The Washington Post (4/27, Goldstein) reports, “The Biden administration released guidelines Tuesday to make it easier for [physicians] and other health-care practitioners to prescribe the drug buprenorphine to treat” patients with “opioid addiction, softening restrictions widely criticized as hampering the response to the opioid epidemic.” Under the new guidelines, physicians, “physician assistants, nurse practitioners and other [healthcare professionals] no longer will need to undergo training before they are allowed to prescribe” buprenorphine, “as long as they are prescribing the medication for no more than 30 patients at a time.”

The AP (4/27, Johnson) reports under the new guidelines, prescribers will also “no longer have to refer patients to counseling services.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (4/27, Collins) reports researchers surveyed “322 adults with COVID and a sudden change in smell or taste,” finding “56% reported decreased enjoyment in life and 43% admitted feeling depressed after losing their sense of smell.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Otolaryngology.

Related Links:

— “Nothing to Sniff at: Depression Common for People With COVID-Linked Smell Loss “Sarah D. Collins, HealthDay, April 27, 2021

Healio (4/26, Gramigna) reports, “An increase in the consumption of foods rich in polyunsaturated fats may decrease suicide risk,” researchers concluded in a study that sought to “assess whether having distinctive fatty acid profiles was linked to observed fatty acid levels among a sample of 800 U.S. military members who died by suicide between 2002 and 2008 and 800 demographically matched living controls, as well as whether an association existed between those latent classes and suicide and mental health diagnoses.” The findingswere published online Feb. 23 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Higher polyunsaturated fat consumption may reduce suicide risk “Joe Gramigna, Healio, April 26, 2021

Healio (4/26, Monostra) reports, “Adults with severe mental illness and diabetes need more intensive interventions and greater support to overcome barriers to diabetes self-management,” investigators concluded in a 78-participant study that included “39 were people with severe mental illness and diabetes, nine…family members” and “30…health care staff members.” According to the study, “some feelings, such as low mood, depression, stress or anxiety, were linked to concerns about diabetes and derailed attempts at diabetes self-management,” and almost “all participants with severe mental illness and diabetes were also challenged by the burden of managing other health problems other than their mental illness and diabetes.” The findings were published online March 26 in Diabetic Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Greater support, interventions key to diabetes care for adults with severe mental illness “Michael Monostra, Healio, April 26, 2021

HealthDay (4/26, Murez) reports research indicates that “calming tunes at bedtime seem to help older people struggling with insomnia,” investigators concluded after examining data from “five studies with 288 participants.” The findings of the systematic review and meta-analysis were published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Related Links:

— “Lullaby Effect: Music Can Speed Your Way to Sleep, Study Finds “Cara Murez, HealthDay, April 26, 2021

HealthDay (4/23) reported, “Depression and other mental health problems have become much more common among pregnant women and new mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic, an international study finds.” The “researchers noted that mental health issues can harm not only a woman’s own health but also affect mother-infant bonding and children’s health over time.” The findings were published online in the journal PLOS ONE.

Related Links:

— “Pandemic Is Leading to More Depression for Pregnant Women Worldwide: Study ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 23, 2021

Healio (4/23, Miller) reported, “Most people who used kratom did so to self-treat their opioid dependence or withdrawal,” investigators concluded after analyzing “500 YouTube videos.” The study revealed that “kratom was most frequently used to self-medicate for opioid dependence/addiction (83.4%), followed by pain (75%), anxiety (67%), lack of energy (50%), depression (42%) and substance use problems (42%), as well as mood elevation (25%) and nootropic effects (25%).” The findings were published online ahead of print in the journal Emerging Trends in Drugs, Addictions, and Health.

Related Links:

— “Most people use kratom to self-manage opioid addiction “Janel Miller, Healio, April 23, 2021

NBC News (4/23, Carroll) reports, “Women who use marijuana during pregnancy are putting their babies at risk, a study published Thursday finds.” The piece says that “babies born to women who were heavy cannabis users during pregnancy are more likely to have health problems, including premature birth and death within a year of birth, compared to babies born to women who did not use cannabis during pregnancy, according to an analysis of nearly 5 million California women who gave birth between 2001 and 2012.” The findings were published in the journal Addiction.

Related Links:

— “Heavy marijuana use during pregnancy linked to premature birth, early infant death “Linda Carroll, NBC News, April 23, 2021

The AP (4/22, Arbel) reports, “Recognizing that many Americans rely on texting, U.S. regulators are weighing whether to require that phone companies allow people to text a suicide hotline.” The Federal Communications Commission “last summer voted to require a new ‘988’ number for people to call to reach a suicide-prevention hotline.” Phone companies “have until July 2022 to implement it.”

Related Links:

— “Texting option weighed for upcoming ’988′ suicide hotline “Tali Arbel, AP, April 22, 2021

HealthDay (4/22) reports autism spectrum disorder (ASD) “appears to develop differently in girls and boys, so the findings of research conducted mainly with boys might not apply to girls,” investigators concluded in a study using “functional MRI…to examine brain activity during social interactions.” The study revealed that “girls with autism use different sections of their brains than girls without autism.” Researchers also found that “girls with autism had much larger numbers of rare variants of genes active during early development of a brain region called the striatum.” The findings were published online in the journal Brain.

Related Links:

— “Brain Study Suggests Autism Develops Differently in Girls Than Boys “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 22, 2021