The AP (9/20, Johnson) reported, “The first big update to U.S. methadone regulations in 20 years is poised to expand access to the life-saving drug starting next month, but experts say the addiction treatment changes could fall flat if state governments and methadone clinics fail to act.” In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, “emergency rules allowed patients to take methadone unsupervised at home.” Not only did overdose fatalities and drug diversions not increase, but individuals remained in treatment longer. The AP subsequently said, “With evidence mounting, the U.S. government made the changes permanent early this year.” Clinics must abide by the new rules by October 2 except if “they’re in a state with more restrictive regulations.”

Related Links:

— “US will let more people take methadone at home,” Carla K. Johnson, AP, September 20, 2024

CNN (9/19, McPhillips ) reports, “Federal data shows that overdose deaths in the United States are the lowest they’ve been in three years, and a new analysis suggests that some downward trends indicate ‘unprecedented’ progress in the fight against the drug epidemic.” Deaths from drug overdoses “soared during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, jumping 30% between 2019 and 2020 and another 16% by the end of 2021, according to data from” the CDC. However, “the latest provisional data shows that overdose deaths made a sharp turn at the end of last year and have been trending down for months.” In spite of the recent lower numbers, “experts warn that it’s not time to be complacent.”

ABC News (9/19, Benadjaoud, Goodman) reports that five months ago, “the latest month with data, the estimated number of deaths in the past 12 months was 101,168, according to the CDC.” The article adds, “The last month with figures that low was in May of 2021, with 100,997 deaths.”

Related Links:

— “US overdoses have fallen sharply in recent months, a hopeful shift in trends,”Deidre McPhillips, CNN, September 19, 2024

Healio (9/18, Buzby) reports, “Higher levels of life satisfaction and well-being may portend lower rates of CVD due to the association between inflammatory markers and CV risk factors observed among individuals reporting lower well-being, researchers” found. Meanwhile, “lower well-being and life satisfaction was associated with higher BMI, drinking, sedentary behavior and less sleep compared with higher well-being.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Related Links:

— “High life satisfaction linked to less inflammation, risk factors for heart disease,”Scott Buzby , Healio, September 18, 2024

Psychiatric News (9/18) reports, “Adding menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) to antipsychotic medication can lower the risk of relapse or any psychiatric hospitalization in women between 40 and 62 years of age who have schizophrenia, according to” researchers who “analyzed data from 3,488 women.” Researchers wrote in AJP in Advance, “To maximize benefits and minimize risks of MHT, treatment should be individualized using the best available evidence, with periodic reevaluation of continuation.”

Related Links:

— “Hormone Therapy May Reduce Relapse Risk for Menopausal Age Women With Schizophrenia, Psychiatric News, September 18, 2024

Healio (9/17, Rhoades) says a survey of “1,020 physicians, 353 residents and 350 medical students” reveals “most physicians and residents report feelings of burnout, while stigma about receiving mental health care remains prevalent.” The findings “showed that six in 10 physicians often have feelings of burnout, up from four in 10 physicians in 2018. Similarly, six in 10 residents also reported feelings of burnout.” The Physicians Foundation published the findings (PDF) on its website.

Related Links:

— “Burnout, withdrawal remain ‘alarmingly high’ among physicians and residents,”Andrew (Drew) Rhoades, Healio, September 17, 2024

The New York Times (9/17, Isaac, Singer) reports Instagram on Tuesday said it would bolster its privacy protections for children. The social media firm “said the accounts of users younger than 18 will be made private by default in the coming weeks.” The Meta-owned company “also plans to stop notifications to minors from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. to promote sleep. In addition, Instagram will introduce more supervision tools for adults, including a feature that allows parents to see the accounts that their teenager recently messaged.”

The AP (9/17, Ortutay ) reports Instagram “says it will require” users “to verify their ages in more instances.” The company “also said it is building technology that proactively finds teen accounts that pretend to be grownups and automatically places them into the restricted teen accounts.”

According to ABC News (9/17, Kindelan ), “With the new accounts, teens will have the power to choose the age-appropriate topics they want to see more of on Instagram, like sports or art, and parents will also be able to see the topics their teens choose.”

Related Links:

— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

According to Axios (9/16, Reed ), patients increasingly are “joining online communities to learn how to make pirated versions” of medications like “GLP-1s and other prescription drugs and medical treatments.” Some patients also are organizing “into online communities and sharing what they find.” Meanwhile, “These patients are essentially reformulating or mixing their own drugs and potentially putting themselves at a great risk for harm and even death on the advice of people they’ve never met, Bruce A. Scott, MD, president of the American Medical Association, told Axios.” Dr. Scott remarked, “I don’t think I can overemphasize the fact that this is scary stuff, and that patients should consult their physicians.”

Related Links:

— “DIY medicine draws frustrated patients to online forums,”Tina Reed, Axios , September 16, 2024

MedPage Today (9/16, DePeau-Wilson ) says, “A study of more than 8,000 kids found that those who reported severe sleep disturbances at age 10 had a higher odds of reporting suicidal ideation or attempt…at age 12.” The findings from the longitudinal cohort study were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

According to CBS News (9/16, Tin ), “Many people in [a] mental health crisis fear that if they dial 988, law enforcement might show up or they might be forced to go to the hospital,” but “involuntary emergency rescue” only occurs to “about 1% of callers, suggests new data from Vibrant Emotional Health, the administrator of the 988 Lifeline for suicide and mental health crises.” The research, however, “only spans around 2 million calls made from 2019 through 2023, tallied from a fraction of the now more than 200 locally run crisis centers that underpin the network.”

Related Links:

— “Will 988 call the police? Data suggests 1% of mental health crisis calls get “involuntary” rescues,”Alexander Tin, CBS News, September 16, 2024

HealthDay (9/13, Thompson ) reported, “Each additional hour of total screen time or social media use raises the likelihood that a kid or young teen will have eating disorder symptoms two years later,” according to findings published in Eating and Weight Disorders. These symptoms, researchers found, “include worrying about gaining weight, linking one’s self-worth to weight and binge eating, researchers said. Others include excessive exercise, restricting calories, throwing up, or taking water pills, laxatives or diet pills.”

Related Links:

— “Social Media Linked to Eating Disorders in Kids and Young Teens,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, September 13, 2024