Healio (8/14, Carter) reports, “Use of lithium vs. valproate as a prophylactic treatment may be associated with adverse kidney outcomes, including AKI,” investigators concluded in a study that “examined data from the Stockholm Creatinine Measurements database, a health care use cohort of all adult Stockholm residents, and included 10,946 patients who began lithium or valproate therapy from January 2007 to December 2018.” Even though the study found that new “use of lithium was meaningfully associated with adverse kidney outcomes, with low absolute risks that did not differ between therapies,” it also revealed, however, that “elevated serum lithium levels were associated with future kidney risks, particularly AKI, emphasizing the need for close monitoring and lithium dose adjustment.” The findings were published online July 7 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Lithium therapy may be linked with AKI, poor kidney outcomes vs. valproate,”Shawn M. Carter, Healio, August 14, 2023

CNN (8/14, LaMotte) reports that a survey found that a “majority of American adults say” that “inhaling marijuana smoke” is “safer than inhaling smoke from tobacco,” and “also believe there is less harm to adults and children from secondhand marijuana smoke than tobacco smoke.”
But, HealthDay (8/14, Murez) reports, “the reality is that smoke of any kind isn’t good for your lungs, the study authors stressed.” The researchers “also found that people who were young, 18 to 29, were more likely to move toward the view that cannabis was safer compared to those surveyed who were aged 60 or older.” Meanwhile, “being unmarried was also more aligned with a view that cannabis was safer.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Many Americans wrongly believe exposure to marijuana smoke is safer than tobacco, study finds,”Sandee LaMotte, CNN, August 14, 2023

CNN (8/15, Bracho-Sanchez) reports, “Latino children who live in states with harsher laws that apply to immigrants and systemic prejudice against them are more likely to experience mental health or chronic physical health conditions, according to a new study.” The findings were published in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Health of Latino children worse in states with anti-immigrant attitudes and policies, new study says,”Edith Bracho-Sanchez, CNN, August 15, 2023

KFF Health News (8/14, Rayasam) reports, “A national shortage of mental” healthcare clinicians, “and the search for affordable care, has exacerbated strain on parents, often the primary caregivers who maintain the health and well-being of their children,” a “day-to-day struggle” that “has led to its own health crisis, say psychologists, researchers, and advocates for families.” Even “as parents navigate the mental health care system’s shortcomings, stress can start to take a physical and mental health toll that disrupts their ability to continue providing care, said Christine Crawford, the associate medical director at the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an advocacy group that helps families find care.” Parents focus their energies into helping their children, “often at the expense of their own health, Crawford said.”

Related Links:

— “Parents See Own Health Spiral as Their Kids’ Mental Illnesses Worsen,”Renuka Rayasam, KFF Health News, August 14, 2023

Psychiatric News (8/11) reported, “Taking lithium may significantly reduce the risk of psychiatric hospitalization for people who have major depressive disorder” (MDD) “or bipolar disorder” (BD), according to the findings of a 260-patient study published online ahead of print in the November issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Lithium May Reduce Psychiatric Hospitalizations in People With Bipolar, Major Depressive Disorder, Psychiatric News, August 11, 2023

According to Bloomberg Law (8/11, Subscription Publication), HHS “has awarded over $88 million to grant programs to develop school-based mental health programs and to increase access to substance use disorder treatments,” the department announced on Aug. 11.

Related Links:

— “HHS Allocates Over $88 Million to Youth Mental Health Programs, Bloomberg Law, August 11, 2023

HCPlive (8/10, Kunzmann) reports, “Patients with irritable bowel disease (IBD) who experience symptoms of anxiety or depression are at an increased risk of poorer disease outcomes including resistance to steroid therapy.” The study, which included 325 patients with IBD, was published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Depression, Anxiety Symptoms Linked to Poor IBD Outcomes and Steroid Response,”Kevin Kunzmann, HCPlive, August 10, 2023

HealthDay (8/10, Collins) reports, “People with autism are over three times more likely than their peers without the developmental disorder to experience self-injury, suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, or death by suicide, new research shows.” Investigators came to this conclusion after looking at data on “nearly 380,000 individuals for incidence of self-harm and almost 335,000 individuals for death by suicide.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “People With Autism Face Much Higher Risk for Self-Harm, Suicide,”Sarah D. Collins, HealthDay, August 10, 2023

The AP (8/10, Stobbe) reports that approximately “49,500 people took their own lives last year in the U.S., the highest number ever, according to new government data posted Thursday.” While the CDC, “which posted the numbers, has not yet calculated a suicide rate for the year…available data” suggest “suicides are more common in the U.S. than at any time since the dawn of World War II.”
        
CNN (8/10, McPhillips) reports, “Suicide rose to the 11th leading cause of death in 2021, and provisional data for 2022” show “the same.” Additionally, the provisional data show that “firearms were involved in more than half of all suicides in 2022.”
        
ABC News (8/10, Kekatos) reports, “The greatest increase was seen among adults aged 65 and older, which was up 8.1% from 2021, and the second highest increase was in those aged 45 to 64, with a 6.6% rise.” Additionally, “there…was an increase among those aged 25 to 44, but of just 0.7%.”

Related Links:

— “US suicides hit an all-time high last year,”Mike Stobbe, AP, August 10, 2023

The New York Times (8/10, Mandavilli) reports, “If you find that the blistering, unrelenting heat is making you anxious and irritable, even depressed, it’s not all in your head. Soaring temperatures can damage not just the body but also the mind.” And “as heat waves become more intense, more frequent and longer, it has become increasingly important to address the impact on mental health, scientists say.” Joshua Wortzel, MD, chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s committee on climate change and mental health, said, “It’s really only been over the past five years that there’s been a real recognition of the impact. Our understanding of the basic biology of why this association exists is still in its infancy.”

Related Links:

— “Heat Singes the Mind, Not Just the Body,”Apoorva Mandavilli, The New York Times, August 10, 2023