Psychiatric News (11/21) reports “several studies have shown that individuals with a parent who died by suicide have an increased risk of suicide or self-harm themselves compared with individuals with living parents or a parent who died from other causes,” but a new study “now finds that this risk may be particularly elevated when the individual reaches the same age at which the parent died by suicide.” The researchers said, “Our findings support the idea of a dynamic process of grief, in so much as the elevated risk of suicidal behavior at [parental] age correspondence might also represent a period of loss orientation and increased distress.” The findings were published in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.

Related Links:

— “Reaching Age at Which Parent Died by Suicide Increases Suicide Risk Among Offspring,” Psychiatric News, November 21, 2024

The New York Times (11/21, Hoffman , Weiland ) reports, “After years of relentless rises in overdose deaths, the United States has seen a remarkable reversal.” For seven consecutive “months, according to federal data, drug fatalities have been declining.” Expanded prevention, treatment, “and education efforts are playing a role, but drug policy experts believe there is another, surprising reason: changes in the drug supply itself, which are, in turn, influencing how people are using drugs.” For example, “the fentanyl on the street is starting to become weaker.” According to addiction experts, “other interventions contributed to the declining fatalities, including wider distribution of overdose reversal medications” and “an uptick in some states in prescriptions for medication that suppresses opioid cravings.”

CNN (11/21, McPhillips ) reports, “The US Drug Enforcement Administration says that less fentanyl is present in the nation’s illicit pill supply and that is helping drive down overdose deaths in the United States.” However, “experts say that there are limitations to this claim and that many other factors are probably playing a role.”

Related Links:

— “Less-potent fentanyl pills may be playing a role in decrease of US overdose deaths, DEA says,” Deidre McPhillips, CNN, November 21, 2024

Psychiatric News reports, “A panel convened by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted overwhelmingly…against key provisions of the Clozapine Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) after hearing from clinicians, patients, and caregivers who said access to this effective schizophrenia medication was thwarted by red tape.” The FDA “panel voted 14-1 against the REMS requirement that prescribers document and pharmacies verify patients’ absolute neutrophil counts (ANC) before dispensing clozapine.” Additionally, the panel “voted 14-1 against the need for educating prescribers and pharmacists on the risk of clozapine-induced severe neutropenia and ANC monitoring.”

Related Links:

— “FDA Panel Votes 14-1 Against Clozapine REMS,” Psychiatric News, November20 , 2024

MedPage Today (11/20, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “Diagnoses of postpartum depression (PPD) increased significantly across all racial and ethnic groups and prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) categories over the past decade, according to a California-based cross-sectional study.” An analysis of over “400,000 pregnancies found that prevalence of PPD doubled from 2010 to 2021 (9.4% vs 19%).” Although “rates increased across all groups, the largest increases were seen in those who identified as Asian and Pacific Islander (280% increase) and non-Hispanic Black (140% increase).”

The findings were published in JAMA Network Open. Ludmila De Faria, MD, the chair for APA’s Council on Women’s Mental Health, “said these findings are a huge positive and also a call to action.” She said, “It confirms what we know, that all of the emphasis on early detection and screening has paid off, and now more people are definitely being identified that struggle with postpartum depression. … The issue is, do they all have access to care?”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (11/19, George ) reports, “Genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia appeared to be partly offset by high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, U.K. Biobank data suggested.” Investigators found that “overall, high cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with better global and domain-specific cognitive functions and lower risk of dementia in both middle-age and older adults.”

The data indicated that “the incidence rate ratio of all-cause dementia was 0.60…for high versus low cardiorespiratory fitness. Dementia onset was delayed by 1.48 years…in the high fitness group.”

Meanwhile, “among people with moderate or high genetic dementia risk scores, high cardiorespiratory fitness attenuated dementia risk by 35%…compared with low fitness.” The findings were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (11/19, Rhoades) reports “internet use could help improve mental health and well-being in adults aged 50 years or older, study results” suggest. The data “showed that internet usage ‘could be an effective strategy to improve overall mental health in middle-aged and older populations,’ but policymakers ‘need to recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach for older people with different sociodemographic characteristics,health behaviors, physical health and genetic risk,’ the researchers concluded.” The findings were publishedin Nature Human Behaviour.

Related Links:

— “Internet use may improve mental health in middle-aged, older adults,” Gina Brockenbrough, MA, Healio, November 19, 2024

The Hill (11/19, Timotija ) reports, “Awareness of the 988 national suicide prevention hotline is growing since the number was updated, but it is still low, according to a new survey.” The Annenberg Public Policy Center/SSRS poll “found that only 15 percent of survey respondents named the correct number for the hotline, officially named the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, as of September this year.” That number rose “by 4 percent since August 2023, when just 11 percent of surveytakers shared the accurate numbers.” In January of last year, “just 8 percent knew the correct digits, according to the survey’s analysis.”

Related Links:

— “Public awareness of 988 national suicide prevention hotline low, but growing: Poll,” Filip Timotija, The Hill, November 19, 2024

HealthDay (11/18, Thompson ) reports “a new survey shows that many parents struggle to manage their kids’ anger, and some even suspect they’re not providing a good example themselves.” About “seven in 10 parents think they sometimes don’t handle anger well and their kids may model that behavior, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.” The poll found that “one in seven parents think their kids get angrier than peers the same age, and four in 10 say their child has experienced negative consequences when angry.”

Related Links:

— “Poll Finds Many Parents Struggling to Manage Kids’ Anger,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, November 18, 2024

HealthDay (11/18, Mundell ) reports, “A dose of green may be just what school kids with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues need, new research shows.” Researchers “found that a school program that let 10- to 12-year-olds spend a little time each week in nature paid dividends in improving kids’ mental well-being.” One investigator said, “Nature-based programs may offer targeted benefits for children with higher levels of mental health vulnerabilities and potentially act as an equalizer of mental health among school-age children.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “When Schools Give Kids Time in Nature, Anxiety and Behavior Issues Ease,” Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, November 18, 2024

Neurology Advisor (11/18, Khaja) reports, “In older adults who survived stroke, incident stroke is associated with acute and accelerated long-term cognitive decline, according to study findings.” The researchers said, “Targeting modifiable vascular risk factors at an early stage may reduce the risk of stroke but also subsequent risk of stroke-related cognitive decline and cognitive impairment.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Cognitive Decline After Stroke Is Prevalent Among Older Stroke Survivors,” Hibah Khaja, PharmD, Neurology Advisor, November 18, 2024