NBC News (8/16, Edwards) reports, “Three influential groups of pediatricians and emergency medicine” clinicians “are pleading for more support and resources as the number of children and teenagers with mental health concerns overwhelm emergency departments” (EDs) across the country. A joint policy statement was issued Aug. 16 and published online in the journal Pediatrics by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Emergency Nurses Association in which the “groups are calling for local communities to increase access to mental health services before emergency care is needed.”

HealthDay (8/16, Thompson) says, “Every year, about half a million children with mental and behavioral health problems are evaluated in” EDs, “the joint report says,” and ED “visits spurred by mental health problems increased by 120% at children’s hospitals between 2007 and 2016.” During that same time frame, “the rate among general hospitals rose by 55%.” Because ED “teams are designed to work at a fever pitch, moving from case to case as quickly as possible,” children who are in psychiatric crisis who “need follow-up care…are less likely to get that follow-up if they go to an” ED.

Related Links:

— “Emergency room doctors beg for help treating children with mental health illnesses,”Erika Edwards, NBC News , August 16, 2023

Psych News Alert (8/17) reports, “Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) who exhibit suicidal behavior have 2.6 times the risk of dying from any cause compared with people with MDD who do not, according to a study.” Psych News Alert adds, “The study sample included 145,577 people who experienced a total of 158,169 MDD episodes, 1.4% of which included records of suicidal behavior; the average time from MDD diagnosis to the first record of suicidal behavior was less than six months.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Suicidal Behavior in Patients With MDD Associated With Death of Any Cause, Psych News Alert, August 17, 2023

CNN (8/17, Viswanathan) reports, “Last year, more middle-aged adults were binge drinking, using marijuana or consuming hallucinogens than ever before, according to a new report.” In addition, “cannabis use surged among young adults under 30, alongside historic rates of vaping.” This “new data comes from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future panel study,” which is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The Hill (8/17, Fortinsky) reports that the survey has been “conducted annually since 1975. Data for this most recent 2022 survey was collected via online and paper surveys from April 2022 to October 2022, according to the report.”

Related Links:

— “Marijuana and hallucinogen use, binge drinking reached record highs in middle-aged adults, survey finds,”Giri Viswanathan, CNN, August 17, 2023

NBC News (8/16, Lovelace) reports that new research indicates Eisai’s Leqembi (lecanemab) and Biogen’s Aduhelm (aducanumab), the first drugs meant to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, “may only be available to a tiny fraction of patients.” The drugs “are approved for older adults with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage Alzheimer’s disease but, according to the study, less than 1 in 10 patients at this point in the disease may be prescribed them.” The findings were published in the journal Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Few patients may qualify to get new Alzheimer’s drugs, study suggests,” Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, August 16, 2023

MedPage Today (8/16, Firth) reports, “Children exposed to physical assault were at higher risk of a mental illness diagnosis over subsequent years, with the greatest risk seen in the year after the assault,” investigators concluded in a study that “included 5,487 children ages 0 to 13 years who from 2006 to 2014 presented to an emergency department…or were hospitalized for an acute physical assault in Ontario,” Canada. The study revealed that youngsters “seen for physical assault in an acute care setting were nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness over a median follow-up of nearly seven years when compared with children who were not assaulted.” The findings were published online Aug. 16 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (8/15, Caron) reports, “In July, the Food and Drug Administration posted more shortages in” medications for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), and this month, the agency “and the Drug Enforcement Administration took the rare step of issuing a joint public letter acknowledging the shortage and asking manufacturers to increase production.” These actions come as “parents and caregivers across the country are spending hours each month hunting down pharmacies with” AD/HD “medication in stock and asking their doctors to either transfer or rewrite prescriptions.” Meanwhile, “others pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket for name-brand drugs that are sometimes more readily available but, unlike generics, are not covered by their insurance.” Some parents are reporting that the shortage of AD/HD medications is causing “collateral damage to their children’s self-esteem.”

Related Links:

— “The Collateral Damage of A.D.H.D. Drug Shortages,”Christina Caron, The New York Times, August `5, 2023

Psychiatric News (8/15) reports, “Experiencing substance-induced psychosis may raise the risk of suicide attempt,” investigators concluded in a study that “analyzed data from 5,806,700 people aged 13 years or older who lived in Denmark from January 1, 1995, to August 10, 2017.” The study team “followed the individuals until the individuals had a suicide attempt, had a first psychotic disorder (except for first substance-induced psychosis), died, or emigrated, whichever came first.” The findings were published online Aug. 13 in the journal Addiction.

Related Links:

— “Substance-Induced Psychosis Linked to Increased Risk of Suicide Attempt,Psychiatric News , August 15, 2023

The Hill (8/15, Latour) reports, “Two-thirds of U.S. adults have been impacted in some way by the nation’s substance use crisis,” according to findings from “a new KFF Tracking Poll” announced on Aug. 15. In the poll, 66% “of respondents…said either they themselves or a family member have experienced addiction to alcohol or drugs, homelessness due to addiction, or an overdose resulting in an emergency room visit, hospitalization or death.” What’s more, “among white respondents, 67 percent said someone in their family has experienced addiction or overdose, compared to 58 percent of Black adults and 56 percent of Hispanic adults,” a gap that “‘is mostly driven by addiction to alcohol and prescription painkillers,’ the researchers noted.”

HealthDay (8/15, Reinberg) reports, “The poll of over 1,300 U.S. adults was conducted from July 11 to 19 either online or by telephone.” The American Psychiatric Association provides additional information on substance use disorder.

Related Links:

— “Majority of US adults say addiction has affected their family in some way: poll,”AMEE LATOUR, The Hill , August 15, 2023

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