HealthDay (6/30, Murez) reported, “Unfortunately, even after physical pain eases, healing or fixing an injured joint often does not improve mental health,” investigators concluded in a study that “used data from more than 11,000 patients treated in Washington University orthopedic clinics over nearly seven years.” The study team found that “anxiety symptoms only improved when a patient had major improvements in physical function,” while depression “did not meaningfully improve even when the improvements to physical function were significant.” The findings were published online June 28 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Fixing a Painful Joint Problem Won’t Ease Mental Health Ills, Study Finds,” Cara Murez, HealthDay, June 30, 2023

Healio (6/30, Young) reported, “Existing treatments for patients with an ultrahigh risk of psychosis offer relatively poor responsiveness, underscoring a need for further innovation in relapse prevention,” researchers concluded in the findings of a 342-participant study published online June 28 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Innovation needed in relapse prevention for those with ultrahigh risk of psychosis,” Healio, June 30, 2023

MedPage Today (6/29, Bassett) reports, “Children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer…remained at increased risk for mental health disorders after the remission of their cancer, according to results from a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Investigators found that “compared with siblings and matched controls, survivors had a 57% increased lifetime risk of severe symptoms of depression or a disorder of depression…a 29% increased risk of anxiety…and a 56% increased risk of psychotic disorders.” The findings were published online June 22 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HCPlive (6/29, Grossi) reports, “Smoking cessation has long been a major public health concern, but its urgency is even more pronounced for individuals with serious mental illness, according to new research which stated this vulnerable population faces significantly elevated cardiovascular disease risks due to tobacco smoking,” according to the findings of a 192-participant study published online June 28 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Extended-Duration Smoking Cessation Shows Promise for Adults with Serious Mental Illness,” Giuliana Grossi, HCPLive, June 29, 2023

CNN (6/29, Kounang, McPhillips) reports, “The Biden administration recently declared fentanyl laced with xylazine – an animal sedative commonly known as ‘tranq’ – to be an emerging threat facing the United States, and a new analysis of toxicology reports illustrates its sharp rise,” according to data published June 30 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The report reveals that “in June 2022, xylazine was present in nearly 11% of fentanyl overdose deaths, almost a four-fold increase from January 2019, when the combination was present in about 3% of cases.”

NBC News (6/29, Edwards) reports, “Tranq is increasingly found laced in the illegal supply of fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid blamed for 70,601 overdose deaths in 2021, according to the” NIDA. This past March, “the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warned about a growing threat from the drug combination, often called ‘tranq dope,’ saying that the DEA had seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 of 50 states.”

Related Links:

— “Xylazine present in more than 1 in 10 fentanyl overdose deaths in the US,” Deidre McPhillips and Nadia Kounang, CNN, June 29, 2023