Healio (12/5, Burba) reports a study found “acamprosate and oral naltrexone were associated with significantly improved alcohol consumption outcomes compared with placebo and could be used alongside psychosocial interventions as first-line treatment for alcohol use disorder.” The researchers said, “In conjunction with psychosocial interventions, these findings support the use of oral naltrexone, 50 mg/d, and acamprosate as first-line pharmacotherapies for alcohol use disorder.” The findings were published in JAMA.

Related Links:

— “,” Kate Burba, Healio, December 5, 2023

Gastroenterology Advisor (12/5) reports “major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with a higher risk for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to a study.” The researchers said the findings of the “prospective cohort study of people from 22 centers in the UK showed that MDD had a 26% higher risk [for] IBS compared with no diagnosed depression.” The findings were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Irritable Bowel Syndrome Is a Risk Factor for Major Depressive Disorder,” Gastroenterology Advisor, December 5, 2023

HealthDay (12/5, Mundell) reports “methamphetamine abuse has long plagued the gay community, but a new study finds that any form of substance abuse treatment can help users quit.” Researchers “tracked outcomes for 285 Los Angeles men who said they’d used meth at least once during the 2014-2022 study period.”

The researchers “found that if these men were involved in any form of substance abuse treatment – even if it was for another drug, such as opioids or cannabis – rates of meth use went down.” The findings were published in the Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment.

Related Links:

— “Any Kind of Drug Abuse Treatment Can Help Gay Men Kick Meth Habit,” Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, December 5, 2023

Psychiatric News (12/5) reports that in a Law & Psychiatry column in Psychiatric Services, past APA President Paul Appelbaum, MD, wrote about “the issue of older people in important positions who may be experiencing cognitive limitations.”

Appelbaum “described two federal laws that prohibit discrimination based on age – the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act – before noting that under federal law, employers are permitted to conduct [targeted] assessments of employees who show signs of impairment.” He said, “Applying that rule in a fashion that is fair to employees, and protective of the interests of employers and the public, is the difficult, but vital, task ahead.”

Related Links:

— “Targeted Assessments May Help Identify Workers Experiencing Cognitive Impairment,” APA Psychiatric News Alert, December 5, 2023

NBC News (12/5, Edwards) reports, “At least 10 babies – possibly more than 12 – have been identified with what” physicians “believe to be a new syndrome related to exposure to fentanyl in the womb.” The infants “have distinctive physical birth defects, such as cleft palate and unusually small heads.” Although no common genetic cause has been uncovered, “all were born to mothers who said they’d used street drugs, particularly fentanyl, while they were pregnant.”

HealthDay (12/5, Foster) reports the research was published in Genetics in Medicine Open.

Related Links:

— “New syndrome in newborns exposed to fentanyl possibly found,” Erika Edwards, NBC News, December 5, 2023

HealthDay (12/5, Mundell) reports “suicide rates for Americans under the age of 18 are rising at unprecedented rates, and a new report points to a likely culprit: The ongoing epidemic of opioid abuse.” Researchers “found the biggest uptick in” child suicide rates “occurred in states where the shift to illicit opioids was most pronounced” due to conditions in their environments worsening due to the opioid crisis. The findings were published in Demography.

Related Links:

— “Opioid Crisis May Be Driving Surge in Youth Suicides,” Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, December 5, 2023

MedPage Today (12/4, DePeau-Wilson) reports, “Suicide rates among Black women increased from 1999 to 2020, especially among teens and young adults, according to an analysis of national data.” The increases “were concentrated among Black women and girls ages 15 to 24, rising from 1.9 to 4.9 per 100,000 during that time period, the researchers reported.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (12/1, Mundell) reported that having a “naturally sunny disposition” may “protect you from dementia as the years advance…research shows.” According to a team at Northwestern University in Chicago, “certain personality traits – being conscientious, outgoing and positive – appear to lower a person’s odds for a dementia diagnosis.” Meanwhile, “being neurotic and more negative in outlook and behavior was tied to a higher risk for mental decline.”

The findings were published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

Related Links:

— “Your Personality Might Help Shield You From Dementia,” Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, December 1, 2023

HealthDay (12/1, Mundell) reported research from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found that “participating in repeated collision sports like football may have a direct link to long-term inflammation in the brain.” Additionally, “football players … performed notably worse than swimmers on tests that tracked learning and memory skills.” The researchers “examined PET and MRI brain scans of 27 former NFL players, taken between 2018 and early 2023.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Persistent Inflammation Could Drive Brain Issues in Former Football Players,” Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, December 1, 2023

mHealth Intelligence (12/1, Vaidya) reported that “while telehealth use has dropped nearly 25 percentage points from peak usage in 2020, certain specialties, like mental health, infectious disease, and obstetrics, still have higher-than-average telehealth use, according to new data” from Epic Research.

Usage of telehealth “skyrocketed during the initial peak early in the pandemic but has since declined, though usage remains higher than pre-pandemic levels.” The data show “telehealth use encompassed less than 1 percent of all visits in the last three quarters of 2019,” but that “figure jumped to 31.2 percent in Q2 2020 before dropping to 5.8 percent in Q3 2023.”

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Use Remains High in Mental Health, Infectious Disease Care,” Anuja Vaidya, mHealth Intelligence, December 1, 2023