MedPage Today (8/4, George) reports a study found that “treatment with the antiviral oseltamivir (Tamiflu) was tied to a reduced risk of serious neuropsychiatric events in children and adolescents.” Researchers observed that “compared with untreated flu, the risk of serious neuropsychiatric events was lower in kids treated with oseltamivir during flu exposure periods and post-treatment periods.” Furthermore, the “relative risks of neuropsychiatric events also were low during periods with neither flu exposure nor oseltamivir dispensing and during oseltamivir prophylaxis periods compared with untreated flu.” The findings ultimately “raise questions about warnings on oseltamivir’s label” that states “that some flu patients who receive the drug, particularly pediatric patients, may be at an increased risk of confusion or abnormal behavior early in their illness.” The study authors wrote, “It is important to note that these warnings were placed on the basis of case reports rather than studies on associated risks for these events.” The study was published in JAMA Neurology.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The Hill (8/4, Migdon) reports New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) “signed two bills Friday restricting access to transition-related care in the state, which already prohibits rare genital surgeries for minors to transition.” The first bill “prohibits doctors from administering puberty blockers and hormones to transgender youth starting Jan. 1,” while the second “bars adolescents younger than 18 from undergoing certain procedures when they are used to treat gender dysphoria.” The move makes New Hampshire “the first Northeastern state to ban gender-affirming health care for minors.”

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— “New Hampshire becomes first Northeastern state to ban gender-affirming care for minors,”Brooke Migdon, The Hill, August 4, 2025

The AP (8/1, Stobbe) reported a federal health official confirmed last week that experts from “more than a half-dozen of the nation’s top medical organizations” were “disinvited from the workgroups that have been the backbone of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The organizations include the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.” In a joint statement Friday, the AMA and several organizations said: “To remove our deep medical expertise from this vital and once transparent process is irresponsible, dangerous to our nation’s health, and will further undermine public and clinician trust in vaccine.

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— “AMA and other medical associations are kicked out of CDC vaccine workgroups,”Mike Stobbe , AP, August 1, 2025

HealthDay (8/1, Mundell) reported a study suggests that when a community’s homicide rates rise, “there’s typically a local uptick in suicides a year later.” The researchers “tracked 50 years’ worth of data – from 1968 through 2019 – for homicides and suicides in counties across 48 U.S. states. The main finding: A one-point rise in homicides in a county during one year was linked to an average 3.6% rise in suicides the following year.” Moreover, the trend intensified when homicides and suicides were due to “a gun: A one-point rise in gun-related killings was linked to a 5.7% rise in gun-related suicides the following year. The murder-suicide link was more pronounced in rural versus urban communities, and among white people versus Black Americans, although Black Americans were not unaffected, the researchers said.” The study was published in Social Science & Medicine.

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— “When Local Homicide Rates Rise, Suicides Rise Soon After,”Ernie Mundell , HealthDay, August 1, 2025

Psychiatric News (8/1) reported a study found that “an intervention focused on emotion regulation can help” teens and young adults with autism “significantly reduce their daily impairments to living.” Researchers observed that after 16 weeks, youth who participated in “Emotion Awareness and Skills Enhancement (EASE), a 16-module program rooted in mindfulness that teaches individuals to become more aware of and better regulate their emotions,” had “significantly greater improvements in symptoms related to emotion regulation than the active control group. Overall, 63% of EASE participants showed strong improvements in their daily functioning, compared with 44% receiving the active control.” Furthermore, “EASE participants also showed statistically significant improvements in internalizing and externalizing symptoms from baseline, whereas only the latter improved in the active control group.” The study was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

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— “Emotion Regulation Therapy Is Effective for Teens and Young Adults With Autism , Psychiatric News, August 1, 2025

The New York Times (7/31, Shakin) reports that “a major study of the health of transgender and gender nonconforming young people is set to begin later this year in Britain.” Researchers from King’s College London “plan to track the mental and physical well-being of up to 3,000 children and teenagers who have a gender identity that differs from their sex at birth, and who have sought treatment from the country’s National Health Service. They will carry out annual surveys that look at their quality of life, body image and gender identity.” The study, funded by the NHS and the UK government’s clinical research agency, is “part of a wider 10.7 million pound, or about $14 million, initiative from King’s College that aims to find out how Britain’s health service can best support trans and gender nonconforming children and young people.”

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— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (7/31) reports a study found that “nearly half of individuals who develop catatonia – a neuropsychiatric syndrome marked by abnormal speech and movements – will experience a relapse within a few years.” Considering this, “providing antipsychotics at discharge can reduce relapse risk.” The researchers “examined medical records of 303 patients who were treated for catatonia at a neuropsychiatric center in India between January 2014 and December 2017 and came back for at least one follow-up visit by December 2020.” They found that “48.8% of the patients experienced catatonia relapse, with most events occurring within the first two years after the initial episode.” They observed that “patients who received an antipsychotic prescription at discharge had a 41% reduced risk of relapse compared with those who did not; this reduced risk was present in patients with or without a prior history of catatonia.” The study was published in JAMA Psychiatry.

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— “Antipsychotics May Reduce Risk of Catatonia Relapse, Psychiatric News, July 31, 2025

HealthDay (7/29, Solomon) reports a study found that “people with any type of substance use disorder (SUD) face a higher risk for having an unplanned, 30-day hospital readmission compared with those without SUD.” Researchers observed that “patients with any SUD and patients specifically with opioid use disorder were more likely to have a 30-day unplanned readmission versus patients without SUDs. After adjusting for covariates, only patients with SUDs discharged to home or self-care had a higher risk for unplanned readmission. Among patients who eloped or who were discharged to a home health service or an inpatient facility, there was no association between SUD and 30-day unplanned readmission.” The study was published in Addiction.

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— “Substance Use Disorder Linked to Higher Risk for Unplanned Readmissions,”
Lori Solomon, HealthDay , July 29, 2025

Stateline (7/29, Hassanein) says that a new report found that “only a dozen states have laws establishing suicide prevention offices or coordinators, and just 11 have task forces or committees dedicated to suicide prevention efforts.” The report, conducted by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials with support from the CDC, “comes amid sweeping cuts at federal agencies that offer mental health support,” such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). It notes that “about 60% of states – 29 states and Washington, D.C. – have laws that establish some form of fatality review committees that specifically include suicide deaths in reviews. Areas of focus varied among the states. Some had statewide teams and others were on the local level, according to the report.”

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— “State suicide prevention efforts are lacking amid federal cuts,” Nada Hassanein, Stateline, July 29, 2025

HealthDay (7/29, Mundell) reports a meta-analysis found “that, overall, it takes an average of three-and-a-half years after symptoms first appear for a patient to be properly diagnosed with dementia. That lag stretched to just over four years when the person was younger and experiencing early-onset dementia, the researchers said.” They noted that “younger age, as well having a form of illness known as frontotemporal dementia, were each linked to a longer time to diagnosis.” A study included in the analysis “also found that Black patients faced longer wait times to a dementia diagnosis.” The analysis was published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

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— “Dementia Diagnosis Typically Comes 3.5 Years After Symptoms,”Ernie Mundell , HealthDay , July 29, 2025