The Minneapolis Star Tribune (1/11, Olson) reported a study “found greater risks of social and emotional problems in infants whose mothers consumed marijuana during pregnancy.” Specifically, the research “found that 9.1% of babies from marijuana users were at risk, compared to 3.6% of babies whose mothers didn’t consume the drug while pregnant.” The study, “based on toxicology urine tests of 3,435 pregnant women during prenatal checkups, and the performance of their children around 12 months of age” also found “that 8% of mothers tested positive during pregnancy for the presence of THC.” The findings were published in the Journal of Perinatology.

Related Links:

— “Minnesota study links pot use in pregnancy to infant health risks, ” Jeremy Olson, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 11, 2020

Healio (1/10, Gramigna) reported, “Patients with Alzheimer’s disease who use antipsychotic medications may be at an increased risk for head injuries and traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs,” investigators concluded in “a nationwide register-based cohort study conducted in Finland” that went on to identify “incident antipsychotic users from the Prescription Register,” then matching “them with nonusers by age, sex and time since diagnosis, for a total of 21,795 matched pairs.” The findings were published online Jan. 7 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Related Links:

— “Patients with Alzheimer’s who use antipsychotics at increased risk for head injury, TBI, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, January 10, 2020

The Washington Post (1/9, Wan) reports that an increasing number of Americans are committing suicide in the workplace, according to statistics released “last month by the Bureau of Labor of Statistics on occupational fatalities.” The number of workplace “suicides for 2018 was 304 – an 11 percent increase from the year before and the highest number since the bureau began tracking the data 26 years ago.” The figures on workplace suicides “reflect the larger crisis in society.” In fact, “since 1999, America’s suicide rate has steadily increased, climbing 33 percent in the past two decades.”

Related Links:

— “More Americans are killing themselves at work, “William Wan, The Washington Post, January 9, 2020

Psychiatric News (1/9) reports, “Youth who drink energy drinks (beverages that contain high levels of caffeine) may be more likely to start drinking alcohol or using tobacco,” investigators concluded after collecting and then analyzing “data from a longitudinal study of 3,071 youth aged 9 to 17 in 44 German schools.” The study revealed that “baseline energy drink consumption was associated with significantly higher odds of initiating any tobacco, cigarette, e-cigarette, hookah, and alcohol use.” The findings were published online Jan. 8 in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

Related Links:

— “Energy Drink Consumption Among Youth Associated With Tobacco, Alcohol Use, Psychiatric News, January 9, 2020

Newsweek (1/8, Moyler) reports investigators “have identified six genetic variants linked to the development of anxiety disorders” after examining “genetic and health data derived from 200,000 veterans of the United States Armed Forces, which was compiled in the Million Veteran Program.” Five of the “six genetic variants associated with higher risks of developing anxiety disorders” were “found in white Americans, while an additional one was found in black Americans.” The variants “were found on chromosomes 1, 3, 6, 7 and 20,” and “the one on chromosome 7, was previously identified to be correlated with higher occurrences of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.”

Medscape (1/8, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “In European Americans, the two strongest anxiety-related loci were on chromosome 3 near special AT-rich sequence-binding protein-1 (SATB1), a global regulator of gene expression that influences expression of multiple genes involved neuronal development, and on chromosome 6 near estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1), which encodes” a receptor for estrogen. Even though “this finding might help explain why women are more than twice as likely as men to suffer from anxiety, the researchers note that they identified the variant affecting estrogen receptors in a veteran cohort made up mostly of men, and that further investigation is needed.” The findings were published online Jan. 7 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Scientists Discover Six Genetic Links To Anxiety In Largest-Ever Study On Subject, “Hunter Moyler, Newsweek, January 8, 2020

AFP (1/8) reports new research “has found that smoking may not only have a negative impact on our physical health – it could also be having an effect on our mental health.” The study “looked at more than 2,000 students enrolled at Serbian universities, who were surveyed about their smoking habits and depressive symptoms.” The findings, “published Wednesday in PLOS ONE, showed that among the students who smoke the rates of clinical depression were two to three times higher than among the non-smoking students.”

Related Links:

— “New study links smoking with increased rates of depression among young adults, AFP, January 8, 2020

Psychiatric News (1/8) reports, “The majority of young people diagnosed with a psychotic disorder by age 24 have had a psychotic-like experience at age 12 or later, yet many have never sought professional help,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data on 3,866 adults aged 24 years who had been assessed at age 12, 18, and 24 as part of the Avon Longitudinal Birth Study.” The study revealed that “participants who had had a definite psychotic experience at age 12 were 6.8 times as likely to have a psychotic disorder at age 24 as those who did not.” What’s more, 30 percent “of participants who met…criteria for a psychotic disorder had not sought professional help for their experiences,” investigators concluded. The findings were published online Jan. 7 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Psychotic Experience In Adolescence Associated With Psychotic Disorder as Young Adults, Psychiatric News, January 8, 2020

Clinical Endocrinology News (1/7, Cimino) reports researchers have “reinforced the link between anorexia nervosa and reduced bone mineral density (BMD), especially in patients with lower body mass index.” In the study, investigators “reviewed the medical records of 336 patients with either anorexia nervosa–restricting subtype” or “anorexia nervosa–binge/purge subtype…who had been admitted to a treatment facility in Denver,” measuring their bone density with “dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry.” The study revealed that “lower body mass index topped both anorexia nervosa subtype and duration of illness as a predictor of low BMD and probable osteoporosis.” The findings were published online in the journal Bone.

Related Links:

— “Anorexia linked to low bone density, osteoporosis, “Steve Cimino, Clinical Endocrinology News, January 7, 2020

Reuters (1/7, Rapaport) reports, “Teens who binge drink or abuse prescription opioids may be more likely to engage in other risky behaviors, too,” research indicated. One study of nearly 15,000 high-school students revealed that “with any history of prescription opioid misuse, teens were 23 times more likely to have used heroin, almost 19 times more likely to have tried methamphetamines, over 16 times more likely to have tried cocaine, and more than 10 times as likely to have tried marijuana.” The second study, which “followed more than 2,000 teens for about four years,” revealed that “adolescents who binge drink are more likely to drive drunk or ride with drivers who are under the influence in early adulthood, and they’re also more apt to become extreme binge drinkers who experience blackouts.” Both studies were published online in Pediatrics.

Even After Opioid Overdose, Few US Teens Get Recommended Treatment For Their Addiction, Study Indicates. HealthDay (1/7, Norton) reports, “Even after surviving an opioid overdose, few U.S. teenagers receive the recommended treatment for their addiction,” research indicated. Investigators “found that of nearly 3,800 teenagers and young adults who’d suffered an opioid overdose, less than one-third went into addiction treatment within a month,” and just “one in 54 received the medication recommended for tackling opioid dependence.” The findings were published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Teen drinking, drug use tied to other risky behaviors, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, January 7, 2020

In an opinion piece in the New York Times (1/6), psychiatrist Richard A. Friedman, MD, writes that statistics show that an alarming number of teenagers and young adults in the US “are suffering from depression and dying by suicide,” with the suicide rate jumping 56% among Americans ages 10 to 24 between 2007 and 2017, according to CDC data. Dr. Friedman says that “there are lots of theories but few definitive answers” when it comes to explaining the teen depression and suicide epidemic. Dr. Friedman then calls for “a major public campaign to educate parents and teachers to recognize depression in young people and to learn about the warning signs of suicide.”

Related Links:

— “Why Are Young Americans Killing Themselves?, “Richard A. Friedman, The New York Times, January 6, 2020