According to HealthDay (4/11, Mozes), “research suggests that opioid prescription rates and suicide risk appear to go hand-in-hand” because suicide risk appears to decrease “as prescription rates fall.” Researchers came to this conclusion after examining “U.S. federal government data collected between 2009 and 2017 on opioid-related deaths” and cross-referencing the data “with information that tracked opioid prescription patterns over the period.” The findings were published online April 11 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Curbing Opioid Prescriptions Won’t Raise Suicide Rates: Study “Alan Mozes, HealthDay, April 11, 2023

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