Psychiatric News (3/5) reports, “Frequent cannabis use may raise the risk of heart attack and stroke, a study…has found.” Investigators came to this conclusion after examining “data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) between 2016 and 2020.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Related Links:
— “Frequent Cannabis Use Raises Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke, Psychiatric News, March 5, 2024
Healio (3/5, Weldon) reports, “Mass shootings on school campuses in the United States have become more deadly over the last 25 years, according to a study published in Pediatrics.” Overall, during that time frame “there were 1,453 school shootings. During the most recent 5 school years, there was a substantially higher number of school shootings than the prior 15 years combined, at a total of 794 shootings between 2017 and 2022.” Additionally, “there were an average of 7.6 fatalities in five school mass shooting[s] from 1997-1998 to 2011-2012 compared with 14 in six school mass shootings from 2012-2013 to 2021-2022.”
Related Links:
— “Study: US school shootings more deadly since 1997,”Rose Weldon, Healio, March 5, 2024
The New York Times (3/4, Baumgaertner ) reports, “Toddlers who are exposed to more screen time have fewer conversations with their parents or caregivers by an array of measures. They say less, hear less and have fewer back-and-forth exchanges with adults compared with children who spend less time in front of screens.” These results, “published on Monday in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, make up one of the first sets of longitudinal evidence to confirm an intuitive reality: Screens are not just linked to higher rates of obesity, depression and hyperactivity among children; they also curb face-to-face interactions at home – with long-term implications that could be worrisome.”
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— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)
MedPage Today (3/4, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “The proliferation of ketamine clinics in the U.S. has veered far off course from the recommendations of the nation’s premier psychiatric association when it comes to using the anesthetic to treat mood disorders, experts say.” MedPage Today adds, “In 2017, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) issued a consensus statement on the use of ketamine in treating mood disorders, published in JAMA Psychiatry.” However, “the ketamine clinics cropping up across the U.S. don’t appear to follow that guidance, Smita Das, MD, PhD, MPH, of Stanford University and a spokesperson for the APA, told MedPage Today.” Dr. Das said, “[Intravenous] ketamine is being offered in smaller clinics off-label and there isn’t a practice guideline from the American Psychiatric Association that’s recommending ketamine for use in the way that it’s being used.” Dr. Das also “said the surge of ketamine clinics is something of a ‘wild west’ where vulnerable patients are being offered treatment without being informed of the downsides.”
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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)
HCP Live (2/6, Derman) reports, “Many individuals who had an emergency department visit for cannabis use developed a new anxiety disorder within 3 years, according to a new study.” Investigators found that “this applied to 27.5% of individuals who visited the emergency room due to heavy cannabis use.” The findingswere published in eClinicalMedicine.
Related Links:
— “Heavy Cannabis Use Linked to Increased Risk for Anxiety,”Chelsie Derman, HCP Live, February 6, 2024
HealthDay (3/1, Thompson ) reported, “Vaping and skipped meals appear to be the main causes of frequent headaches among teens, a new study says.” Published in Neurology, the study found that “overall, regular meals reduced risk of frequent headaches by 8%, researchers report. Researchers also found that teens who use e-cigarettes daily have twice the odds of frequent headaches than those who’ve never vaped.”
Related Links:
— “Vaping, Skipping Breakfast Ups Headache Risk for Teens,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay , March 1, 2024
Healio (3/2, Schaffer ) reported, “Epidemiological data show women with schizophrenia are 63% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD) during 3.5 years of follow-up compared with those without the condition, with a greater risk observed for women with obesity.” Investigators came to this conclusion after analyzing “data from 4,124,508 adults without baseline CVD or renal replacement therapy.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Related Links:
— “Data show ‘robust’ relationship between schizophrenia, heart disease in women,”Regina Schaffer, Healio, March 2, 2024
Psychiatric News (3/1) reported, “A large majority of U.S. adults who have pets feel that their pets have a positive impact on their mental health, according to the latest findings from APA’s Healthy Minds Poll.” In a news release, APA President Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A., said, “It’s easy to overlook the role of pets when we’re talking about mental health.” Dr. Levounis added, “But for people who do enjoy the company of animals, they can be a source of companionship, comfort, love, and friendship. I routinely encourage adoption of a pet to my patients who struggle with addiction to alcohol, drugs, or technology. We’re also starting to see more and more research around the role that animals can play in recovery from depression and other psychiatric disorders.”
Related Links:
— “Pet Ownership Has a Positive Impact on Mental Health, APA Poll Finds, Psychiatric News, March 1, 2024
The Washington Post (2/29, Pannett ) reports, “A review of research involving almost 10 million people has found a direct association between eating too many ultra-processed foods…and more than 30 health conditions, including heart disease, anxiety and early death.” For the research published in the BMJ, investigators examined “45 ‘pooled meta-analyses’ from 14 review articles involving nearly 10 million people” and “found ‘convincing evidence’ that higher ultra-processed food intake was associated with about a 50 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease-related death, a 48 to 53 percent higher risk of anxiety and common mental disorders, and a 12 percent greater risk of Type 2 diabetes.” Also, “highly suggestive evidence…indicated that diets high in ultra-processed foods were associated with a 21 percent greater risk of death from any cause.”
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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)
(2/29, Garzella) reports, “A USA TODAY analysis of Medicaid data for the 60 most used psychiatric drugs showed a growing number of people sought mental health treatment and medication during the pandemic as it pushed people into isolation and dismantled support systems.” Additionally, “the analysis also revealed a lingering effect of the pandemic: Mental health-related prescriptions rose further in 2022, up 12% from 2019, outpacing the less than 1% growth in overall prescriptions.” Dr. Smita Das, chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s addiction council, said, “This is just coming to a point where for many people, it’s been unmanageable.” But “one silver lining of the pandemic…said” Dr. Das, is, “We all started to talk about mental health more and bring it to the forefront.”
Related Links:
— “Mental health crisis fuels the post-pandemic rise in medication use,”Cecilia Garzella, USA Today , February 29, 2024