Psychiatric News (10/26) reports that “at this year’s American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry’s…annual meeting,” experts debated whether child and adolescent psychiatrists should urge “families to institute blanket bans on screens in bedrooms,” given that “numerous studies have established a strong link between evening screen time and poor sleep quality.”

Related Links:

— “Should Psychiatrists Advocate Banning Screens From Kids’ Bedrooms?, Psychiatric News , October 26, 2023

The AP (10/26, Baldor) reports, “The number of suicides among U.S. military members and their families dipped slightly in 2022, compared with the previous year, as the Defense Department tries to build prevention and treatment programs to address what has been a steadily growing problem over the past decade, The Associated Press has learned.” However, “because the active-duty force is smaller now, the rate of suicides per 100,000 service members inched up, according to U.S. officials.” Overall, “defense officials said the long-term trend still points to increasing deaths, although the relative stability in the numbers for 2022 gives them some cautious encouragement.”

Related Links:

— “The number of military suicides dipped in 2022 as the Pentagon works on new prevention programs,”Lolita C. Baldor, AP, October 26, 2023

Psychiatric News (10/25) reports, “Youth who reported experiencing severe psychological distress were more likely to vape cannabis in the previous month than those who did not report psychological distress, according to” a study. Investigators came to this conclusion after looking “at the association between cannabis vaping and psychological distress among 22,202 youth aged 11 to 18 years using data from the 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Over 60% of Youth Who Vape Cannabis Report Psychological Distress, Psychiatric News , October 25, 2023

NBC News (10/25, Guilfoil) reports, “The White House on Wednesday requested $1.55 billion from Congress to address illicit fentanyl driving overdose deaths across the country as part of a broader funding package.” This money “would be included alongside money for grants to states, territories and tribes through a Department of Health and Human Services program that aims to help strengthen addiction treatment, overdose prevention measures and recovery support services.” The request “comes after the administration asked Congress for money focused on foreign policy and border issues, including an additional 1,000 law enforcement personnel and investigative capabilities to prevent cartels from moving fentanyl into the country.”

Related Links:

— “White House presses for money to prevent opioid deaths as congressional dysfunction stymies aid,”Kyla Guilfoil, NBC News , October 25, 2023

Healio (10/25, Cooper) reports, “An earlier follow-up visit after psychiatric inpatient discharge was associated with lower risk of suicide in a population-based study from South Korea.” The data indicated that “earlier follow-up lowered suicide risk for patients with substance use disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, suggesting that ‘more intensive follow-up’ is needed immediately after discharge, particularly for the prevention of suicide in those deemed high-risk at admission…wrote” the researchers. The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Earlier follow-up lowered suicide risk after psychiatric inpatient discharge,”Justin Cooper, Healio, October 25, 2023