According to the New York Times (3/16, Richtel), for about the past 20 years, investigators “have used brain-imaging technology to try to identify how the structure and function of a person’s brain connects to a range of mental-health ailments, from anxiety and depression to suicidal tendencies.” Now, findings published online March 16 in the journal Nature call “into question whether much of this research is actually yielding valid findings.” This is because “many such studies, the paper’s authors found, tend to include fewer than two dozen participants, far shy of the number needed to generate reliable results.”

Related Links:

— “Brain-Imaging Studies Hampered by Small Data Sets, Study Finds “Matt Richtel, The New York Times, March 16, 2022

Modern Healthcare (3/16, Devereaux, Subscription Publication) reports “Hospitals are seeing more emergency department visits for mental health issues after COVID-19 surges, particularly among young adults and racial minority groups,” according to a study that “looked at a sample of U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 64 with several million ED visits across 3,600 emergency facilities nationwide between Jan. 1, 2019 and Aug. 14, 2021 that were related to a set of 10 mental health disorders.” The study findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Mental health-related ED visits increase after COVID-19 surges, study finds “Mari Devereaux, Modern Healthcare, March 16, 2022

CNN (3/16, McPhillips) reports, “Annual drug overdose deaths have reached another record high in the United States as deaths from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids surge to unprecedented levels,” investigators concluded. In fact, “an estimated 105,752 people died of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending October 2021, according to provisional data published” March 16 by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics on its website.

Related Links:

— “US drug overdose deaths reach another record high as deaths from fentanyl surge “Deidre McPhillips, CNN, March 16, 2022

Bloomberg Law (3/15, Subscription Publication) reports, “President Joe Biden recently signaled he wants to strengthen enforcement of mental health parity rules,” an effort that “will include a demand that insurers offer an adequate network of behavioral health [professionals], including three visits for a patient each year without cost-sharing, and ask Congress to help improve parity.” Meanwhile, “some mental health [professional] groups are calling on Congress to levy fines against insurers that fall short.” American Psychiatric Association CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA said, “We need to make sure there is some penalty for not doing it right.”

Related Links:

— “Biden’s Call for Mental Health Coverage Sparks Legislative Push “Alex Ruoff, Bloomberg Law, March 15, 2022

HealthDay (3/15, Munez) reports, “In the past two decades, a growing number of preteens have taken medicines or other chemicals as a way to end their lives,” investigators concluded after examining data “collected in the National Poison Data System for children aged six to 18.” The study revealed “a 4.5-fold increase in suicidal ingestion cases among children between the ages of 10 and 12 since 2000.” The findingswere published online March 14 in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Suicide Rate Is Spiking Upwards in Preadolescent Children “Cara Murez, HealthDay, March 15, 2022

HealthDay (3/15, Reinberg) reports, “People who have severe COVID-19 are at higher risk for depression and other mental woes that can last more than a year, a large study suggests.” Investigators “reported that COVID patients who were bedridden but not hospitalized for a week or more can experience depression, anxiety, distress and trouble sleeping up to 16 months after being ill.” The researchers’ findings were published in The Lancet.

Related Links:

— “Mental Issues Can Linger More Than a Year After Severe COVID “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, March 15, 2022

Newsweek (3/14, Slisco) reports, “American soldiers are not receiving adequate and timely care for alcohol abuse issues, according to a new report from the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General.” Results of an audit “found that 104 out of 270 active duty service members sent for alcohol use disorder treatment did not receive an intake assessment to be diagnosed on time.” Furthermore, “another 98 were diagnosed but not sent to treatment within a required timeline, while three diagnosed soldiers did not ultimately receive any treatment.” The inspector general’s report “found that treatment was not provided on time due to guidance on the matter being ‘unclear and inconsistent’ with inadequate staffing at treatment facilities and deferrals of treatment by soldiers and their commanders also playing a role.”

Related Links:

— “U.S. Soldiers Not Receiving Alcohol Abuse Treatment They Need: DOD Study “Aila Slisco, Newsweek, March 14, 2022

HealthDay (3/14, Mozes) reports, “A fresh review of recent government surveys suggests the well-being of 73 million American kids is under strain and seems to be getting worse.” Researchers “looked at recent results from the U.S. National Survey of Children’s Health” and “found that between 2016 and 2019, childhood diagnoses of anxiety rose by 27%, while depression risk rose by 24%” and “once the pandemic struck…behavioral problems appeared to worsen even more.” Furthermore, “the analysis also indicates that about a fifth of kids who need mental health services are not getting them.” The findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Mental Health of America’s Children Only Getting Worse “Alan Mozes, HealthDay, March 14, 2022

Healio (3/14, Herpen) reports, “Independent of treatment, socioeconomic factors such as employment are closely associated with prognosis for adults with depression, according to” a study. Investigators “sought to determine if socioeconomic issues like employment status, financial strain, housing status and education have an impact on the prognosis for adults with depression, independent of treatment and after accounting for clinical prognostic factors.” The analysis “pulled data from The Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Cochrane (CENTRAL) databases from inception of each through Oct. 8, 2021.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Socioeconomic factors associated with prognosis in adults with depression “Robert Herpen, Healio, March 14, 2022

MedPage Today (3/11, George) reported, “Peripheral nerve impairments in older adults were tied to a higher risk of subsequent dementia,” investigators concluded after examining “data on 2,174 people who were 70 to 79 years old and dementia-free when they enrolled in the National Institute on Aging’s Health ABC study.” Research revealed that “combined sensory and motor impairments in the lower leg doubled the risk of subsequent dementia…compared with people who had no leg impairments,” while “sensory nerve impairments alone were associated with a 1.4 times higher dementia risk.” The findings were published online in the journal Neurology.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)