Healio (11/5, Demko) reported, “Treatment-resistant depression was associated with greater health care resource use and cost among veterans than those with non–treatment-resistant depression,” researchers concluded after examining “data from inpatient and outpatient health claims from the U.S. Veterans Health Administration Medical SAS Datasets from April 2014 to March 31, 2018.” The findings were presented at the Psych Congress.

Related Links:

— “Economic burden high among veterans with treatment-resistant depression, “Savannah Demko, , November 05, 2018.

USA Today (11/2, Jansen) reported that according to an analysis conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, prescription drugs such as “opioids were responsible for the most overdose deaths of any illicit drugs since 2001.” Data also show “heroin-related deaths nearly doubled from 2013 to 2016, a trend exacerbated by the mixing of heroin with fentanyl and other synthetic drugs.” The article said that according to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, although the 164-page DEA analysis “covered statistics mostly through 2016, preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that overdose deaths began to decline last year, with opioid prescriptions falling significantly.”

The AP (11/2, Balsamo) reported that the analysis revealed drug overdose deaths reached “the highest level ever recorded in the United States last year, with an estimated 200 people dying per day.” Overall, some “72,000 people died in 2017 from drug overdoses across the country,” according to preliminary data. Recently, HHS Secretary Alex Azar “said overdose deaths, while still slowly rising, were beginning to level off, citing figures from late last year and early this year.”

Related Links:

— “Opioid crisis: DEA data show spike in deaths led by prescription drugs, heroin and synthetics such as fentanyl, “Bart Jansen, USA Today, November 02, 2018.

HealthDay (11/2, Preidt) reported, “Coming out to their families could reduce LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people’s stress levels,” research indicated. Included in the study were “58 LGBT adults, aged 18 to 35, who were asked about their depression and anxiety levels, how much support they felt, and if they had come out to family, friends, coworkers and others.” The study revealed that “the more open participants were about their sexuality to their family, the lower their cortisol levels.” HealthDay noted that higher levels of cortisol “can damage health.” The findings were published in the October issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.

Related Links:

— “‘Coming Out’ May Protect Your Health, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, November 02, 2018.

The NBC News (11/2, Fox) website reported, “An increasing number of children are showing up in U.S. emergency” departments “in the throes of a mental health crisis, researchers reported Friday.”

HealthDay (11/2, Mozes) reported that the increase appears to be “most dramatic among minorities,” research indicated. In the time frame “between 2012 and 2016, overall admissions shot up 50 percent in the” US, the study found. In fact, “more than 293,000 children – who were an average age of just over 13 – had been diagnosed for some type of mental illness in a pediatric emergency” department setting, the study revealed. The findings were slated for presentation at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference.

Related Links:

— “More kids are showing up in ERs with mental health crises, “Maggie Fox, NBC News, November 02, 2018.

HealthDay (11/1, Salamon) reports, “Social stigma may play a large role in the depression, anxiety and other mental health woes experienced by many people with autism,” research indicated. In “111 adults with autism,” investigators found that “72 percent of the psychological distress reported…was linked to social stigma, including discrimination and rejection.” The findings were published online Oct. 12 in the journal Society and Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “Stigma of Autism Can Take Toll on Psyche, “Maureen Salamon, HealthDay,November 01, 2018.

Healio (10/31, Miller) reports, “Adolescents with more frequent back pain were also more likely to report anxiety and depression, and more likely to smoke and drink alcohol,” research indicated. The findings of the 6,388-teen study were published online Sept. 10 in the Journal of Public Health.

Related Links:

— “Researchers Examine Association Between Back Pain, Mental Health, And Substance Use In Adolescents, “Janel Miller, Healio, October 31, 2018.

HealthDay (10/31, Preidt) reports, “Many pregnant women may wonder if antidepressants – or other drugs acting on the brain’s neurotransmitters – might raise their” infants’ “odds of developing autism.” A new study “suggests that’s not the case.” However, “a mother’s health before and during pregnancy may play a role in autism spectrum disorders,” researchers concluded after evaluating “the risks associated with 180 medications that target neurotransmitters, including antidepressants and antipsychotics,” using “data from nearly 100,000 children born in Israel between 1997 and 2007.” The findings were published online Oct. 31 in JAMA Psychiatry.

According to MedPage Today (10/31, George), the authors of an accompanying editorial wrote, “It would be hasty to conclude that specific drug classes have no associations with autism because there may be other mechanisms at play.” The editorialists added, “Further, it is important to recognize that a full profile of the pharmacological properties of many of the drugs examined in this study is still unknown.” Healio (10/31, Demko) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Autism Risk: Mom’s Health May Matter More Than Meds, ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, October 31, 2018.

Newsweek (10/30, Gander) reports, “Teenagers and young adults who use cannabis could find it harder to learn,” research indicated. Quitting the substance, however, “was found to boost the memory of regular users after one month.” Included in the study were “88 teenagers and young adults, between the ages of 16 to 25 years old, who used cannabis at least once a week.” The young people “who stopped using the drug appeared to improve at learning new information after only one week,” while “the control group experienced no change.” The findings were published online Oct. 30 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

According to the NPR (10/30, Cohen) “Shots” blog, “more than 14 percent of middle and high school students reported using marijuana within the last month, finds a National Institutes of Health surveyconducted” last year. What’s more, “marijuana use has increased among high schoolers over the past 10 years, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.” Also covering the story are U.S. News & World Report (10/30, Hansen) and HealthDay (10/30, Thompson).

Related Links:

— “Cannabis Study: Memory and learning Improve When Teens Quit Smoking , “Kashmira Gander, Newsweek , October 30, 2018.

Healio (10/30, Demko) reports, “Both prolonged exposure and sertraline showed good short- and long-term efficacy across a range of outcomes among patients with” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), research indicated. What’s more, “patients with PTSD who selected their form of treatment – prolonged exposure or sertraline – showed more improvement than those who were prescribed one or the other regardless of preferences,” the study revealed. The findings of the 200-patient, “doubly randomized preference trial” were published online Oct. 19 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Patient treatment preference plays role in improving PTSD outcomes, “Savannah Demko, Healio, October 30, 2018.

TIME (10/29, Heid) reports, “Young people who spend seven hours or more a day on screens are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety than those who use screens for an hour a day,” researchers concluded after examining data “from more than 40,000 kids ages two to 17” that “was collected as part of the Census Bureau’s 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health.” The findings were published online Oct. 18 in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports.

Related Links:

— “There’s Worrying New Research About Kids’ Screen Time and Their Mental Health, “Markham Heid, TIME, October 29, 2018.