MedPage Today (9/21, Hlavinka) reports, “Transgender youth who presented to a clinic for gender-affirming care in early adolescence had fewer mental health problems than adolescents who first sought care when older, or in later stages of puberty,” investigators found in a study that revealed that “among 300 teens seeking gender-affirming care, a significantly higher proportion of adolescents older than 15 reported experiencing mental health problems compared with children under 15.” The findings were published online Sept. 16 in Pediatrics.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (9/18) reported, “Hospitals and emergency services should be prepared for a possible influx of adolescents and young adults with alcohol-related emergencies as their localities open up after COVID-19 lockdowns,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data on ED visits of patients aged 13 to 24 years that occurred during…the last three weeks of lockdown, April 10, 2020, to May 3, 2020,” and “the first three weeks after reopening, May 4, 2020, to May 27, 2020.” The study revealed that “the proportion of alcohol-related emergency department (ED) visits to two Italian hospitals jumped for this population in the weeks following the end of this spring’s lockdown compared with the same time frame in 2019.” The findings were published online Sept. 15 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

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— “Researchers Warn of Post-Lockdown Influx of Alcohol-Related Emergencies Among Youth, Psychiatric News, September 18, 2020

Healio (9/18, Gramigna) reported, “Alcohol-induced loss of consciousness appeared associated with a subsequent increase in dementia risk,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data of 131,415 participants in seven cohort studies conducted in the U.K., France, Sweden and Finland.” Included in the data were people “aged 18 to 77 years, were free of diagnosed dementia and reported alcohol consumption at baseline.” The findings of the “multicohort study” were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “People who lose consciousness due to alcohol at greater risk for dementia “Joe Gramigna, Healio, September 18, 2020

Medscape (9/17, Yasgur, Subscription Publication) reports, “Vitamin B1 deficiency may play a role in the development of alcohol-related dementia,” investigators concluded after exploring in a medical literature review “the hypothesis that the accumulation of iron in the brain is caused by a breakdown of the blood-brain barrier…attributable to thiamine depletion induced by alcohol consumption.” The findings were published online Aug. 18 in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (9/17, Preidt) reports, “Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may significantly increase the risk of dementia later in life,” investigators concluded after analyzing data from “13 studies from four continents that included a total of nearly 1.7 million people.” The analysis revealed that “people with a history of PTSD were up to two times more likely to develop dementia than those who never had PTSD.” The findings of the systematic review and meta-analysis were published online Sept. 16 in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

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— “PTSD May Be Tied to Greater Dementia Risk “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 17, 2020

As part of its “#AskReuters Twitter chat series,” Reuters (9/17, Lockwood) “gathered a group of experts to share their tips on coping with isolation, caregiving and more” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the experts quoted was Howard Liu, MD, MBA, “chair of University of Nebraska Medical Center’s department of psychiatry and spokesperson for the American Psychiatric Association,” who said, “Role modeling is so important for kids, and that includes role modeling vulnerability as parents.” Dr. Liu advised parents, “When we are grieving, don’t hide. It’s OK for kids to see your tears. When we are down, it’s OK to let them know you are seeing a therapist or psychiatrist.”

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— “Tips for managing mental health during COVID-19 “Beatrix Lockwood, Reuters, September 17, 2020

Healthcare Finance News (9/16, Lagasse) reports that “in 2020, virtual care is expected to account for more than 20% of all medical visits in the U.S., which in turn is projected to drive $29 billion in total healthcare services,” according to Doximity’s 2020 State of Telemedicine Report. The report “also found that up to $106 billion of current U.S. healthcare spend could be virtualized by 2023.”

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— “Telehealth is expected to drive $29 billion in healthcare services in 2020 “Jeff Lagasse,Healthcare Finance News, September 16, 2020

Pulmonology Advisor (9/16, May) reports a review study suggests that “long-acting naltrexone is a promising approach for opioid use disorder (OUD), but its use has clinical implications in critically ill patients who are receiving sedation and analgesia.” The review study was published in Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

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— “Managing Sedation, Analgesia in Critically Ill Patients Receiving Naltrexone “Brandon May, Pulmonology Advisor, September 16, 2020

Psychiatric News (9/16) reports, “Physicians experience higher rates of psychological distress and suicidal ideation than the general population, but the experience of age may act as a buffer for older physicians,” investigators concluded in a 10,038-physician study that also revealed that “work-life conflict declined as physicians grew older.” The findings were published online Sept. 12 in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

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— “Older Physicians Experience Less Work-Related Stress, Psychological Distress Than Younger Colleagues, Psychiatric News, September 16, 2020

Healio (9/15, Gramigna) reports, “Increasing death rates related to drug poisonings, suicide and alcohol varied significantly based on demographics and geography,” investigators concluded after analyzing “national vital statistics data of U.S. residents aged 20 to 64 years from January 2000 to December 2017.” For example, the study team “observed a significant cluster of drug poisoning deaths among the Northeast through Appalachia; however, rates of alcohol-induced and suicide deaths appeared higher in the West,” whereas “for rural areas, only suicide death rates were highest.” The findings of the “serial cross-sectional study” were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “‘Deaths of despair’ have increased along demographic, geographic lines “Joe Gramigna, Healio, September 15, 2020