Psychiatric News (9/20) reports, “A program that teaches parents how to engage with babies identified to be at high risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may reduce the likelihood of the children’s developing the disorder,” investigators concluded in a study that tested the “iBASIS–Video Interaction to Promote Positive Parenting” intervention among “103 families of babies aged nine to 15 months old showing behaviors associated with ASD, as measured by the Social Attention and Communication Surveillance–Revised…12-month checklist.” The findings were published online Sept. 20 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Childhood trauma increases depressive episode risk during perinatal period, Psychiatric News, September 20, 2021

Healio (9/20, Gramigna) reports, “Childhood trauma appeared linked to a depressive episode during the perinatal period in adulthood,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data of 3,252 women who completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire at a maternity department between November 2011 and June 2016 as part of a French multicenter prospective cohort study.” The findings were published online Sept. 7 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Childhood trauma increases depressive episode risk during perinatal period “Joe Gramigna, Healio, September 21, 2021

In a letter to the New York Times (9/16), University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine professor emeritus and psychiatrist Victor Reus says he “was disappointed” with a Times article highlighting potentially dangerous use of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes because it failed to mention “the fact that psychiatry as a profession has recognized this issue and directly addressed it in an American Psychiatric Association treatment guideline that was formulated by an expert team that I chaired in 2015-16.” Reus concludes, “It is important to identify and critique practices such as those described, but it is also important to remind clinicians and caregivers that formal professional standards exist and should be adopted.”

Related Links:

— “The Use of Antipsychotic Drugs in Nursing Homes, The New York Times, September 16, 2021

Bloomberg Law (9/17, Subscription Publication) reported, “The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a surge in mental health claims for employers,” so many “employers in many industries are looking at their cultures to ensure they’re more conducive to supporting mental health, and making sure employees get support and access to care when needed, Darcy Gruttadaro, director of the American Psychiatric Association Foundation’s Center for Workplace Mental Health (CWMH), said in an interview.” According to Bloomberg Law, “the CWMH has produced a Returning to the Workplace Guide, as well as a guide to help managers recognize and respond to employees who are having mental health problems.”

Related Links:

— “Companies Urging Workers to Open Up About Mental Health (Correct) “Sara Hansard, Bloomberg Law, September 17, 2021

The AP (9/16, Stobbe) reports, “A new study ties the COVID-19 pandemic to an ‘alarming’ increase in obesity in U.S. children and teenagers.” The study also indicates a “vicious cycle,” as “the pandemic appears to be worsening the nation’s longstanding obesity epidemic, and obesity can put people at risk for more severe illness after coronavirus infection.”

The Hill (9/16, Coleman) reports, “The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) released Thursday determined that the monthly rate of BMI increase among 2- to 19-year-olds accelerated during the pandemic to reach 0.1 kg/m² per month,” while before the pandemic, “the rate of increase was 0.052 kg/m² per month.”

MedPage Today (9/16, Walker) reports the authors “divided the children and teens into BMI categories, and found significant increases in the rate of BMI among all categories except underweight.” Additionally, “among those with overweight, moderate obesity, and severe obesity, the rates of BMI increase more than doubled, the team said, and even those with healthy weight had a rate of BMI change that almost doubled (ratio 1.78).” They found that “these changes were most pronounced among elementary school children ages 6 to 11, whose rate of BMI change more than doubled versus the pre-pandemic rate (ratio 2.50).”

Related Links:

— “Study: Childhood obesity in U.S. accelerated during pandemic “Mike Stobbe, AP, September 16, 2021

Healio (9/16, Keenan) reports, “Suicide risk was highest in the first 30 days after ideation diagnosis among certain United States Army soldiers, such as women and combat medics, according to” researchers who “looked at sociodemographic and service-related characteristics, psychiatric diagnoses, physical health care visits, injuries and history of family violence or crime perpetration or victimization.” Investigators “noted that neither PTSD nor depression diagnoses were linked to increased risk for suicide attempt in those with ideation.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Attempted suicide high among some soldiers soon after ideation diagnosis “Julie S Keenan, Healio, September 16, 2021

Healio (9/15, VanDewater) reports, “Remote school may do more harm to the mental health of older and Black and Hispanic kids and those from lower-income families,” researchers concluded in a “nationally representative, cross-sectional study” that “surveyed 2,324 adults aged 18 to 64 years who had at least one child aged two to 17 years living at home from Dec. 2, 2020, to Dec. 21, 2020, about the child’s mental health challenges (emotional problems, peer problems, conduct, hyperactivity) and whether they were receiving remote, in-person or hybrid instruction.” The findings were published online Sept. 3 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Remote learning impact on mental health may vary by age, race, ethnicity, family income “Kalie VanDewater, Healio, September 15, 2021

Psychiatric News (9/15) reports, “The federal government is proposing to permanently allow payment under the Medicare program for ‘audio-only’ telehealth mental health services,” which have “been temporarily reimbursed as part of the government’s response to the COVID-19 public health emergency.” In addition, the government “would retain other temporarily reimbursed telehealth services through 2023 in order to evaluate whether those services should be permanently added to the list of covered Medicare services.” These “recommended changes are part of the proposed 2022 Physician Fee Schedule [PDF]” by the CMS and are seen as “a victory for psychiatrists and their patients for which APA has strongly advocated.” In a letter (PDF) to the CMS Administrator, APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, stated, “Audio-only services have been a lifeline for patients for whom it is the only option when seeking mental health and substance use disorder treatment.”

Related Links:

— “CMS Proposes Adding Payment for Telehealth Services by Mental Health Professionals, Psychiatric News, September 15, 2021

mHealth Intelligence (9/15, Wicklund) reports “telehealth use by physicians jumped from 25 percent in 2018 to almost 80 percent in 2020, while almost 85 percent of psychiatrists connected with the patients via video visit or telephone during the height of the pandemic, according to” an American Medical Association survey(PDF). The data show “psychiatrists were most likely to adopt telehealth,” pediatricians “scored above 76 percent,” and dermatologists “topped the list of those using video visits, at 87.3 percent, followed by urologists at 87.2 percent.”

Related Links:

— “AMA Survey Charts Explosive Growth of Telehealth Services in 2020 “Eric Wicklund, mHealth Intelligence, September 15, 2021

Healio (9/14, Weldon) reports, “Black pediatric patients are more likely to be physically restrained in EDs than their white peers,” researchers concluded in “a cross-sectional study of 551,740 pediatric visits to 11 different EDs within an unidentified New England health care system between 2013 and 2020, including 532 (0.1%) that had an associated physical restraint order.” Researchers found “Black children were almost twice as likely to be physically restrained during ED visits compared with white peers.” The data were published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Black pediatric patients more likely to be restrained in EDs than white peers, study finds “Rose Weldon, Healio, September 14, 2021