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.

Rheumatology News (7/12, Dotinga) reports, “Most patients who were prescribed opioid” analgesics “did not go back for a refill right away, but nearly half of patients who stopped taking the drugs for at least six months ended up using them again over a three-year period,” researchers found after analyzing “medical and pharmacy data from 2009-2012 for 2.5 million people.” The findings were presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Nearly Half of Patients Who Stop Taking Opioids for 6 Months Resume Use Later,” Randy Dotinga, Rheumatology News, July 12, 2017.

Medscape (7/12, Brooks) reports, “The antidepressant fluoxetine (multiple brands) may help ease hypochondriasis, and adding cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) provides a small incremental benefit,” researchers found. The findings of the 195-patient study were published online June 29 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Reuters (7/12, Seaman) reports, “Pregnant women’s use of antidepressants does not increase their babies’ risk of intellectual disability,” researchers found. The findings were published online July 12 in JAMA Psychiatry.

HealthDay (7/12, Preidt) reports investigators arrived at that conclusion after tracking “data on more than 179,000 children born in Sweden in 2006 and 2007, including about 4,000 whose mothers took antidepressants during pregnancy.”

Healio (7/12, Oldt) reports that included in the study were children “exposed to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants, all other non-SSRI antidepressants, or other nonantidepressant psychotropic medications.”

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants in pregnancy not tied to intellectual disability in kids,” Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters>, July 12, 2017.

California Healthline (7/11, Korry) reports a class-action lawsuit filed in the District Court for the Northern District of California alleges that Blue Shield of California “wrongly restricted patients’ access to outpatient and residential mental health treatment” by developing “criteria that violate accepted professional standards and the terms of the health plan itself” along with Magellan Health Services of California.

Blue Shield said it disagrees “with the allegations in the lawsuit” and plans to “defend the case vigorously.” According to California Healthline, “The plaintiffs seek to change Blue Shield’s and Magellan’s policies to be consistent with the law, generally accepted professional standards and the terms of its own plans, according to the lawsuit.”

According to Dr. Anita Everett, president of the American Psychiatric Association, “A win in this case would mean that ‘medically necessary’ means just that, necessary as an objective medical matter not medically necessary only if not too expensive.”

Related Links:

— “Blue Shield Improperly Denied Mental Health, Drug Treatment Claims, Suit Alleges,” Elaine Korry, California Healthline, July 11, 2017.