HCPlive (6/2, Walter) reported that researchers have found that “both Telehealth Collaborative Care and Telehealth Enhanced Referral programs enable psychiatrists and psychologists to treat patients effectively over a virtual setting.” The research included more than 1000 “adult patients who screened positive for posttraumatic stress disorder…and/or bipolar disorder from 24 primary care clinics without onsite psychiatrists or psychologists.” The findings were presented during the 2023 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Platforms Enable Psychiatrists to Best Treat Patients With Complex Disorders “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, June 2, 2023

Healio (6/2, Herpen) reported, “Telepsychiatry may be a safe and effective tool to treat bipolar disorder in adolescents and adults, but deeper research is needed, according to a poster at the American Society of Psychopharmacology annual meeting.” The “literature review of telemedical assistance for bipolar disorder found telepsychiatry effective to treat BD in adolescents and adults, but more research is needed, given the increase in utilization due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.”

Related Links:

— “Telepsychiatry effective for bipolar disorder, more research required “Robert Herpen, Healio, June 2, 2023

NBC News (6/2, Lovelace) said, “Women are more likely than men to skip, delay or take less medication than was prescribed because of cost, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday.” The conclusion stemmed from the CDC’s yearly National Health Interview Survey, which “found that in 2021, 9.2 million adults ages 18 to 64 – about 1 in 10 – reported skipping, delaying or using less medication than prescribed over the past year to save money.” Regarding “this nonadherence,” the percentage for women came out to 9.1% while the share for men came out to 7%.

Related Links:

— “Women more likely than men to skip or delay medications due to cost, CDC report finds,” Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, June 2, 2023

ABC News (6/3, Nissen) reported, “Amid the promising new data and enthusiasm of ketamine therapy, many of these clinics are now closing their doors due to financial concerns – leaving some patients unsure of their treatment options.” Physicians “who run ketamine clinics say that cash-only ketamine clinics face unique economic challenges.” While “patients pay cash, it may not always be enough to cover the extensive staffing and facility costs required to deliver high-quality care.”

Related Links:

— “Closures of ketamine clinics leave some patients scrambling for treatment,” Dr. Nicholas Nissen, ABC News, June 3, 2023

CNN (6/1, McPhillips) reports, “Millions of adults in the United States are not taking their medications as prescribed because of costs, according to a new report from the” CDC. CNN adds, “Most adults between the ages of 18 and 64 took at least one prescription medication in 2021.” However, “more than 8% of them – about 9.2 million people – said they tried to save money by skipping doses, taking less than prescribed or delaying a prescription fill, according to the CDC data.”

Related Links:

— “Drug costs lead millions in the US to not take medications as prescribed, according to CDC ” Deidre McPhillips, CNN, June 1, 2023

The New York Times (6/1, Ghorayshi) reports, “Studies of L.G.B.T.Q. people show they have high rates of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, factors that greatly increase the risk of suicide.” However, “because most death investigators do not collect data on sexuality or gender identity, no one knows how many gay and transgender people die by suicide each year in the” US. This “information vacuum makes it difficult to tailor suicide prevention efforts to meet the needs of the people most at risk, and to measure how well the programs work, researchers said.”

Related Links:

— “No One Knows How Many L.G.B.T.Q. Americans Die by Suicide “Azeen Ghorayshi, The New York Times, June 1, 2023

The Washington Post (5/31, Reynolds) reports, “Exercise can sharpen your thinking and keep your brain healthy as you age – even if you don’t start exercising until later in life,” investigators concluded in a study involving functional magnetic resonance imaging that “recruited 33 volunteers in their 70s and 80s, about half of whom were experiencing mild cognitive impairment, a loss of thinking skills that often precedes Alzheimer’s disease.” The study revealed that “previously sedentary 70- and 80-year-olds who started exercising, including some who had already experienced some cognitive decline, showed improvement in their brain function after workouts.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports.

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (5/31) reports, “Individuals who experience a myocardial infarction (heart attack) appear to have a faster cognitive decline over time than those who do not experience a myocardial infarction,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from six U.S. prospective cohort studies conducted from 1971 to 2019” that encompassed some 30,465 adults. The findings were published online May 30 in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Heart Attack Linked to Faster Cognitive Decline Over Time, Study Suggests, Psychiatric News, May 31, 2023

MedPage Today (5/31, George) reports, “An index of gliosis was linked with persistent neurocognitive symptoms after mild or moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection, a small case-control study showed.” Data show that when “compared with healthy controls, PET measures of translocator protein total distribution volume, a marker of gliosis,” were “elevated in people with ongoing cognitive and depressive symptoms after COVID-19.” The findings were published online May 31 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HCPlive (5/31, Walter) reports, “Patients with both systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are more likely to also have an issue with several substances including alcohol, tobacco, opioids, and cannabis,” investigators concluded in a study that “identified 743 patients with SLE and 37,623 patients with MDD.” In this particular “group, there were 317 patients with SLE that had comorbid MDD.” The findings were presented during the 2023 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

Related Links:

— “Substance Use Disorder Rates Higher in Patients With Comorbid SLE, Major Depressive Disorder “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, May 31, 2023