The New York Times (4/10, Ghorayshi) reports, “In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that boys were 4.7 times as likely as girls to receive an autism diagnosis,” but “by 2018, the ratio had dipped to 4.2 to 1.” A March 24 analysis published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that was “based on the health and education records of more than 226,000 eight-year-olds across the” U.S. revealed that “the figure was 3.8 to 1.” And: “ For 2020, one in 36 children aged 8 years (approximately 4% of boys and 1% of girls) was estimated to have ASD.”

Related Links:

— “More Girls Are Being Diagnosed With Autism ” Azeen Ghorayshi, The New York Times, April 10, 2023

HealthDay (4/10, Murez) reports a recent study blames the “Medicaid cliff” for worsening “racial and ethnic disparities, noting that Black and Hispanic adults whose annual income is just above the federal poverty level are more likely to experience cost-related barriers to care.” The study associated “being just above the poverty line, and therefore ineligible for Medicaid, to a 21% drop in annual outpatient visits.” Additionally, “Black people and Hispanic folks on Medicare also filled 15% fewer prescriptions, while the study found barely any change for white people.” The findings were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “For ‘Near Poor’ Seniors, Medicaid ‘Cliff’ Could Keep Health Care Out of Reach “Cara Murez, HealthDay, April 10, 2023

Psychiatric News (4/10) reports, “Individuals with schizophrenia who began treatment with clozapine significantly increased their use of community-based services and decreased their use of psychiatric inpatient services over the next six months,” researchers concluded in the findings of a 163-patient study published online April 5 in the journal Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Patients on Clozapine Found to Significantly Increase Use of Community-Based MH Programs, Psychiatric News, April 10, 2023

NBC News (4/9, Avery) reported, “Gay, lesbian and bisexual youths are at far greater risk of sleep problems than their straight counterparts,” investigators concluded in a study that “analyzed data on more than 8,500 young people ages 10 to 14.” The study revealed that “35.1% of those who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual reported trouble falling or staying asleep in the previous two weeks, compared to 13.5% of straight-identifying adolescents.” Additionally, “30.8% of questioning youths – those who answered ‘maybe’ to being gay, lesbian or bisexual – reported problems with getting a full night’s rest.” The findings were published online in the journal LGBT Health.

Related Links:

— “Gay youths are more than twice as likely to have sleep trouble, study finds “Dan Avery, NBC News , April 9, 2023

Healio (4/7, VanDewater) reported, “Among people with opioid use disorder” (OUD) “and chronic pain, those with fibromyalgia had a greater risk of addiction exacerbation,” researchers concluded in a small study that “recruited 125 patients with pain and OUD.” The study revealed that people with OUD “who also had fibromyalgia were more likely to have pain-related exacerbation of their addiction compared with people who had chronic pain without fibromyalgia,” according to findings published online in the journal Pain.

Related Links:

— “Fibromyalgia-related pain may exacerbate opioid addiction “Kalie VanDewater, Healio, April 7, 2023