HealthDay (5/29, Gotkine) reports a study found that “overdose deaths attributable to synthetic opioids alone are increasingly predominant” among US youth. Researchers found that between 2018 and 2022, overdose death counts among US youth aged 15 to 24 years “increased from 4,652 to 6,723 (10.85 to 15.16 per 100,000), with a slight decrease between 2021 and 2022. Deaths involving synthetic opioids only showed the largest increases (1.8 to 4.8 deaths per 100,000).” They noted that “regardless of race, ethnicity, or sex, fatal synthetic opioid-only overdose rates were higher than polydrug overdose rates involving synthetic opioids since 2020. In 2022, rates of synthetic-only overdose deaths were 2.49- and 2.15-times higher among male versus female youth and among those aged 20 to 24 versus 15 to 19 years, respectively.” The study was published in Pediatrics.

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— “Youth Deaths Attributable to Synthetic Opioids Alone Increasingly Predominant,”Elana Gotkine, HealthDay, May 29, 2025

The New York Times (6/2, Span ) reports that a “wave of recent research points to reasons for concern for older users, with cannabis-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations rising.” An analysis of national survey data published Monday in JAMA found that cannabis use within the past 30 days “jumped among adults over age 65, to 7 percent of respondents in 2023 from 4.8 percent in 2021.” Studies also show “climbing rates of older people seeking medical treatment for cannabis-related issues, both in outpatient settings and in hospitals.” For example, “cannabis-related emergency room visits In California by those over 65 rose, to about 395 per 100,000 visits in 2019, from 21 in 2005.” Meanwhile, a recent study published in JAMA Neurology found that older patients with cannabis-related conditions seeking care at emergency departments or being admitted to hospitals “had 1.5 times the risk of a dementia diagnosis within five years, and 3.9 times the risk for the general population.”

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— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

The Washington Post (6/2, McMahan) reports a study suggests that “at age 11, daily physical activity was associated with a 12 percent lower risk of a psychiatric diagnosis at age 18 for every hour of activity recorded.” Researchers observed that “physical activity decreased the risk of anxiety by almost 40 percent for boys at both 5 and 11.” Notably, the “same held true for depression and boys: Physical activity was associated with a 19 percent reduction in depression among boys at age 5 and 23 percent at age 8.” They found that “at age 11, physical activity was associated with a decreased risk for depression for both boys and girls. Participation in organized sports at age 11 correlated with a reduced risk of mental health diagnoses – 12 percent lower for girls and 23 percent for boys.” The researchers concluded “that ages 10 to 12 might be a critical period for the development of psychological resilience.” The study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Oncology Nurse Advisor (5/28, Garlapow) reports, “Young adults caring for terminally ill parents with cancer experience greater psychological vulnerability than older caregivers, with significantly poorer mental health during end-of-life care and elevated depressive symptoms during bereavement, according to” research. The findings are “based on a large cross-sectional study of” more than 18,000 “bereaved caregivers who had provided parental cancer care.” The findings were published in Psycho-Oncology.

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— “Young Adults Face Higher Depression Risk While Caring for Parents With Cancer at EOL,” Megan Garlapow, PhD, Oncology Nurse Advisor, May 28, 2025

Psychiatric News (5/28) reports a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that “suicidal thoughts and attempts steadily rose among high school students between 2007 and 2021, with similar trends seen in students at low and high risk of suicide.” Researchers observed the “percentage of students reporting past-year suicidal ideation rose from 14.4% to 22.1% between 2007 and 2021, while those reporting suicidal plans rose from 11.2% to 17.6% and those reporting suicide attempts rose from 6.9% to 10.1%.”

Meanwhile, a second study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry “revealed that adolescent Black females have significantly higher risks of suicidal ideation compared with their White and/or male peers.” Researchers observed that “girls had had 1.75 times the odds of past-year suicide ideation compared with boys and 1.81 times the odds of a past-year suicide attempt.” However, they noted that “Black girls had 1.26 times the odds of suicidal ideation compared with all their peers; there were no significant race and sex disparities for suicide attempts.”

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— “Suicidal Thoughts, Behaviors Rise in Adolescents; Black Girls Have Highest Risk,” Psychiatric News, May 28, 2025

American Journal of Managed Care (5/28, Jeremias ) reports a study found that “one in 3 pediatric patients facing a mental health crisis who presented to the emergency department (ED) waited more than 12 hours to be admitted for transfer for further treatment between 2018 and 2022.” Investigators analyzed “pediatric mental health ED visits from 2018 to 2022 using data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.” They observed that “9.5% of visits resulted in hospital admission, and 15.7% led to transfer to a psychiatric facility. Among the estimated 1.41 million visits that ended in admission or transfer, 70.8% involved blood testing, 32.1% lasted 12 or more hours, and 13.1% lasted at least 24 hours.” In addition, “multivariable analysis found that the odds of boarding (≥ 12-hour visits) were significantly lower for 10- to 14-year-olds, non-Hispanic patients of other races, those with private insurance, and weekend visits.” The study was published in JACEP Open.

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— “1 in 3 Minors Facing Mental Health Crisis Experience 12-Hour ED Waits,” Skylar Jeremias, American Journal of Managed Care, May 28, 2025

MedPage Today (5/27, Robertson ) reports a study suggests that “self-reported maternal mental health declined in recent years, as did maternal physical health, though less drastically.” Researchers found that “after adjustments for secular changes in sociodemographic groups, ‘excellent’ physical health decreased by 4.2 percentage points, ‘excellent’ mental health decreased by 12.4 percentage points, and ‘fair/poor’ mental health increased by 3.5 percentage points from 2016 to 2023.” They noted that “mothers with lower education levels and publicly insured or uninsured kids, as well as single mothers, had higher odds of self-reporting worse physical and mental health.” Overall, investigators concluded that the “decline in mental health was even greater than what” they “were expecting to find. Recent research has focused on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, but this study indicated that the downward population-level trends were happening before 2020.” The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (5/27, Thompson ) reports a study found that “fentanyl-only deaths among 15- to 24-year-olds soared by 168% between 2018 and 2022, and now account for most fatal ODs among that age group.” In the study, “researchers analyzed federal death records to examine trends in ODs among teens and young adults. They specifically looked at synthetic opioids like fentanyl used alone or in combination with other drugs like benzodiazepine, cocaine, heroin, prescription opioids or stimulants.” They found that the “largest increase in OD death rates occurred among young people taking fentanyl alone, rising to 4.3 deaths per 100,000 in 2022 from only 1.6 deaths per 100,000 in 2018. By comparison, the death rate of fentanyl combined with benzodiazepines was 0.33 deaths per 100,000 in 2022, while the fentanyl and cocaine rate was 0.89 deaths per 100,000.” Additionally, “young males are 2.5 times more likely to have a fatal overdose involving fentanyl compared to females, researchers said.” The study was published in Pediatrics.

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— “Fentanyl Fueling OD Deaths Among Teens, Young Adults,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, May 27, 2025

Healio (5/23, Mahoney) reported a study found that “adolescents with mental health issues who were admitted to a pediatric inpatient psychiatry unit experienced significant improvements in depression, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and anxiety.” Researchers observed “that the patients experienced improvements in all the measured outcomes from admission to discharge.” They saw a “large effect size for depression as per” the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Adolescent 17‐item Self‐Report and “a moderate effect size for emotional regulation as per” the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale Short Form. In addition, they “observed smaller effect sizes” for anxiety, quality of life, and family functioning. The study was published in Psychiatric Research & Clinical Practice

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— “Pediatric inpatient psychiatry units effective for adolescents with severe mental illness,” Moira Mahoney, Healio, May 23, 2025

The Washington Post (5/26, McMahan) reports a systemic review found that “engagement with digital technology was associated with a 58 percent reduced risk of cognitive impairment in people middle-aged and older.” The researchers reviewed 57 studies involving more than 411,000 adults with an average age of 69 to determine “whether exposure to technology has helped or harmed cognition among the first generation of adults with prolonged exposure to digital devices such as smartphones, tablets and computers.” They observed that “technology could play a role in preserving brain function, not worsening.” Researchers concluded, “There was no credible evidence from the longitudinal studies, or the meta-analysis as a whole, for widespread digital ‘brain drain’ or ‘digital dementia’ as a result of general, natural uses of digital technology.” The review was published in Nature Human Behavior.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)