HealthDay (1/24, Mundell ) reports that research suggests the blood pressure drug propranolol may “help ease anxiety in people with autism.” Investigators “found that people who received propranolol had significantly lower anxiety levels at their three-month checkup.” The study, in which “69 people between the ages of 7 and 24 who had autism were given the drug,” was published in Psychopharmacology.

Related Links:

— “Common Heart Drug Might Lower Anxiety in Kids With Autism,” Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, January 24, 2024

HCP Live (1/24, Brooks) reports, “The clinical impact of treatment interventions for mood may span beyond mental health, according to findings from a recent systematic review and meta-analysis.” The research “showed treatments addressing mood outcomes also demonstrated beneficial effects for general inflammation and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-specific biomarkers, further detailing the greater impact of psychological interventions for accentuating the effect on biomarkers and objective disease outcomes.” The findings were published in eBiomedicine.

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Interventions Reduce Inflammatory Biomarkers in IBD by 18%,” Abigail Brooks, MA, HCP Live, January 24, 2024

Healio (1/23, Hornick) reports, “Individuals using nicotine e-cigarettes have a higher likelihood of quitting smoking compared with nicotine replacement therapy users, according to” research. The findings were published in Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Related Links:

— “E-cigarette use vs. nicotine replacement therapy leads to higher quit rates,” Isabella Hornick, Healio, January23 , 2024

HCP Live (1/23, Derman) reports, “Anxiety and depression symptoms increased in trigger states (states where Dobbs triggered a pre-existing ban on abortion) following the Dobbs abortion decision overturning Roe vs. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, according to a new study” published in JAMA Open Network. In the study, researchers “compared changes in symptoms in the 13 trigger states (159, 854 respondents) and the 37 non-trigger states (558,899 respondents).” They found “respondents in trigger states had a mean PHQ-4 of 3.51 which increased to a score of 3.81 post-Dobbs decision. Moreover, the team observed a significantly greater increase in the mean Patient Health Questionnaire-4 in trigger states versus non-trigger.”

Related Links:

— “Anxiety, Depression Symptoms Increase Post-Dobbs Abortion Decision,” Chelsie Derman, , January 23, 2024

ABC News (1/22, Hannon) reports, “Injuries, overtraining and burnout are contributing to a high dropout rate in youth sports, according to a new report from the nation’s leading group of pediatric doctors.” The report from the American Academy of Pediatrics “found that 70% of kids drop out of organized youth sports by age 13.” Additionally, “nearly 1 in 10 youth athletes experience burnout, and as many as 35% experience overtraining, according to the report.”

Related Links:

— “Leading pediatric group warns competitive youth sports are leading to burnout, injuries,” Dr. Erin Hannon, ABC News, January 22, 2024