STAT (1/27, Silverman) reports, “As state and local governments consider how to spend proceeds from settlements with opioid makers, a coalition of medical societies and advocacy groups is urging public officials to create dedicated funds to help people with substance use disorders, rather than fix holes in their budgets.” The article adds that states, counties, municipalities, and tribal nations have filed 2,600 lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, distributors, pharmacies, and others over opioids.

Related Links:

— “‘Use that money wisely’: Coalition urges governments to spend opioid settlement funds on evidence-based efforts “Ed Silverman, STAT, January 27, 2021

MedPage Today (1/27, Monaco) reports, “People with schizophrenia may face a higher risk for severe COVID-19,” research indicates. When “compared with COVID-19 patients without a psychiatric disorder, those previously diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder had more than a two times higher risk for mortality within 45 days of a confirmed case,” the study revealed. The association still remained “significant even after adjusting for medical risk factors including smoking status, hypertension, heart failure (HF), myocardial infarction, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancer.” The findings were published online Jan. 27 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Psychiatric News (1/27) reports investigators arrived at these conclusions after analyzing “data from the electronic health records of 7,348 adults, aged 18 years or older, who tested positive for coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) between March 3 and May 31, 2020, in the NYU Langone Health System.” The study also revealed that “people with mood and anxiety disorders were not at a greater risk of mortality from COVID-19 compared with people without these disorders.”

Related Links:

— “Patients With Schizophrenia Have More Than Twice the Risk of Death Related to COVID-19, Psychiatric News, January 27, 2021

The New York Times (1/26, Ellin) reports, “Physician burnout has long been a serious concern in the medical community, with roughly 400 doctors dying by suicide each year in the United States,” but the pandemic has only exacerbated this trend. Results “from an October poll of 862 emergency physicians nationwide…found that 87 percent felt more stressed since the onset of Covid-19, with 72 percent experiencing a greater degree of professional burnout.” The poll also found that, “consistent with a longstanding stigma surrounding physician mental health, 45 percent weren’t comfortable seeking mental health treatment, citing concerns about workplace stigma and fear of professional reprisal.” The Times adds, “The American Psychiatric Association, the American Medical Association and other professional groups, have formal statements against punishing doctors who seek mental health treatment.

Related Links:

— “Doctors, Facing Burnout, Turn to Self-Care “Abby Ellin, The New York Times, January 26, 2021

Healio (1/26, Weller) reports, “Depression rates were lower in patients treated with apremilast monotherapy for psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis [PsA] and higher in those treated with biologics, corticosteroids and non-apremilast combinations,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from 67,189 patients (women, 43.9%; median age, 50.4 years) who had a diagnosis of psoriasis (77%) or psoriatic arthritis with or without psoriasis (23%) and at least one prescription claim for apremilast, conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (cDMARDs), biologics and/or systemic corticosteroids.” The findings were presented in a poster at the Maui Derm for Dermatologists meeting.

Related Links:

— “Depression rate lower with apremilast treatment for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis “Madison Weller, Healio, January 26, 2021

Healio (1/25, Gramigna) reports, “Internet searches related to suicide decreased during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic,” investigators concluded after using “the Google Trends application programming interface to monitor weekly Google search rates for the term ‘suicide’ between January 2010 and July 5, 2020,” then monitoring “the top 20 unique queries related to suicide after excluding unrelated terms.” Finally, researchers “compared search rate changes before and after the U.S. declared the COVID-19 pandemic a national emergency during the second week of March 2020.” The findings of the “cross-sectional study” were published online Jan. 21 in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Suicide-related Google searches decreased significantly since onset of COVID-19 pandemic “Joe Gramigna, Healio, January 25, 2021

The Washington Post (1/25, Searing) reports a record 81,230 people died from drug overdoses in the US “in the 12 months ending last May,” according to a CDC report. Drug overdose deaths increased 18% “from the previous year, with increases recorded in 46 states (by more than 20 percent in 25 of those states) and just four states recording a decrease.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Healio (1/21, Schaffer) reports, “Low thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH] levels are positively associated with incident depression, particularly among women, and even among euthyroid adults,” investigators concluded after analyzing “baseline TSH and free thyroxine levels from 11,986 participants in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health.” The findings were published online Jan. 1 in the journal Clinical Endocrinology.

Related Links:

— “Low TSH levels associated with incident depression among women “Regina Schaffer, Healio, January 21, 2021

Psychiatric News (1/21) reports, “There was a fivefold increase in methamphetamine overdose deaths from 2011 to 2018 among U.S. adults aged 25 to 54, with American Indians and Alaska Natives experiencing the highest death rates,” investigators concluded after gathering “deidentified public health surveillance data on methamphetamine-related deaths from 2011 to 2018 from the National Vital Statistics System,” then limiting “their analysis to individuals between 25 and 54 years old, as national data show that four-fifths of people who use methamphetamines are within this age group.” The findings were published online Jan. 20 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Study Points to Methamphetamine Crisis Among American Indians, Alaska Natives, Psychiatric News, January 21, 2021

CNN (1/20, LaMotte) reports, “Heavy use of marijuana by teens and young adults with mood disorders – such as depression and bipolar disorder – is linked to an increased risk of self-harm, suicide attempts and death,” investigators concluded in a study that used “Ohio Medicare data to identify both cannabis use disorder and self-harm attempts and outcomes in youth between the ages of 10 and 24 years old.” The findings were published online Jan. 19 in JAMA Pediatrics.

HealthDay (1/20, Preidt) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Marijuana abuse by youth with mood disorders linked to suicide attempts, self-harm and death, study finds “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, January 20, 2021

Modern Healthcare (1/20, Brady, Subscription Publication) reports that “President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed several executive orders that would impact the healthcare industry.” The President, “in addition to several actions to address the COVID-19 pandemic…ordered federal agencies to review and possibly revise policies to advance racial equity and prevent and combat discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

Related Links:

— “Modern Healthcare (Requires Subscription), January 20, 2021