According to Reuters (12/7, Rapaport), a 60-study review suggests that “breast cancer survivors may be more likely to experience anxiety, depression, sleep troubles and other mental health issues than women who have not been diagnosed with the disease.” The findings were published online Nov. 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Related Links:
— “Breast cancer survivors may have lingering mental health effects, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, December 07, 2018.
Vox (12/6, Lopez) reports in an article about video game addiction that “this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) for the first time recognized ‘gaming disorder’ in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).” By doing so, “the WHO joined the American Psychiatric Association (APA), which had previously added ‘internet gaming disorder’ as a phenomenon worthy of more research in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)
Related Links:
— “Video game addiction is real, rare, and poorly understood, ” German Lopez, Vox, December 06, 2018.
Healio (12/6, Demko) reports, “After conducting a meta-analysis of data from functional MRI studies, researchers found that patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD] showed hyperactivation in certain regions of the brain during error-processing and hypoactivation in other regions during inhibitory control when compared with healthy” individuals, researchers concluded after conducting “a large-scale meta-analysis of the existing literature” using “unthresholded t-maps from studies comparing patients with OCD with healthy controls during error-processing and inhibitory control.” In other words, “in OCD, the brain responds too much to errors, and too little to stop signals,” the study found. The findings were published online in Biological Psychiatry.
Related Links:
— “Error processing, inhibitory control both altered in OCD, “Savannah Demko, Healio, December 06, 2018.
Reuters (12/5, Beasley) reports CVS Health Corp announced as of the beginning of 2019 a new prescription benefit option for employer-sponsored plans that will ensure clients receive all rebates and discounts paid by drugmakers. The new plan, called “guaranteed net cost,” may serve to counter criticism of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), often the beneficiaries of rebates paid by pharmaceutical companies. CVS Caremark president Derica Rice said, “If rebates go away, this model accommodates that, but as long as we get to the lowest net cost we are indifferent.” The plans may eventually be available to other clients, including government.
Forbes (12/5) reports, “In August, CVS grabbed headlines when it disclosed that it has historically retained 2% of rebates negotiated with drug makers, which this year translates to 3% of the company’s annual earnings per share, or about $300 million.” The move by CVS echos a growing trend among PBMs generally to increase transparency on drug pricing for consumers.
The Washington Examiner (12/5, Williams) reports the plan will provide customers a “guaranteed average cost per prescription,” determined by inflation, cheaper generic alternatives, and rebate amounts.
Also covering the story are Fortune (12/5, Sherman), a second article in Fortune (12/5, Mukherjee), Healthcare Finance News (12/5, Morse), and Health Exec (12/5, Baxter).
Related Links:
— “CVS offers ‘guaranteed net cost’ for pharmacy benefit clients, “Deena Beasley, Reuters, December 05, 2018.
The NPR (12/5, Chatterjee) “Shots” blog reports investigators “have traced a connection between some infections and mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder.” Findings published online Dec. 5 in JAMA Psychiatry reveal that “a wide variety of infections, even common ones like bronchitis, are linked to a higher risk of many mental illnesses in children and adolescents.” The study team arrived at this conclusion after gathering “data on hospitalizations and prescription medications for the 1.1 million children born in Denmark between Jan. 1, 1995, and June 30, 2012.”
According to MedPage Today (12/5, Hlavinka), “the relationship was a dose-response association, with children who had more infections and more severe infections having a higher risk of developing a mental disorder.” In addition, the risk was greatest “between zero to three months after the infection, researchers found.” The authors of an accompanying editorial “wrote that the study was ‘compelling’ and ‘strongly supports’ the assumption that severe infection and the use of anti-infective agents may result in the onset of mental illness.” Also covering the study are HealthDay (12/5, Reinberg) and Healio (12/5, Demko).
Related Links:
— “Infections May Raise The Risk Of Mental Illness In Children, “Rhitu Chatterjee, Healio, December 05, 2018.
Medscape (12/4, Anderson, Subscription Publication) reports researchers found that “depression severity is tied to increased seizure frequency and to a greater risk of other psychiatric comorbidities, including panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder.” The findings were presented at the American Epilepsy Society’s annual meeting.
Related Links:
— Medscape (requires login and subscription)
Healio (12/4, Demko) reports, “Gay, lesbian and bisexual students in the U.K. were at greater risk for self-harm even after accounting for depression, anxiety, belongingness and self-esteem as mediating factors,” researchers concluded after surveying some “707 U.K. university students,” 119 of which “reported gay or bisexual status.” The findings were published online Nov. 19 in the Archives of Suicide Research.
Related Links:
— “Gay, bisexual youth at higher risk for self-harm, “Savannah Demko, Healio, December 04, 2018.
HealthDay (12/3, Reinberg) reports that research published last week revealed that “one in 40 children have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and a second study that was published online Dec. 3 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics arrived at the same conclusion.” Included in the latest study were “data on 43,000 children who took part in the 2016 National Survey.
Related Links:
— “Another Tally Puts Autism Cases at 1 in 40, “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, December 03, 2018.
The New York Times (12/3, Belluck) reports that more and more, patients, mental health advocates and physicians believe psychiatric advance directives (PADs) “could help transform the mental health system by allowing patients to shape their care even when they lose touch with reality.” In addition, PADs “offer a middle path by allowing patients to designate family members to speak for them when they’re too sick to do so themselves.” Some physicians “and hospitals are wary that the documents could tie their hands and discourage treatment they consider warranted,” while others “worry the directives won’t be updated to reflect medical advances.” Some people even “question whether people with serious psychiatric conditions are ever capable of lucidly completing such directives.”
Related Links:
— “Now Mental Health Patients Can Specify Their Care Before Hallucinations and Voices Overwhelm Them, ” Pam Belluck, The New York Times, December 03, 2018.
HealthDay (12/3, Preidt) reports, “An increase in prescriptions for antidepressants followed the 2016 ‘Brexit’ vote in England,” researchers concluded after comparing “monthly prescribing data for antidepressants in England with other classes of drugs not used to treat mood disorders.” The findings were published online Nov. 21 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
Related Links:
— “Brexit Had Brits Turning to Antidepressants: Study, ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay., December 03, 2018.