The New York Times (3/2, Newman, Fitzsimmons) reports, “In an effort to address one of New York City’s greatest challenges as the city recovers from the pandemic, Mayor Eric Adams announced a mental health agenda on Thursday that expands key services for people with severe mental illness.” His plan includes sending “medical professionals rather than police officers to respond to mental-health 911 calls” and investing in “clubhouses,” also known as community centers “for people with mental illness, who often suffer in isolation.” The centers “connect them with education and job opportunities and foster friendships,” among other things.

The New York Daily News (3/2, Gartland) reports, “New York City will triple the number of ‘clubhouses’ for people with severe mental health issues and create a new virtual mental health care service for teens under a new policy, Mayor Adams said Thursday.”

Related Links:

— “Street Teams and Clubhouses: A New Plan to Help Mentally Ill New Yorkers “Andy Newman and Emma G. Fitzsimmons, The New York Times, March 2, 2023

Healio (3/2, VanDewater) reports that among older veterans, “frailty was positively associated with risk for suicide attempts and negatively associated with risk for suicide death, according to data” from a study that “identified 2,858,876 veterans aged 65 years or older who received care from the Veterans Health Administration from October 2011 to September 2013.” An assessment of “31 frailty variables revealed the risk for suicide attempt was higher among veterans with lung disease…use of durable medical equipment and resources… chronic pain,” anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder, while the risk “was lower among veterans with no dementia diagnosis… incontinence… heart failure…and diagnosis of failure to thrive.” These results were published online Feb. 22 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Frailty in geriatric veterans indicates risk for suicide attempt, death “Kalie VanDewater, Healio, March 2, 2023

Psychiatric News (2/28) reports, “Postpartum depression – which can disrupt the forming of bonds between a mother and child – is estimated to impact between 12% and 24% of women following the birth of a child.” Now, a study of 75 women over age 18 “suggests that women with postpartum depression who participate in a parenting program via Facebook may experience more rapid symptom improvements than those who do not participate in such a program,” but “participation in the parenting program via Facebook may not impact parenting stress or responsiveness.” The findings were published online Feb. 21 in the journal Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Moderated Online Postpartum Group May Help Moms With Postpartum Depression, Psychiatric News, February 28, 2023

The Washington Post (2/28, Searing) reports, “Experiencing three or more concussions, even mild ones, can lead to cognitive problems decades later, according to research published in the Journal of Neurotrauma.” However, “just one moderate to severe concussion – or traumatic brain injury (TBI), in medical terms – was found to have a long-term impact on brain function, including but not limited to memory issues.” The study “found that cognitive problems were dose-dependent, meaning the effects on long-term cognitive performance increased as the number of TBIs grew – with thought-processing speed and working memory suffering.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Healio (2/28, Schaffer) reports, “Teens and young adults who report vaping nicotine, marijuana or both are significantly more likely to experience anxiety and depression compared with never vapers, survey data show.” In the “survey of more than 2,500 teens and young adults, researchers also found that dual use of nicotine and marijuana vaping products may compound the addictive nature of vaping or attract those more prone to addiction, as well as have an impact on depression.” These results were presented at the Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2023.

Related Links:

— “Anxiety, depression more common among teens, young adults who vape nicotine, marijuana “Regina Schaffer, Healio, February 28, 2023

CNN (2/28, Chavez) says that “a quarter of Black transgender and nonbinary youth reported a suicide attempt in the previous year, according to” research from the Trevor Project, “more than double the rate of suicide attempts among Black cisgender LGBQ youth.” The study, “which surveyed nearly 34,000 LGBTQ youth ages 13 to 24 across the United States in fall 2021, also found that Black and nonbinary young people reported higher rates of anxiety and depression than their Black cisgender LGBQ peers.” Furthermore, the study “found that Black transgender and nonbinary young people experience discrimination, violence and homelessness at alarmingly high rates.”

Related Links:

— “1 in 4 Black transgender and nonbinary youth attempted suicide in past year, survey finds “Janelle Chavez, CNN, February 28, 2023

HealthDay (2/27, Murez) reports that while burnout is “not listed in the diagnostic manual used by psychiatrists, it is a workplace-associated condition, according to the World Health Organization, said” American Psychiatric Association Council on Communications member Jessi Gold, MD. Gold explained, “There are lots of reasons why it happens. It depends on the person and how work is impacting them.” The article adds, “How you recover from burnout might look different, depending on who you are and the techniques you find helpful.” Gold discusses several techniques to help recover from burnout.

Related Links:

— “How to Recover From Burnout “Cara Murez, HealthDay, February 27, 2023

MedPage Today (2/27, George) reports, “Sparks of visual artistic creativity occurred early in frontotemporal dementia and were disproportionately observed in patients with temporal lobe-predominant degeneration, a case-control study showed.” The “burst of visual art expression was associated with damage to brain regions that normally suppress dorsomedial occipital cortex function, reported” researchers. The findings of the 17-patient study were published online in JAMA Neurology.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The AP (2/24, Seitz, Whitehurst) reported that on Friday, the Biden Administration “moved…to require patients see a doctor in person before getting attention deficit disorder medication or addictive painkillers, toughening access to the drugs against the backdrop of a deepening opioid crisis.” The Drug Enforcement Administration “said late Friday it plans to reinstate once longstanding federal requirements for powerful drugs that were waived once COVID-19 hit.” The AP added, “Patients will still be able to get common prescriptions like antibiotics, skin creams, birth control and insulin prescribed through telehealth visits.”

CNN (2/25, Millman) reported, “Prescriptions for other drugs – to help with pain or sleep, for example – could be prescribed via telehealth but a patient would need an in-person evaluation before obtaining a refill,” while Schedule II medications “necessitate an in-person appointment before any prescription can be written.”

Related Links:

— “Feds seek to limit telehealth prescriptions for some drugs “Amanda Seitz and Lindsay Whitehurst, AP, February 24, 2023

Psychiatric News (2/24) reported “youth with anxiety disorders who contract COVID-19 may experience worsening anxiety symptoms,” according to an “analysis on data obtained from 26 patients” from a “longitudinal study.” Researchers “found that post-COVID-19, patients’ anxiety symptoms were significantly worse on all” Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 “subscales (including feelings of nervousness, irritability, and dread) and the” Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale. The results were published online Feb. 21 in an empirical letter to the editor in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Youth With Anxiety May Experience Worsening Symptoms After COVID-19, Psychiatric News, February 24, 2023