The New York Times (7/5, Abelson) reports, “People with private Medicare coverage may not be getting the mental health services they need because they cannot find a psychiatrist within their plan’s network,” investigators concluded in findings published online July 5 in the journal Health Affairs. The study revealed that “more than half of the counties…studied did not have a single psychiatrist participating in a Medicare Advantage plan, the private-sector counterpart to traditional Medicare.” Psychiatrists “may be unwilling to participate in Medicare Advantage plans because of the low payments paid by the insurers, coupled with all of the required paperwork, said” Robert Trestman, MD, PhD, who chairs “the council on health care systems and financing for the American Psychiatric Association.” Dr. Trestman said, “Many of the challenges and frustrations are emphasized in the Medicare Advantage plans.”

Related Links:

— “Medicare Advantage Plans Offer Few Psychiatrists,” Reed Abelson, The New York Times, July 5, 2023

CNN (7/4, McPhillips) reports, “Residents of 12 states in the South and Midwest are more likely to smoke – and to smoke more – than people living in the rest of the United States, according to a new report” from the nonprofit Truth Initiative, which “has dubbed that group of states ‘Tobacco Nation,’ a region that spans Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia.” CNN adds, “Overall, smoking prevalence is about 50% higher there than in the rest of the U.S.”

Related Links:

— “The 12 states where smoking is 50% more common than in the rest of the US,”Deidre McPhillips, CNN, July 4, 2023

The New York Times (7/4, Mather) reports, “For the first time, the degenerative brain disease” known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) “has been diagnosed in a female professional athlete, researchers reported” in findingspublished online in the journal Acta Neuropathologica. Australian rules football player Heather Anderson, “who died last year” by suicide, “was found to have had C.T.E” as evidenced by “three lesions” on her brain.

According to NBC News (7/4, DaSilva), “Anderson’s family had donated her brain to the Australian Sports Brain Bank, where the analysis took place,” hoping “to learn ‘whether a lifetime of exposure to repetitive head trauma contributed to (Anderson’s) death.’”

CNN (7/4, Whiteman) reports, “Anderson started playing football when she was five years old and went on to play contact sport for 18 years across two codes – AFL and rugby league – before her death…at 28 last November, according to the paper.” During the course of “her career, Anderson had one confirmed concussion, and suffered another suspected four, according to her family.” The diagnosis “shows women’s contact sports also need CTE minimization plans to reduce players’ exposure to cumulative head injuries, and those plans need to start at the junior level.”

Related Links:

— “C.T.E. Found for First Time in Female Pro Athlete,”Victor Mather, The New York Times, July 4, 2023

HealthDay (7/3, Murez) reported, “Patients recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease who have early hallucinations are at greater risk of faster mental decline,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 75-patient study published online in the journal Nature Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “One Early Signal That Parkinson’s Progression Could Be Swift,”Cara Murez, HealthDay, July 3, 2023

Healio (7/3, Weldon) reported, “Youth with autism are three times as likely to have a co-occurring diagnosis of gender dysphoria than peers who do not have autism,” investigators concluded in “findings from a study of more than 900,000 adolescents published” online in the journal Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Gender dysphoria more prevalent among youth with autism, study finds,”Rose Weldon, Healio, July 3, 2023

HealthDay (6/30, Murez) reported, “Unfortunately, even after physical pain eases, healing or fixing an injured joint often does not improve mental health,” investigators concluded in a study that “used data from more than 11,000 patients treated in Washington University orthopedic clinics over nearly seven years.” The study team found that “anxiety symptoms only improved when a patient had major improvements in physical function,” while depression “did not meaningfully improve even when the improvements to physical function were significant.” The findings were published online June 28 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Fixing a Painful Joint Problem Won’t Ease Mental Health Ills, Study Finds,” Cara Murez, HealthDay, June 30, 2023

Healio (6/30, Young) reported, “Existing treatments for patients with an ultrahigh risk of psychosis offer relatively poor responsiveness, underscoring a need for further innovation in relapse prevention,” researchers concluded in the findings of a 342-participant study published online June 28 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Innovation needed in relapse prevention for those with ultrahigh risk of psychosis,” Healio, June 30, 2023

MedPage Today (6/29, Bassett) reports, “Children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer…remained at increased risk for mental health disorders after the remission of their cancer, according to results from a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Investigators found that “compared with siblings and matched controls, survivors had a 57% increased lifetime risk of severe symptoms of depression or a disorder of depression…a 29% increased risk of anxiety…and a 56% increased risk of psychotic disorders.” The findings were published online June 22 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HCPlive (6/29, Grossi) reports, “Smoking cessation has long been a major public health concern, but its urgency is even more pronounced for individuals with serious mental illness, according to new research which stated this vulnerable population faces significantly elevated cardiovascular disease risks due to tobacco smoking,” according to the findings of a 192-participant study published online June 28 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Extended-Duration Smoking Cessation Shows Promise for Adults with Serious Mental Illness,” Giuliana Grossi, HCPLive, June 29, 2023

CNN (6/29, Kounang, McPhillips) reports, “The Biden administration recently declared fentanyl laced with xylazine – an animal sedative commonly known as ‘tranq’ – to be an emerging threat facing the United States, and a new analysis of toxicology reports illustrates its sharp rise,” according to data published June 30 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The report reveals that “in June 2022, xylazine was present in nearly 11% of fentanyl overdose deaths, almost a four-fold increase from January 2019, when the combination was present in about 3% of cases.”

NBC News (6/29, Edwards) reports, “Tranq is increasingly found laced in the illegal supply of fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid blamed for 70,601 overdose deaths in 2021, according to the” NIDA. This past March, “the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warned about a growing threat from the drug combination, often called ‘tranq dope,’ saying that the DEA had seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 states.”

Related Links:

— “Xylazine present in more than 1 in 10 fentanyl overdose deaths in the US,” Deidre McPhillips and Nadia Kounang, CNN, June 29, 2023