraceptives had a 79% increased risk of depression during their first two years of oral contraceptive use compared with their peers who had never used oral contraceptives,” while “adolescents – those who began using oral contraceptives at or before the age of 20 years – had a 95% increased risk of depression during their first two years of oral contraceptive use compared with their peers who had never used oral contraceptives.” The findings were published online June 12 in the journal Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences.

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— “Depression Risk May Rise During First Two Years of Oral Contraceptive Use,” Psychiatric News, June 16, 2023

ABC News (6/19, Cahan) reports, “Since its launch in July 2022, the new” nationwide 988 suicide hotline has “fielded over two million calls from people in crisis – 45% more than the 10-digit hotline over the same period in the previous year, according to data from Vibrant Emotional Health, the organization appointed by the federal government to oversee the line.” Now, nearly “one year after the crisis line’s rollout – and after nearly one billion dollars of federal investment – the majority of states are still struggling to ensure that their citizens’ calls get answered locally.” While “unanswered calls roll over to national backup centers…federal officials acknowledge these centers are generally less equipped to provide the local services callers may need.”

Related Links:

— “New national suicide lifeline struggling to keep up with volume, advocates say,” Eli Cahan, ABC News, June 19 , 2023