According to HealthDay (1/17, Thompson), some people who have become vaccinated and boosted against COVID, who wear their masks, maintain social distance and adhere to hand washing protocols are now joining “a contingent of people who consider themselves ‘vaxxed and done’ with the COVID-19 pandemic.” Many “public health and mental health officials agree that ‘vaxxed and done’ is a real phenomenon, in that some vaccinated Americans are becoming exasperated with COVID-19 safety mandates that many fear will never” be lifted. American Psychiatric Association President Vivian Pender, MD, stated that “the new normal keeps changing. Just when it started to feel like things were going to go back to the way it used to be, along comes Omicron.” Nevertheless, “thoughtful and responsible people who’ve reached their ‘vaxxed and done’ limit should consider that wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing will help healthcare workers who are being slammed by the Omicron surge,” Dr. Pender said, as well as people who are immunocompromised or cannot be vaccinated.

Related Links:

— “COVID Fatigue: Are You Among the ‘Vaxxed & Done’? “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, January 17, 2022

Healio (1/18, Herpen) reports, “The prevalence of mental disorders has been on the rise and remains a significant leading cause of disease burden worldwide,” investigators concluded in a study that “estimates for prevalence and burden from both men and women within 23 different age groups across 204 countries and territories worldwide.” The findings of the “30-year global systematic analysis” were published online Jan. 10 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Mental disorders remain significant global burden on health “Robert Herpen, Healio, January 18, 2022

MedPage Today (1/14, George) reported “hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and no prior history of dementia had elevated levels of brain injury biomarkers,” according to an observational study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Investigators examined “data from 251 hospitalized COVID-19 patients without a history of dementia, assessing seven serum markers of neurodegeneration: t-tau, p-tau181, GFAP, NfL, UCHL1, amyloid beta 40, and amyloid beta 42,” and then compared the biomarker levels “with 161 controls without COVID-19, including 54 people with no cognitive impairment, 54 people with mild cognitive impairment, and 53 people with Alzheimer’s disease dementia.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

According to Psychiatric News (1/14), the FDA “has issued a Drug Safety Communication [PDF] about dental problems associated with the use of buprenorphine products that dissolve in the mouth (transmucosal) and is requiring that a new warning about the risk of dental problems be added to the prescribing information and patient medication guides for these products.” Among these dental problems are “tooth decay, cavities, dental abscesses/infection, tooth erosion, or tooth loss.”

Related Links:

— “FDA Issues Warning About Dental Risk With Transmucosal Buprenorphine, Psychiatric News, January 14, 2022

Reuters (1/14, Goldberg) reported, “In just six months, 988 goes live as the shortcut to call or text the U.S. suicide hotline at a time when the pandemic is ramping up the need for mental health services,” however, “many states are lagging on the rollout, and some were struggling to cope with pleas for help even before the three-digit number was envisioned.”

Related Links:

— “U.S. suicide hotline 988 is set to go live, but many states may not be ready “Barbara Goldberg, Reuters, January 14, 2022

The New York Times (1/13, Ghorayshi) reports, “Clinicians are divided over new” draft guidelines saying that transgender “teens should undergo mental health screenings before receiving hormones or gender surgeries.” This comes as “an upsurge in teenagers requesting hormones or surgeries to better align their bodies with their gender identities has ignited a debate among” physicians and other healthcare professionals “over when to provide these treatments.” In the new 350-page guidelines, a “chapter dedicated to adolescents says that they must undergo mental health assessments and must have questioned their gender identity for ‘several years’ before receiving” surgeries or medications, a stance that has divided “experts in transgender health” and reflects “a fraught debate over how to weigh conflicting risks for young people, who typically can’t give full legal consent until they are 18 and who may be in emotional distress or more vulnerable to peer influence than adults are.”

Related Links:

— “Doctors Debate Whether Trans Teens Need Therapy Before Hormones “Azeen Ghorayshi, The New York Times, January 13, 2022

Healio (1/13, Herpen) reports, “The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a drop in hospitalization for self-harm or overdose in adolescents and young adults compared to the two years before,” researchers concluded after culling “information from 1,690,733 young persons born between 1990 and 2006, in Ontario, Canada, aged 14 to 24 years between March 1, 2018, and June 30. 2021,” then breaking down data by frequency of emergency department “visits or hospitalizations due to either self-harm or overdose.” The findings were published online Jan. 12 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Hospitalization for self-harm, overdose lower during start of pandemic vs. before “Robert Herpen, Healio, January 13, 2022

Healio (1/12, Marabito) reports, “Opioid overdose deaths among older adults increased significantly from 1999 to 2019, especially among non-Hispanic Black men,” investigators concluded in a “longitudinal cross-sectional study” that “examined data on opioid overdose deaths among adults aged 55 years and older from the CDC’s Multiple Cause of Death database.” The findings of the 79,893-adult study were published online Jan. 11 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Opioid overdose deaths increased drastically among older Black men over a decade “Maria Marabito, Healio, January 12, 2022

According to HCPlive (1/12, Walter), an 85,490-participant study “examined the genetic architecture of treatment resistant schizophrenia (TRS) through the reassessment of genetic data from schizophrenia studies and its validation in ascertained clinical samples.” The study revealed that “treatment resistance is generally a polygenic trait with detectable heritability of 1-4%,” and there also appears to be “a positive association between TRS and a history of taking clozapine.” The findings were published online Jan. 12 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Genetic Data Explains Treatment Resistant Schizophrenia “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, January 12, 2022

The New York Times (1/12, Dodge) delves into whether “neurofeedback, a therapy some say can improve our attention, moods, sleeping habits and even our athletic ability by measuring brain activity and showing it to us – either on a screen or through headphones – in real time,” is effective. Currently, “neurofeedback is still not accepted as a mainstream treatment within mental health circles – and the most robust research into the intervention so far suggests it is no more effective than a placebo.” While neurofeedback is safe and has no side effects, it often is not covered by insurance and may serve to delay patients from an accepted therapy that can “actually work.”

Related Links:

— “Can Monitoring Brain Waves Boost Mental Health? “David Dodge, The New York Times, January 12, 2022