Medscape (6/26, Rak, Subscription Publication) reports, “Mothers with obsessive-compulsive disorder are more likely to have adverse pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal outcomes than those without the disorder, according to…research.” The findings of the observational study were published online in JAMA Network Open.

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

CNN (6/26, Viswanathan) reports, “Most children in the U.S. who die from an accidental shooting are playing around with guns at home or mistaking them for toys, according to a” study that “suggests that over 90% of guns used in such shooting deaths were left unlocked and loaded.” The study, published in “Injury Epidemiology, looked at cases” of unintentional firearm fatalities among “children under 15” and found that “most of the shootings happened at the victim’s home, where, in 8 out of 10 cases, the gun belonged to an older relative.” Furthermore, “over 40% of the time, these unintentional deaths happened among kids ages 2 to 4, the researchers found.”

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— “Most accidental shooting deaths among children involve guns left loaded and unlocked, study finds,” Giri Viswanathan, CNN, June 26, 2023

The AP (6/23, Perrone) reported that xylazine, “a powerful animal sedative in the illicit drug supply, is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, scrambling longstanding methods for reversing overdoses and treating addiction.” The drug “can cause severe skin wounds, but whether it is leading to more deaths – as suggested by officials in Washington – is not yet clear, according to health and law enforcement professionals on the front lines of efforts in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.”

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— “Animal sedative xylazine in fentanyl is causing wounds and scrambling efforts to stop overdoses,” Matthew Perrone, Associated Press, June 23, 2023

Psychiatric News (6/23) reported, “The American Medical Association (AMA) is encouraging states, communities, and schools to adopt policies that allow naloxone and other overdose reversal medications to be readily accessible to teachers and school staff,” as well as “urging states, communities, and schools to ‘remove barriers to students carrying safe and effective overdose medications.’” This “policy was sponsored by the AMA Section Council on Psychiatry, which includes delegates from” the American Psychiatric Association (APA), “the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry…the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, and the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry.” Kenneth Certa, MD, “an APA delegate to the section council, told Psychiatric News that the adopted resolution ‘will embolden school boards to make this change so students will not die on school campuses because no one has the necessary medication to keep them alive until EMS gets there.’”

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— “AMA Backs Making Overdose Reversal Medications More Accessible in Schools, Psychiatric News, June 23, 2023

The Washington Post (6/25, Moe) reports, “The ‘Sing With Us’ study…is part of a growing body of research that points to the physical and mental health benefits of singing with others.” The study “linked singing in the choir to reduced stress hormones and increased cytokines, proteins that can boost the body’s ability to fight serious illness.” Other studies have revealed “a connection between singing generally with lessened anxiety, stimulated memory for those with dementia, increased lung capacity and an easing of postpartum depression.” The study was conducted by the Centre for Performance Science.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (6/22, Jewett) reports, “Sales of e-cigarettes rose by nearly 47 percent from January 2020, just before the pandemic hit the United States, to December 2022, according to an analysis released on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” This “increase…occurred while teenagers and young adults reported in surveys that they had recently tried e-cigarettes at much higher rates than older adults did.” Data show that “sales were still growing through May of last year, but then dropped by 12 percent through December.” Investigators “attributed the decline to several possible factors, including state or local bans on flavored products; government enforcement; and the introduction of devices that offered thousands of ‘puffs’ in a single device.”

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— “E-Cigarretes Sales Tapered Off Last Year After Big Surge,”Christina Jewett, The New York Times, June 22, 2023

Psych News Alert (6/22) reports, “Children, adolescents, and young adults who survive cancer may be more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia after cancer remission compared with their peers and siblings who did not have cancer, according to a study.” After analyzing 52 studies, investigators found that “youth with cancer had a significantly increased lifetime risk of severe depression symptoms, anxiety, and psychotic disorders compared with both family members and matched controls.” The findings were published online June 22 in JAMA Pediatrics.

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— “Childhood Cancer Survivors Have Greater Risk of Some Mental Disorders in Adulthood, Psych News Alert, June 22, 2023

MedPage Today (6/21, George) reports, “Repetitive head-impact exposure in American tackle football was linked with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),” investigators concluded. After evaluating “data from 631 brain donors who played American tackle football for an average of 12.5 years, and who died at a mean age of 59.7 years,” the study team found that “cumulative repetitive head impacts were associated with CTE status, CTE severity, and pathologic burden…among brain donors who played football an average of 12.5 years.” The study also revealed, however, that “concussion counts alone were not associated with CTE risk.” The findings were published online in the journal Nature Communications.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HCPlive (6/21, Walter) reports, “Addressing alcohol consumption in late teen years could help reduce the risk of developing depression in young adulthood,” investigators concluded in a 3,902-adolescent study that examined “whether alcohol dependence, but not high frequency or quantity of consumption, during adolescence increased the risk of depression in young adulthood.” The study revealed “a positive association between alcohol dependence at 18 years (latent intercept) and depression at age 24 years,” but found “no association between the rate of change…and depression.” Additionally, after adjustments, there was “no evidence showing an association between alcohol consumption and depression.” The findings were published online June 1 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

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— “Reducing the Risk of Alcohol Use During Adolescents Drops Risk of Depression in Adulthood,”Kenny Walter, HCPlive, June 21, 2023

HealthDay (6/21, Mann) reports, “A growing number of states are legalizing marijuana for recreational use, and it may be leading to an unexpected side effect among millennials and Gen Xers: binge drinking,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health of people aged 12 and older from 2008 to 2019.” When the study team examined “binge drinking before and after recreational cannabis laws were put in place, they noted a 4.8% decrease in binge drinking among 12- to 20-year-olds, but increases in all other age groups: up 1.7% among 31- to 40-year-olds; 2.5% for those 41 to 50; and 1.8% for those aged 51 and older.” The findings were published online June 15 ahead of print in the August issue of the International Journal of Drug Policy.

Related Links:

— “Legalizing Marijuana Tied to More Binge Drinking in Folks Over 30,”Denise Mann, HealthDay , June 21, 2023