Healio (6/11, Miller) reported, “Individuals who used or abused opioids were significantly more likely to receive sedating medications, including benzodiazepines, than those who did not use opioids,” according to researchers who “analyzed 171,766 responses to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2015 to 2018 to determine how often opioids are used in conjunction with sedating medications.” The results, presented virtually at a medical conference, demonstrated “that opioid use and abuse varied by age, sex, race, education and income.”

Related Links:

— “Despite risks, opioid users more likely to receive sedating medications “Janel Miller, Healio, June 11, 2021

Healio (6/11, Gramigna) reported, “Apparent major depressive episodes after COVID-19 illness appeared distinct from those usually observed among adults,” researchers concluded after using “a multipanel commercial vendor to conduct 12 waves of an internet nonprobability Qualtrics survey approximately every month between May 2020 and February 2021 among people aged 18 years or older.” The findings of the 91,791-person “survey study” were published online in a research letter June 11 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Major depressive episodes after COVID-19 illness differ from typical presentation “Joe Gramigna, Healio, June 11, 2021

The Washington Post (6/11, Chiu) reported a study the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued on Friday indicates that during 2021’s early months, trips “to emergency departments for suspected suicide attempts increased roughly 50 percent for adolescent girls compared with the same period in 2019.” The authors wrote, “The findings from this study suggest more severe distress among young females than has been identified in previous reports during the pandemic, reinforcing the need for increased attention to, and prevention for, this population.”

USA Today (6/11, Hauck, Miller) and HealthDay (6/11, Thompson) also covered the story.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Healio (6/10, Ernst) reports, “Childhood-onset insomnia symptoms that continued into adulthood served as ‘strong determinants’ of internalizing disorders in young adults,” investigators concluded after examining data “from the Penn State Child Cohort, a population-based sample of 700 children,” then following “up with participants eight years later as adolescents (n = 421; median age, 16 years) and 15 years later as young adults (n = 492; median age, 24 years).” The findings were presented at the virtual SLEEP 2021 meeting.

Related Links:

— “Childhood insomnia that persists into adulthood impacts mental health of young adults “Julia Ernst, Healio, June 10, 2021

HealthDay (6/10, Preidt) reports, “Drinking rose among older Americans during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that could put their health at risk, claim researchers” from the University of Michigan who conducted a poll (PDF) of “more than 2,000 adults ages 50 to 80 were questioned in late January, when COVID-19 case rates were high nationwide and vaccination of older adults had just begun.” Approximately “14% of respondents who drink alcohol said their drinking increased during the first 10 months of the pandemic,” but “the rate was much higher among the minority who said they drink as part of their routine, to improve their mood or to relax, or to cope with boredom, stress or pain, according to the university’s National Poll on Healthy Aging.”

Related Links:

— “Pandemic Boosted Drinking Among Americans Over 50: Poll “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 10, 2021

Healio (6/10, Gramigna) reports, “Intern physicians commonly experienced work-related trauma exposure and PTSD,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data of 1,134 resident physicians in their internship year of training who entered an internship at U.S. residency programs nationwide in 2018.” The interns in the study “answered a baseline survey one to two months prior to the start of their internship, as well as follow-up surveys at four time points during the internship, with 12 months of internship as the exposure.” The findings were published online June 8 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Work-related trauma exposure, PTSD common among intern physicians “Joe Gramigna, Healio, June 10, 2021

STAT (6/9, Lloreda) reports research indicates that “a low dose of” nitrous oxide may help improve symptoms in patients with treatment-resistant depression [TRMD], investigators concluded in a study that “recruited 24 patients with TRMD, who were randomized in a crossover study to receive placebo, the low dose, or the high dose of laughing gas for one hour.” Eventually, “researchers then evaluated depressive symptoms of the 20 participants who completed all three sessions with a variety of questionnaires up to two weeks after each treatment.” The study team “found that a low dose of nitrous oxide…was just as effective at improving depression as a higher dose in patients with treatment-resistant depression, with” fewer “adverse side effects after two weeks.” The findings were published online June 9 in Science Translational Medicine.

Related Links:

— “A safer, low dose of laughing gas may be enough to help some patients with major depression, study finds “Claudia López Lloreda, STAT, June 9, 2021

TIME (6/9, Ducharme) reports, “In recent months, a small but growing number of people with Long COVID – the name adopted by those who develop lingering health problems after catching the virus – are experiencing improvements.” Experts “believe somewhere between 10% and 30% of COVID-19 patients develop long-term symptoms, including fatigue, chronic pain, brain fog, shortness of breath and gastrointestinal problems, though the severity of these can vary.” Dr. Federico Cerrone “is a pulmonologist and the co-medical director of Atlantic Health’s COVID Recovery Center in New Jersey, which has treated about 500 Long COVID patients since it opened in October 2020.” Cerrone says, “There seem to be some individual success stories, but I don’t know if I could tell you that one thing fits all. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t work. We’ve learned a lot, but there’s still a lot to learn.”

Related Links:

— “Some Patients Are Reporting Long COVID Recoveries—But Experts Still Don’t Fully Understand Why “Jamie Ducharme, TIME, June 9, 2021

Healio (6/9, Gramigna) reports, “Matching patients and therapists based on therapists’ performance strengths may improve mental health care outcomes,” researches concluded in “primary modified intent-to-treat analyses” in which “they included 218 adult outpatients, of whom 67.4% were women and 88.5% were white, treated by 48 therapists.” The study “showed a match effect on reductions in weekly general symptomatic and functional impairment, global distress and domain-specific impairment.” The findings were published online June 9 in JAMA Psychiatry. Psychiatric News (6/9) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Patient-therapist matching via therapist’s performance strengths may improve outcomes “Joe Gramigna, Healio, June 9, 2021

HealthDay (6/8, Norton) reports that research suggests “AD/HD medications might help lessen the risk of suicide in children with serious behavioral issues.” Investigators “found that medications like Ritalin [methylphenidate] and Adderall [amphetamine-dextroamphetamine], commonly prescribed for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), were linked to a lower risk of suicidal behavior among 9- and 10-year-olds with substantial ‘externalizing’ symptoms.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “ADHD Meds May Help Keep Some Kids From Thoughts of Suicide ” Amy Norton, HealthDay, June 8, 2021