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Latest News Around the Web

Almost Three-Fourths Of US Adults Think Government Not Doing Enough To Ensure Access To Affordable Mental Healthcare, Survey Finds

The Hill (10/24, Ventura) reports, “Nearly three-fourths of U.S. adults said the government is not doing enough to ensure access to affordable mental health care, a new West Health-Gallup Healthcare surveyfound.” The new “survey revealed that 73 percent of Americans said that the government was not doing enough to ensure affordable access to mental health care, compared to 12 percent who said that it was doing about the right amount.” About 7% “said the government was doing too much, while another 7 percent said they didn’t know.”

Related Links:

— “Most say not enough being done to ensure affordable mental health care: Survey,” Juliann Ventura, The Hill, October 24, 2024

Suicide Risk Is Highest On Monday In US And Globally, Research Suggests

HealthDay (10/24, Thompson ) reports, “Suicide risk is highest on Monday in the United States and around the world, an international team of researchers has discovered.” The researchers said, “Mondays and New Year’s Day were both associated with increased suicide risk in most countries.” Study results indicate that “Mondays constitute 15% to 18% of total suicides, compared with other days.” Study “results also show that weekend suicide risk varies greatly between countries.” The findings were published in the BMJ.

Related Links:

— “One Day of the Week Has Highest Suicide Risk,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, October 24, 2024

Single Saline Injection Yields Approximately One Month Of Chronic Back Pain Improvement, Research Suggests

Healio (10/23, Cooper ) reports, “A single saline injection, openly prescribed as a placebo, yielded approximately 1 month of chronic back pain improvement, along with longer-term benefits in depression and sleep, according to data.” The investigators “described the placebo injection’s pain relief benefit as ‘modest in magnitude’ but clinically significant and comparable with the effect sizes of typical treatments such as NSAIDs, but with fewer adverse events.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Open-label placebo injection demonstrates ‘modest’ benefit in chronic back pain,” Justin Cooper, Healio, October 23, 2024

Thousands Of Bottles Of Duloxetine Being Recalled Due To Presence Of Toxic Chemical

ABC News (10/23, Kindelan ) reports, “Thousands of bottles of a popular antidepressant medication are being recalled due to the presence of what the National Library of Medicine describes as a toxic chemical, according to a notice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.” The recall impacts “the medication duloxetine, which is sold under the brand name Cymbalta, according to the FDA’s notice of the voluntary recall, which began Oct. 10.” The recalled “capsules were found to contain a higher level of N-nitroso-duloxetine than is permitted, according to the recall notice.”

USA Today (10/23, Ardrey ) reports the FDA “announced a Class II recall for more than 7,000 bottles of” the antidepressant. The drug “was distributed across the country and manufactured by Towa Pharmaceutical Europe.”

Related Links:

— “Thousands of bottles of popular antidepressant recalled: 3 things to know,” Katie Kindelan, ABC News, October 23, 2024

Study Finds History Of Eating Disorders Or BMI Outside Normal Range In Mothers Linked To Higher Risk Of Neurodevelopmental, Psychiatric Disorders In Offspring

MedPage Today (10/22, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “Among mothers, a history of eating disorders or body mass index (BMI) outside the normal range was associated with a higher risk of neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders in their offspring, according to a Finnish population-based cohort study.” In the “analysis of nearly 400,000 mothers and nearly 650,000 offspring, the largest effect sizes were for non-specified maternal eating disorders in association with childhood sleep disorders…and social functioning and tic disorders.” Researchers found that “for maternal severe prepregnancy obesity, the largest effect size was for intellectual disabilities.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Foundation News

Foundation Radio PSA Examines Child and Teen Adolescent Health

Among children and teens the rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide have been surging for over a decade and made severely worse by the pandemic. The latest radio spot from the Foundation examines how suicide is now the second leading cause of death among children aged 10-14 and the rise in emergency room visits for young people has become a national emergency. The Foundation asks you to reach out to your local and state legislators to urge funding for mental health help for our youth.

Child and Adolescent Mental HealthChild and Adolescent Mental Health, MP3, 1.2MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Carolyn Im to Receive MFP Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

The 2023 Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (MFP) Anti-Stigma Advocacy Prize will be awarded to Carolyn Im for her A Piece of My Mind in JAMA, “Major Developments During Medical School” published October 25, 2022.

She very effectively articulates some of the adjustments medical students with recurrent depression might have to make.  She encourages students to seek psychiatric help when needed and points out that dealing with mental health issues can foster personal growth and make us better physicians.

The Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award carries a $500 prize and will be formally presented at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting on April 20.

The Foundation established this annual prize for a worthy media piece, preferably local or regional, that accomplishes one or more of the following:

  • Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or simply in the community.
  • Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
  • Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

Click here for information about past winners.

Foundation Radio Spot Examines the Rise of Telehealth Due to Pandemic

Every dark cloud has a silver lining. Even the COVID-19 pandemic has seen some positive consequences for mental health care. A new radio spot from the Foundation examines the rise of Telehealth during days of lockdown and stress over the past few years, including increased acceptance by insurance companies in the wake of the U.S. government declaring a national mental health crisis.

Telehealth in the COVID-19 AgeTelehealth in the COVID-19 Age, MP3, 1.3MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

New Foundation Radio Spot Notes Women’s Health In Jeopardy

It’s not easy to be a woman these days. Women’s health is especially in jeopardy, particularly for those who are pregnant. A new radio spot from the Foundation examines studies about women denied reproductive choice have significantly worse mental health, and other studies about women jailed for drug addiction and more.

Women’s HealthcareWomen’s Healthcare, MP3, 1.3MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Seeking Nominations for 2023 Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

The annual Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (MFP) Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award recognizes a worthy piece published in a major newspaper that accomplishes one or more of the following:

  • Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or in the community.
  • Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
  • Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

The article should be published during the period from January 15, 2022 to January 15, 2023. A Maryland author and/or newspaper is preferred. Click here for past winners and published articles.

The award carries a $500 prize, which is given at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting in April. Please send nominations to mfp@mdpsych.org no later than January 16, 2023.