Medscape (2/8, Yasgur, Subscription Publication) reported that a study suggests that people “with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are at high risk for premature death from suicide as well as other causes.” Researchers followed nearly “300 patients with BPD and 72 comparison patients who had other personality disorders (PDs).” Over the 24-year “follow-up period, almost 6% of BPD patients died by suicide, vs only 1.4% of comparison patients; 14% of BPD patients died by causes other than suicide, compared to only 5.5% of comparison participants.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (2/7, Jacobs) reports that on Thursday, Instagram announced “it would no longer allow graphic images of self-harm, such as cutting, on its platform,” a change which seems to come “in response to public attention to how the social network might have influenced a 14-year-old’s suicide.” Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, issued a statement explaining the change, noting “a distinction between graphic images about self-harm and nongraphic images, such as photos of healed scars,” which will still be allowed but will be “more difficult to find.”

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— “Instagram Bans Graphic Images of Self-Harm After Teenager’s Suicide, “Julia Jacobs, The New York Times, February 7, 2019

Medscape (2/7, Hackethal, Subscription Publication) reports, “Having chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) may increase the risk for depression and/or anxiety compared with not having the condition,” researchers concluded in a study involving 16,224 adults with CRS and 32,448 without CRS. The findings were published online Feb. 7 in JAMA Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

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The NPR (2/6, Lambert) “Shots” blog reports certain “antidepressants may dampen the effects of some common opioids, resulting in less effective pain management,” research suggests.

Healio (2/6, Demko) reports, “Using a machine learning approach,” investigators “found that patients on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs] who were prescribed prodrug opioids had more pain after leaving the hospital than those prescribed active form opioids.” The findings of the 4,306-patient study were published online Feb. 6 in PLOS One.

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— “Antidepressants Can Interfere With Pain Relief Of Common Opioids, “Jonathan Lambert, NPR, February 6, 2019

The Wall Street Journal (2/6, Holland, Subscription Publication) reports that for older adults with mental illnesses, particularly seniors living in rural areas who cannot easily visit a psychiatrist or other mental healthcare clinician due to disability or cognitive issues, telepsychiatry may be beneficial, providing patients with needed therapy online.

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— “Online Psychotherapy for the Elderly, “Emily Holland, The Wall Street Journal, February 06, 2019

MedPage Today (2/6, Hlavinka) reports, “Lower birth weight was associated with increased risk for several subsequent psychiatric disorders,” researchers concluded in a study of “over 500,000 sibling pairs.” The study revealed that people “with lower birth weights were significantly more likely to develop depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder…and autism.” The findings were published online Feb. 6 in JAMA Psychiatry.

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MD Magazine (2/5, Kunzmann) reports, “A pair of prediction tool models assessing the psychiatric adverse effects of levetiracetam show that women and patients with comorbid depression or anxiety are significantly more likely to suffer an adverse effect when taking the” medication as a treatment for epilepsy, researchers found. The findings of the 1,173-patient study were published online Jan. 28 in JAMA Neurology.

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— “Females, Previous Psychiatric Patients at Greater Risk of Adverse Levetiracetam Effects, “Kevin Kunzmann, MD Magazine, February 5, 2019

Modern Healthcare (2/5, Meyer, Subscription Publication) reports the Congressional Budget Office determined that claims data show mental healthcare professionals in the networks of commercial and Medicare Advantage plans are paid lower rates than regular Medicare pays, “which likely reduces access for patients.” The CBO researchers analyzed the data from the Health Care Cost Institute and “found that average in-network rates for two categories of common mental health services in commercial and Medicare Advantage plans in 2014 were 13% to 14% less than fee-for-service rates in traditional Medicare.” State and federal law requires parity between physical and mental healthcare coverage, but lower rates of payment “could jeopardize those patient access gains, the authors said.”

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— “Commercial plans’ lower rates for mental healthcare may reduce patient access, “Harris Meyer, Modern Healthcare, February 5, 2019

The AP (2/4, Wahlberg) reports that Wisconsin is experiencing “a surge in suicides and suicidal thoughts among farmers, who are facing some of the worst economic challenges in years, experts say,” as farmers react to “several years of low milk prices, the high cost of farm equipment, trade wars and other pressures.” Recently, however, the Southwestern Wisconsin Community Action Program “started a farmer suicide prevention project” effort that is “funded by a $50,000 grant from the UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Wisconsin Partnership Program.” This project, in which the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Iowa County is also involved, “plans to develop a mobile crisis service, conduct suicide prevention training sessions and establish networks to address suicide in a region stretching from Eau Claire to the state border with Dubuque, Iowa.”

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— “Suicide prevention project aims to help distressed farmers, “David Wahlberg, AP, February 4, 2019

Medscape (2/4, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “In a ‘head-to-head’ article published online” Jan. 30 “in the BMJ, experts debate” the harms and benefits of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for the treatment of severe depression.

According to Healio (2/4, Demko), “John Read, PhD, professor of clinical psychology at University of East London, along with Sue Cunliffe, a patient who underwent the therapy, argued that ECT does not have long-term benefits compared with placebo and may cause brain damage,” while “Sameer Jauhar, MRCPsych, from King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, and Declan McLoughlin, PhD, MRCPsych, professor of psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin, St Patrick’s University Hospital, Ireland, argued that the evidence supports ECT as an effective and safe depression treatment with manageable adverse side effects.”

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