Medscape (7/16, MacReady, Subscription Publication) reports, “Mobile apps that offer advice on managing mental health may ‘medicalize’ normal ups and downs and encourage the overdiagnosis of certain conditions,” researchers concluded after conducting “a qualitative content analysis of advertising materials for 61 popular mental health apps to determine how the apps frame the issues of mental health and illness, and how that in turn shapes perceptions of the pattern, causation, and management of mental health problems.” The findingswere published in the July/August issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Healio (7/16, Demko) reports that “depression and anxiety disorders remain underrecognized in patients with heart failure and may lead to adverse outcomes,” researchers concluded in the findings of a 36-study review published in the July issue of the Harvard Review of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Anxiety, depression tied to adverse outcomes in patients with heart failure, “Savannah Demko, Healio, July 16, 2018.

According to Healio (7/13, Demko), the findings of a 12-study “systematic review” published online June 5 “in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry revealed a link between recent cannabis use and negative long-term symptoms and treatment outcomes among people with anxiety and mood disorders.”

Related Links:

— “Cannabis use may negatively impact people with anxiety, mood disorders, “Savannah Demko, Healio, July 13, 2018.

Reuters (7/13, Carroll) reported, “Today’s moms-to-be are more likely than women from their mothers’ generation to become depressed while pregnant,” researchers concluded after comparing “2,390 women who had babies in the early 1990s to 180 women of the next generation who were either daughters of the original group or were partners of sons of the original group.” Investigators found that “among the older generation, 408, or 17 percent, had high scores on depression screening tests, as compared to 45, or 25 percent, of the current generation.” The findings were published online July 13 in JAMA Network Open.

Also covering the study are MedPage Today (7/13, Monaco) and HealthDay (7/13, Norton).

Related Links:

— “More women may be experiencing depression during pregnancy, “Linda Carroll, Reuters, July 13, 2018.

Healio (7/12, Demko) reports, “Of more than 7,700 youths with a new episode of” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) “in 2012, about 60% received psychotherapy, about 6% received pharmacotherapy and more than one-third received neither therapy nor medication,” researchers concluded. The findings were published online July 2 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “More than a third of youth with PTSD did not receive treatment in 2012, “Savannah Demko, Healio, July 12, 2018.

Healio (7/12, Demko) reports that even though “the national screening rate for depression rose significantly after 2009, screening remains low among adults without a depression diagnosis in the” US, researchers concluded after examining “national screening rates from 2005 to 2008 (prerecommendation period), 2010 to 2011 (immediate post-recommendation period) and 2012 to 2015 (late post-recommendation period).” The findings were published online July 9 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Depression screening rate low in US, “Savannah Demko, Healio, July 12, 2018.

MedPage Today (7/12, George) reports researchers found that college athletes with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “may have greater risks of depression and anxiety after concussion.” The findings are scheduled to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s Sports Concussion Conference later this month.

HealthDay (7/12, Norton) reports the researchers evaluated “nearly 1,000 college athletes,” and determined that “those with both” AD/HD and “a history of concussion scored higher on measures of depression and anxiety,” compared “to athletes without” AD/HD “and those with the disorder but no history of concussion.”

Related Links:

— “Concussion Tied to Anxiety, Depression in College Athletes with ADHD,”Judy George , MedPage Today , July 12, 2018.

The NPR (7/11, Chatterjee) “Shots” blog reports that following a suicide attempt, “a simple intervention conducted by staff in emergency departments can reduce the risk of future suicide attempts,” research indicates. This “intervention involves creating a safety plan for each patient and following up with phone calls after discharge.” Included in the study of the Safety Planning Intervention were “1,200 patients at five Veterans Affairs hospitals around the” US.

Healio (7/11, Demko) reports, “Adults who received the intervention plus follow-up were less likely to engage in suicidal behavior compared with those who received usual care during six-month follow-up,” the study revealed. What’s more, “patients receiving the intervention had more than two times the odds of attending at least one outpatient mental health visit.” The findings were published online July 11 in JAMA Psychiatry. Also covering the story are MedPage Today (7/11, Smith) and MD Magazine (7/11, Hoffman).

Related Links:

— “A Simple Emergency Room Intervention Can Help Cut Suicide Risk, “Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, July 11, 2018.

In an opinion piece in the New York Times (7/11), physician and author Lisa Pryor writes that “depression is a global problem, and developing nations are not immune.” In fact, “World Health Organization data show that the highest prevalence of depression by region is for women in Africa, at 5.9 percent.” Like depression, “suicide is also a global problem. In 2015, 78 percent of suicides occurred in low- and middle-income countries.” Pryor concludes, “Suffering is compounded when the groups that are most in need of treatment for mental illness are the very groups who are less likely to receive it.”

Related Links:

— “How to Have a Better Conversation About Mental Illness ,”Lisa Pryor , The New York Times, July 11, 2018.

The Hill (7/11, Hellmann) reports that “the Department of Justice (DOJ) finalized a proposal” yesterday “giving the agency more power to control how many opioids are produced annually in the U.S.” According to the Hill, “Under the proposal, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) could issue stricter limits on certain opioids if federal authorities believe they are being misused.”

Related Links:

— “DOJ unveils proposal giving feds more power to limit opioid production, ” Jessie Hellmann, , July 11, 2018.