Medscape (12/4, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “Brief cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is likely a cost-saving intervention for suicidal active-duty Army soldiers,” investigators concluded in “a new economic analysis of the treatment.” In order to arrive at these findings, investigators used data from a 152-patient study, “as well as epidemiologic datasets,” to create “a decision analytic model that compared effects and costs of 12 individual brief CBT sessions plus treatment as usual vs only treatment as usual for soldiers who had recently experienced a suicidal crisis.” The findings were published online Nov. 27 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Brief CBT Lifesaving, Cost-Effective for Suicidal Crises, “Megan Brooks, Medscape, December 4, 2019

MedPage Today (12/4, Hlavinka) reports, “Patients with chronic or recurrent major depressive disorder [MDD] who achieved recovery had a higher chance of sustaining recovery when they stayed on maintenance antidepressant medication,” researchers concluded in “randomized phase II trial.” The study revealed that “among 292 adults who had achieved recovery with either medication treatment alone or combined with cognitive behavioral therapy…recurrence was significantly less likely among patients who stayed on maintenance therapy compared with those who were withdrawn from medication treatment, regardless of whether they achieved remission through medication alone” or “with combined treatment.”

Psychiatric News (12/4) reports, “Maintenance of antidepressant medication treatment was associated with a reduced risk of depressive recurrence, but previous treatment with cognitive-behavioral therapy was not,” the study revealed. The findings were published online Dec. 4 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Study Raises New Questions About How Best to Reduce Risk of Depression Recurrence, Psychiatric News, December 4, 2019

In the New York Times (12/3), pediatrician and author Cara Natterson, MD, writes, “One of the biggest myths about the beauty myth is that it’s female,” because “boys suffer from unrealistic beauty standards, too.” Natterson observes, “Many thoughtful researchers have offered up data about male body dysmorphia, showing that body image concerns and eating disorders alike are basically gender neutral.” For that reason, “we need to call out the disconnect between ideal health and ideal physique for boys, something we have done for females for many years now.” Boys need to be asked “about their experiences as emerging men in a culture often saturated with toxic masculinity; about their knowledge of what’s actually happening to their changing bodies; about the pressures associated with body goals.” Natterson concludes, “The key to raising boys begins with dialogue.”

Related Links:

— “The Beauty Myth for Boys, “Cara Natterson, The New York Times, December 3, 2019

Medscape (12/3, Anderson, Subscription Publication) reports, “Individuals with opioid use disorder are at high risk for overdose even after 18 months of treatment,” research indicated. In the study that “included 8996 adult Medicaid recipients who initiated buprenorphine therapy, continued on this treatment for a minimum of six months, and maintained Medicaid enrollment for at least six months after stopping their use of buprenorphine,” researchers “found that among patients who were treated with buprenorphine continuously for six to 18 months, about 5% were treated for an opioid overdose within six months of stopping the drug.” In all likelihood, “the true rate is…higher, inasmuch as the researchers were unable to take into account patients who overdosed but who did not present at the hospital for treatment.” The findings were published online Dec. 2 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Discontinuing Buprenorphine Too Soon ‘Life-Threatening’, “Pauline Anderson, Medscape, December 3, 2019

Reuters (12/2, Carroll) reports researchers found that “firearms are by far the most lethal suicide method, with nearly nine out of 10 attempts being fatal.” Andrew Conner, a medical student at Quinnipiac University and the study’s lead author, said, “A lot of the disparities we see in suicide rates – higher rates in males, older people and rural areas – can be explained by the type of methods people use. Certainly, the use of a firearm in a suicide attempt makes the likelihood of death higher than any other method.” The findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Firearms most lethal suicide method by far in the U.S., “Linda Carroll, Reuters, December 2, 2019

CNN (12/2, Rogers) reports, “High school students in states that require universal background checks on all prospective gun buyers are less likely to carry guns compared to students in states that require background checks only on sales through federally licensed firearms dealers,” research indicated. The study revealed that “on average, 5.8% of nearly 180,000 students who responded to the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey reported carrying a gun during the study period.” The findings were published online in Pediatrics.

HealthDay (12/2, Reinberg) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Youth in states requiring universal background checks are less likely to carry guns to school, study says, “Kristen Rogers, CNN, December 2, 2019

Healio (11/27, Gramigna) reported, “Physicians who screen positive for depressive symptoms have an increased risk for medical errors,” investigators concluded in an 11-study, 21,517-physician “systematic review and meta-analysis published” online Nov. 27 in JAMA Network Open.

Providing similar coverage were MedPage Today (11/27, Hlavinka) and Medscape (11/27, Anderson, Subscription Publication).

Related Links:

— “Physicians with depression more likely to self-report medical errors, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, November 27, 2019

Newsweek (12/2, Gander) reports “suicide attempts linked to some non-opioid medications replacing [opioid prescriptions] have risen,” in the face of falling opioid prescriptions, research indicates. In a study examining gabapentin and baclofen, “over the period the drugs were studied, suicides attempts after people took just gabapentin rose by 80.5 percent, and by 43 percent for baclofen.” The study was published in Clinical Toxicology.

Related Links:

— “Drugs Used To Replace Opioids Linked With Increase In Suicide Attempts Across U.S., “Kashmira Gander, Newsweek, December 2, 2019

CNN (11/26, Kounang) reports, “From 2000 to 2017, the rate of exposures to natural psychoactive substances such as marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms increased by nearly 75% in the” US, researchers concluded after analyzing “67,369 calls to Poison Control Centers of people inhaling or ingesting natural psychoactive substances.” The findings were published online in the journal Clinical Toxicology.

Related Links:

— “Calls to Poison Control for psychoactive drug exposure on the rise, “Nadia Kounang, CNN, November 26, 2019

NBC News (11/26, Carroll) reports on its website a study suggests “binge drinking rates are on the rise for nearly all groups of Americans.” The research showed “from 2006 to 2018, the rate of binge drinking in women with children rose at about the same pace as women without children.” Another findings is that “binge drinking among men 18 to 29 who had children actually declined during the 12-year period, the only group to do so,” dropping below the rate of binge drinking reported in childless women in that age bracket. The findingswere published in PLOS Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Moms are binge drinking more, but so are all women, study finds, “Linda Carroll, NBC News, November 26, 2019