Psychiatric News (6/2) reports, “Older adults being treated for depression with a combination of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and medication appear to have similar cognitive improvements over time as those treated with medication only,” investigators concluded after examining “six-month neurocognitive outcomes for a total of 120 patients with remitted depression who received either a combination of ECT (right unilateral ultrabrief pulse ECT), venlafaxine, and lithium or venlafaxine and lithium only as part of the” Prolonging Remission in Depressed Elderly study. The findings were published online May 17 in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “ECT, Medication Combo Found as Safe as Medication Alone to Maintain Remission From MDD, Psychiatric News, June 2, 2021

HCPlive (6/2, Iopace) reports the FDA “has granted de novo clearance” to Cognoa “for an AI-based, diagnostic aid (Canvas Dx) designed to aid physicians in primary care” in making a “diagnosis of autism.” This clearance “is the first authorized to aid in primary care diagnosis of autism in young children, with the goal of shortening time-to-diagnosis and initiation of earlier interventions.” The diagnostic aid “is indicated for use in diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder for patients aged 18 to 72 months at risk of developmental delay, based on concerns from parent, caregiver, or” clinician.

Related Links:

— “FDA Grants De Novo Clearance to AI-Based Autism Diagnosis Aid “Connor Iapoce, HCPlive, June 2, 2021

Healio (6/2, Gramigna) reports, “Suicide rates in the United States differed by race and ethnicity in recent years,” researchers concluded after obtaining and then analyzing “data for this study via the National Vital Statistics System…with rates adjusted for age according to postcensal population estimates.” The study team “collected mortality, race and ethnicity data from death certificates. The findings of the “cross-sectional study” were published online May 26 in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Suicide rates differed significantly by race, ethnicity in past decade “Joe Gramigna, Healio, June 2, 2021

HCPlive (6/1, Walter) reports, “An earlier wake up time could pay dividends in drastically cutting the risk of major depressive disorder (MDD),” researchers concluded after examining “the association of genetically proxied morning diurnal preference with the risk of depression” in some “697,828 participants of European ancestry.” The study team “used up to 340 genetic loci associated with diurnal preference in a meta-analysis of the UK Biobank and 23andMe cohorts as genetic proxies for diurnal preference.” The findings were published online May 26 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Earlier Wake Up Time Reduces Risk of Depression “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, June 1, 2021

Healio (6/1, Miller) reports, “Most buprenorphine treatment provided in the U.S. was prescribed by a small proportion of clinicians,” researchers concluded in “an analysis of retail pharmacy records.” For the study, utilizing “information collected between January 2017 and December 2018 from the health information technology and clinical research firm IQVIA,” the study team “analyzed data on 50,509 clinicians who prescribed buprenorphine formulations for opioid use disorder at least once for 14,458,729 patient months of care.” Researchers found that “most of the clinicians were primary care physicians (43.8%), advanced practice practitioners (20.6%), pain specialists (8%) and psychiatrists (14.7%).” The study also revealed that “50% of all patient months of buprenorphine treatment were prescribed by 4.9% of the studied clinicians.” The findings were published in a research letter in JAMA.

Related Links:

— “Small percentage of clinicians write most buprenorphine prescriptions “Janel Miller, Healio, June 1, 2021

Psychiatric News (6/1) reports, “U.S. youth appear more aware of the dangers of e-cigarettes than they were just five years ago,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data collected between 2015 and 2019 from the National Youth Tobacco Survey” which “is given to U.S. middle- and high-school students annually.” The study team posited that “efforts to educate adolescents about e-cigarettes may be working and point to groups of adolescents who may need additional support.” The findings were published online May 26 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “U.S. Youth Increasingly Aware of Dangers of E-Cigarettes, Psychiatric News, June 1, 2021

The Los Angeles Times (5/31, Newberry) reports, “The overwhelming stresses of the last 14 months have magnified a long-simmering crisis of mental health struggles among students.” As a result, many teachers are now facing classrooms filled with students with unaddressed mental health issues, and “relatively few teachers have been adequately trained to spot the signs of trauma and respond to it appropriately, mental health advocates say.”

Related Links:

— “Schools face mental health crisis among students as pandemic trauma remains “Laura Newberry, The Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2021

Healio (5/28, Gramigna) reported, “Youth with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures [PNES] experienced an increased risk for numerous psychiatric disorders compared with those with epilepsy and healthy controls,” researchers concluded in a study that “emphasized the importance of ‘a careful psychiatric evaluation’ for enhancing and individualizing treatment among those with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures.” The study team arrived at this conclusion after analyzing “data from 384 children and adolescents with validated PNES, 1,152 with epilepsy and 1,920 with neither, termed healthy controls, all of whom were aged 5 to 17 years at time of diagnosis, between January 1996 and December 2014.” The findings were published online May 24 in Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures in youth warrant ‘repeated psychiatric assessment’ “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 28, 2021

Healio (5/28, Gramigna) reported, “Most Americans supported the expansion of telehealth, and a significant portion of the populations reported using telehealth services, according to results of a national opinion poll by the American Psychiatric Association” in which “more than 50%” of 1,000 respondents “aged 18 years and older” stated “they would use telehealth for mental health services.” The poll’s findings were published in a May 27 press release. Click here to see the actual poll questions.

Psychiatric News (5/28) quoted APA President Vivian Pender, MD, who stated, “The quick pivot to providing telehealth services at the start of the pandemic was vital to providing continued access to care, and this poll shows the important potential role for telehealth going forward.” Dr. Pender added, “Telepsychiatry especially helps those facing barriers such as lack of transportation, the inability to take time off work for appointments, or family responsibilities.” For his part, APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, said, “Continued access to telehealth during and after the pandemic is vital, and the poll indicates increasing public support for it.” Dr. Levin added, “As we continue to face the long tail of the pandemic, we have an opportunity to innovate and continue to improve access through telehealth.”

Related Links:

— “Poll: Most Americans support expanded telehealth, including for mental health care “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 28, 2021

Healio (5/27, Vecchione) reports, “Anxiety and depression are associated with less ideal CV health in young adults,” researchers concluded after analyzing data on “134 participants aged 18 to 34 years from the Emory Healthy Aging Study, 15.2% of whom had moderate to severe anxiety and 15% of whom had moderate to severe depression.” The study revealed that “compared with those without anxiety, participants with moderate to severe anxiety were less likely to meet ideal levels of physical activity…smoking,” and body mass index. (What’s more, these “associations appeared strongest in adults aged 26 to 34 years.” The findings were presented at the American Heart Association’s virtual Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions.

“‘Interventions to address mood disorders in this age group should consider targeting CV health behaviors such as physical activity and weight management to improve both mood and CV health,’ the researchers wrote in an abstract.”

Related Links:

— “Depression, anxiety confer lower levels of CV health in younger adults “Anthony Vecchione, Healio, May 27, 2021