ABC News (6/19, Cahan) reports, “Since its launch in July 2022, the new” nationwide 988 suicide hotline has “fielded over two million calls from people in crisis – 45% more than the 10-digit hotline over the same period in the previous year, according to data from Vibrant Emotional Health, the organization appointed by the federal government to oversee the line.” Now, nearly “one year after the crisis line’s rollout – and after nearly one billion dollars of federal investment – the majority of states are still struggling to ensure that their citizens’ calls get answered locally.” While “unanswered calls roll over to national backup centers…federal officials acknowledge these centers are generally less equipped to provide the local services callers may need.”

Related Links:

— “New national suicide lifeline struggling to keep up with volume, advocates say,” Eli Cahan, ABC News, June 19 , 2023

The Washington Post (6/15, Roubein) reports, “Nearly 6 in 10 Americans report experiencing at least one problem with their health insurance in the past year, ranging from denied claims to difficulties finding an in-network doctor,” according to a pollfrom KFF. Such “issues appear pervasive for both Americans with private plans and those with Medicare and Medicaid coverage,” and these issues are “most commonly reported among people with greater health care needs, such as those who rate their health as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ and those who receive mental health treatment.”

The New York Times (6/15, Abelson) reports that the survey “underscored the persistent problem of affordability,” and found that “nearly half of those who encountered a problem with their insurance said they could not satisfactorily resolve it.” People were also unaware “about pursuing appeals of denied coverage and how to go about doing so.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Healio (6/15, VanDewater) reports, “Among patients with multiple sclerosis” (MS), “cognitive function was predicted by age, depressive symptoms and anxiety,” researchers concluded after retrospectively reviewing “charts for 802 consecutive adult patients with MS who attended a tertiary neuropsychiatry clinic from 2006 to 2022.” The study revealed that “in younger people with MS, the core depressive symptoms were particularly predictive of cognitive impairment, while in older adults with MS, it’s more so the anxious distress in the context of depression that is predictive of cognitive impairment.” The findings were presented in a poster at the American Psychiatric Association 2023 Annual Meeting.

Related Links:

— “Cognition in multiple sclerosis depends on patients’ depression, anxiety, age,” Kalie VanDewater, Healio, June 15, 2023

CNN (6/15, Howard) says, “The proportion of US adults who have ever been diagnosed with depression ranges greatly depending on where they live.” Research published online June 16 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report “finds that in 2020, 18.4% of US adults reported having ever been diagnosed with depression in their lifetimes – but, state by state, that percentage of adults ranged from an estimated 12.7% in Hawaii to 27.5% in West Virginia.” The researchers wrote, “There was considerable geographic variation in the prevalence of depression, with the highest state and county estimates of depression observed along the Appalachian and southern Mississippi Valley regions.” For this research, the team “analyzed data from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.” AAP President Rebecca Brendel, MD, JD, commented, “The fact that Americans are more depressed and struggling after this time of incredible stress and isolation is perhaps not surprising. … There are lingering effects on our health, especially our mental health, from the past three years that disrupted everything we knew.”

HealthDay (6/15, Mundell) reports, “Find out more about the signs of depression at the American Psychiatric Association.”

Related Links:

— “Nearly 1 in 5 US adults have been diagnosed with depression and the prevalence varies dramatically by state, CDC report finds,” Jacqueline Howard, CNN, June 15, 2023

— “Are You Living in One of America’s Most Depressed States?,” Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, June 15, 2023

According to MedPage Today (6/14, George), “prescription stimulants used as cognitive enhancers by people without” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD)” appear to reduce “performance in complex everyday activities,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 40-participant, “double-blind randomized trial.” The cognitive enhancers studied included methylphenidate (Ritalin), dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine), and modafinil (Provigil).”

HealthDay (6/14, Thompson) reports that subjects of the study “took much longer to complete tasks because they acted in a more erratic, scattershot manner while they worked.” The findings were published online June 14 in the journal Science Advances.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

— “For Folks Without the Condition, Taking ADHD Meds to Get ‘Smarter’ Could Backfire,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, June 14, 2023