HCPlive (10/10, Brooks) reports, “New research is calling attention to the burden of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, providing new evidence highlighting various unmet needs for patients with these conditions.” Using “data from the Healthcare Integrated Research Database, the study found patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder had high levels of comorbidities and healthcare resource utilization, frequently incurring elevated costs but receiving suboptimal treatment that they often discontinued, leading to relapse.” The findings were published in Schizophrenia.

Related Links:

— “Study Describes Unmet Needs in Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder Management,” Abigail Brooks, MA, HCP Live, October 10, 2024

HealthDay (10/10, Mundell ) reports, “A new study finds persistent loneliness taking a toll on aging brains and significantly raising a person’s odds for dementia.” Researchers “found loneliness was linked to a 31% rise in the likelihood that a person would go on to develop any form of dementia.” Additionally, loneliness “raised the chances of cognitive impairment in people by 15%.” The findings were published in Nature Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “Loneliness Raises Odds for Dementia by 31%,” Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, October 10, 2024

Reuters (10/10, Singh) reports, “Roughly 15.5 million U.S. adults have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and most of them struggle with gaining access to treatment for the condition, according to data from a U.S. study released on Thursday.” Approximately “one-third of those reporting a diagnosis of ADHD said they had received a prescription for a stimulant drug used to treat it in the previous year, researchers reported in the” CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The study also found that “nearly three quarters of those with a prescription for a stimulant drug reported difficulty getting it filled because the medication was unavailable.”

Related Links:

— “More than 15 million US adults have ADHD, new study estimates,” Puyaan Singh, Reuters, October 10, 2024

HealthDay (10/9, Mundell ) reports, “A study tracking almost 10,000 9- and 10-year olds for two years finds a link between time spent watching TV and other screens with…higher odds for ADHD and depression.” Researchers found that “kids with the highest levels of daily time spent staring at screens had…10% higher odds for depression, a 7% higher risk for conduct issues, and a 6% higher risk for ADHD, compared to children with lower rates of screen use.” The findings were published in BMC Public Health.

Related Links:

— “More Screen Time Tied to Mental Health Risks for Tweens,” Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, October 9, 2024

USA Today (10/9, Rodriguez ) reports research found that “it’s far more common to live through childhood trauma than to grow up without it.” A “study found that 3 in 4 high school students experienced at least one potentially traumatic event involving violence, abuse or exposure to mental health or substance use problems.” The study also found “1 in 5 high school students said they experienced at least four of these potentially traumatic events.” The findings were published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

HealthDay (10/9, Gotkine ) reports “emotional abuse, physical abuse, and household poor mental health were the most common” adverse childhood experiences (61.5, 31.8, and 28.4 percent, respectively).

Related Links:

— “Most high school students say they’ve had a traumatic experience as a kid,” Adrianna Rodriguez, USA Today, October 9, 2024