Psychiatric News (6/9) reported, “Black children are more likely to receive inadequate pharmacotherapy for their mental health conditions than children in other racial groups,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from 601 children aged six to 12 years who had visited one of nine outpatient mental health clinics and participated in the Longitudinal Assessment of Manic Symptoms study.” The study revealed that when “compared with white children, Black children had 1.84 times the odds of receiving inadequate pharmacotherapy,” as well as “1.91 times the odds of receiving inadequate pharmacotherapy compared with the combined race group.” The findings were published online June 8 in the journal Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Black Children Less Likely to Receive Adequate Medication for Psychiatric Disorders,” Psychiatric News, June 9, 2023

Medscape (6/9, Yasgur, Subscription Publication) reported, “Patients with ‘treatment-resistant depression’ may be taking other medications with side effects that interfere with antidepressant efficacy,” researchers concluded after having “studied over 800 patients who were taking antidepressants for major depressive disorder.” The study revealed that “close to two thirds were taking at least one nonpsychiatric medication with potential depressive symptom side effects (PDSS) more than 30% were taking two or more such medications, and 20% at least three such medications.”

In fact, such “medications, which included antihypertensive medications and corticosteroids, among others, were associated with higher odds of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms, compared with medications without PDSS.” The findings were published online May 24 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Healio (6/8, VanDewater) reports, “Among prisoners, women were more likely to have opioid use disorder” (OUD) “and more likely to receive treatment at intake compared with men,” researchers concluded in a study that “randomly selected 507 charts among 1,841 patients seen for psychiatric treatment at a county correctional facility in December 2020.” The findings were presented in a poster at the American Psychiatric Association 2023 Annual Meeting.

Related Links:

— “Female prisoners more likely to report opioid use, receive treatment,” Kalie VanDewater, Healio, June 8, 2023

Psychiatric News (6/8) reports, “More Americans consider cigarettes to be addictive and dangerous than those who express such concerns about cannabis, alcohol, and technology,” according to the “latest findings from a national APA poll released” on June 8 that was “conducted by Morning Consult between April 20 and 22 among a sample of 2,201 adults.” APA President Petros Levounis, MD, MA, said in a June 8 news release, “‘It is clear that we have gotten the message through that cigarettes are dangerous and addictive,’ but more can be done to educate Americans about other potentially addictive behaviors.” The news release also disclosed that the APA “will soon launch a public awareness initiative on addiction and substance use disorders,” with its initial focus “on vaping, then turn to opioids, alcohol, and technology over the next year.”

Related Links:

— “Americans Agree Cigarettes Are Unsafe, Yet 21% Report Smoking Every Day,” Psychiatric News, June 8, 2023

The Washington Post (6/7, Malhi) reports, “Early implementation of a type of skin-to-skin contact called kangaroo mother care appears to significantly improve the odds of survival for preterm or low-birth-weight babies, according to a sweeping scientific analysis published Monday.” Investigators “analyzed data from multiple studies that collectively included more than 15,000 infants worldwide” and “found that, compared to conventional care, kangaroo mother care seemed to reduce mortality by 32% within the first 28 days of life.” In addition, the research “suggests that the benefits of kangaroo mother care are higher when it’s implemented within 24 hours of birth.” The research was published in BMJ Global Health.

Related Links:

— “https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/06/07/premature-baby-kangaroo-care-reduce-death-rates/,” Sabrina Malhi, The Washington Post, June 7, 2023