According to the New York Times (4/13, Caron), mental health apps “claim to help with issues as varied as addiction, sleeplessness, anxiety and schizophrenia, often by using tools like games, therapy chatbots or mood-tracking diaries.” Most of these apps are “unregulated,” however, and while “some are considered useful and safe, others may have shaky (or nonexistent) privacy policies and a lack of high-quality research demonstrating that the apps live up to their marketing claims.” In fact, “Stephen Schueller, the executive director of One Mind PsyberGuide, a nonprofit project that reviews mental health apps, said the lack of regulation has created a ‘Wild West,’ that was exacerbated when the Food and Drug Administration loosened its requirements [PDF] for digital psychiatry products in 2020.”

Related Links:

— “How to Find a Mental Health App That Works for You “Christina Caron, The New York Times, April 13, 2022

According to HealthDay (4/13, Munez), a 15-study systematic review and meta-analysis encompassing some 191,000 participants indicates that exercise may “make a difference in major depressive disorder [MDD].” The review found “an association between physical activity and depression risk,” with researchers positing that “almost 12% of cases of depression could have been prevented with a certain amount of exercise.” The findings were published online April 13 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Exercise Is Powerful Medicine for Depression “Cara Murez, HealthDay, April 13, 2022

The Los Angeles Times (4/12, Reyes) reports “deadly drug overdoses among U.S. teenagers have more than doubled in frequency in recent years, even as those in the age group became less likely to use illegal drugs,” according to an analysis of “overdose deaths among 14- to 18-year-olds.” The results published in a research letter in JAMA revealed “the death rate for drug overdoses in that age group had been generally stable for a decade, then nearly doubled between 2019 and 2020 and continued to rise early in 2021, reaching a rate of 5.49 deaths per 100,000 adolescents.”

CNN (4/12, Holcombe) reports the analysis revealed that “in 2021, fentanyl was involved in more than 77% of adolescent overdose deaths.”

NPR (4/12, Chatterjee) reports, “The highest rates were among Native American and Alaskan Native teens, followed by Latino teens.”

The Hill (4/12, Ali) also reports on the findings.

Related Links:

— “Deadly overdoses have spiked among teens, even as drug use dropped, UCLA researchers find “Emily Alpert Reyes, The Los Angeles Times, April 12, 2022

Reuters (4/12) reports, “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration have jointly issued warning letters to two websites for illegally selling Adderall, a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [AD/HD].” These “warning letters were issued on March 30,” and now the two companies “have 15 business days to respond to the agencies and inform them of the steps being taken to address any violations and prevent their recurrence”.

Related Links:

— “FDA warns websites illegally selling ADHD drug Adderall, Reuters, April 12, 2022

PatientEngagementHIT (4/11, Heath) reports, “Black patient trust in the medical field is growing after nearly two years of a pandemic that has stressed public health and public perceptions of health and exposed the glaring inequities Black people experience in health care,” according to data from Pew Research. The survey data found 28% “of respondents said they have great confidence in medical scientists to act in the public’s interest; 50% said they have a fair amount of trust.” Also, “Black patients are…reporting good patient experiences.”

Related Links:

— “Black Patient Trust in Medical Pros, Patient Experience Improving “Sara Heath, PatientEngagementHIT, April 11, 2022

Modern Healthcare (4/5, Gillespie, Subscription Publication) reports the proliferation in “investor-owned or independently owned stand-alone clinics” offering ketamine, an off-label treatment for depression, “is concerning to many in the drug safety and mental health fields.” Off-label use of ketamine offers “no regulatory oversight of doctors’ prescribing patterns, safety protocols or adverse events in patients.” In addition, ketamine “is sometimes marketed for a host of other chronic diseases and behavioral diagnoses that have little scientific backing.”

Related Links:

— “Modern Healthcare (Requires Subscription)

Healio (4/11, Herpen) reports, “A treatment mode specifically targeting prevention of addiction-related suicide is superior to customary care for improving knowledge, behaviors and help-seeking,” investigators concluded in a 906-patient study that “sought to evaluate the effectiveness of Preventing Addiction Related Suicide (PARS) treatment module on a wide range of suicide-related outcomes compared with customary care for those dealing with substance use disorders (SUD).” The findings were published online April 6 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Suicide prevention module superior to usual care for adults with substance use disorder “Robert Herpen, MA, Healio, April 11, 2022

Medscape (4/11, Chris Jaklevic, Subscription Publication) reports, “An analysis at a large academic health system suggests that universal screening might help to reduce…disparities in depression treatment.” Researchers “analyzed electronic health record data following a rollout of a universal depression screening program at” the health system and “found that the overall rate of depression screening doubled at six primary care practices over a little more than 2 years, reaching nearly 90%.” The findings presented at the SGIM 2022 Annual Meeting revealed “screening disparities diminished for men, older individuals, racial and ethnic minorities, and people with language barriers.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (4/8, Roberts Murez) reported “a clinical trial that monitored” sleep in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy who struggle with drowsiness “and then studied their brains after death discovered an entirely different reason for such sleepiness – they suffer a loss of neurons that help keep a person awake.” Investigators measured the proteins beta amyloid and tau and concluded, “These findings confirm with direct evidence that tau is a critical driver of sleep disturbances.” The trial results were published in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— “New Insights Into Why Alzheimer’s Can Bring Drowsiness “Cara Murez, HealthDay, April 8, 2022

The AP (4/9, Mulvihill, Lauer) reported, “On top of the stigma surrounding addiction, people who are in medical treatment for substance abuse can face additional discrimination – including in medical and legal settings that are supposed to help.” In response, “the U.S. Department of Justice published new guidelines aimed at dealing with the problem” and stated “that it’s illegal under the Americans with Disabilities Act to discriminate against people because they are using prescribed methadone or other medications to treat opioid use disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Treatment for opioid addiction often brings discrimination “Geoff Mulvihill and Claudia Lauer, AP, April 9, 2022