MedPage Today (10/12, Bankhead) reports, “Adults with atopic dermatitis (AD) had a significantly higher prevalence of anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) across all severities of the skin disorder,” investigators concluded in findings from “a large retrospective analysis” published online in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. The study “identified 625,083 adults with AD, who were matched to 2,678,888 adults without AD.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (10/12, Bascom) reports, “Alcohol and tobacco use were both notably associated with suicide attempts among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to” findings presented at the Osteopathic Medical Education Conference. Data derived “from the CDC’s Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey showed that 37.1% of high school students had poor mental health and 9.3% attempted suicide during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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— “Study findings ’emphasize the relationship’ between substance use and teen suicide,”Emma Bascom, Healio, October 12, 2023

Healio (10/12, Cooper) reports, “A study of more than 110,000 patients receiving psychotherapy found improved continuity of care and significantly fewer days between appointments after the switch to virtual care during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to findings published online Oct. 11 in the journal Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association. The study revealed that “improvements in patient engagement were observed across all demographic subgroups and major mental health conditions,” thereby supporting “further use of virtual psychotherapy.”

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— “Virtual psychotherapy improved patient engagement, cut time between visits during pandemic,”Justin Cooper, Healio, October 12, 2023

Healio (10/11, Monostra) reports, “The majority of adults with diabetes say their diabetes team has never discussed the topic of mental health with them, even though most self-reported feelings of emotional distress, according to” the findings of a survey study published online in the journal Diabetic Medicine. The 478-survey response study also revealed that “of a group of adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, 69% had self-reported anxiety and 65% self-reported depression.”

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— “Most adults with diabetes report emotional distress, but do not discuss it with care team,”Michael Monostra, Healio, October 11, 2023

CNN (10/11, Musa) reports, “The number of drug overdose deaths in the” US “is still increasing every month, according to new data” from the CDC, “but the pace appears to be slowing.” According to “new estimates from the” CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, “more than 112,000 people died from a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending in May, an increase of more than 2,700 from the previous year.” Meanwhile, “there were 112,024 overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in May, compared with 109,261 in the 12-month period ending in May 2022, a 2.5% increase.”

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— “US overdose deaths continue their rise, data shows, with ‘devastating impact’ on population,”Amanda Musa, CNN, October 11, 2023