KFF Health News (9/7, Saint Louis) reports, “Since the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline transitioned a year ago to the three-digit crisis phone number 988, there has been a 33% increase in the number of calls, chats, and texts to the hotline,” but “even with that early sign of success, the program’s financial future is shaky.” For the past “two years, the federal government has provided about $1 billion from the American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Safer Communities acts to launch the number, designed as an alternative to 911 for those experiencing a mental health crisis.” But, “after that infusion runs out, it’s up to states to foot the bill for their call centers,” and many states, particularly “predominantly rural ones” where 988 is particularly needed, “have not made long-term plans to provide support.”

Related Links:

— “Most States Have Yet to Permanently Fund 988. Call Centers Want Certainty,”Christina Saint Louis, KFF Health News, September 7, 2023

According to Psychiatric News (9/7), findings from an umbrella systematic review and meta-analysis published online Sept. 6 in “JAMA Psychiatry suggest antidepressants are as safe and effective for people with comorbid depression as those with depression only.” After examining “52 meta-analyses involving 27 medical diseases,” the study team concluded that “the efficacy of antidepressants (relative to placebo) in patients with depression and comorbid medical diseases is comparable to their efficacy in people with depression alone.”

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants Found Effective for Depressed Patients With Other Medical Disorders, Psychiatric News, September 7, 2023

HealthDay (9/6, Thompson) reports, “People in better physical condition appear to have less need for drugs to treat mood disorders, Norwegian researchers have found.” The investigators came to this conclusion after analyzing data from the Trøndelag Health Study, and then comparing “that data with information from the Norwegian Prescribed Drug Registry.” The findings were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Fitter Folks Need Fewer Psychiatric Meds, Study Finds,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay , September 7, 2023

The Washington Post (9/6, Osaka, O’Connor) reports, “When temperatures surge, the effects of schizophrenia can be profound.” However, “the precise reasons why people with serious mental illnesses — and those with schizophrenia in particular — struggle to deal with higher temperatures remain somewhat murky.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

RevCycle Intelligence (9/5, Bailey) reports, “A third of surveyed health care workers plan to leave their job in the next year, according to new data from Tebra.” A further “14% of respondents said they planned to leave the industry entirely within the next year.” The article adds, “Recruiting and retaining staff is a key priority for many health care organizations,” but “consequences stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and other administrative burdens are creating a less-than-ideal work setting for many health care professionals.”

Related Links:

— “1 in 3 Healthcare Workers Plan to Leave Their Position, Survey Finds,” Victoria Bailey, RevCycle Intelligence, September 5, 2023

Healio (9/5, Bascom) reports, “In the United States, the prevalence of adolescents vaping CBD has risen in recent years, highlighting the need for educating youth about the potential harms,” researchers concluded in the findings of a 28,291-participant cross-sectional study published online in JAMA Network Open. The study reveals that the “prevalence of youth vaping CBD among U.S. adolescents” appears “high, with nearly 800,000 U.S. middle and high school students reporting past-month vaping CBD.” It also “raises concern that a notable proportion of adolescents are uncertain about whether they have engaged in vaping CBD or not,” perhaps because of the “lack of consistent quality assurance standards and the mislabeling of CBD products in the market.”

Related Links:

— “Some teens do not know if they have vaped CBD,”Emma Bascom, Healio , September 5, 2023

Healio (9/6, Welsh) reports, “Use of postnatal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors” (SSRIs) “was associated with reduced risks for maternal depression and unfavorable outcomes associated with postnatal depression, researchers reported in” the findings of a “large prospective cohort study of 61,081 mother-child groups using longitudinal data from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study” published online Aug. 29 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “SSRIs may lower risk for postnatal depression-associated outcomes for mother and child,”Erin T. Welsh, Healio , September 6, 2023

HealthDay (9/5, Mundell) reports, “Suicides by Americans aged 10 to 24 are continuing to climb and guns are increasingly the method of choice in these tragedies,” according to a study that examined “U.S. federal data on all suicide deaths among people ages 10 through 24 from 2013 to the end of 2020.” The study encompassed “a total of more than 49,500 suicides…recorded during that time for this age group.” The findings were published online in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Gun Suicides Keep Rising Among U.S. Youth,”Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, September 5, 2023

NBC News (9/5, Lovelace) reports, “Patients could save millions of dollars by buying prescription drugs through online pharmacy discount programs instead of through traditional insurance plans, a study published Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine finds.” Researchers “looked at 20 commonly prescribed generic drugs, including statins, heart failure medications and antidepressants,” and “found that at least 1 out of 5 prescriptions were cheaper through the Amazon or GoodRx discount card programs compared to what patients actually paid out of pocket for the drugs.”

Related Links:

— “Online pharmacy programs can save patients millions in prescription drug costs, study finds,”Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, September 5, 2023

CNN (9/4, Bonifield) reported on how medication shortages for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are affecting high school and college students as this year’s school season begins. Currently, 11 pharmaceutical makers “are listed as making Adderall” (amphetamine/dextroamphetamine salts) “or its generic versions on the FDA’s shortages website, and while some say the medicine is available, others don’t foresee an end to the shortage until December.” Consequently, “‘a lot of the young people that I’ve been treating have had difficulties getting their medications month to month,’ said…Warren Ng,” MD, “a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center who also serves as president for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.” If they cannot get medication, many young people with ADHD “fail classes, are held back from going to the next grade, get sent to the principal’s office and have trouble doing homework, Ng said.”

Related Links:

— “ADHD drug shortage stresses families during back-to-school season,”Meg Tirrell and Amanda Sealy, CNN, September 4, 2023