HealthDay (11/1, Preidt) reports, “Boys may be more likely than girls to abuse over-the-counter drugs,” according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in San Francisco. Investigators “looked at over-the-counter (OTC) drug abuse among students in grades 7 through 12 in 133 schools across greater Cincinnati who took part in a 2009-2010 survey.” Early data indicated that about one in ten of those surveyed said that they had abused an OTC medication. The researchers found that “boys had a higher risk of longtime use of over-the-counter drugs compared with girls.”

Related Links:

— “Boys More Prone to OTC Drug Abuse Than Girls, Study Suggests,”Robert Preidt, HealthDay, October 31, 2012.

On the front of its Business Day section, the New York Times (11/1, B1, Thomas, Subscription Publication) reports, “The Food and Drug Administration said it was looking more closely at the way generic companies made extended-release drugs after it found one such medicine failed to work as well as its brand-name counterpart.” That “is a rare departure for the agency, which for years has insisted that generic drugs are just as effective as their brand-name versions.” So far, “regulators have said the episode appears to be limited to one dosage level of a single drug,” that is “a 300-milligram dose of bupropion…manufactured by Impax Laboratories.” Dr. Gregory P. Geba, director of the FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs, said, “This has actually prompted us to change our policy.” The change “has provided fodder to some longtime critics, who say the FDA and generic drug companies have been reluctant to acknowledge that sometimes generics don’t work as well as the brand-name originals.”

Related Links:

— “An Increase in Scrutiny for Generics,”Katie Thomas, The New York Times, October 31, 2012.

Medscape (10/30, Harrison) reports, “Psychotic symptoms greatly increase the risk for suicidal behavior in adolescents in the general population as well as those with diagnosable psychiatric disorders,” according to a study published online Oct. 29 in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The large study “found that psychotic symptoms, primarily auditory hallucinations, increased the risk for any suicidal behavior by 10-fold in both early and mid adolescence.” Teens “with depressive disorders who also experienced psychotic symptoms were nearly 14-fold more likely to express severe suicidal behavior, including suicide plans and acts, compared with adolescents with depressive disorders who did not experience psychotic symptoms.”

The New York Times (10/30, B8, Rhoden, Subscription Publication) reports, “For all of the current focus on traumatic brain injury as a result of concussions, mental illness, often overlooked, exists at every level of sports.” In fact, “sports too often is a masking agent that hides deeply rooted mental health issues. The better the athlete, the more desperate to reach the next level, the less likely he or she will reach out for help. The gladiator mentality remains a primary barrier.” Many athletes pride themselves on being mentally tough, making it very difficult for them to admit they need help.

Related Links:

— “With No One Looking, a Hurt Stays Hidden, “William C. Rhoden , The New York Times, October 29, 2012.

Medscape (10/26, Boughton) reports, “One of the largest studies to date on exercise and psychological distress shows that the optimal amount of physical activity for improved mental health may be from 2.5 to 7.5 hours of activity per week.” But, “the cross-sectional observational study also showed that individuals who exercised more than 7.5 hours per week had diminished mental health.” The study, which was based on data on some 7,674 adults, was published online Sept. 7 in the journal Preventive Medicine.

Healthy Lifestyle Habits In Midlife May Lead To Successful Aging. HealthDay (10/26, Preidt) reports, “Healthy lifestyle habits in midlife improve the chances that you’ll remain healthy as you get older,” according to a study published Oct. 22 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. After following “5,100 healthy British men and women, aged 42 to 63, for 16 years,” researchers found that people in the successful aging group were those who maintained “good mobility, lung function, mental health, and thinking and memory skills, and [had] no chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke or disability at age 60 or older.”

Related Links:

— “Study IDs 4 Key Habits of Successful Aging,”Robert Preidt, HealthDay, October 25, 2012.

In a post appearing in the Boston Globe (10/26) “Child in Mind” blog, Claudia M. Gold, MD, refers to an article that appears in the current issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “Integrating Mental Health Care Into Pediatric Primary Care Settings.” She quotes the article, which states that “pediatric training provides limited experience in screening or intervening for mental disorders,” while “child psychiatry training emphasizes the treatment of children with established psychiatric diagnoses and typically offers limited experience with children at risk for mental disorders or children whose symptoms do not reach the threshold for diagnosis.” Gold says the article suggests that “the current structure of the health care system does not have room for prevention.”

Related Links:

— “Preventive mental health care for children falls through the cracks, “Claudia M Gold, Boston.com, October 25, 2012.

Medwire (10/25) reports, “Counseling about alcohol misuse can reduce the number of drinks consumed weekly among adults with risky drinking habits,” according to a reviewpublished online Sept. 25 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The review of 23 trials lasting at least six months also found that “behavioral counseling can reduce the number of adults who engage in heavy drinking episodes, as well as reduce the amount of drinking above the currently recommended quantities.”

The Los Angeles Times (10/24, Brown) reports, “In a statistical analysis of nearly 230,000 trials compiled from a variety of disciplines, study results that claimed a ‘very large effect’ rarely held up when other research teams tried to replicate them,” according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

HealthDay (10/24, Gordon) reports, “When initial findings about an experimental drug or treatment sound too good to be true, they probably are, according to a new study” published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Investigators “found that after a single study reports large benefits for a new medical intervention, additional studies almost always find a smaller treatment effect.” The researchers “suspect that a small study size contributes to the initially inflated benefits.”

Related Links:

— “Medical studies with striking results often prove false, “Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times, October 24, 2012.

Forbes (10/24, Martin) reports, “Depression tops the list of health-related productivity costs in the workplace. That was the finding in a medicalstudy shortly after the economy tanked in the 2008 recession, and it’s no different now.” In fact, “the annual cost of depression is estimated at $44 billion in lost productivity to American companies according to the National Institute of Mental Health.”

Related Links:

— “Tackling Depression at Work as a Productivity Strategy,”Judy Martin, Forbes, October 23, 2012.

On its website and its “Talk of the Nation” program, NPR (10/23) reports, “The American Psychiatric Association defines a psychiatrist as a medical doctor who conducts psychotherapy and prescribes medications and other medical treatments. With recent developments in the pharmaceutical and insurance industries, the definition of the practice appears to be shifting.” Host Neal Conan discussed the changing role of psychiatry with Richard Friedman, MD, director, Psychopharmacology Clinic, Weill Cornell Medical College, and psychiatrist Steve Balt, editor-in-chief, The Carlat Psychiatry Report. One of the topics discussed was how, with the increased use of antidepressants in recent years, the “use of talk therapy” has declined, a trend driven by “market forces” and managed care.

Related Links:

— “Psychiatrists Shift Focus To Drugs, Not Talk Therapy,NPR, October 22, 2012.