NBC News (3/22, Shabad, Tsirkin) reports, “Children’s medication, antibiotics and treatment for ADHD are among a number of drugs that have been in short supply in recent months – and these shortages of critical medications are only rising, according to a new report” prepared “by Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.”

According to the New York Times (3/22, Jewett), the report “found that drug shortages increased by nearly 30 percent last year compared with 2021, with an average shortage lasting 18 months and some spanning 15 years.”

Related Links:

— “Drug shortages are rising and pose a national security risk, new report warns ” Rebecca Shabad and Julie Tsirkin, NBC News, March 22, 2023

Psychiatric News (3/22) reports, “College students are far more likely to report having experienced an eating disorder, depression, or suicidal ideation compared with what parents report knowing about their children’s experiences with mental illness, according to” the 2022 College Student Behavioral Health Report (PDF), published March 22 by United Healthcare. The report, which “was conducted by YouGov, an international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm,” surveyed “1,034 participants, 506 of whom were current college students, and 528 of whom were the parents of college students.”

Related Links:

— “Parents May Underestimate Frequency of Mental Health Concerns Among College Students, Psychiatric News, March 22, 2023

MedPage Today (3/21, Monaco) reports, “Greater social support for older adults with depression helped boost verbal functioning, researchers” concluded. In the “cross-sectional study” involving “54 participants with an average age of 72,” researchers found that “seniors with major depressive disorder tended to score higher on phonemic fluency – measured by Controlled Oral Word Association Test…– when they had higher levels of perceived social support.” What’s more, “this association went both ways,” the study revealed. The findings were published online March 21 in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (3/21) reports, “Women with severe mental illness (SMI) – such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression — are less likely to receive recommended treatment for breast cancer than those without SMI, according to a [new] report.” Researchers “included 13 studies in the review, which included a total of 299,193 participants.” Among “these, four studies estimated the odds of receiving guideline-appropriate breast cancer treatment in people with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders and/or mood disorders.” The review was published online March 9 in Psycho-Oncology.

Related Links:

— “Breast Cancer in Women With Severe Mental Illness Often Undertreated, Review Suggests, Psychiatric News, March 21, 2023

Kaiser Health News (3/21, Leys) reports on the increasing frequency of “video visits” as “an increasingly common way for residents of small-town nursing homes to receive mental healthcare.” Even though the “use of some other telehealth services may dwindle as the Covid-19 pandemic winds down,” clinicians “predict demand for remote mental health services will continue to increase in rural nursing homes.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Care by Video Fills Gaps in Rural Nursing Homes ” Tony Leys, Kaiser Health News , March 21, 2023