MedPage Today (10/7, Henderson ) reports, “Cannabis use during adolescence and young adulthood was linked to lower academic performance, a systematic review and meta-analysis suggested.” Researchers found that “among 63 studies that comprised 438,329 participants, moderate-certainty evidence indicated that cannabis use among individuals ages 24 years and younger was likely associated with lower school grades…as well as less likelihood of high school completion…university enrollment…and postsecondary degree.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The Washington Post (10/7, Ovalle ) reports, “Overdose deaths appear to be declining sharply in the United States, a sign that efforts to combat the scourge of lethal fentanyl may be paying off even as experts caution that the toll remains unacceptably high and could rise again.” Preliminary data that were “compiled by states and released by the” CDC “show a 10 percent drop in deaths during the 12-month period ending in April, with about 101,000 people succumbing to overdoses.”

Researchers and public health officials “said the decline could reflect multiple forces, including widespread availability of the overdose-reversal medication naloxone, greater access to opioid addiction treatment, and law enforcement crackdowns on illicitly manufactured fentanyl, which had become the leading killer of 18-to-49-year-olds.”

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Healio (10/4, Rhoades) reported, “Fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses experienced ‘unprecedented’ decreases of 10% to 20% from last year, which could be due to factors like increased naloxone availability, according to researchers.” The study findings “showed a precipitous decline in state-level overdose-related mortality figures, especially among states in the Eastern region.” The findings were published in a blog post in Opioid Data Lab.

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— “Fatal drug overdose deaths down as much as 10%, although reasons why remain unclear,” Andrew Rhoades, Healio, October 4, 2024

Psychiatric News (10/4) said, “Minority youth at high risk of psychosis who live in more diverse neighborhoods tend to have less severe positive symptoms – such as unusual thoughts or grandiose ideas – than those surrounded by less diversity, reports a study.” The investigators “found that part of this association was because youth in diverse neighborhoods experience less perceived discrimination and less peer victimization such as bullying.” The findings were published in Psychiatry Research.

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— “Study Finds Neighborhood Diversity May Lessen Symptoms in Youth At Risk of Psychosis,” Psychiatric News, October 4, 2024

The New York Times (10/4, A1, Twohey , Ivory, Kessler ) reported that “from Washington State to West Virginia, psychiatrists treat rising numbers of people whose” cannabis use “has brought on delusions, paranoia and other symptoms of psychosis.” Meanwhile, “in the emergency departments of small community hospitals and large academic medical centers alike, physicians encounter patients with severe vomiting induced by the drug – a potentially devastating condition that once was rare but now, they say, is common.” According to the Times, “as marijuana legalization has accelerated across the country,” physicians “are contending with the effects of an explosion in the use of the drug and its intensity.” With more Americans “consuming more potent cannabis more often, a growing number, mostly chronic users, are enduring serious health consequences.”

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The New York Times (10/4, Caron ) reports on nighttime depression, a “colloquial term for depressive symptoms that either appear or worsen late at night,” but “it is not itself a diagnosis.” The Times says “nighttime depression is best characterized as a low mood.” American Psychiatric Association President-Elect Theresa Miskimen Rivera, MD, explained, “It’s a sense of sadness.”

Several factors can impact “mood late at night, including insomnia, loneliness, alcohol or drugs,” as well as “our circadian rhythms.” Also, nighttime depression can “feel uncomfortable — ‘not only in your mind, but in your body,’ Dr. Rivera added.” The Times adds, “Dr. Rivera advised keeping a pen and paper by your bedside to jot down any thoughts and then taking a fresh look during the day,” and to “seek care quickly or call 988” if “feelings at night become severe.”

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HCPlive (10/3, Derman) reports, “A new study showed adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders have high rates of comorbid mental health conditions and substance use but only a few received minimally adequate psychiatric treatment.” The research “revealed 71% of adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders received some mental health treatment in the past year…and only 26% were currently taking an antipsychotic.” The findings were published in Psychiatric Services.

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— “Schizophrenia Patients Face High Mental Health Comorbidity, Limited Treatment,” Chelsie Derman, HCP Live, October 3, 2024

Politico (10/2, Chiappa ) reports, “Countries should consider regulating digital devices like smartphones in a similar way to tobacco products, to combat social media’s rising negative impact on young people’s mental health, the World Health Organization’s Natasha Azzopardi Muscat said.”

With growing “evidence that problematic gaming and social media behavior is on the rise among adolescents in Europe, countries should take inspiration from other areas of public health where legislation has helped address potentially damaging habits – such as tobacco laws, she said.” Measures such as “age limits, controlled prices and even no-go zones worked for regulating tobacco, so they could be taken as an example for how to curb damaging use of handheld devices like smartphones, Azzopardi Muscat, director of country health policies and systems at WHO Europe, told POLITICO.”

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— “Control smartphones like tobacco, says leading WHO expert,” Claudia Chiappa, Politico, October 2, 2024

Healio (10/1, Welsh) says, “Mental health counseling is more effective at mitigating the risk for preterm birth compared with antidepressant treatment among pregnant women with depression, researchers reported.” Investigators found that “an increased number of mental health counseling visits from two to three was associated with a 21% greater reduction in preterm birth risk…and four or more visits was associated with a 43% greater reduction.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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— “Mental health counseling more effective at reducing preterm birth vs. antidepressants,” Erin T. Walsh, MA, Healio, October 1, 2024

MedPage Today (9/30, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “Exposure to conversion practices was associated with increases in several mental health symptoms for sexual and gender minority individuals, according to a cross-sectional study.”

In “the analysis of more than 4,000 people,” investigators found “that self-reported exposure to both gender identity and sexual orientation conversion practices was linked with greater symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (β 2.84, 95% CI 0.94-4.74) and suicidality (β 2.14, 95% CI 0.95-3.32) compared to those without any exposure.”

The findings were published in the Lancet Psychiatry. Study co-author Nguyen K. Tran, PhD, MPH, said these findings highlight “that these harmful practices continue to occur, not only within religious groups but also among mental health professionals, despite explicit opposition from multiple healthcare governing bodies such as the American Psychiatric Association.”

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