Psychiatric News (7/20) reports, “Disruptions in healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly reduce the ability of adults to remain in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD),” investigators concluded in a study that “analyzed deidentified administrative insurance claims for adults aged 18 or older who were covered by commercial insurance or Medicare Advantage from March 2018 to February 2022.” The findings of the 13,113-adult study were published online July 18 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Study Suggests Few Disruptions in Treatment for OUD During the Pandemic, Psychiatric News, July 20, 2023

CNN (7/20, Kelly) reports, “Social media platforms, including TikTok and Instagram, have come under mounting scrutiny in recent years for their potential to lead younger users to harmful content and exacerbate what experts have called a national mental health crisis among” adolescents. However, “nearly two dozen parents…told CNN that they are grappling with a different but related issue: teens using social media to diagnose themselves with mental health conditions,” a trend that “has alarmed parents, therapists and school counselors, according to interviews with CNN.” Child psychiatrist Larry D. Mitnaul, MD, MPH, MS, stated, “Teens are coming into our office with already very strong opinions about their own self-diagnosis.”

Related Links:

— “Teens are using social media to diagnose themselves with ADHD, autism and more. Parents are alarmed,”Samantha Murphy Kelly, CNN Business, July 20, 2023

MedPage Today (7/18, DePeau-Wilson) reported, “While bipolar disorder is known to be associated with early mortality, deaths are more likely to be caused by external factors, such as suicide, than somatic factors, such as alcohol-related diseases,” investigators concluded in a study revealing that “in the cohort of people ages 15 to 64, those with bipolar disorder had six-fold higher mortality due to external causes…and two-fold higher mortality due to somatic causes,” when “compared with those without the disorder.”

HealthDay (7/19, Murez) reports the study authors “say this is due to a combination of external causes – such as suicide, accidents and violence – and physical health issues, with alcohol a big contributor.” The findings of the 47,018-patient study were published online May 1 in the journal BMJ Mental Health.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The Washington Post (7/19, Ovalle) reports, “The evolving overdose crisis in the United States is making another lethal turn, federal disease trackers reported” in the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics Data Brief No. 474. Investigators concluded that “increasingly, people dying from opioids are also using stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine.” In fact, the analysis “shows that between 2011 and 2021, the age-adjusted rate of overdose deaths involving opioids and cocaine nearly quintupled, far outpacing the rate of deaths involving only cocaine.”

ABC News (7/19, Kekatos) says that the report also “found the percentage of deaths involving cocaine and opioids varied by region,” with the Northeast having “the highest percentage at 84.5%” and the West having “the lowest at 73.4%.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

HCPlive (7/18, Grossi) reports RAND Corporation investigators have “addressed the two standard procedures used to compare suicide rates among veterans and nonveterans: direct standardization and indirect standardization.” Their “analysis consisted of four years’ worth of data (2017-2020) published by the VA on suicide counts and population sizes for both veterans and nonveterans.” The data analysis “revealed significant differences in age and sex distribution between the veteran and nonveteran populations” in that “veterans tended to be older and predominantly male.” The findings were published online July 18 in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Understanding the Complexity of Analyzing Veteran Suicide Rates,”Giuliana Grossi, HCPlive , July 18, 2023