Psychiatric News (6/25) reports, “The price of antipsychotic medications varies significantly between pharmacies, sometimes by differences of over $1,000,” investigators concluded after “calling 281 pharmacies in the Kansas City area and requesting the cash price of a 30-day supply of six generically available antipsychotic medications.” The study revealed that “compared with independent pharmacies, chain pharmacies had the highest prices for most medications,” while “prices at grocery store pharmacies and independent pharmacies averaged $180 and $415 lower than those at chain pharmacies, respectively.” The findings were published online June 24 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Price of Antipsychotics Varies Significantly Between Pharmacies, Study Finds, Psychiatric News, June 25, 2020

Healio (6/24, Amorosi) reports researchers found that almost a fifth “of patients who undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) develop symptoms of PTSD within 6 months.” The findings were presented during the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program.

Related Links:

— “Many patients develop clinically significant PTSD symptoms early after HSCT, “Drew Amorosi, Healio, June 24, 2020

Cancer Network (6/24, Slater) reports researchers found in a population-based study that adult cancer survivors were more likely to have mental health problems than the general population. The study’s authors wrote, “These findings provide implications for future programs and policies aimed at effectively preventing and detecting mental illness and reducing unmet [mental health] treatment needs for this vulnerable population.” The study was published in Cancer.

Related Links:

— “Elevated Mental Health Problems Observed Among Cancer Survivors, “Hannah Slater, Cancer Network, June 24, 2020

Psychiatric News (6/24) reports, “The percentage of children presenting to emergency departments (EDs) with mental illness and substance use disorders rose dramatically between 2007 and 2016, with visits related to deliberate self-harm increasing by more than 300%,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from the 2007 to 2016 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.” The study revealed that over the period of a decade, “the total number of pediatric ED visits was stable, but pediatric ED visits for all mental health disorders rose 60% and visits related to substance use disorder rose 159%.” Meanwhile, over this time period, “ED visits for deliberate self-harm increased by 329%.” The findings were published in the June issue of Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Threefold Increase Seen in Children Visiting Emergency Departments for Deliberate Self-Harm, Psychiatric News, June 24, 2020

Healio (6/23, Gramigna) reports, “Despair appeared associated with increased risk for suicidality and substance misuse among young adults,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data of 1,420 participants of the Southeastern, mixed urban-rural population-based Great Smoky Mountains Study, which was conducted between Nov. 10, 1992 and Sept. 22, 2015.” The findings of the 1,420-participant study were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Despair among young adults may increase risk for suicidality, substance misuse, “Joe Gramigna, Healio , June 23, 2020

HealthDay (6/23, Reinberg) reports, “People with schizophrenia have a suicide rate 170 times higher than the general population,” investigators concluded after examining “20 years of population data, including information on 75,000 patients with schizophrenia,” each of whom “was followed for about 10 years, on average.” The findings were published online June 2 in the journal Schizophrenia Research.

Related Links:

— “Suicide Rate 170 Times Higher for People With Schizophrenia, “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, June 23, 2020

According to MedPage Today (6/22, Hlavinka), children “whose parents were diagnosed with serious mental illness had a greater risk of sustaining injuries through age five years than those with undiagnosed parents,” investigators found. In the study, “among nearly two million parent-child pairs, children whose parents were diagnosed with depression, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder more frequently had injuries requiring a doctor’s visit, like burns, fractures, and poisonings, through age five versus children with undiagnosed parents.” The findings were published online June 22 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Parents’ Severe Mental Illness Tied to Infant, Toddler Injury, “Elizabeth Hlavinka, MedPage Today, June 22, 2020

Healio (6/22, Gramigna) reports, “Several pharmacologic treatments, including vitamin E, may reduce symptoms of tardive dyskinesia,” investigators concluded. Researchers also found that “VMAT2 inhibitors exhibited significant benefit,” as did “vitamin B6.” The findings of the multi-study meta-analysis and systematic review published online May 26 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Vitamins E, B6, VMAT2 inhibitors may reduce tardive dyskinesia symptoms, “Joe Gramigna, Healio , June 22, 2020

HealthDay (6/19, Preidt) reported, “The coronavirus pandemic is adding to the mood issues that many pregnant women and new moms experience, according to a new study.” Among the pregnant women and women who’d given birth in the last year, the research indicates that “before the pandemic, 29% had moderate to high anxiety and 15% reported symptoms of depression,” but “during the pandemic, those rates increased to 72% and 41%, respectively.” Moreover, “sixty-four percent of women said they were getting less physical activity now, while 15% were doing more and 21% had no change in activity,” according to the findings published in the journal Frontiers in Global Women’s Health.

Related Links:

— “Pandemic Affecting Mental Health of Pregnant Women, New Moms, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 19, 2020

USA Today (6/21, O’Donnell) reports that “amid projections of soaring suicide, drug and alcohol deaths from the pandemic-spawned social and economic collapse,” many mental health and substance abuse treatment centers and their patients are struggling. Such facilities have “been largely left out of the murky formula for federal COVID-19 health care funding, which has focused on the immediate financial impact on hospitals caring for patients with the virus and lost revenue from elective procedures.”

Related Links:

— “As suicide, addiction death projections soar amid COVID-19, treatment centers struggle to stay alive too, “Jayne O’Donnell, USA TODAY, June 21, 2020