ABC World News Tonight (7/19, story 10, 0:25, Muir) reported that a Swedish study is “exploring the possible link between pregnant women using antidepressants and autism.” Investigators found that “mothers taking antidepressants may have a slightly greater risk of having a child with autism.” Nevertheless, the study authors “call that risk very small and say stopping treatments during pregnancy may cause a worse risk in other ways to both mother and baby.”

AFP (7/19) reports that “just over four percent of the children exposed to mood-enhancing medications were diagnosed with autism, while just under three percent of children not exposed to antidepressants – and whose mothers had a history of psychiatric troubles – were found to be on the spectrum.” The findings were published online July 19 in the BMJ.

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants during pregnancy linked to autism in kids: study,” AFP, July 19, 2017.

The Washington Post (7/20, Bahrampour) reports a study presented on Thursday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London found that nearly one-third of the world’s dementia cases are preventable through managing “factors such as education, hypertension, diet, hearing loss and depression over the course of a person’s lifetime.” Researchers found that controlling the factors could reduce one’s risk of developing dementia by 35 percent.

Reuters (7/20, Kelland) reports the “wide-ranging analysis” detected nine “particularly important” risk factors, namely “staying in education beyond age 15, reducing high blood pressure, obesity and hearing loss in mid-life, and reducing smoking, depression, physical inactivity, social isolation and diabetes in later life.”

The Guardian (UK) (7/20, Davis) also reports.

Related Links:

— “Healthier living could reduce worldwide dementia by a third, report says,” Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post, July 20, 2017.

Reuters (7/19, Emery) reports, “An effort by the Netherlands to save money on mental health care by raising patient co-pays produced $15 million in short-term savings, but ended up adding $29 million to the costs of treating bipolar and psychotic disorders,” researchers found. What’s more, “the increase in patient cost-sharing led to fewer people seeking regular mental treatment and a simultaneous rise in acute care and involuntary commitments,” the analysis of “1.4 million treatment records” revealed. The findings were published online July 19 in JAMA Psychiatry.

The Philadelphia Inquirer (7/19, Sapatkin) reports on the Netherlands’ 2012 attempt to reduce healthcare costs by implementing “mandatory copayments for mental health care on adults but not children,” reasoning that patients would not “seek unnecessary services” if they had more “skin in the game.” The article says the change caused “adults’ use of regular mental health services” to plummet “13.4 percent for both severe and mild disorders,” with an even starker drop among the poor, but “no appreciable change” for children, “who had no copay.”

Healio (7/19, Oldt) reports the author of an invited commentary wrote, “Without careful planning and oversight, mental health care cost-sharing programs may exact a steep price.”

Related Links:

— “Mental health coverage cuts result in extra costs,” Gene Emery, Reuters, July 19, 2017.

HealthDay (7/18, Preidt) reports that almost three dozen experimental Alzheimer’s medicines are expected to begin clinical trials over the next five years, according to an analysis scheduled for presentation at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. No medications have been approved to treat Alzheimer’s in the US since 2003.

Related Links:

— “Dozens of Potential Alzheimer’s Meds in the Pipeline,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 18, 2017.

Healio Gastroenterology (7/18, Leitenberger) reports, “Patients with irritable bowel syndrome [IBS], regardless of subtype, show higher levels of depression and anxiety compared with healthy controls,” researchers found after reviewing 27 studies involving “2,293 IBS patients and 4,951 healthy controls.” The review’s findings were published online July 1 in the Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility.

Related Links:

— “Depression, anxiety levels higher in all IBS subtypes,” Lee C, et al., Healio Gastroenterology, July 18, 2017.

Healio (7/18, Viguers) reports that investigators “who set out to clarify whether there is an association between Lyme disease and depression found that the prevalence of depressive symptoms was similar among infected and noninfected patients who sought care at a tertiary Lyme center.” Included in the study were “1,454 patients.” The study authors “said their findings suggest that depressive symptoms should not be used to help diagnose Lyme borreliosis (LB) in this setting.” The findings were published online in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Related Links:

— “Study shows no link between Lyme disease and depression,” Tizza P. Zomer, MSc, Healio, July 18, 2017.

Healio (7/17, Miller) reports, “Access to outpatient behavioral health care in at least one metropolitan area was limited after implementation of the Affordable Care Act,” researchers found. For the study, investigators “posed as potential patients with mild-to-moderate depression and used a secret shopper methodology to contact all the behavioral health” professionals “in the Denver Colorado metropolitan area networked through several large insurance companies about the next available appointment date.”

All in all, the study authors “made 1,932 calls from 2014 to 2015.” The study revealed that “a patient in the Denver area would need to call seven to 10 psychiatrists, depending on the insurance company, to find an available appointment.” The findings were published in the July/August issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Behavioral health access restricted under Affordable Care Act,” Williams MO, Healio, July 17, 2017.

Healio (7/17, Miller) reports, “Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders with onset in childhood,” researchers found in a report published in the June issue of Pediatric Annals. The report “is intended for primary care pediatricians to help them identify normal stresses vs. anxiety disorders, and help their patients move, through psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, toward wellness.”

In particular, author Sabrina Fernandez, MD, an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, University of California-San Francisco, focused on strategies to recognize, diagnose and treat “general anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder and panic disorder” among children.

Currently, “according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, there is a ‘critical shortage’ of mental health professionals for those aged younger than 18 years.” That is why it is important for primary care professionals to “help identify normal stresses vs. anxiety disorders,” Dr. Fernandez said.

Related Links:

— “Strategies to diagnose, treat anxiety disorders for primary care pediatricians,” Fernandez S., Healio, July 17, 2017.

HealthDay (7/16, Preidt) reported, “Just a slight increase in social interaction benefits older adults with dementia and lowers health care costs,” researchers found after examining data on some “800 dementia patients living in 69 nursing homes in the UK.” The findings were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

Related Links:

— “One Social Hour a Week Can Help Someone With Dementia,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 16, 2017.

Healio (7/13, Oldt) reports that in a 418-patient, “double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized” phase 3 study, “lisdexamfetamine dimesylate reduced risk for relapse in moderate to severe binge-eating disorder over six months.” The findings were published online July 12 in JAMA Psychiatry. Psychiatric News (7/12) also covered the study.

Related Links:

— “Lisdexamfetamine dimesylate lowers binge-eating disorder relapse risk,” Hudson JI, et al., Healio, July 13, 2017.