NBC News (8/16, Edwards) reports, “Three influential groups of pediatricians and emergency medicine” clinicians “are pleading for more support and resources as the number of children and teenagers with mental health concerns overwhelm emergency departments” (EDs) across the country. A joint policy statement was issued Aug. 16 and published online in the journal Pediatrics by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Emergency Nurses Association in which the “groups are calling for local communities to increase access to mental health services before emergency care is needed.”

HealthDay (8/16, Thompson) says, “Every year, about half a million children with mental and behavioral health problems are evaluated in” EDs, “the joint report says,” and ED “visits spurred by mental health problems increased by 120% at children’s hospitals between 2007 and 2016.” During that same time frame, “the rate among general hospitals rose by 55%.” Because ED “teams are designed to work at a fever pitch, moving from case to case as quickly as possible,” children who are in psychiatric crisis who “need follow-up care…are less likely to get that follow-up if they go to an” ED.

Related Links:

— “Emergency room doctors beg for help treating children with mental health illnesses,”Erika Edwards, NBC News , August 16, 2023

Psych News Alert (8/17) reports, “Individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) who exhibit suicidal behavior have 2.6 times the risk of dying from any cause compared with people with MDD who do not, according to a study.” Psych News Alert adds, “The study sample included 145,577 people who experienced a total of 158,169 MDD episodes, 1.4% of which included records of suicidal behavior; the average time from MDD diagnosis to the first record of suicidal behavior was less than six months.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Suicidal Behavior in Patients With MDD Associated With Death of Any Cause, Psych News Alert, August 17, 2023

CNN (8/17, Viswanathan) reports, “Last year, more middle-aged adults were binge drinking, using marijuana or consuming hallucinogens than ever before, according to a new report.” In addition, “cannabis use surged among young adults under 30, alongside historic rates of vaping.” This “new data comes from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future panel study,” which is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The Hill (8/17, Fortinsky) reports that the survey has been “conducted annually since 1975. Data for this most recent 2022 survey was collected via online and paper surveys from April 2022 to October 2022, according to the report.”

Related Links:

— “Marijuana and hallucinogen use, binge drinking reached record highs in middle-aged adults, survey finds,”Giri Viswanathan, CNN, August 17, 2023

NBC News (8/16, Lovelace) reports that new research indicates Eisai’s Leqembi (lecanemab) and Biogen’s Aduhelm (aducanumab), the first drugs meant to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, “may only be available to a tiny fraction of patients.” The drugs “are approved for older adults with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage Alzheimer’s disease but, according to the study, less than 1 in 10 patients at this point in the disease may be prescribed them.” The findings were published in the journal Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Few patients may qualify to get new Alzheimer’s drugs, study suggests,” Berkeley Lovelace Jr., NBC News, August 16, 2023

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)