The New York Times (8/27, A1, Richtel, Flanagan) reported on the common medical practice of “the simultaneous use of multiple heavy-duty psychiatric” medications among adolescents. While “psychiatrists and other clinicians emphasize that psychiatric” medicines, “properly prescribed, can be vital in stabilizing adolescents and saving the lives of” teens with suicidal ideation, experts caution, however, that “such medications are too readily doled out, often as an easy alternative to therapy that families cannot afford or find, or aren’t interested in.” The medicines, “generally intended for short-term use, are sometimes prescribed for years, even though they can have severe side effects,” and a number of psychiatric medications “commonly prescribed to adolescents are not approved for people under 18.”

Related Links:

— “This Teen Was Prescribed 10 Psychiatric Drugs. She’s Not Alone. “Matt Richtel, The New York Times, August 27, 2022

HealthDay (8/25, Reinberg) reports “the length of your monthly menstrual cycle may provide clues about the severity of symptoms you’ll experience during menopause and when it will start,” according to a studypublished in the journal Menopause. Investigators “found that women with short menstrual cycles (less than 25 days) during their reproductive years were likely to experience more menopause symptoms” and “were also more likely to start menopause earlier than women with normal menstrual cycles (26 to 34 days).” The study also found “women with short cycles…were more likely to have midlife sleep problems, heart discomfort and depressive symptoms.”

Related Links:

— “Shorter Menstrual Cycles May Affect Timing of Menopause “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, August 25, 2022

HealthPayerIntelligence (8/25, Bailey) reports “large employers plan to expand mental health and virtual care offerings in their 2023 employer-sponsored health plans, but concerns about healthcare costs and health equity persist, according to” Business Group on Health’s “2023 Large Employers’ Health Care Strategy and Plan Design Survey.” This survey found that about “half of the employers plan to continue to develop new health and wellbeing programs for remote employees and expand focus on social determinants of health.”

Related Links:

— “Employer Sponsored Health Plans Will Prioritize Mental Health in 2023 “Victoria Bailey, HealthPayerIntelligence , August 25, 2022

Psychiatric News (8/24) reports, “Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder” (AD/HD) “appear to be at higher risk of infectious diseases,” investigators concluded in a “large population-based case control study” that included “more than 50,000 children and adolescents.” The findings were published online Aug. 22 ahead of print in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Children With ADHD at Higher Risk of Infectious Diseases, Study Finds, Psychiatric News , August 24, 2022

The AP (8/24, Lavoie) reports “a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week became the first federal appellate court in the country to find that” gender dysphoria is covered by the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. This “ruling could become a powerful tool to challenge legislation restricting access to medical care and other accommodations for transgender people, including employment and government benefits, advocates said.” The appellate court “cited advances in medical understanding that led the American Psychiatric Association to remove gender identity disorder from the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and to add gender dysphoria, defined in the manual as the ‘clinically significant distress’ felt by some transgender people.”

Related Links:

— “Gender dysphoria covered by disability law, court rules” Denise Lavoie, AP, August 24, 2022

Healio (8/24) reports, “A majority of adults in the United States agreed on the importance of schools playing a key role in advocating for mental health,” researchers concluded after examining the “results of a recent survey from the American Psychiatric Association.” In fact, “among the 2,210 adults who participated in the APA’s Healthy Minds Monthly Poll from July 21 to July 22, 86% of respondents stated schools can accomplish this goal through educating students, 87% said staff training was crucial for success, and 84% believed in connecting students to mental health support.” In an Aug. 11 news release, APA President Rebecca Brendel, MD, JD, said, “The overwhelming support for mental health programming in schools is so important for our next generation, as we face an unprecedented mental health crisis for adolescents and youth.” Dr. Brendel added, “We must continue to support evidence-based practices that help children when they need it.

Related Links:

— “APA: U.S. adults support mental health initiatives in schools, gun violence a top concern “Shenaz Bagha, Healio, August 24, 2022

HealthDay (8/23, Norton) reports investigators have discovered that “among older British adults, those who spent a lot of time watching TV were more likely to be diagnosed with dementia in coming years, yet the opposite pattern was seen with computer use.” The study team arrived at these conclusions after focusing “on over 146,000 participants aged 60 and older who were dementia-free at the outset and reported on various lifestyle habits – including how much of their daily leisure time they devoted to TV or computers,” then following them for 12 years. The findings were published online Aug. 22 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Psychiatric News (8/23) reports the study found that “adults who spent four hours a day or more watching TV had about 20% greater risk of developing dementia than those who spent less than two hours a day watching TV,” whereas “adults who spent one hour or more on a computer daily had a 24% reduced risk of dementia compared with those who spent less than 30 minutes on a computer.”

Related Links:

— “Too Much TV Time May Really Harm Your Brain “Amy Norton, HealthDay, August 23, 2022

The New York Times (8/23, Jacobs) reports, “Marijuana and hallucinogen use among young adults reached an all-time record last year after having leveled off during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, according to” data derived from “part of the government’s annual survey of drug use among young Americans.” The data also revealed that “nicotine vaping and excessive alcohol consumption continued to climb in 2021 after a brief pause.” Finally, the data reveal “another worrying trend among young people, ages 19 to 30: mounting consumption of alcoholic beverages suffused with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.” The findings were disclosed in an Aug. 22 news release from the National Institutes of Health.

Related Links:

— “Use of Marijuana and Psychedelics Is Soaring Among Young Adults, Study Finds ” Andrew Jacobs, The New York Times, August 23, 2022

In its “Ask Well” column, the New York Times (8/23, Blum) discusses how to differentiate burnout from depression, conditions that have some overlapping symptoms. One “key differentiator is that burnout gets better when you step away from work, said…Rebecca Brendel,” MD, JD, President of the American Psychiatric Association. When people with burnout “take vacation time, or a mental health day, you feel at least slightly recharged.” Depression, on the other hand, “doesn’t go away if you change your circumstances.” Dr. Brendel stated, “There’s not that bounce-back effect,” adding, “It takes more than that.”

Related Links:

— “How Can I Tell if I’m Depressed or Burned Out? “Dani Blum, The New York Times, August 23, 2022

HealthDay (8/22) reports, “Peer worker-facilitated psychiatric advance directives (PW-PAD) are effective for decreasing compulsory hospital admissions among people with mental disorders,” investigators concluded in a 394-patient study that enrolled “adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder, or schizoaffective disorder who had a compulsory admission in the past 12 months.” The findings were published online June 6 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Psychiatric Advance Directives Effective for Mental Disorders, HealthDay, August 22, 2022