MedPage Today (3/22, Monaco) reported, “Concomitant use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and oral anticoagulants (OACs) in patients with atrial fibrillation was tied to an increased risk of major bleeding compared with OAC use alone, a case-control study suggested.”

This “population-based study from the U.K. showed that taking an SSRI and OAC (both direct OACs and vitamin K antagonists [VKAs]) together was associated with a 33% increased risk of major bleeding compared with OACs alone.” The data indicated that “compared with use of OACs alone, concomitant use of SSRIs plus OACs was linked to a significantly higher risk for several specific types of major bleeding.”

The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The AP (3/23, Perrone ) reported that “hundreds of free apps…are being pitched to address a crisis in mental health among teens and young adults.” The FDA does not regulate them “because they don’t explicitly claim to diagnose or treat medical conditions,” but “this hands-off approach is coming under new scrutiny with the startling advances of chatbots powered by generative AI.” The industry’s “argument is simple: Chatbots are free, available 24/7 and don’t come with the stigma that keeps some people away from therapy.” However, there are “limited data that they actually improve mental health.”

Related Links:

— “Ready or not, AI chatbots are here to help with Gen Z’s mental health struggles,” Matthew Perrone, Associated Press, March 23, 2024

HealthDay (3/20, Mundell , Miller) reports that approximately “1 in every 10 U.S. children ages 5 to 17 has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to” data from the National Center for Health Statistics. These “data from the National Health Interview Survey covers the years 2020 through 2022 and came from in-person or phone interviews involving a representative sample of American homes.”

The survey “found that 11.3% of school-age children have been diagnosed with ADHD, with boys more likely to have this diagnosis (14.5%) than girls (8%).” These findings were published as an NCHS Data Brief.

Related Links:

— “One in 10 U.S. School-Age Kids Have ADHD: Report,” Ernie Mundell, Carole Tanzer Miller, HealthDay, March , 2024

Bloomberg Law (3/20, Pazanowski , Subscription Publication) reports, “A Trump administration rule that eliminated the Affordable Care Act’s protections for LGBTQ+ people must be vacated, Boston-based advocacy groups told a federal court in a long-running case.” The Biden Administration “has been promising to undo former President Donald Trump’s 2020 ‘rollback rule’ since early 2021 and still hasn’t done so, the advocacy groups said.”

And though HHS “keeps saying a new version is imminent, the potential for another change of administration means people can’t wait any longer, the groups said in Tuesday’s brief to the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.”

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— Bloomberg Law (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (3/20) reports, “Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), defined as excessive preoccupation with perceived flaws in personal appearance, affects almost two in every 100 teens, according to” a study. Additionally, the research “found that BDD is much more common in girls than boys.”

The researchers also found that “children and adolescents with BDD are highly likely to have other psychiatric disorders—especially depression and anxiety—and to experience psychosocial problems, self-harm and/or suicide attempts.”

The findings were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Body Dysmorphic Disorder or Appearance Preoccupation Common in Teens,” Psychiatric News, March 20, 2024

Healio (3/20, Herpen) reports, “While psychedelic use may be associated with fewer psychotic symptoms among adolescents, the link between psychedelics and manic symptoms appears to be associated with genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, data show.”

Investigators came to this conclusion after analyzing “data from 16,255 adolescent twins (54.7% girls) born between July 1992 and December 2005, who first participated in the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden at age 9 years and were later assessed at ages 15, 18 and 24 years.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Link between psychedelic use, manic symptoms in teens may be associated with genetics,” Robert Herpen, MA, Healio, March 20, 2024

MedPage Today (3/20, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “Five distinct suicide profiles that could improve detection and treatment of co-existing health conditions and bolster suicide prevention strategies were identified in a cross-sectional study.” In the “analysis of 306,800 suicide deaths, individuals who faced physical health challenges comprised the largest profile class of the five (31.7%).”

The data indicated that “decedents with this profile (class 4) also had the lowest rates of disclosing suicidal intent (14.4%) or leaving a suicide note (25.1%).” Although “physical health conditions made up the largest profile, the remaining profiles were comprised of individuals who predominantly faced mental health or substance abuse conditions: Class 1: comorbid mental health and substance use problems (13.5%); Class 2: mental health problems (17.6%); Class 3: crisis, alcohol-related, and intimate-partner problems (18%);” and “Class 5: polysubstance problems (19.2%).”

The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

CNN (3/21, Cheng) reports, “The US Federal Communications Commission has taken the first step toward adopting a rule that would require telecommunications companies to route calls to the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline based on the caller’s physical location rather than their phone number’s area code.”

The agency’s chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel, “said she has submitted a notice of proposed rulemaking to the full commission and expects the rule to pass a vote in the next several weeks, given bipartisan support for the change.” She said, “When people reach out to 988 for help, they should have confidence that the support they receive is local.”

Related Links:

— “988 mental health crisis calls may soon be routed based on location rather than area code,” Mira Cheng, CNN, March 21, 2024

Bloomberg Law (3/18, Díaz , Subscription Publication) reports, “President Joe Biden signed an executive order to strengthen women’s health research standards across federal agencies and prioritize its funding, part of a broader effort to close the gap on long-standing disparities.” Biden “called it the ‘most comprehensive executive actions ever taken to improve women’s health’ at a White House event on Monday, and said it highlighted the administration’s efforts to bolster economic gains for women.”

NBC News (3/18, Kenny ) reports Biden “announced more than 20 new actions and commitments by federal agencies, including $200 million for research at the National Institutes of Health.” The Administration “described the investments as a first step toward a ‘Fund on Women’s Health’ that Biden called on Congress to invest in during his State of the Union address this month.”

Related Links:

— “Biden signs executive order to boost women’s health research,” Summer Concepcion, Fiona Glisson and Caroline Kenny, NBC News, March 18, 2024

HCP Live (3/18, Derman) reports, “Middle-aged adults in the US report significantly greater levels of loneliness than their European counterparts, and this is suggested to be because of weaker family ties and greater income inequality, a recent study” found. When “broken down to age groups, baby boomers in the US reported greater levels of loneliness than England, Continental Europe, Mediterranean Europe, and Nordic Europe.”

With regard to “Generation X, adults in the US reported greater levels of loneliness in all the same nations as baby boomers did except in England, which had an insignificant difference.” The findings were published in American Psychologist.

Related Links:

— “US Middle-Aged Adults Report Loneliness More Than European Adults: Why Is This?,” Chelsie Derman, HCP Live, March 18, 2024