The New York Times (10/25, Weiland ) reported that according to new federal data, overdose deaths in the US “decreased by more than 12 percent between May 2023 and May 2024,” which represents “a major development in the nation’s efforts to combat the effects of fentanyl.” However, according to a Georgetown University analysis, the number of “fatal overdoses among Black Americans typically increased between 2022 and 2023, while deadly overdoses among white Americans often decreased.” The Times said the findings “reveal a continuation of what federal and state health officials have described as a two-track epidemic, with white Americans experiencing better outcomes and Black Americans struggling to keep up.”

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— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

The Hill (10/24, Ventura) reports, “Nearly three-fourths of U.S. adults said the government is not doing enough to ensure access to affordable mental health care, a new West Health-Gallup Healthcare surveyfound.” The new “survey revealed that 73 percent of Americans said that the government was not doing enough to ensure affordable access to mental health care, compared to 12 percent who said that it was doing about the right amount.” About 7% “said the government was doing too much, while another 7 percent said they didn’t know.”

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— “Most say not enough being done to ensure affordable mental health care: Survey,” Juliann Ventura, The Hill, October 24, 2024

HealthDay (10/24, Thompson ) reports, “Suicide risk is highest on Monday in the United States and around the world, an international team of researchers has discovered.” The researchers said, “Mondays and New Year’s Day were both associated with increased suicide risk in most countries.” Study results indicate that “Mondays constitute 15% to 18% of total suicides, compared with other days.” Study “results also show that weekend suicide risk varies greatly between countries.” The findings were published in the BMJ.

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— “One Day of the Week Has Highest Suicide Risk,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, October 24, 2024

Healio (10/23, Cooper ) reports, “A single saline injection, openly prescribed as a placebo, yielded approximately 1 month of chronic back pain improvement, along with longer-term benefits in depression and sleep, according to data.” The investigators “described the placebo injection’s pain relief benefit as ‘modest in magnitude’ but clinically significant and comparable with the effect sizes of typical treatments such as NSAIDs, but with fewer adverse events.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Open-label placebo injection demonstrates ‘modest’ benefit in chronic back pain,” Justin Cooper, Healio, October 23, 2024

ABC News (10/23, Kindelan ) reports, “Thousands of bottles of a popular antidepressant medication are being recalled due to the presence of what the National Library of Medicine describes as a toxic chemical, according to a notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.” The recall impacts “the medication duloxetine, which is sold under the brand name Cymbalta, according to the FDA’s notice of the voluntary recall, which began Oct. 10.” The recalled “capsules were found to contain a higher level of N-nitroso-duloxetine than is permitted, according to the recall notice.”

USA Today (10/23, Ardrey ) reports the FDA “announced a Class II recall for more than 7,000 bottles of” the antidepressant. The drug “was distributed across the country and manufactured by Towa Pharmaceutical Europe.”

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— “Thousands of bottles of popular antidepressant recalled: 3 things to know,” Katie Kindelan, ABC News, October 23, 2024

MedPage Today (10/22, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “Among mothers, a history of eating disorders or body mass index (BMI) outside the normal range was associated with a higher risk of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in their offspring, according to a Finnish population-based cohort study.” In the “analysis of nearly 400,000 mothers and nearly 650,000 offspring, the largest effect sizes were for non-specified maternal eating disorders in association with childhood sleep disorders…and social functioning and tic disorders.” Researchers found that “for maternal severe prepregnancy obesity, the largest effect size was for intellectual disabilities.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Oncology Nurse Advisor (10/21, Garlapow) reports, “Aerobic physical activity (APA) modestly reduced depressive symptoms in adults with cancer, with significant effects observed within 1 month of intervention and 6 to 12 months postintervention, according to results from a systematic review and meta-analysis.” The “study encompassed 25 randomized clinical trials with 1931 participants aged 18 to 80 years and showed a significant reduction in self-reported depression scores following APA interventions.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Physical Activity Reduced Long-Term Depression in Patients With Cancer,” Megan Garlapow, PhD, Oncology Nurse Advisor, October 21, 2024

HealthDay (10/18, Thompson ) reported, “Depression can make it tougher for athletes to recover from a concussion, and vice versa, a new study finds.” Researchers found that “student athletes who have both concussion and depression have significantly worse symptoms for both conditions.” Study results indicate that “electrical signals in the brain are more disrupted among people with both concussion and depression than among those with only one of these conditions.” The findings were published in Brain Research.

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— “Sports Concussion Outcomes Can Be Made Worse By Depression,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, October 18, 2024

Psychiatric News (10/18) reported, “An estimated 15.5 million adults in the United States – roughly 1 in 16 – have been diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperact ivity disorder (ADHD), according to a survey analysis.” The research “also found that nearly half of adults with ADHD reported using telehealth and that most who take stimulant medications for their ADHD have had problems filling their prescriptions over the past year.” The findings were published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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— “1 in 16 US Adults Has ADHD, Nearly Half With ADHD Use Telemedicine,” Psychiatric News, October 18, 2024

ABC News (10/17, Shareef) reports, “A new study suggests that GLP-1 agonist medications like Ozempic [semaglutide], which are used for diabetes management and weight loss, may help reduce the risk of overdose and alcohol intoxication in people with substance use disorders.” The study “analyzed the health records of 1.3 million people from 136 U.S. hospitals for nearly nine years,” including “the records of 500,000 people with opioid use and more than 800,000 with alcohol use disorder.” Researchers found that “those who took Ozempic or a similar drug had a 40% lower chance of overdosing on opioids and a 50% lower chance of getting drunk compared to those who didn’t take the medication.” The findings were published in Addiction.

Healio (10/17, Viguers ) reports one researcher said “this broader therapeutic application could help reduce cravings and the risk of severe outcomes, including overdose and intoxication, which are critical issues in” the management of substance use disorders.

Also reporting is CBS News (10/17, Moniuszko ).

Related Links:

— “Weight loss drugs like Ozempic may help reduce overdose risks: Study,” Dr. Faizah Shareef, ABC News, October 17, 2024