Psychiatric News (1/18) reports, “Over the past year, U.S. adults reported the greatest anxiety about inflation, a recession, and gun violence, according to analysis of monthly data collected from APA’s Healthy Minds Poll in 2023.” Data from “the December poll” indicated that “many adults (38%) reported being anxious about their mental health, which has been a consistent finding over the past year.”

Meanwhile, “forty-four percent of adults said they expect to experience the same level of stress at the start of 2024 as they did at the start of 2023, while a quarter of respondents expect to experience more stress.”

Related Links:

— “Healthy Minds Poll Provides Insight Into Americans’ Anxieties Over Past Year,” Psychiatric News, January 18, 2024

HCPlive (1/17, Pine ) reports the FDA “has extended the shelf-life of 4 mg naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray (Narcan) for nonprescription, over-the-counter (OTC) use from 3 years to 4 years.”

The new “approval only applies to nasal spray products produced” after Wednesday. According to HCPlive, “the shelf-life of products produced and distributed prior to the announcement have not been affected; therefore prescribers, patients, and caregivers should continue to adhere to the expiration date printed on the product’s packaging and labeling.”

Related Links:

— “FDA Extends Shelf-Life for Naloxone Nasal Spray,” Lana Pine, HCP Live, January17 , 2024

NBC News (1/17) reports, “The suicide rate for Hispanic people in the United States has increased significantly over the past decade,” and this “trend has community leaders worried: Even elementary school-aged Hispanic children have tried to harm themselves or expressed suicidal thoughts.”

A “lack of access to mental health care is a problem for all segments of society, particularly since the beginning of the pandemic. But minorities face added economic and societal obstacles, said Maria Oquendo, a past president of the American Psychiatric Association and a suicide researcher.”

Related Links:

— “Rising Latino suicide rates worry community leaders,” Molly Castle Work and Andy Miller, NBC News, January 17, 2024

The Hill (1/17, Sforza ) reports that on Wednesday, the Department of Veterans Affairs “announced…that 49,714 veterans and former service members took advantage of a new benefit that allowed them to go to any VA or non-VA health facility to get free emergency care if they were experiencing an acute suicidal crisis.”

The VA “said the benefit not only offered potentially life-saving health care, it saved more than $64 million in health care costs.” Additionally, “the department said the new policy allowed those experiencing a suicidal crisis to get necessary care, including emergency room visits, up to 30 days of inpatient or crisis residential care, up to 90 days of outpatient care and transportation costs.”

Related Links:

— “VA says nearly 50K veterans used emergency suicide prevention program in its first year,” Lauren Sforza, The Hill, January 17, 2024

Psychiatric News (1/17) reports, “An individual’s personal income appears to play a role in the amount of time between the onset of psychosis and receipt of services to treat first-episode psychosis…suggests a study.” Investigators came to this conclusion after analyzing “data from patients enrolled in two first-episode treatment programs—the Program for Specialized Treatment Early in Psychosis…in New Haven, Conn., and the Prevention and Recovery in Early Psychosis…in Boston.” The findings were published in Psychiatric Services. “Lower personal income was significantly associated with younger age, fewer years of education, Black race, and longer Duration of Untreated Psychosis (DUP). Personal income predicted DUP beyond the effects of age, race, and early psychosis detection.”

Related Links:

— “Lower Income Associated With Greater Treatment Delays for People With First-Episode Psychosis,” Psychiatric News, January 17, 2024