HealthDay (9/9, Norton) reports, “A growing number of Americans may be having serious reactions after taking phenibut – an unapproved anxiety” treatment “sold in some dietary supplements,” investigators concluded in a study that examined “calls to U.S. poison control centers.” Starting in 2015, investigators found “a sharp rise” in such calls, “going from a handful of calls each year to between 300 and 400 in 2018 and 2019.” What’s more, “the effects were sometimes life-threatening or fatal, said” one of the researchers. The findings were published online Sept. 4 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “Dangerous Abuse of Anxiety Drug Phenibut Is on the Rise “Amy Norton, HealthDay, September 9, 2020

MedPage Today (9/9, Hlavinka) reports that diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “were more common in Black people than for people of other races/ethnicities,” investigators concluded in a meta-analysis that revealed “in 21 U.S. studies conducted from 1979-2020, the pooled prevalence of” AD/HD “was 14.54% for Black adults and children and 13.87% for Black children only.” In comparison, “estimates for” AD/HD “prevalence in all races/ethnicities hover around 10% in children and are lower in adults.” The findings were published online Sept. 9 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (9/8) reports that with the increasing “number of mental health apps available for download…psychiatrists are likely to receive questions from patients on the risks and benefits of these products.” Now, “to help psychiatrists and other mental health professionals when selecting apps,” the American Psychiatric Association “has created the APA App Advisor,” which is “a website that guides users through questions to consider when evaluating mental health apps.”

Related Links:

— “Considering Mental Health Apps? APA App Advisor Can Help, Psychiatric News , September 8, 2020

The New York Times (9/9, Reynolds) reports, “Exercise makes it easier to bounce back from too much stress, according to a fascinating new study with mice.” The study “finds that regular exercise increases the levels of a chemical in the animals’ brains that helps them remain psychologically resilient and plucky, even when their lives seem suddenly strange, intimidating and filled with threats.” While “the study involved mice…it is likely to have implications for our species, too, as we face the stress and discombobulation of the ongoing pandemic and today’s political and social disruptions.” The study was published in August in the Journal of Neuroscience.

Related Links:

— “Exercise May Make It Easier to Bounce Back From Stress “Gretchen Reynolds, The New York Times, September 9, 2020

The Wall Street Journal (9/8, Kamp, Campo-Flores, Subscription Publication) reports the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the opioid crisis with deaths from opioid overdoses continuing to increase in many parts of the US.

Related Links:

— “The Opioid Crisis, Already Serious, Has Intensified During Coronavirus Pandemic “Jon Kamp and Arian Campo-Flores, The Wall Street Journal, September 8, 2020

NPR (9/8, Noguchi) reports “eating disorders are thriving during the” current COVID-19 pandemic. In recent months, “hotline calls to the National Eating Disorders Association are up 70-80%.” For some people, “eating is a form of control – a coping mechanism tied to stress.” Eating disorders also pose a “lethal threat,” having “the second-highest mortality rate of any psychiatric diagnosis – outranked only by opioid use disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Eating Disorders Thrive In Anxious Times, And Pose A Lethal Threat “Yuki Noguchi, NPR, September 8, 2020

USA Today (9/5, Ayres) reported, “During the pandemic, doctors in many parts of the country have connected with their patients online instead of in person for everyone’s safety.” Those “patients who had adapted to connecting to family and friends via video smoothly transitioned to seeing their physicians that way too, minimizing a lot of potential technical difficulties.” According to USA Today, “This situational advance of telemedicine has left many doctors and patients hoping it will continue to be an option even when life returns to ‘normal.’”

Related Links:

— “During COVID-19, many doctors and patients are using telehealth to keep connected “Amy Sinatra Ayres, USA Today, September 5, 2020

The New York Times (9/7, Goldberg) reports, “Early on in the pandemic, a pervasive myth among patients and some health authorities was the idea that Covid-19 was a short-term illness.” It’s only been “in recent months” that “more attention [has] been given to long-haulers.” For instance, the Times adds that “in online support groups like Body Politic and Survivor Corps, long-haulers have produced informal surveys and reports to study their course of illness,” and in one support group, “dozens wrote that their months of illness have contributed to anxiety and depression, exacerbated by the difficulties of accessing medical services and disruptions to their work, social and exercise routines.”

Related Links:

— “For Long-Haulers, Covid-19 Takes a Toll on Mind as Well as Body “Emma Goldberg, The New York Times, September 7, 2020

Healio (9/4, Gramigna) reported, “Certain types of childhood maltreatment were linked to suicide behaviors among children and young adults,” investigators concluded in a systematic review and meta-analysis that “included 79 studies with 337,185 youths, with a mean age of 15.67 years.” Researchers found “significant associations between higher suicide attempt rates and sexual abuse…physical abuse,” emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect, and “combined abuse.” What’s more, “these forms of childhood maltreatment were linked to as much as a 2.5 times higher risk for suicide ideation, and sexual abuse specifically with a four times higher risk for suicide plans,” the review revealed. The findings were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Childhood maltreatment linked to increased suicide behaviors among children, young adults “Joe Gramigna, Healio, September 4, 2020

The Washington Post (9/3, Brulliard, Wan) reports that “physicians and researchers are seeing signs” that the coronavirus pandemic “is doing deep damage to people’s sleep.” Dubbed “coronasomnia” by some experts, it “could prove to have profound public-health ramifications – creating a massive new population of chronic insomniacs grappling with declines in productivity, shorter fuses and increased risks of hypertension, depression and other health problems.”

Related Links:

— “The pandemic is ruining our sleep. Experts say ‘coronasomnia’ could imperil public health. ”
Karin Brulliard and William Wan, The Washington Post, September 3, 2020