MedPage Today (8/16, Firth) reports, “Children exposed to physical assault were at higher risk of a mental illness diagnosis over subsequent years, with the greatest risk seen in the year after the assault,” investigators concluded in a study that “included 5,487 children ages 0 to 13 years who from 2006 to 2014 presented to an emergency department…or were hospitalized for an acute physical assault in Ontario,” Canada. The study revealed that youngsters “seen for physical assault in an acute care setting were nearly twice as likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness over a median follow-up of nearly seven years when compared with children who were not assaulted.” The findings were published online Aug. 16 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (8/15, Caron) reports, “In July, the Food and Drug Administration posted more shortages in” medications for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), and this month, the agency “and the Drug Enforcement Administration took the rare step of issuing a joint public letter acknowledging the shortage and asking manufacturers to increase production.” These actions come as “parents and caregivers across the country are spending hours each month hunting down pharmacies with” AD/HD “medication in stock and asking their doctors to either transfer or rewrite prescriptions.” Meanwhile, “others pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket for name-brand drugs that are sometimes more readily available but, unlike generics, are not covered by their insurance.” Some parents are reporting that the shortage of AD/HD medications is causing “collateral damage to their children’s self-esteem.”

Related Links:

— “The Collateral Damage of A.D.H.D. Drug Shortages,”Christina Caron, The New York Times, August `5, 2023

Psychiatric News (8/15) reports, “Experiencing substance-induced psychosis may raise the risk of suicide attempt,” investigators concluded in a study that “analyzed data from 5,806,700 people aged 13 years or older who lived in Denmark from January 1, 1995, to August 10, 2017.” The study team “followed the individuals until the individuals had a suicide attempt, had a first psychotic disorder (except for first substance-induced psychosis), died, or emigrated, whichever came first.” The findings were published online Aug. 13 in the journal Addiction.

Related Links:

— “Substance-Induced Psychosis Linked to Increased Risk of Suicide Attempt,Psychiatric News , August 15, 2023

The Hill (8/15, Latour) reports, “Two-thirds of U.S. adults have been impacted in some way by the nation’s substance use crisis,” according to findings from “a new KFF Tracking Poll” announced on Aug. 15. In the poll, 66% “of respondents…said either they themselves or a family member have experienced addiction to alcohol or drugs, homelessness due to addiction, or an overdose resulting in an emergency room visit, hospitalization or death.” What’s more, “among white respondents, 67 percent said someone in their family has experienced addiction or overdose, compared to 58 percent of Black adults and 56 percent of Hispanic adults,” a gap that “‘is mostly driven by addiction to alcohol and prescription painkillers,’ the researchers noted.”

HealthDay (8/15, Reinberg) reports, “The poll of over 1,300 U.S. adults was conducted from July 11 to 19 either online or by telephone.” The American Psychiatric Association provides additional information on substance use disorder.

Related Links:

— “Majority of US adults say addiction has affected their family in some way: poll,”AMEE LATOUR, The Hill , August 15, 2023

Healio (8/14, Carter) reports, “Use of lithium vs. valproate as a prophylactic treatment may be associated with adverse kidney outcomes, including AKI,” investigators concluded in a study that “examined data from the Stockholm Creatinine Measurements database, a health care use cohort of all adult Stockholm residents, and included 10,946 patients who began lithium or valproate therapy from January 2007 to December 2018.” Even though the study found that new “use of lithium was meaningfully associated with adverse kidney outcomes, with low absolute risks that did not differ between therapies,” it also revealed, however, that “elevated serum lithium levels were associated with future kidney risks, particularly AKI, emphasizing the need for close monitoring and lithium dose adjustment.” The findings were published online July 7 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Lithium therapy may be linked with AKI, poor kidney outcomes vs. valproate,”Shawn M. Carter, Healio, August 14, 2023