HCPlive (2/23, Derman) reported, “A new study found women who work in healthcare face significantly more stress and burnout than men who work in healthcare – and job satisfaction and better work-life balance can prevent women from experiencing harmful stress.” Researchers “analyzed 71 studies published in 26 countries and 4 languages between 1979 – 2022.” In 16% of those studies, “investigators found gender inequality contributes to female healthcare” professionals’ “stress and burnout.” The findings were published in Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health.

Related Links:

— “Women Working in Healthcare Have Significantly More Burnout Than Men Colleagues,”Chelsie Derman, HCPlive, February 23, 2024

Healio (2/23, Welsh) reported, “U.S. policy changes are needed to reduce perinatal mental health deserts, standardize social determinants of health data, improve psychiatric curriculums and establish paid parental leave, researchers” argue. The investigators came to these conclusions after evaluating “publications from the past 3 years regarding the impact of mental illness on maternal mortality.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Policy changes needed to improve maternal mental health in US,”Erin T. Welsh, Healio, February 23, 2024

KFF Health News (2/22, Houghton ) reports, “States are redefining when medical professionals can get mental health treatment without risking notifying the boards that regulate their licenses.” Some states are “looking to boost confidential care for health professionals as long as they’re not deemed a danger to themselves or patients.” In recent years, no less than “a dozen states have considered or created confidential wellness programs to offer clinicians help early on for career burnout or mental health issues.” Furthermore, states have “reworked medical licensing questions to avoid scrutiny for” physicians “who need mental health treatment.” KFF Health News adds that the AMA “has encouraged states to” ensure that licensing, credentialing, and other applications focus on “current physical or mental health conditions, not past diagnoses.”

Related Links:

— “Health Care Workers Push for Their Own Confidential Mental Health Treatment,”Katheryn Houghton, KFF Health News , February 22, 2024

Psychiatric News (2/22) reports, “Children who show greater food responsiveness in early childhood have a higher risk of experiencing eating disorder symptoms in early adolescence, while those who eat more slowly have a lower risk of such symptoms, according to a study.” The research found “a 1-unit increase in the food responsiveness scale in early childhood corresponded with a 47% increased risk of binge eating symptoms in early adolescence.” The findings were published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.

Related Links:

— “Appetitive Traits in Children May Be Associated With Disordered Eating in Adolescence, Psychiatric News, February 22, 2024

Pharmacy Times (2/22, Hunter) reports “findings from a new study suggest that parental” adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) “– although they are associated with poor mental health outcomes – may be directly associated with parenting behaviors.” The study found “parental ACEs were directly associated with use of corporal punishment.” Furthermore, “stress was directly and positively associated with an inconsistent discipline style of parenting, although it may be difficult to conclude that parental stress is associated with inconsistent discipline.” The findings were published in Acta Psychologica.

Related Links:

— “Adverse Childhood Experiences Can Lead to Poor Behaviors As Parents,”Erin Hunter, Pharmacy Times , February 22, 2024

Drug Topics (2/22, Massaro) reports, “A new study found that long-term users of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) medication face a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD).” Researchers “found a 4% increase in CVD for each year of medication use, underscoring the importance of considering both the benefits and risks of long-term AD/HD treatment decisions.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Could ADHD Medication Increase Cardiovascular Disease Risk?,”Lauren Massaro, Drug Topics, February 22, 2024

CNN (2/22, Goldman ) reports, “Pharmacies across the United States are reporting that they are having difficulty getting prescriptions to patients because of a cyberattack on a unit of UnitedHealth.” On Thursday, “the company said in a regulatory filing…its Change Healthcare business, which processes prescriptions to insurance for tens of thousands of pharmacies nationwide, was compromised by hackers who gained access to some of its systems.” The company found out about “the cyberattack Wednesday, and, in a separate statement, said it expected the attack to last at least throughout the day Thursday.” The cyberattack blocked “some pharmacies from processing prescriptions to insurance companies to receive payment.”

The Wall Street Journal reports the American Hospital Association called on medical facilities to disconnect from Optum following the cyberattack. Change Healthcare offers prescription processing services through Optum.

Related Links:

— “Pharmacies across America are having trouble processing some prescriptions because of a cyberattack,” David Goldman , CNN, February 22, 2024

CNN (2/21, Christensen ) reports that research published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that “menthol cigarette bans are effective at getting people to quit smoking.” Investigators looked at data from “studies on tobacco use that were published through November 2022.” CNN adds, “The pooled results show that about a quarter of menthol smokers quit within a year or two when the substance is banned from cigarettes.” The researchers “found that of the menthol smokers who did not quit after bans were put into place, about half switched to non-menthol cigarettes, 12% switched to other flavored tobacco products, and another quarter found a way to continue smoking menthols.”

Related Links:

— “A quarter of smokers quit within a year or two of menthol bans, researchers find,”Jen Christensen, CNN, February 21, 2024

CNN (2/21, Howard ) reports, “Almost half – about 42% – of adults in the United States say they personally know at least one person who died from a drug overdose, according to survey findings.” The survey “found that among adults who reported knowing someone who died by overdose, the average number of lives lost whom they knew was two – which illustrates the ‘far-reaching consequences’ of the nation’s overdose crisis.” When asked “how many people throughout their lives they knew personally who died by overdose,” roughly “58% of survey respondents said zero, 19% said one person, and another 19% said about two to five people.” About “4% said at least six people.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Related Links:

— “About 42% of US adults know someone who died by overdose, new survey finds,”Jacqueline Howard, CNN, February 21, 2024

MedPage Today (2/21, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “Approximately 20% of people who attempted suicide did not meet criteria for a psychiatric disorder, challenging clinical consensus on who is at risk for suicidal behavior, according to a cross-sectional study.” Using data from almost “1,950 respondents to a nationally representative survey, 6.2% had no apparent lifetime psychiatric diagnoses when surveyed, and 13.4% made their first suicide attempt prior to psychiatric disorder onset, reported” the researchers. The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)