Healio (9/28, Stonehill) reports research indicates that “female trainees compared with male trainees still experience disproportionate stress burdens, especially regarding parental leave and breastfeeding support,” investigators concluded after conducting “a web-based survey of 1,719 residents and fellows (497 completed the survey) at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to evaluate physician trainee experiences related to parental leave, breastfeeding and child care.” The findings were presented at the Women in Medicine Summit.

Related Links:

— “Female medical trainees report higher stress levels than male counterparts “Monica Stonehill, Healio, September 28, 2021

Healio (9/28, Marabito) reports, “Medical cannabis dispensary workers such as budtenders, managers and pharmacists often made recommendations on cannabis use to customers based on their personal or coworkers’ experience,” investigators concluded after analyzing “the practices of frontline dispensary workers who interacted with individuals purchasing medical cannabis.” Included in the survey were “434 staff members from 351 dispensaries in the U.S.” The study also revealed that “customers rarely received guidance from these staff members on cannabis use disorder, withdrawal, dangers of driving while using cannabis and psychotic reactions.” The findings were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Cannabis use guidance from dispensary workers often lack clinician input, safety warnings “Maria Marabito, Healio, September 28, 2021

The Washington Post (9/27, Barrett, Dwoskin) reports that on Monday, the Drug Enforcement Administration “issued a public warning…that a growing number of pain medications bought on the black market are laced with the synthetic opioid fentanyl or the stimulant methamphetamine, driving overdose deaths to record levels.” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram told The Washington Post, “We are in the midst, in my view, of an overdose crisis, and the counterfeit pills are driving so much of it.” The Post adds that there were 93,000 overdose deaths last year, up nearly 30% over 2019.

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (9/27, Norton) reports, “When mothers suffer depression during or after pregnancy, their kids may be at heightened risk, too – all the way into young adulthood, a new study suggests.” Researchers followed more than 5,000 children until age 24 and found “those whose moms had depression during or after pregnancy tended to report more depression symptoms themselves.” Depression was reported most “among young adults whose mothers had suffered depression both during and after pregnancy.” The study was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Depression During Pregnancy Raises Risk of Mood Disorder in Kids “Amy Norton, HealthDay, September 27, 2021

HealthDay (9/27) reports, “Sexual-minority adolescents have higher lifetime risks for suicide ideation, plan, and attempt than their heterosexual peers,” investigators concluded after conducting “a population-based longitudinal cohort study involving 1,771 adolescents.” The findings were published online Sept. 27 in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Sexual-Minority Teens Have Elevated Suicide Ideation, Attempt, Plan, HealthDay, September 27, 2021

Healio (9/27, Gramigna) reports, “Premorbid factors including obstetric complications, personal psychiatric background and IQ may help predict which patients are at increased risk for early-onset psychosis,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data of 278 patients with a first episode of psychosis between ages seven and 35 years who participated in a multicenter prospective longitudinal study in Spain between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2011.” The findings were published online Sept. 14 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Obstetric complications, psychiatric history, lower IQ linked to early-onset psychosis “Joe Gramigna, Healio, September 27, 2021

Healio (9/24, Marabito) reported, “Moderate to intense feelings of imposter syndrome are extremely prevalent among medical students,” investigators concluded after examining survey response data from “284 medical students.” The study “revealed that 97% of medical students experienced moderate to intense feelings of imposter syndrome,” with “half of the students surveyed” reporting “frequent imposter syndrome.” The findings were presented at the Women in Medicine Summit (virtual).

Related Links:

— “97% of medical students experience imposter syndrome, survey finds “Maria Marabito, Healio, September 24, 2021

Healio (9/24) reported, “Prolonged grief disorder will be included in the DSM-5-TR set to be released in March 2022,” the American Psychiatric Association announced in a Sept. 23 press release. According to Healio, “after a two-year process of review and public comment, APA’s board of trustees and assembly approved this DSM addition last fall.” In the release, APA President Vivian B. Pender, MD, said, “The circumstances in which we are living, with more than 675,000 deaths due to COVID, may make prolonged grief disorder more prevalent.” For his part, APA CEO and medical director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, stated, “Including prolonged grief disorder in the DSM-5-TR will mean that mental health clinicians and patients and families alike share an understanding of what normal grief looks like and what might indicate a long-term problem.”

Related Links:

— “DSM-5-TR to include prolonged grief disorder, Healio, September 24, 2021

Healio (9/23) reports that according to a Sept. 22 press release (9/22) from the “online behavioral healthcare company” Talkspace, responses from “a nationwide survey showed most employees who were considering leaving their jobs felt their employer had not properly focused on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.” The company “partnered with The Harris Poll to conduct the survey of 1,015 full-time employed adults aged 18 years or older in the U.S. between July 29 and Aug. 2.” The survey revealed that 67% “of participants considering leaving their job felt their employer had not met early pandemic promises to emphasize employee mental health, with 68% endorsing the statement, ‘My employer [said] employees should focus on ‘self-care’ but doesn’t provide the resources to do so.’”

Related Links:

— “Lack of mental health focus at work large factor when employees consider quittinge, Healio, September 23, 2021

USA Today (9/22, Hauck) reports, “More than 18 months into the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., nearly 1 in 5 Americans is consuming an unhealthy amount of alcohol, a new survey suggests.” Approximately 17% of the respondents “reported ‘heavy drinking’ in the past 30 days, according to the survey commissioned by Alkermes, an Ireland-based biopharmaceutical company.” Experts say “stress of world events and anxiety about the future can increase drinking and exacerbate symptoms of alcohol use disorder, as seen in the wake of previous disasters such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.”

The Hill (9/22, Lonas) reports, “The survey defined ‘heavy drinking’ as having two days a week where a woman drank more than four drinks or a man drank more than five drinks.” Respondents “who said they drank heavily in the past year also reported a decline in mental, psychosocial and physical health.”

Related Links:

— “Americans are using alcohol to cope with pandemic stress: Nearly 1 in 5 report ‘heavy drinking’ “Grace Hauck, USA TODAY, September 22, 2021