Medwire News (7/21, McDermid) reports, “The presence of an eating disorder diagnosis significantly increases the risk for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and all-cause mortality in adolescents and young adults with type 1 diabetes [T1D],” researchers concluded after using “health records to identify 20,035 adolescents and young adults (aged 10–39 years) with type 1 diabetes, 0.8% of whom had an eating disorder diagnosis.” The study authors concluded. “It is important to incorporate screening tools for disordered eating behavior into routine type 1 diabetes care to allow for timely identification of such patients and to consider eating disorders as a reason for poor glycemic control, potentially due to insulin withholding.” The findings were published online in Diabetes Care.

Related Links:

— “Eating disorders tied to increased DKA, mortality risk in young people with type 1 diabetes “Eleanor McDermid, Medwire News, July 21, 2021

Medscape (7/20, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “The global prevalence of young-onset dementia (YOD) is significantly higher than previously thought,” investigators concluded in a 74-study, 2.7 million-participant systematic review and meta-analysis showing that “currently, 3.9 million individuals are living with YOD” in which “symptoms of the memory-robbing disease start before age 65.” The findings were published online July 19 in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (7/20) reports researchers have provided “a comprehensive overview of the neurological and psychiatric impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.” They did so by compiling “data from individual case reports, cohort studies, and meta-analyses on the neurological and psychiatric outcomes in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.” The study authors observed, “CNS infection combined with environmental stress caused by pandemic fear, social and financial restrictions, and ICU monitoring may result in the development of neuropsychiatric symptoms or syndromes, including depressive symptoms or episodes, manic or hypomanic symptoms or episodes, psychotic symptoms, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and posttraumatic stress.” The findings were published online July 19 in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “COVID-19 Has Numerous Neuropsychiatric Consequences, Report Finds, Psychiatric News, July 20, 2021

Healio (7/20, Gramigna) reports, “Individuals with eating disorders had nearly nine times greater risk for lifetime OCD and eight times greater risk for current OCD vs. healthy controls,” researchers concluded in an “epidemiological meta-analysis” that “identified 846 articles,” then “calculated 35 lifetime and 42 current estimates.” The findings were published online ahead of print in the September issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

Related Links:

— “People with eating disorders have nine times greater risk for lifetime OCD “Joe Gramigna, Healio, July 20, 2021

Psychiatric News (7/19) reports, “Patients with schizophrenia may be less likely to stop treatment if prescribed clozapine or the long-acting injectable (LAI) formulations of aripiprazole and paliperidone compared with oral olanzapine,” investigators concluded in a study that “made use of data from over 37,000 veterans.” The findings were published online July 14 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “VA Study Shows Patients With Schizophrenia Least Likely to Discontinue Clozapine, LAI Antipsychotics, Psychiatric News, July 19, 2021

Healio (7/19, Gramigna) reports, “Individuals with mental disorders, particularly those with schizophrenia, received less screening and lower-quality treatment for cardiovascular disease,” investigators concluded in a systematic review and meta-analysis that “included 47 studies with a total of 24,400,452 individuals, of whom 1,283,602 had mental disorders.” The findings were published online July 14 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Individuals With Mental Disorders May Receive Less Screening, Lower-Quality Treatment For Cardiovascular Disease, Systematic Review Suggests “Joe Gramigna, Healio, July 19, 2021

Healio (7/15, Schaffer) reported, “Adults with diabetes and depression who take antidepressant medications as prescribed are less likely to develop serious diabetes complications or die compared with those not taking antidepressants regularly,” investigators concluded in a retrospective study that “analyzed data from 36,276 adults with depression and newly treated diabetes, using Taiwan’s universal health insurance database.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Related Links:

— “Regular antidepressant use may lower risk for advanced diabetes complications “Regina Schaffer, Healio, July 15, 2021

Healio (7/16, Gramigna) reported, “One-fourth of people at clinical high risk for psychosis developed psychosis within three years,” investigators concluded in “an updated meta-analysis” that “included 130 longitudinal studies that reported transition risks among a total of 9,222 individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (mean age, 20.3 years; 55.3% men).” The findings were published online July 14 in JAMA Psychiatry.
“ Risk of transitioning to psychosis was higher in studies with a lower proportion of female individuals and a higher proportion of individuals presenting with brief limited intermittent psychotic symptoms.
Meaning This updated meta-analysis indicates that the probability of transitioning to psychosis in individuals at clinical high risk is substantial and continues increasing in the long term, suggesting that an extended duration of clinical monitoring and preventive care may be beneficial.”

Related Links:

— “25% of people at clinical high risk for psychosis develop the disorder within 3 years “Joe Gramigna, Healio, July 16, 2021

The Washington Post (7/16, Sibboney) reported, “Already subject to unique discrimination at the intersection of gender and race, Black girls with” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “often remain undiagnosed because their symptoms are mischaracterized.” Signs of “inattentiveness or impulsivity, the two main features of the disorder, could be mistaken for laziness or defiance.” What’s more, “the longer these girls aren’t diagnosed and treated, the more their problems are likely to worsen as they grow into adults.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (7/14, A1, Katz, Sanger-Katz) reports, “Drug overdose deaths rose nearly 30% in 2020 to a record 93,000, according to preliminary statistics released Wednesday by the” CDC. That figure represents the “largest single-year increase recorded.” According to the article, “Several grim records were set: the most drug overdose deaths in a year; the most deaths from opioid overdoses; the most overdose deaths from stimulants like methamphetamine; the most deaths from the deadly class of synthetic opioids known as fentanyls.”

The Washington Post (7/14, A1, Bernstein, Achenbach) reports, “The increase came as no surprise to addiction specialists, drug counselors and policy experts who have watched the steady rise in deaths throughout the pandemic. But that did not make the statistics any less horrifying.”

The Wall Street Journal (7/14, A1, McKay, Subscription Publication) says the drug overdose fatalities and the COVID-19 pandemic form a twin public health crisis.

Related Links:

— “‘It’s Huge, It’s Historic, It’s Unheard-of’: Drug Overdose Deaths Spike ” Josh Katz and Margot Sanger-Katz, The New York Times, July 14, 2021