Healio (5/26, Byrne ) reported, “Health care institutions and their staffs must take action to ensure bereavement care shifts from ‘an afterthought to a public health priority,’ according to a position paperpublished in The Lancet Public Health.” Bereavement care “often is considered part of palliative care; however, there often is a lack of continuity of care for bereaved individuals after a person dies in palliative or end-of-life care settings, the paper’s authors contend.” The gap in care “can leave bereaved individuals with feelings of abandonment and lack of access to support services, as well as increased risk for morbidity and mortality.” Healio interviewed paper co-author Wendy G. Lichtenthal, PhD.

Related Links:

— “Bereavement care, often an ‘afterthought,’ should be public health priority,”Jennifer Byrne, Healio , May 26, 2024

The Washington Post (5/27, Docter-Loeb) reports, “When asked, 75 percent of survey respondents said they felt mental health conditions are identified and treated worse than physical health issues, according to a new survey from West Health and Gallup.” The poll “also gauged mental health conditions among participants. Of the respondents: 51 percent reported experiencing depression, anxiety or another mental health condition in the previous 12 months.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Healio (5/23, Weldon) reports, “Approximately one in nine children in the United States had ever received an ADHD diagnosis as of 2022, according to research.” Additionally, 77.9% of these children “had at least one co-occurring disorder such as anxiety, depression, developmental delay and autism spectrum disorder.” These findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology.

Related Links:

— “1 in 9 US children diagnosed with ADHD,”Rose Weldon , Healio , May 23, 2024

Healio (5/23, Weldon) reports, “Among people aged 10 to 19 years who died due to firearms during a recent 6-year period, more than half of the deaths in 19 states were attributed to suicide, according to a study published in JAMA Pediatrics.” These results were “also found to be true for young adults aged 20 to 24 years in 24 states.”

Related Links:

— “Suicides account for more than half of youth firearm deaths in 19 states,”Rose Weldon, Healio , May 23, 2024

The AP (5/22, Johnson ) reports, “Millions of people in the U.S. report using marijuana daily or nearly every day, according to an analysis of national survey data, and those people now outnumber those who say they are daily or nearly-daily drinkers of alcohol.” Although “alcohol is still more widely used…2022 was the first time this intensive level of marijuana use overtook daily and near-daily drinking, said the study’s author, Jonathan Caulkins, a cannabis policy researcher at Carnegie Mellon University.” Caulkins said, “A good 40% of current cannabis users are using it daily or near daily, a pattern that is more associated with tobacco use than typical alcohol use.” These findings were published in Addiction.

The Hill (5/22, Nazzaro) reports, “About 17.7 million people in 2022 recorded daily or nearly daily use of marijuana, compared to the 14.7 million who reported the same habits for alcohol, marking the first time in the past 30 years that daily marijuana use exceeded alcohol use, according to an analysis published Wednesday that looks at data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.” Additionally, “from 1992 to 2022, there was a 15-fold increase in the rate of daily or near daily use marijuana use, the analysis found.”

Related Links:

— “Daily marijuana use outpaces daily drinking in the US, a new study says,”Carla K. Johnson, AP, May 22, 2024

Cardiology Advisor (5/21, Stong ) reports, “Adult patients receiving treatment for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for the first time have an increased 10-year risk for stroke, heart failure, and a composite cardiovascular outcome, with a higher risk occurring with a higher dosage, according to a study.” Investigators came to this conclusion after evaluating “the long-term risk for acute coronary syndrome, stroke, and heart failure associated with treatment for ADHD,” using “data from Danish nationwide health registers.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Related Links:

— “ADHD Treatment Linked to Higher Long-Term Risk for Stroke and Heart Failure,”Colby Stong, Cardiology Advisor, May 21, 2024

HCP Live (5/21, Smith) reports, “There is a bidirectional association between inflammatory joint disease (IJD) and depression among patients, according to recent findings, although the link appears not to be likely impacted by patients’ treatment resistance or severity of their depression.” In the study, published in General Hospital Psychiatry, participants “who had depression were found to have a greater risk for later IJD versus their population comparators (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for IJD 1.34 [95% CI 1.30–1.39]; for PsA, 1.45 [1.29–1.63]; RA, 1.27 [1.15–1.41]; AS, 1.32 [1.15–1.52]).”

Related Links:

— “Bidirectional Link Identified Between Depression, Inflammatory Joint Disease,”Tim Smith, HCP Live, May 21, 2024

USA Today (5/20) reports “the pandemic and Zoom have seeded an online therapy boom,” and “therapists say they have never been busier.” According to USA Today, “the share of young adults ages 18 to 34 who sought counseling rose swiftly in the pandemic years, from 12% in 2019 to 18.4% in 2022, the most recent figure available from federal researchers,” while “the share of all adults seeking counseling rose from 9.5% to 12.6%.” Meanwhile, “spending on mental health services also rose, climbing by more than half, 53%, from March 2020 to August 2022, according to” a study published in JAMA Health Forum. Almost “100% of [healthcare professionals] now offer telehealth to their patients, industry surveys have found.” APA Telepsychiatry Committee Chair Dr. Shabana Khan said about telehealth, “We have been doing this for a while. We know it works well. … I think a good clinician is a good clinician, no matter how they provide the care.”

Related Links:

— “Americans are getting more therapy than ever — and spending more. Here’s why.,”Daniel de Visé , USA TODAY, May 20, 2024

The New York Times (5/20, Richtel ) reports, “As more places legalize marijuana, policymakers and health officials have worried about the health risks that the drug may pose to adolescents.” However, “a new study suggests that an additional demographic is at risk: seniors.” Published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday, the study “found that after Canada legalized marijuana, the number of emergency room visits for cannabis poisoning rose sharply among people ages 65 and older.” Such incidents “doubled after Canada legalized sale of the cannabis flower, and then tripled just 15 months later, when Canada legalized the sale of edibles.”

CNN (5/20, Rogers ) reports, “During the eight-year study period, there were 2,322 emergency department visits for cannabis poisoning in older adults who were age 69 on average. Nearly 17% of those adults were simultaneously intoxicated with alcohol, about 38% had cancer and 6.5% had dementia.”

Psychiatric News (5/20) also reports.

Related Links:

— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

NBC News (5/19, Lovelace ) reports, “Many of the ADHD medication shortages that have plagued the U.S. for the last two years have now been resolved, the Food and Drug Administration says.” However, some physicians “and patients report they are still struggling to get prescriptions filled.” Overall, “nine manufacturers now have ADHD medications back in stock, according to the FDA’s drug shortage database, up from six last September.” And “an FDA spokesperson said the agency expects additional supply will be returning in the coming months after a new manufacturer, U.S. Pharma Windlas, recently began distributing doses.

Related Links:

— “ADHD drug shortage shows signs of letting up, but some patients still struggle,” Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, May 19, 2024