KFF Health News (9/21, Weinstock) reports, “Suicide ranks as either the seventh- or eighth-leading cause of death among children ages five to 11, according to the” CDC “and recent studies.” What’s more, “numbers show the rates among younger kids appear to have increased in the past decade, especially among Black males.”
Related Links:
— “As Younger Children Increasingly Die by Suicide, Better Tracking and Prevention Is Sought,” Cheryl Platzman Weinstock, KFF Health News , September 21, 2023
CNN (9/20, LaMotte) reports, “Eating greater amounts of ultraprocessed food and drinks, especially if those items are artificially sweetened, may be linked to the development of depression,” investigators concluded in a study suggesting “an association between consumption of ultra-processed foods and depression, with an about 50% higher risk for those consuming 9 portions (per day) or more (the top 20%) compared to those consuming four portions or less.”
NBC News (9/20, Sullivan) reports, “The study” examined “the eating habits and mental health status of more than 31,000 women between the ages of 42 and 62,” all of whom were participants in the Nurses’ Health Study II study. The findings were published online Sept. 20 in JAMA Network Open.
Related Links:
— “Artificially sweetened ultraprocessed foods linked to depression in women, study finds,”Sandee LaMotte, CNN, September 20, 2023
Healio (9/20, Rhoades) reports, “Patients prescribed buprenorphine at 24 mg for opioid use disorder were more likely to remain in treatment compared with those prescribed a 16 mg dose,” researchers concluded in the findings of a 6,499-patient study published online Sept. 18 in JAMA Network Open.
Related Links:
— “Higher buprenorphine dose may keep patients in treatment longer,”Andrew Rhoades, Healio, September 20, 2023
HealthDay (9/20, Collins) reports, “Nearly one in five counties across the United States lack psychiatrists or internet service, making it difficult for around 10.5 million Americans to find mental healthcare,” according to findings published online Sept. 14 in JAMA Network Open. Those “counties examined in the study were more likely to be in rural areas, have higher unemployment rates, and have populations that were more likely to be uninsured and lack a bachelor’s degree.”
Related Links:
— “Few Doctors, Spotty Internet: Finding Mental Health Care Tough for Many Americans,”Sarah D. Collins, HealthDay , September 20, 2023
mHealth Intelligence (9/19, Vaidya) reports a “study revealed fewer differences in health care utilization by race and ethnicity and preferred language when a mix of virtual and in-person care options was available to patients versus when only in-person care was available.” The study, published in JAMA Network Open, “aimed to examine rates of change in in-person and telehealth visits and between-visit interactions over time, as well as key patient characteristics associated with visits and between-visit interactions.”
Related Links:
— “Hybrid Care Could Help Curb Disparities in Healthcare Utilization,”Anuja Vaidya, mHealth Intelligence , September 19, 2023
Psychiatric News (9/19) reports, “Researchers have long known that people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) tend to die at younger ages than those who do not have these conditions – likely due to their higher risk of chronic illnesses that tend to be more severe and diagnosed later in life,” but an “article in JAMA Psychiatry examines why these patients may have been overlooked for palliative care and a few simple steps that psychiatrists can take to help connect patients to end of life care when needed.” The researchers wrote, “This population faces disparities at the patient, health care professional, and system levels, which are worsened by the prevalent stigma associated with major mental illness. The ensuing fragmentation impedes care integration and raises the likelihood of poor health outcomes.”
Related Links:
— “Palliative Care Said to Help Patients With Serious Mental Illness, Psychiatric News , September 19, 2023
Healio (9/19, Bascom) reports, “An umbrella review published” online in The BMJ and including 101 meta-analyses “provided a breakdown of the associations between cannabis and health outcomes, highlighting the uncertain potential for clinical use.” The umbrella review found that “cannabis-based medications seem to be effective for those with chronic pain, multiple sclerosis and more.” Among “the general population,” however, “cannabis worsened cognition, psychotic symptoms and psychiatric symptoms.”
Related Links:
— “Umbrella review reveals what the benefits and risks of cannabis are and for whom,”Emma Bascom, Healio, September 19, 2023
Healio (9/19, Cooper) reports, “Factors previously associated with short-term risk for new-onset bipolar disorder also were associated with significantly higher risk after more than 10 years of follow-up,” investigators concluded after tracking the “long-term association between bipolar at-risk…criteria – which includes subthreshold mania, cyclothymic features, subthreshold depression and family history of bipolar disorder (BD) – and the development of BD” in a study that included 60 participants. The findings were published online Sept. 15 in JAMA Network Open.
Related Links:
— “Patients at risk for bipolar disorder would benefit from long-term monitoring and support,”Justin Cooper, Healio, September 19, 2023
Healthcare Finance News (9/18, Morse) says, “Ahead of a hearing on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on Tuesday, PhRMA released Nephron Research that contends PBMs are driving up profits and drug prices through fees.” The PBMs “demand double the amount of fees today than they did five years ago, according to the report released Monday.” To address the issue, “PhRMA recommends that PBM compensation no longer be tied to the price of medicines and they should instead receive a flat fee.” Additionally, “PBMs should share savings directly with patients so they don’t pay more than their insurer pays, PhRMA said.”
Related Links:
— “PBMs are driving up drug prices through fees, PhRMA report claims,”Susan Morse, Healthcare Finance News, September 18, 2023
Healio (9/18, Herpen) reports, “Individuals who sustained at least one head injury saw an increased risk for developing cognitive issues over a 30-year period compared to those who did not, according to” the findings presented in a poster at the American Neurological Association annual meeting. After examining “cognition in 11,677 individuals, with 2,110 having a recorded prior head injury,” investigators found that people “who sustained a head injury were at significantly increased risk for cognitive change after 30 years.”
Related Links:
— “Prior head injury linked to higher risk for cognitive change over 30 years,”Robert Herpen, Healio, September 18, 2023