HCPlive (5/19, Grossi) reports researchers have conducted a 23,033-participant “retrospective cohort study” that “evaluated opioid-naive patients who were prescribed at least one opioid during an inpatient hospital visit to determine baseline factors associated with a new diagnosis of opioid use disorder (OUD).” The study revealed that “2.1% were diagnosed with the disorder within a year of receiving their first opioid in the hospital,” and “within that population…a substantial number of those individuals were young and white, residing in high opioid geo-rank regions and had a history of nonopioid related drug disorder, tobacco use, and gabapentin use.” The findings were published in the May issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Study Provides Novel Insight on OUD Diagnosis Factors in Opioid-Naive Patients “Giuliana Grossi, HCPlive, May 19, 2022

The Washington Post (5/19, Hensley-Clancy) reports on the recent suicides of five NCAA athletes. Some “current and former college athletes and advocates told The Washington Post they see the moment as a mental health crisis for college athletes,” and “the factors that have exacerbated it – the pandemic, social media, the rising pressures on young people – are shared by many college students, experts say.” For many athletes, “concern has sharpened into anger at a system they say is inherently harmful to college athletes’ mental health.” In addition to challenges faced by other young people, college athletes also face “relentless hours, physical injury, limits on social circles that are confined to teams and can disappear with injury or poor performance.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (5/19) reports, “Adolescents who prefer going to sleep later in the evening, are sleepy during the day, and sleep for shorter periods of time are more likely to participate in severe binge drinking the following year,” researchers concluded after using “data from six annual assessments from 801 participants enrolled in the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) study.” The findings were published online May 17 in the journal Alcoholism.

Related Links:

— “Poor Sleep Habits Linked to Binge Drinking Among Adolescents, Psychiatric News, May 19, 2022

ABC News (5/18, Livingston, Green) reported, “May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and two years into a global pandemic that has highlighted the need for increased access to mental health care, 570 counties across the United States” are mental healthcare deserts that “have no psychologists, psychiatrists or counselors.” Saul Levin, MD, MPA, FRCP-E, FRC, “chief executive officer and medical director for the American Psychiatric Association,” stated, “While this country has given resources for healthcare over the decades, it has never been enough.” Dr. Levin added that “rural areas, in particular…’have not gotten the resources to keep up.’” In fact, 75% “of rural counties across the country have no mental health” clinicians “or fewer than 50 per 100,000 people, according to an ABC News analysis of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data.”

Related Links:

— “America’s mental health care deserts: Where is it hard to access care? “Kelly Livingston and Maggie Green, ABC News, May 18, 2022

MedPage Today (5/18, DePeau-Wilson) reports, “People diagnosed with schizophrenia showed early signs of cognitive decline as well as rapid declines later in life,” researchers concluded in a study revealing that “on average, individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia experienced a 16-point drop in IQ from early adolescence through adulthood, as compared with a nine-point decline for people with other psychotic disorders.” Included in the study were “428 individuals (212 with schizophrenia and 216 with other psychotic disorders).” The findings were published online May 18 in JAMA Psychiatry.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HealthPayerIntelligence (5/17, Bailey) reports, “Nearly a quarter of individuals receiving coverage from employer-sponsored health plans accessed mental health support in 2020,” a report from AHIP reveals. That report “reflects medical and pharmacy claims data related to mental health support from the IBM MarketScan Commercial Database between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2020.”

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— “Employer-Sponsored Health Plans Facilitated Mental Health Access “Victoria Bailey, HealthPayerIntelligence, May 17, 2022

Psychiatric News (5/17) reports, “State policies that criminalize or punish pregnant women and adolescent girls for prenatal substance abuse may have a negative impact on outcomes such as opioid overdose and seeking treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD),” researchers concluded after having “analyzed data from 164,538 females between the ages of 15 and 45 years who had a diagnosis of OUD between 2006 and 2019, of which 13% were pregnant at least once during that time.” The study team then “compared changes in outcomes in pregnant women and adolescent girls in states with and without…prenatal substance use policies, before and after the implementation of the policies.” The findings were published online May 10 ahead of print in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment.

Related Links:

— “Policies That Criminalize Perinatal Substance Use Linked to Poor Outcomes in Mothers, Psychiatric News, May 17, 2022

Healio (5/17, VanDewater) reports, “Women with a history of depression were more likely to use marijuana and screen positive for postpartum depression than women without a history of depression,” researchers concluded after retrospectively reviewing “data from 842 patients who received prenatal care at their academic medical center between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2019.” The study also revealed a possible “link between marijuana use during pregnancy and postpartum depression regardless of depression history.” The findings were presented at the 2022 ACOG Annual Clinical & Scientific meeting.

Related Links:

— “Depression history linked to increased risk for postpartum depression, marijuana use “Kalie VanDewater, Healio, May 17, 2022

Healio (5/17, Downey) reports, “Female adolescents and teens who attempted suicide were at an increased risk for substance use disorders,” investigators concluded. The study revealed that “among 122,234 youths included (mean age, 15.6 years), 5,840 (4.8%) had attempted suicide, and 4,341 (3.6%) developed a substance use disorder.” When “compared with the 116,394 youths who did not attempt suicide (95.2%), those who did attempt to take their own life were at a greater risk for hospitalization for a substance use disorder,” the study revealed. The findings were published online May 11 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Female youths who attempt suicide at increased risk for substance use disorders “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, May 17, 2022

Bloomberg (5/16, Griffin) reports, “The U.S. government will extend the COVID-19 public-health emergency past mid-July, continuing pandemic-era policies as the nearly 2 1/2-year outbreak drags on.” Last week, several health organizations “wrote to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra urging the Biden administration to maintain the emergency ‘until it is clear that the global pandemic has receded and the capabilities authorized by the PHE are no longer necessary.’”

Related Links:

— “US Set to Extend Covid-19 Public Health Emergency Past July “Riley Griffin, Bloomberg, May 16, 2022