HCPlive (7/12, Grossi) reports, “Sleep disturbances have a significant impact on individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” investigators concluded in the findings of a 16-study systematic review published online July 1 in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Additionally, “despite the association with higher overall PTSD severity, the effectiveness of trauma-focused psychotherapy was not inhibited when treating sleep disorder symptoms, with the exception of sleep-disordered breathing,” the review concluded.

Related Links:

— “Trauma-Focused Psychotherapy Effective in Adults with PTSD Despite Sleep Disturbances,”Giuliana Grossi, HCPlive, July 12, 2023

Healio (7/12, Young) reports, “In the year since its launch, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline has provided millions of Americans with timely, lifesaving care, according to a” July 11 press release from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Going forward, “the National Council for Mental Wellbeing plans to further establish the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic model to ensure comprehensive crisis services are available to those in need of them, according to the release.” Additionally, “the mental health and substance use care workforce will require increases and diversification to keep up with the current increase in 988 calls, texts and chats.”

Related Links:

— “‘988’ suicide hotline sees growth in first year,”Kate Young, Healio, July 12, 2023

The New York Times (7/12, Barry) reports, “As the coronavirus pandemic dragged through its second year, an increasing number of American families were so desperate to get help for depressed or suicidal children that they brought them to emergency” departments (EDs), and now, “a large-scale analysis of private insurance claims shows that this surge in acute mental health crises was driven largely by a single group – girls aged 13 to 17,” according to findings published online July 12 in JAMA Psychiatry. The study revealed that “during the second year of the pandemic, there was a 22 percent increase in teenage girls who visited” EDs “with a mental health emergency compared with a prepandemic baseline, with rises in patients with suicidal behavior and eating disorders, according to the study of 4.1 million patients.” The “proportion of teen boys visiting declined,” however.

Related Links:

— “https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/12/health/teen-girls-depression-suicide.html,”Ellen Barry, The New York Times, July 12, 2023

USA Today (7/11, Weintraub) reports, “Racism contributes to childhood obesity, according to” findings published online in JAMA Network Open, revealing that “children as young as nine were more likely to meet the definition of obesity if they faced racism a year earlier.” The study revealed “large racial differences in the obesity rates of more than 6,000 children ages 9-11.” For example, “less than 7% of children who identified as white met the medical definition for having obesity, compared to 9% of Asian Americans, 18% of Hispanics of any race, 21% of Native Americans or Alaskan natives and more than 24% of Black Americans.”

Related Links:

— “A catalyst for childhood obesity: How racism has ‘huge implications’ for health trajectory,”Karen Weintraub, USA Today, July 11, 2023

HealthDay (7/11, Gotkine) reports, “Deaths due to opioid toxicity increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study.” Results show “that there was a 289 percent increase in the number of unintentional deaths due to opioid toxicity, from 19,395 to 75,477.” Between 2011 and 2021, “the percentage of all deaths that were attributed to opioid toxicity increased from 1.8 to 4.5 percent.” Additionally, “by 2021, opioid toxicity was responsible for 10.2, 21.7, and 21.0 percent of deaths among those aged 15 to 19, 20 to 29, and 30 to 39 years, respectively.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Deaths Due to Opioid Toxicity Up in U.S. During COVID-19,”Elana Gotkine, HealthDay, July 11, 2023

Psychiatric News (7/11) reports, “Between 2007 and 2016, psychiatrists who were accepting new patients participated in insurance networks at lower rates than physicians who were not psychiatrists,” according to findings published online July 10 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association. The report “also revealed that the gap in insurance acceptance between psychiatrists and nonpsychiatrists was wider for Medicare and Medicaid than for private insurance.” Researchers arrived at these conclusions after analyzing “10 years of data (January 2007 to December 2016) from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.”

Related Links:

— “Study Highlights Gaps in Insurance Acceptance Between Psychiatrists, Other Physicians, Psychiatric News, July 11, 2023

Healio (7/11, Bascom) reports, “The prevalence of suicide ideation is comparable across people of all racial and ethnic groups who have alcohol use disorder” (AUD), “but those from underrepresented groups are less likely to be diagnosed,” according to findings published online June 19 ahead of print in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Utilizing “National Emergency Department Sample data from 2019, the researchers learned that patients from underrepresented racial and ethnic populations had significantly fewer suicide ideation diagnoses, which they wrote is ‘a key step in” emergency department “‘suicide prevention care,’ than white patients.”

Related Links:

— “Study reveals ‘concerning’ racial, ethnic disparities for suicide ideation diagnoses,”Emma Bascom, Healio, July 11, 2023

According to the Washington Post (7/11, Solano), “parents are suffering from anxiety and depression at roughly the same rate as teens,” according to findings from a June 2023 report (PDF) based on surveys conducted late last year by Harvard University researchers. The surveys found that “18 percent of teens said they suffered from anxiety, while 20 percent of mothers and 15 percent of fathers did.” At the same time, “15 percent of teens reported to have depression, compared with 16 percent of mothers and 10 percent of fathers.”

The Hill (7/11, de Visé) reports, “Researchers estimate” in the report “that more than one-third of teens have a parent suffering from anxiety or depression,” while “two-fifths of teens voiced concern about a parent’s mental health.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

The Intelligencer reports on the experience of Dr. Dan Hurley, an ear, nose, and throat physician with over 20 years of experience, with prior authorization requirements delaying his care in significant ways to illustrate the difficulties many have with the prior authorization process. The article summarizes the history of prior authorization from the 1960s to the present. AMA Immediate Past President Jack Resneck Jr., MD, said that prior authorization has “really become a tool to clearly delay and deny care for our patients.” Resneck added, “In the meantime, the patients aren’t getting treated, and we know that a significant portion of those patients give you up. So their diabetes, their depression, their hypertension, or whatever it is just gets worse.”

Related Links:

— “The Two Words That Can Make Health Care a Nightmare Prior authorization buries doctors in paperwork and delays care, sometimes with disastrous results.,”Chris Stanton, Intelligencer, July 10, 2023

CNN (7/10, LaMotte) reports, “As little as 20 minutes of moderate activity a day for five days a week can significantly lower the risk of depressive symptoms for people over 50 who have conditions often linked to depression, such as diabetes, heart disease and chronic pain,” investigators concluded in findings published online July 10 in JAMA Network Open. The study “followed more than 4,000 Irish adults with an average age of 61 for 10 years.”

Psychiatric News (7/10) reports, “Adults who performed vigorous activity…had a 20% lower rate of depressive symptoms and 44% lower odds of major depression compared with the low physical activity group.”

Related Links:

— “Certain conditions can impact how much exercise you need to ease depression, study finds,”Sandee LaMotte, CNN, July 10, 2023