Healio (1/31, Herpen) reports, “For individuals prescribed antipsychotic medication, nonadherence, along with switching and stopping medication, was associated with increases in acute care utilization,” investigators concluded in a study that “included 577 individuals with schizophrenia, 795 with bipolar disorder and 618 who were prescribed antipsychotics but lacked a diagnosis of either illness.” The findings were published online Jan. 24 in BMC Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Nonadherence, switching, stopping antipsychotics linked to more acute care utilization “Robert Herpen, Healio, January 31, 2023

CNN (1/31, LaMotte) reports that “use of marijuana and other substances dropped in teenagers during the first year of the pandemic,” but “adults’ use of cannabis, illegal drugs and alcohol, including binge drinking, either stayed the same or increased compared to the two years before COVID-19,” according to a study that “analyzed data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study.” The researcher wrote, “Substance use decreased between 2019 and 2020 among those aged 13 to 20 years,” but “consistent declines were not seen in older persons other than tobacco use reductions, and cannabis use increased among adults ages 25 years and older.” The findings were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Adult drug use rose during pandemic, but dropped dramatically in youth, study says “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, January 31, 2023

MedPage Today (1/30, Henderson) reports a study published in JAMA Pediatrics found that “most teen alcohol use that escalated to having 10 or more drinks in a row reached that level rapidly during the high school years.” In “a sample of youth who reported drinking in the prior 30 days when surveyed in the 12th grade and who said they engaged in high-intensity drinking (HID)…when surveyed again around age 20, initiation of all three levels of alcohol use – first drink, binging on five or more drinks in a row, and HID – primarily occurred during high school grades 9 to 12,” and “it happened fast,” according to researchers.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (1/30, Murez) reports that “many adults with epilepsy have agoraphobia, or a fear of public places,” according to a study that “used data from a neuropsychology registry study to analyze a diverse sample of 420 adults.” The lead study author explained, “More than one-third of the participants reported significant phobic/agoraphobic symptoms. … We also found that phobic/agoraphobic symptoms, along with depression symptoms, were independently associated with poor quality of life, but generalized anxiety symptoms were not.” The study findings were published online in Epilepsy Research.

Related Links:

— “Fear of Public Spaces Is Common in People With Epilepsy “Cara Murez, HealthDay, January 30, 2023

HealthDay (1/30, Thompson) reports, “An adult living in a ‘legal’ state is not more likely to develop any sort of substance abuse disorder than their twin residing in a state where marijuana remains outlawed, researchers” concluded after analyzing “data on more than 4,000 twins who have been participating in long-term studies conducted by research teams at the University of Minnesota and the University of Colorado.” The findings were published online Jan. 5 in the journal Psychological Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Legalizing Marijuana Doesn’t Raise Drug, Alcohol Abuse: Study “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, January 30, 2023