HealthDay (10/19, Gotkine) reports, “Female offspring of parents with mood disorders have increased z body mass index (BMI) compared with controls of unaffected parents starting at about 12 years of age, according to a study published online Oct. 19 in JAMA Network Open.” In the study, “researchers found that youth at familial risk for mood disorders showed no overall difference in body weight from controls,” but “there was a sex-specific difference observed, with a rapid peripubertal increase in body weight in females at familial risk versus controls, leading to significantly increased zBMI at 12 years and older (β = 0.57), independent of socioeconomic status, prematurity, or birth weight.”

Related Links:

— “Female Teens With Family History of Mood Disorder Prone to Weight Gain,”Elana Gotkine, HealthDay, October 19, 2023

HealthIT Security (10/19, McKeon) reports, “The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) unveiled two resource documents to help [clinicians] communicate telehealth privacy and security risks to patients.” The documents “each aim to convey risks to patients in plain language and help them reduce risk using fundamental cyber hygiene practices.” They “stress the importance of supporting the continued use of telehealth while still communicating risks effectively. The HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules do not require” clinicians “to inform or educate patients about these risks, but the documents give [clinicians] the ability to do so if they wish.”

Related Links:

— “OCR Publishes Resources On Telehealth Privacy, Security Risks,” Jill McKeon, HealthIT Security, October 19, 2023

mHealth Intelligence (10/19, Vaidya) reports, “Using telehealth to begin opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment is linked to high retention in treatment among Medicaid beneficiaries, according to a…study.” In the study, published in JAMA Network Open, “initiating buprenorphine treatment through telehealth was associated with better odds of 90-day retention in treatment in both” Kentucky and Ohio “compared with not starting treatment through telehealth. Among the individuals who initiated buprenorphine via telehealth in the second or third quarter of 2020, the proportion that continued treatment for at least 90 days was 45 percent in Kentucky and 28.5 percent in Ohio.”

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Supports OUD Treatment Retention Among Medicaid Enrollees,”Anuja Vaidya, mHealth Intelligence , October 19, 2023

HealthDay (10/19, Murez) reports, “Stigma can take a toll on lesbian, gay and bisexual teens, leading to high rates of binge-eating disorders, researchers” concluded after analyzing “data from more than 10,000 adolescents aged 10 to 14 years old who were part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study.” Researchers discovered that “compared to their non-LGBTQ peers, lesbian, gay and bisexual teens are more than twice as likely to report binge eating.” The findings were published online Oct. 13 in the Journal of Eating Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Lesbian & Gay Teens Have Twice the Odds for Binge-Eating Disorders,”Cara Murez, HealthDay , October 19, 2023

NPR (10/18, Godoy) reports, “Teaching middle schoolers bike riding skills as part of physical education classes may help improve their mental health,” according to “a new study that looked at the effects of a six- to eight-week cycling class taught in schools across the U.S.” and that “involved more than 1,200 students.” The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Sports and Active Living.

Related Links:

— “Bike riding in middle school may boost mental health, study finds,”Maria Godoy, NPR, October 18, 2023