Medscape (10/11, Haelle, Subscription Publication) reports, “Opioids are the most common cause of fatal poisonings in young children, and their contribution to children’s deaths has been increasing, according to research” that “found that the proportion of deaths in U.S. children linked to opioids has doubled since the mid-2000s.” The study identified “731 child poisoning deaths” between 2005 and 2018 and found that “most of the deaths (61%) occurred in the child’s home, and in even more cases (71%) the child was being supervised when the poisoning occurred, most often by a parent (58.5%).” The findings were presented at the 2022 AAP National Conference & Exhibition.

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Kaiser Health News (10/11, Bebinger) reports, “Hospitals typically employ all sorts of [healthcare professionals] who specialize in the heart, lungs, and kidneys.” However, “for patients with an addiction or a condition related to drug or alcohol use, few hospitals have a clinician – whether that be a physician, nurse, therapist, or social worker – who specializes in addiction medicine.” This “absence is striking at a time when overdose deaths in the U.S. have reached record highs, and research shows patients face an increased risk of fatal overdose in the days or weeks after being discharged from a hospital.”

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— “Hospitals Have Been Slow to Bring On Addiction Specialists ” Martha Bebinger, Kaiser Health News, October 11, 2022

According to the New York Times (10/11, Pearson), on Oct. 11, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) “recommended for the first time that primary care” physicians “screen all children ages eight to 18 for anxiety, new guidance that highlights the ongoing mental health crisis among American youth.” Additionally, the USPSTF “reaffirmed its position that all adolescents ages 12 to 18 should be screened for depression.” By “making its recommendations, the task force hopes to reduce the number of children whose mental health conditions go undetected and untreated.”

Reuters (10/11, Steenhuysen) reports the task force’s recommendations “come at a time of rising rates of diagnosed mental health disorders among American young people.” It recommended “using screening questionnaires to identify children at risk, noting that studies show that children with such conditions benefit from treatment that may include cognitive behavioral therapy or psychotherapy.” The USPSTF, however, “found insufficient evidence to recommend routine screening of asymptomatic children or adolescents for suicide risk.”

HealthDay (10/11) provides links to the evidence report for depression, the final recommendation statement for depression, the evidence report for anxiety, and the final recommendation statement for anxiety, all of which are published in JAMA.

NBC News (10/11, Edwards) also covers the story.

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— “U.S. experts urge anxiety screening for children 8 and older “Julie Steenhuysen, Reuters, October 11, 2022

According to the AP (10/10, Khalil), the Pentagon is working “to confront spiraling suicide rates in the military ranks.” Earlier this year, “Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the creation of an independent committee to review the military’s mental health and suicide prevention programs.” DOD data indicate “suicides among active-duty service members increased by more than 40% between 2015 and 2020,” and in 2020 alone, “the numbers jumped by 15%.”

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— “As suicides rise, US military seeks to address mental health “Ashraf Khalil, AP, October 10, 2022

Psychiatric News (10/7) reported, “Patients with first-episode psychosis [FEP] have a lower risk of work disability during periods when taking antipsychotics compared with periods not taking the medications,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 21,551-patient study published online Oct. 6 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Patients With FEP Appear To Have Lower Risk Of Work Disability During Periods When Taking Antipsychotics Compared With Periods Not Taking The Medications, Study Suggests, Psychiatric News, October 7, 2022