HealthDay (8/3, Murez) reports a rise in cannabis use and progression to cannabis use disorder among non-college young adults post-legalization, according to a study using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. A statement by the study’s co-author encourages continued monitoring of “changes in prevalence of cannabis use, frequent cannabis use and cannabis use disorder among young adults while the cannabis landscape in the U.S. continues to evolve.” The “research doesn’t address why these changes are occurring,” but another co-author suggests changes in public beliefs about cannabis use and increased drug potency might be influencing the trend. The findingswere published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Marijuana Use by Youth: After Legalization, Education Seems to Matter,”Cara Murez, HealthDay, August 3, 2023

Psychiatric News (8/3) reports, “Current field sobriety tests administered by trained law enforcement officers may not be enough to identify drivers who are driving under the influence of cannabis,” researchers concluded in the findings of a 184-participant, “double-blind, placebo-controlled trial” published online Aug. 2 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Trained Officers Using Current Field Sobriety Tests May Misclassify Cannabis-Impaired Drivers, Psychiatric News, August 3, 2023

According to NBC News (8/3, Lovelace), a research letter published online June 5 in JAMA Pediatrics revealed that “fewer than one in three mental health facilities in the United States offered services specifically designed for LGBTQ patients – such as coming out support, counseling on sexual orientation and gender-affirming therapy – for children and adolescents in 2020.” What’s more, “on a per capita basis, all 50 states had fewer than 10 facilities with LGBTQ services per 100,000 children.” The study’s lead author “said the number of mental health facilities in the U.S. that are trained to serve LGBTQ youth has barely budged over a six-year period, increasing from 25% of all facilities in 2014 to just 28% in 2020.”

Related Links:

— “LGBTQ teens often struggle to find mental health care tailored to them,”Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, August 3, 2023

HealthDay (8/3, Solomon) reports, “Women with a history of infertility are more likely to experience more severe menopausal symptoms at midlife,” researchers concluded in an analysis that “included 695 midlife women participants in Project Viva” who “were enrolled during 1999 to 2002 during pregnancy and were followed for 18 years (age 45 years or older or reporting ≥12 months of amenorrhea at the midlife visit).” The study revealed “an association between a history of infertility and increased odds of depression and sleep symptoms in midlife.” The findings were published online in the journal Menopause.

Related Links:

— “Infertility Tied to More Severe Menopause Symptoms in Midlife,”Lori Solomon, HealthDay, August 3, 2023

mHealth Intelligence (8/2, Melchionna) reports, “A…study found that telehealth use increased between 2019 and 2021. Various patient- and [practitioner-level] factors such as age, area of residence, and type of [clinician] practice setting had a significant impact on outcomes.” This “high level of satisfaction with telehealth also indicates the need for further reimbursement.” The findings were published in JCO Oncology Practice.

Related Links:

— “Age, Residence Type, and Practice Setting Affect Telehealth Use,” Mark Melchionna, mHealth Intelligence, August 2, 2023

Medical Economics (8/2, Bendix) reports “the COVID-19 pandemic has abated, but its influence on the mental health of” physicians “and their patients lingers, and in some ways has gotten worse, according to results of a new survey” from AdvancedMD, which “queried 200 of its customers – independent practice owners and physicians – about their own mental health and that of their patients.” In the survey, “84% said patient stress levels and mental health disorders have increased over the past three years, 64% said their work-related stress levels are higher now than in 2020, and 44% said they rely on exercise to manage stress.”

Related Links:

— “Mental health impact of COVID remains for doctors and patients,”Jeffrey Bendix, Medical Economics, August 2, 2023

MedPage Today (8/2, DePeau-Wilson) reports “continuing adjunctive antidepressant treatment for up to a year following remission of an acute depressive episode in patients with bipolar I disorder showed no significant benefit for preventing relapse, a randomized trial showed.” At 52 weeks, about “31% of patients treated with maintenance escitalopram (Lexapro) or bupropion XL (Wellbutrin XL) for that duration of time experienced a subsequent mood episode, as compared with 46% of those who switched to placebo at 8 weeks.” The findings were published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Medscape (8/1, Bender, Subscription Publication) reports, “Bipolar disorder (BD) is linked to a sixfold increased risk of early death from external causes and a twofold increased risk of dying prematurely from somatic disease than the general population,” researchers concluded after identifying and tracking “the health of 47,000 patients, aged 15-64, with BD between 2004 and 2018.” The study also revealed that “patients with BD are three times more likely to die prematurely of all causes vs the general population, with alcohol-related diseases contributing to more premature deaths than cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer.” The findings were published online in BMJ Mental Health.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

CNN (8/1, McPhillips) reports that “amid an ongoing shortage of prescription stimulants in the US, federal agencies are calling on drugmakers to boost manufacturing and on health care [practitioners] to closely monitor prescribing practices.” FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and Drug Enforcement Administration leader Anne Milgram wrote in a joint letter on Tuesday, “The FDA and DEA do not manufacture drugs and cannot require a pharmaceutical company to make a drug, make more of a drug, or change the distribution of a drug. … That said, we are working closely with numerous manufacturers, agencies, and others in the supply chain to understand, prevent, and reduce the impact of these shortages.”

The Hill (8/1, Shapero) reports the DEA and the FDA “laid out steps they are taking to mitigate the ongoing shortage of prescription stimulants.” Milgram and Califf “said their agencies are calling on drug manufacturers to increase production of prescription stimulants to meet their allotted quotas for the year and urging those who do not want to boost production to relinquish the rest of their allotment so it can be redistributed.”

Related Links:

— “FDA, DEA call on drugmakers to boost manufacturing amid ongoing shortage of prescription stimulants,”Deidre McPhillips, CNN, August 1, 2023

According to KFF Health News (8/1), teenagers who end up in emergency departments with “an opioid overdose generally receive naloxone to reverse the effects of dangerous drugs in their system and are sent home with a list of places they can go for follow-up care,” but “too often, those teens never seek additional help.” Instead, “they are left to suffer through the agony of withdrawal with no medications to ease their cravings.” Consequently “many, seeking relief, go back to opioids, often with tragic consequences.” Findingspublished online June 13 in a research letter in JAMA revealed that “most areas of the U.S. lack facilities that offer medically managed withdrawal for patients under 18.”

Related Links:

— “Teens with addiction are often left to detox without medication,”Markian Hawryluk, KFF Health News, August 1, 2023