HealthDay (2/20, Mundell ) reports, “Anorexia isn’t solely a disease that strikes women and girls, Canadian experts say, so they want to raise awareness that the illness can also be serious for boys and men.” Roughly “0.3% of males will receive a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, with some types of boys and men at higher risk.” These types include “gay, bisexual, trans, and queer people,” the researchers “said, as well as guys ‘involved in body- and strength-focused sports like cycling, running and wrestling.’” The experts’ article was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Related Links:

— “Anorexia Can Hit Boys and Men, Too,”Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, February 20, 2024

HealthDay (2/20, Mundell ) reports, “Americans addicted to opioids who need the anti-addiction med buprenorphine are far more likely to find it if they live in a predominantly white neighborhood, new research finds.” The study found that “compared to largely white urban areas, the most ethnically/racially diverse urban zip codes were between 45% to 55% less likely to have prescribers able to provide buprenorphine.” Meanwhile, “that gap rose to between 62% to 79% for rural parts of the United States.” The findings were published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine.

Related Links:

— “It’s Tougher for Non-White Americans to Get Opioid Addiction Drug,”Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, February 20, 2024

Healio (2/16, Herpen) reported, “Deficits in processing speed negatively affects memory in individuals with acquired brain injury, strongly suggesting lack of memory recall is associated with poor processing and information acquisition, data show.” The research “included 63 individuals aged 18 to 70 years,” all of whom “were living with a chronic” acquired brain injury, “were at least 1 year post-injury and had no diagnosis of alcohol or substance use disorders, schizophrenia or bipolar diagnosis and no current use of benzodiazepines or other psychostimulants.” The findings were published in Brain Injury.

Related Links:

— “Processing deficits negatively impact memory in adults with acquired brain injury,”Robert Herpen, Healio, February 16, 2024

HealthDay (2/19, Thompson ) reports, “Increased access to prescription opioids has driven up U.S. suicide rates by making it easier to women to end their lives, a new study claims.” The research “also blames a shrinking federal safety net during tough economic times for rising suicide rates.” This study, in which researchers analyzed “nearly 600,000 suicide deaths in the United States between 1990 and 2017,” was published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Related Links:

— “Access to Opioids Could Be Boosting Suicide Rates,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, February 19, 2024

Healio (2/16, Feller ) reports, “More than three-quarters of people with mild COVID-19 reported experiencing insomnia after recovery, and it was more common among those with anxiety or depression, according to the results of a survey.” Investigators came to this conclusion after conducting “a cross-sectional online survey of 1,056 people in Vietnam who had lab-confirmed COVID-19 in the previous 6 months and were not hospitalized.” The findings were published in Frontiers in Public Health.

Related Links:

— “COVID-19 increases insomnia risk in people with anxiety, depression,”Stephen Feller, Healio , February 20, 2024

The New York Times (2/19, Caron ) reports on the negative impact that sleep difficulties can have on a person’s mood. According to the Times, “Conditions like anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar disorder can make it harder to sleep, which can then exacerbate the symptoms of mental illness, which in turn makes it harder to sleep well.” Meanwhile, “certain medications, including psychiatric drugs like antidepressants, can also cause insomnia. If a medication is to blame, talk to your doctor about switching to a different one, taking it earlier in the day or lowering the dose, said Dr. Ramaswamy Viswanathan, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University and the incoming president of the American Psychiatric Association.”

Related Links:

— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (2/16, Richtel ) reported “growing numbers of children and adolescents are being prescribed multiple psychiatric drugs to take simultaneously, according to a” study published in a research letter in JAMA Network Open that “looked at the prescribing patterns among patients 17 or younger enrolled in Medicaid in Maryland from 2015 to 2020.” The study “found that in 2015, 4.2 percent of Medicaid enrollees under the age of 17 in Maryland had overlapping prescriptions of three or more different classes of psychiatric medications.” The “figure rose to 4.6 percent in 2020.” The data reveal that psychotropic polypharmacy “‘was significantly more likely among youths who were disabled or in foster care,’ the new study noted.”

Related Links:

— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (2/16, Richtel ) reported “growing numbers of children and adolescents are being prescribed multiple psychiatric drugs to take simultaneously, according to a” study published in a research letter in JAMA Network Open that “looked at the prescribing patterns among patients 17 or younger enrolled in Medicaid in Maryland from 2015 to 2020.” The study “found that in 2015, 4.2% of Medicaid enrollees under the age of 17 in Maryland had overlapping prescriptions of three or more different classes of psychiatric medications.” The “figure rose to 4.6% in 2020.” The data reveal that psychotropic polypharmacy “‘was significantly more likely among youths who were disabled or in foster care,’ the new study noted.”

Related Links:

— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

According to USA Today (2/15, Alltucker), a report from the Commonwealth Fund and the African American Research Collaborative found that “47% of U.S. health care workers” surveyed “said they witnessed discrimination against patients, and 52% said that racism against patients was a major problem.” Researchers found that “employees at health facilities with a higher percentage of Black or Latino patients witnessed higher rates of discrimination.” The survey found that “at hospitals with a majority of Black patients, 70% of workers said they witnessed discrimination against patients based on their race or ethnicity.” Meanwhile, “for hospitals with mostly Latino patients, that figure was 61%.”

Related Links:

— “Nearly half of health care workers have witnessed racism, discrimination, report shows,”Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, February 15, 2024

HealthDay (2/15, Miller) reports that research indicates “walking, jogging, yoga,” and “strength training…are the most effective exercises for easing depression.” Those “activities can be used on their own or combined with medication and psychotherapy, according to an evidence review.” Although “low-intensity activities like walking and yoga are OK, the more vigorous the activity, the bigger the benefits, the Australian-led team found.” The findings were published in the BMJ.

Related Links:

— “Walking, Jogging, Yoga Are All Good Medicine for Depression,”Carole Tanzer Miller, HealthDay, February 15, 2024