According to HCPlive (6/2, Kunzmann), in an interview that took place at the American Psychiatric Association 2022 Annual Meeting, “Carol A. Bernstein, MD, a psychiatrist and vice chair for faculty development and wellbeing with Montefiore Health System, discussed the overuse of phrases including ‘wellbeing’ and ‘burnout’ in relation to mental health issues including anxiety and depression.” Dr. Bernstein “stressed the need for psychiatry specialists to become leaders in distinguishing between burnout and mental health conditions among their colleagues – and to help adequately refer and treat those who are affected by either.”

Related Links:

— “Yoga vs Antidepressants: Defining Workplace Burnout Over Mental Health Issues “Kevin Kunzmann, HCPlive, June 2, 2022

mHealth Intelligence (5/31, Melchionna) reports, “To maintain quality mental healthcare as the COVID-19 pandemic progresses, four US Senators have released a discussion draft of telehealth policies for mental healthcare initiatives that focus on increasing access and directing insurers to support virtual care.” Some of these “policies include solidifying necessary access to audio-only mental healthcare coverage under Medicare, urging Medicare and Medicaid to support [healthcare professionals] using telehealth, and encouraging states to use CHIP programs to improve in-person and virtual mental healthcare services in schools.”

Related Links:

— “US Senators Release Draft Telehealth Policies for Mental Healthcare ” Mark Melchionna, mHealth Intelligence, May 31, 2022

HealthDay (5/31) reports, “Prenatal exposure to topiramate, valproate, and certain duotherapies is associated with increased risks for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability,” investigators concluded in a study including data “for 4,494,926 alive-born children with available mother-child identities and maternal prescription” information. The findings were published online May 31 in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Prenatal Exposure to Certain Antiseizure Meds Linked to Autism, HealthDay, May 31, 2022

Healio (5/31) reports, “Transgender individuals who said they received supportive primary care were more likely to report better mental health,” researchers concluded in a survey study that “included 948 transgender individuals aged 14 to 83 years.” The study also revealed, however, that “only about half of transgender individuals who participated in the survey said they had supportive primary care physicians.” The findingswere published online March 9 in the journal Family Practice.

Related Links:

— “Study finds better mental health among transgender patients with supportive PCPs, Healio, May 31, 2022

The Hill (5/31, Barnes) reports “the number of suspected suicide attempts by poisoning among children rose sharply between 2015 and 2020,” according to a study published online in the journal Clinical Toxicology. The study found that while “all pediatric groups saw increases in suspected suicides…the largest jump occurred in children between the ages of 10 and 12 who saw an increase of more than 109 percent.” Also, “the over-the-counter pain killers ibuprofen and acetaminophen were the two most common substances used in the suspected pediatric attempted suicide cases, researchers found.”

Related Links:

— “Pediatric suicide attempts by poisoning on the rise, study says “Adam Barnes, The Hill, May 31, 2022

The Washington Post (5/31, Meckler) reports a National Center for Education Statistics survey released Tuesday “documents the toll the pandemic has taken on students’ mental health, with 7 in 10 public schools seeing a rise in the number of children seeking services. Even more, 76 percent, said faculty and staff members have expressed concerns about depression, anxiety and trauma in students since the start of the pandemic.” The results “add to the evidence that the pandemic is leaving this generation of students with significant mental health challenges.” Despite these survey findings, “only about half of all schools said they were able to effectively provide needed services.” NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr said, “The pandemic has taken a clear and significant toll on students’ mental health.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (5/30, Ruprecht) reports, “Each day between 2017 and 2019, nearly 2,300 adolescents and young adults became new daily tobacco users – a figure that mirrors statistics from 1989 to 1993,” according to results from a longitudinal study published in Pediatrics. The study found that “the total number of daily vape (or e-cigarette) users under 21 years of age rose to more than 1 million by 2019,” and “of those, 56.3% used Juul products in particular.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

According to Healio (5/27, Downey), Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, MD, MPH, “discussed the mental health of female veterans, or ‘invisible veterans,’ at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting.” Dr. Ritchie explained, “Traditionally, the services that are offered to veterans are for older, single, male, often Vietnam-era veterans.” What this means is that “women often cannot find services that are right for them, and may end up homeless or on the streets.”

Related Links:

— “VIDEO: Consider special mental health needs of female veterans “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, May 27, 2022

Psychiatric News (5/27) reported, “Rheumatoid arthritis [RA] and depression have a bidirectional association in which having one condition raises the risk of developing the other,” investigators concluded in a “meta-analysis of 11 studies that included a total of 39,130 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 550,782 patients with depression, and 7,802,230” controls. The findings were published online ahead of print in the August 15 issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Rheumatoid Arthritis, Depression Raise Risk of One Another, Meta-Analysis Finds, Psychiatric News, May 27, 2022

TODAY (5/27, Breen) reported, “In the aftermath of a mass casualty event” such as last week’s school shootings in Uvalde, TX, “blame swirls, often landing on…mental illness.” Research indicates, however, that “mental illness does not play a role in the vast majority of gun violence.” Rebecca Brendel, MD, JD, President of the American Psychiatric Association, stated, “When horrible events happen that are unfathomable to our minds, we look for answers, and so one answer is that there must be something terribly wrong to lead somebody to act in such a way.” Dr. Brendel added, “(But) what we know is that persons with mental illness are much less likely to commit acts of violence than others.” What does drive “mass casualty shootings and gun death, said…experts interviewed for this story, is access to guns.”

Related Links:

— “Is mental illness really driving gun violence in the US? Here’s what the research says “Kerry Breen, TODAY, May 27, 2022