Youth Who Experience Sexual Exploitation May Exhibit High Levels Of Certain Behaviors, Systematic Review Suggests

Healio (9/25, Gramigna) reported, “Youth who experienced sexual exploitation exhibited high levels of sexual risk taking, multiple sexual partners, PTSD, child pornography exposure and childhood trauma,” investigators concluded in a “systematic review and meta-analysis” that synthesized “evidence of risk and protective factors linked to child sexual exploitation and their estimated effect sizes.” The findings were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Specific youth behaviors linked to risk for sexual exploitation “Joe Gramigna, Healio, September 25, 2020

APA CEO Calls For Nursing Homes To Ensure Patients Have Access To Mental Health Treatment And For State Officials To Investigate Claims Of Improper Evictions

Dr. Saul Levin, CEO and Medical Director of the APA, wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Times (9/24) in response to an article about nursing homes evicting poor patients in need of psychiatric care. Dr. Levin wrote, “The allegations in the article are deeply troubling” and that “evicting older Americans from nursing homes and into psychiatric hospitals or emergency rooms is inhumane and a disturbing exploitation of psychiatric evaluations.” Dr. Levin continues, “Mental health diagnoses are not weapons, and using them as such increases the stigma and prejudice against people who need treatment.” Dr. Levin concludes by calling for nursing homes to “ensure that their patients have access to mental health treatment while in residence,” and calling for state officials to “thoroughly investigate these claims.”

Related Links:

— “In Cities, No Place for Partisan Politics The New York Times, September 24, 2020

FDA Requiring Labeling Changes For All Benzodiazepine Products

USA Today (9/24, Rodriguez) reports the FDA is requiring a “Boxed Warning” on all benzodiazepine products, which include Xanax (alprazolam) and Valium (diazepam), the agency announced Wednesday. These products must now include “warning labels that spell out the risks of abuse, misuse, addiction, physical dependence and withdrawal.” The agency, “in addition to the warning label…is also requiring changes to prescribing information on all products and existing patient Medication Guides.”

Medscape (9/24, Brooks, Subscription Publication) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “FDA requires stronger warning label for Xanax, Valium and other similar benzodiazepine drugs “Adrianna Rodriguez, USA Today, September 24, 2020

COVID-19 Pandemic Has Reportedly Had A Large Impact On Women’s Mental Health

TIME (9/24, Kluger) reports the COVID-19 pandemic “has been devastating to mental health, and in many cases, the most vulnerable group is women.” Researchers at the non-profit international aid organization CARE “found that while almost nobody is spared from the anxiety, worry and overall emotional fatigue of the coronavirus pandemic, women are almost three times as likely as men to report suffering from significant mental health consequences (27% compared to 10%), including anxiety, loss of appetite, inability to sleep and trouble completing everyday tasks.

Related Links:

— “The Coronavirus Pandemic’s Outsized Effect on Women’s Mental Health Around the World “Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, September 24, 2020

Scheduling Mental Health Outpatient Appointment Following Psychiatric Discharge May Increase Odds Of Successful Transition To Community-Based Care, Researchers Say

Healio (9/24, Gramigna) reports, “Scheduling a mental health outpatient appointment following psychiatric discharge increased the odds of successful transition from hospital to community-based care,” investigators concluded in a study that “analyzed data of 15,520 inpatient psychiatric discharges included in the 2012 to 2013 New York State Medicaid and other administrative databases.” The findings were published online Sept. 15 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Scheduling mental health outpatient appointment beneficial following psychiatric discharge “Joe Gramigna, Healio, September 24, 2020

FDA Requiring Benzodiazepines To Include Abuse, Addiction Warnings

According to MedPage Today (9/23, George), on Sept. 23, the FDA announced that “benzodiazepines will be required to have class-wide labeling changes to include warnings about risks of abuse, misuse, addiction, physical dependence, and withdrawal reactions.” These “updates will be made to the boxed warning benzodiazepines already carry that cautions about risks associated with using the” medications “concurrently with certain opioids.”

Related Links:

MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Maternal Cannabis Use During Pregnancy May Increase Psychotic-Like Behaviors In Children, Study Indicates

CNN (9/23, LaMotte) reports maternal use of cannabis during pregnancy “may increase psychotic-like behaviors in children.” Investigators arrived at this conclusion after analyzing “data on 11,489 children who were followed as part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development” study, then evaluating “the children’s cognitive and behavior patterns…in middle childhood, around age nine.”

MedPage Today (9/23, D’Ambrosio) reports, “Compared to unexposed children, kids who had an in utero exposure to marijuana were more likely to develop a range of adverse outcomes in childhood, including psychopathology, reduced cognition, and lower brain volume,” the study revealed. What’s more, offspring “exposed after their mothers learned they were pregnant were at a significant risk of psychotic-like experiences, impulsivity and attention issues, and social challenges, the” researchers concluded. The findings were published online Sept. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry.

HealthDay (9/23, Thompson) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Using weed during pregnancy linked to psychotic-like behaviors in children, study finds “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, September 23, 2020

Veterans With RA Who Have Concurrent PTSD And Depression Or Anxiety May Be At Increased Risk For Early Treatment Discontinuation, Study Indicates

MedPage Today (9/23, Walsh) reports, “Veterans with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had concurrent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression or anxiety were at increased risk for early discontinuation of treatment,” investigators concluded in an analysis that “included 15,081 prescriptions for methotrexate given to 15,081 individuals and 8,412 prescriptions for a TNF inhibitor given to 7,092 patients.” After adjusting for confounding factors, researchers found that “the likelihood for stopping treatment with methotrexate was found to be higher for RA patients with PTSD,” and that “RA patients with PTSD were more likely to discontinue treatment with” a TNF inhibitor. The findings were published online Sept. 13 in ACR Open Rheumatology.

Related Links:

MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Problematic Internet Use, Computer Gaming May Correlate With Higher Risk Of Mental Health Problems Among College Students, Study Indicates

Psychiatric News (9/23) reports, “College students whose academic performance has been negatively impacted by internet use or computer gaming are at higher risk of mental health problems than students without problematic internet use/computer gaming behaviors,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from 43,003 undergraduates aged 18 and older who participated in the 2017 American College Health Association‐National College Health Assessment.” The findings were published online Sept. 16 in the journal Depression & Anxiety.

Related Links:

— “Problematic Internet Use, Gaming May Point to Students Experiencing Mental Health Symptoms Psychiatric News, September 23, 2020

Severe Mental Illness Diagnoses May Often Get Missed In Patients Hospitalized For Physical Health Problems, Research Suggests

HealthDay (9/23, Preidt) reports, “Severe mental illness diagnoses often get missed in patients hospitalized for physical health problems,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from nearly 13,800 U.K. adults who were diagnosed with severe mental illness, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, between 2006 and 2017 and who had more than 45,700 emergency hospital admissions over the period.” The study also revealed that “ethnic minority patients were more likely to have unrecorded mental health diagnoses.” The findings were published online in PLoS Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Severe Mental Illnesses Often Overlooked at Hospital Admission: Study “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 23, 2020