Healio (9/13, Rhoades) reported a recent study published in JAMA Network Open found “new laws affecting the recreational or medicinal use of cannabis may be associated with changes in the use of prescription drugs to treat mental health disorders, but these links varied by drug class and state.” Investigators “found an association between medical cannabis laws, when in effect, and a 12.4% reduction in the benzodiazepine fill rate…and 1.3% reduction in the mean number of benzodiazepine fills per patient.” Also, “Specifically, medical cannabis laws were associated with improved self-reported mental health symptoms among older US adults, and recreational cannabis laws were associated with worsened mental health symptoms among younger US adults (≤35 years). Another recent study showed that medical cannabis use was associated with an increased risk of emergency department visits for depressive disorders.”

Related Links:

— “Medical, recreational cannabis laws may impact psychiatric prescription trends,”Andrew (Drew) Rhoades , Healio , September 13, 2024

The Hill (9/12, Choi ) reports that on Thursday, US “Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) introduced bipartisan legislation…to confront the sale and misleading promotion of prescription drugs by telehealth firms and social media influencers.” The legislation, called “The Protecting Patients from Deceptive Drug Ads Online Act, would impose civil penalties on social media influencers or health care providers who make false or misleading claims regarding prescription drugs.” The legislation “would also enact reporting requirements on payments made by drug manufacturers to health care providers, telehealth firms and social media influencers.”

Related Links:

— “Senators target false prescription medication marketing on social media with new bill,” Joseph Choi , The Hill , September 12, 2024

Fierce Healthcare (9/12, Minemyer ) says Medicare and Medicare Advantage plan enrollees “have cost-sharing obligations for behavioral health services, according to” a new Government Accountability Office report. Agency investigators analyzed CMS data and “found that beneficiaries enrolled in traditional Medicare typically had deductibles and coinsurance on inpatient services as well as coinsurance for many outpatient offerings.”

Related Links:

— “GAO: A look at cost-sharing for behavioral health in traditional Medicare, MA,”Paige Minemyer, Fierce Healthcare , September 12, 2024

The New York Times (9/12, Caron ) reports a new study published Thursday in The American Journal of Psychiatry “found that among people who took high doses of prescription amphetamines such as Vyvanse and Adderall, there was a fivefold increased risk of developing psychosis or mania for the first time compared with those who weren’t taking stimulants.” Investigators also found that a medium dosage “was associated with a 3.5 times higher risk of psychosis or mania.” Meanwhile, investigators identified “no increased risk of psychosis or mania among those who used methylphenidate drugs, like Concerta or Ritalin, regardless of the dose.”

Healio (9/12, Viguers) reports the case-control study “included 1,374 case patients with new-onset psychosis or mania and 2,748 matched controls, all of whom were hospitalized between 2005 and 2019.”

HCPlive (9/12, Derman) says that while “this study does not prove causality, investigators observed a plausible biological mechanism in neurobiological changes: a release of greater levels of dopamine from amphetamines. The dopaminergic changes mimic changes observed in patients with psychosis.”

According to Psychiatric News (9/12), researchers also “found that patients with any past-month prescription amphetamine use were 2.7 times more likely to develop psychosis or mania than those with no use.”

Related Links:

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

Healio (9/11, Welsh) reports trauma exposure is associated with “increased measures of inflammation and neuronal death for Black women and accelerated brain age indicators regardless of race and ethnicity,” according to findings presented at the Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society. Researchers “analyzed data from 252 perimenopausal or postmenopausal women” and found that “compared with no trauma exposure, exposure to one to two traumas (P = .005) or three or more traumas (P = .019) was associated with older white matter age.”

Related Links:

— “Trauma, sexual assault exposure may be ‘toxic’ for women’s brain health,”Erin T. Welsh, MA, Healio, September 11, 2024

NBC News (9/10, Carroll ) reports “the age when girls hit puberty has been falling at an alarming rate for decades,” and “new research suggests a compound found in a wide variety of products – from cosmetics to air fresheners to detergents and soaps – may send a signal to an area of the brain that triggers the start of puberty.” While “combing through 10,000 compounds in a library of licensed pharmaceuticals, environmental chemicals and dietary supplements, the researchers found several that might influence the timing of puberty.” However, “children were most likely to be exposed to only one of them: musk ambrette, according to the report.” The findings were published in Endocrinology.

Related Links:

— “Early puberty may be linked to a common chemical used in personal care products,”Linda Carroll, NBC News, September 10, 2024

HealthDay (9/10, Mundell ) reports, “An analysis of where suicides are occurring in the United States shows that, tragically, location matters.” The research found that “people living in poorer areas with fewer resources are significantly more likely to fall victim to suicide versus those living in more affluent areas.” The findings were published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “U.S. Suicide Rates Rise in Less Affluent Areas,”Ernie Mundell, HealthDay , September 10, 2024

CNN (9/10, Seher ) reports “a bipartisan group of” 42 “attorneys general on Tuesday demanded that Congress require Surgeon General warning labels on social media apps to help curtail addiction and a mental health crisis among young adults.” The AGs’ letter to Congress said, “As state Attorneys General, we sometimes disagree about important issues, but all of us share an abiding concern for the safety of the kids in our jurisdictions – and algorithm-driven social media platforms threaten that safety.” The AGs said, “In addition to the states’ historic efforts, this ubiquitous problem requires federal action – and a surgeon general’s warning on social media platforms, though not sufficient to address the full scope of the problem, would be one consequential step toward mitigating the risk of harm to youth.”

The Washington Post (9/10, Lima ) reports, “In their letter to Congress, the state attorneys general said a social media warning label ‘would not only highlight the inherent risks that social media platforms presently pose for young people, but also complement other efforts to spur attention, research, and investment into the oversight of social media platforms.’”

Related Links:

— “42 state attorneys general demand a Surgeon General warning label for social media apps,”Jason Seher, CNN, September 10, 2024

Fierce Healthcare (9/9, Minemyer ) reports, “The four largest pharmacy benefit managers in the U.S. control 70% of the national market, and most regional PBM markets are highly concentrated, according to new data from the American Medical Association (AMA).” The research “dived into 2022 data on commercial and Medicare Part D plans and found that CVS Health’s Caremark is the largest PBM, owning 21.3% market share.” It is “followed closely by UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx, which has a 20.8% market share, according to the report.” Meanwhile, Express Scripts “has a 17.1% market share,” while Prime Therapeutics “controls 10.3% of the market.” AMA President Bruce Scott, MD, said the findings “warrant attention as Congress and the administration continue their work to protect patients and ensure prescription drugs remain affordable and accessible.”

Related Links:

— “AMA study: The 4 largest PBMs control 70% of the market nationally,” Paige Minemyer, Fierce Healthcare , September 9, 2024

MedPage Today (9/9, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “Young people with chronic pain also have higher rates of depression and anxiety, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis.” In the “analysis of 79 studies totaling almost 23,000 youth, the prevalence of anxiety was 34.6% in those with chronic pain, and the prevalence of depression was 12.2%.” Those rates are over “three times greater than observed in the community setting, the authors noted.” The findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)