HealthDay (10/25, Reinberg) reports, “Anxiety, depression and panic attacks are sending U.S. college students to mental health clinics in record numbers,” researchers concluded after examining “data from the American College Health Association to collect information on more than 450,000 undergraduates.” The study revealed “a significant increase in the diagnosis and treatment for eight of 12 mental problems…examined, with anxiety, depression and panic attacks accounting for the biggest increases.” The findings were published online Oct. 24 in the Journal of American College Health.

Related Links:

— “More College Students Seeking Mental Health Care, ” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, October 25, 2018.

According to TIME (10/25, Ducharme), “research suggests that dementia caregivers have higher levels of stress and depression than other types of caregivers.” That is probably due to “the progressive nature of Alzheimer’s, which eventually requires virtually around-the-clock care, says Elena Fazio, a health scientist administrator at the National Institute on Aging.” Fazio said, “There’s not an opportunity for respite.” She added, “‘[People with Alzheimer’s] have a host of behavioral symptoms’ – like wandering and mood swings – ‘that make it more complicated.’” Concern “for a loved one’s mental and physical safety, plus the isolating nature of the disease, increases the risk for stress, depression and anxiety, Fazio says.” TIME adds, “The National Institutes of Health is” now “studying how skills and stress-management training, along with social support, reduces depression and improves caregivers’ mental health.”

Related Links:

— “The Hidden Reasons Why Alzheimer’s Caregivers Are So Stressed, “Jamie Ducharme, Time, October 25, 2018.

The AP (10/23, Alonso-Zaldivar, Johnson) reports that the number of U.S. drug overdose deaths has started “to level off after years of relentless increases driven by the opioid epidemic,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said on Tuesday, although he cautioned “it’s too soon to declare victory.” Azar stated during an event sponsored by the Milken Institute, “We are so far from the end of the epidemic, but we are perhaps, at the end of the beginning.” CDC data show some “70,000 people died of drug overdoses last year,” which represents an increase of 10 percent compared to 2016. The article adds, “Azar said in his speech that toward the end of last year and through the beginning of this year, the number of deaths ‘has begun to plateau.’”

Politico (10/23, Ehley) reports that preliminary data from the CDC indicate “drug overdose deaths, which spiked in 2017, dropped 2.8 percent toward the end of last year and the beginning of 2018.” The article says, “Azar credited federal, state and local efforts, one day before President Donald Trump will sign overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation to address the opioid crisis.” Azar said, “The seemingly relentless trend of rising overdose deaths seems to be finally bending in the right direction.” However, CDC Director Robert Redfield warned that the “figures are preliminary but said they are encouraging.” He stated, “We’ll see how that works out as we finalize the numbers.”

Related Links:

— “US health chief says overdose deaths beginning to level off, “Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar – Carla K. Johnson, AP, October 23, 2018.

Healio (10/23, Demko) reports researchers “revealed a connection between past-year prescription opioid and benzodiazepine misuse and past-year suicidal ideation in adults aged 50 years and older in the United States” after examining “data from 17,608 adults aged 50 years and older participating in the 2015 to 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.” Investigators found that “past-year opioid misuse (adjusted OR = 1.84; 95% CI, 1.073.19) and benzodiazepine misuse (aOR = 2; 95% CI, 1.013.94) were significantly linked to past-year suicidal ideation.” The findings were published online Oct. 15 in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Prescription opioid, benzodiazepine misuse ties to suicidal thoughts in older adults, “Savannah Demko, Healio , October 23, 2018.

Medscape (10/22, Yasgur, Subscription Publication) reports, “Individuals with mental health diagnoses make 25% more visits to the emergency department (ED) than those without mental illness; increases in frequency correspond to illness severity,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data on more than 3.5 million individuals” who “accounted for more than seven million ED visits.” The findings were published online Oct. 19 in JAMA Open Network.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Medscape (10/19, Davenport, Subscription Publication) reported, “Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) appears to amplify the living environment of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in a dose-dependent manner, so that those in more positive situations are more likely to achieve remission compared with their counterparts living in less favorable conditions,” research indicated. In arriving at that conclusion, investigators examined data from 4,000 adult patients from the STAR*D study. The findings were presented at the 31st European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The AP (10/21, Reeves) reported healthcare “workers say they are seeing signs of mental problems in residents more than a week after” Hurricane Michael ravaged parts of Florida, “and the issues could continue as a short-term disaster turns into a long-term recovery that will take years.” Looking back at the psychological aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, researchers found in one study that “five years after the storm, parents reported more than 37 percent of children had been clinically diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or a behavior disorder.” As for adults now struggling in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, one expert “said most people will be back to where they were within a year or so, but others will have difficulty for a longer period.”

Related Links:

— ““I don’t feel real”: Mental stress mounting after Michael, “Jay Reeves, AP, October 21, 2018.

The Boston Globe (10/19, Finucane) reported a study published in JAMA Network Open found that people with the ApoE4 gene and who also have chronic inflammation have a higher risk of contracting Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers “used data from the Framingham Heart Study, which includes more than 3,000 human subjects.”

Related Links:

— “BU researchers examine role of inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease, “Martin Finucane, The Boston Globe, October 19, 2018.

Neurology Advisor (10/18) reports researchers found in a medical literature review that “for most patients, treatment with clozapine can produce a slight reduction in the antipsychotic-induced movement disorder tardive dyskinesia and can greatly reduce the disorder’s severity in patients with moderate to severe cases.” The findings were published online Sept. 18 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Clozapine Monotherapy Improves Antipsychotic-Induced Tardive Dyskinesia, Neurology Advisor, October 18, 2018.

Anne Zink, MD, “the immediate past president of the Alaska chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians,” writes in STAT (10/18) “First Opinion” about “psychiatric boarding,” the practice of emergency departments holding patients with mental health issues “because no appropriate mental health care is available.” Dr. Zink outlines different initiatives that aim to address the problem before concluding that “the better able we are to treat patients with mental and behavioral issues, communicate and collaborate effectively, and match patients with the appropriate resources outside of the emergency department, the better off our health system and our patients will be.”

Related Links:

— “Mental health patients, with nowhere else to go, are overwhelming emergency departments, “Anne Zink, STAT, October 18, 2018.