CBS News (7/30, Tin ) says, “Close to 1 in 3 adolescents in the U.S. received mental health treatment in 2023, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported Tuesday, which works out to around 8.3 million young people between the ages of 12 and 17 getting counseling, medication or another treatment.” For adolescents, “the biggest increase from 2022 was in the number getting medication for mental health treatment,” with SAMHSA estimating “that 13.9% of those age 12 to 17 received such a prescription in 2023,” up from “12.8% the year before.” The findings were included in SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health for 2023.

The Hill (7/30, Nazzaro ) also reports.

Related Links:

— “Nearly a third of adolescents getting mental health treatment, federal survey finds,”Alexander Tin, CBS News, July 30, 2024

The Washington Post (7/30, Malhi ) reports, “The suicide rate for U.S. children 8 to 12 years old has steadily climbed in the past decade and a half, with a disproportionate rise among girls, data released Tuesday…shows.” The Post adds, “Between 2001 and 2022, 2,241 children ages 8 to 12 – known as preteens – died by suicide,” and “while suicide rates were decreasing until 2007, they increased by about 8 percent each year from 2008 to 2022.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Reuters (7/30, Sunny) reports researchers “examined U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) records on preteen suicide from 2001 to 2022” and discovered that “suicide was the 5th leading cause of death in girls between 2008 and 2022, moving up from being the 11th leading cause between 2001 and 2007.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

CNN (7/30, Howard ) reports “research suggests that the majority of young people who have died by suicide did not have a documented mental health diagnosis in their medical history.” About “3 out of 5 young people who died by suicide between January 2010 and December 2021 had no previously diagnosed mental health condition, according to the study,” which “suggests that mental health problems might be going missed or undiagnosed, and thus untreated, in some young people.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

HealthDay (7/30, Thompson ) reports researchers came to this conclusion after analyzing “data on more than 40,000 suicides by youth ages 10 to 24 between 2010 and 2021” that had been “gathered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

Related Links:

— “Most young people who die by suicide in the US do not have previous mental health diagnoses, study suggests,”Jacqueline Howard, CNN, July 30, 2024

Neurology Advisor (7/29, Khaja) reports, “Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may potentially increase the risk for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, with varying effects depending on age, sex, and severity, according to study results.” Investigators undertook “an observational study combining a population-based approach, nested case-control, and sibling comparison design to explore the link between TBI and later bipolar disorder and schizophrenia diagnoses, investigate if there is a correlation influenced by TBI severity, and assess potential moderating effects of demographic and familial factors.” The findings were published in Psychiatry Research.

Related Links:

— “Traumatic Brain Injury May Raise Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Risk,”Hibah Khaja, Neurology Advisor, July 29, 2024

HCP Live (7/29, Derman) reports, “A new study demonstrated the number of relapses among patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) depends on whether their depression symptoms improve on antidepressants.” Using “data from the double-blind, randomized clinical trial on alcohol-specific inhibition training among patients with AUD,” researchers “analyzed 153 detoxified AUD patients who attended a 12-week residential treatment program between 2015 and 2019.” The findings were published in Alcohol, Clinical and Experimental Research.

Related Links:

— “Patients with AUD Have Fewer Relapses When Antidepressants Improve Depression,”Chelsie Derman, HCPlive, July 29, 2024