The New York Times (8/27, A1, Richtel, Flanagan) reported on the common medical practice of “the simultaneous use of multiple heavy-duty psychiatric” medications among adolescents. While “psychiatrists and other clinicians emphasize that psychiatric” medicines, “properly prescribed, can be vital in stabilizing adolescents and saving the lives of” teens with suicidal ideation, experts caution, however, that “such medications are too readily doled out, often as an easy alternative to therapy that families cannot afford or find, or aren’t interested in.” The medicines, “generally intended for short-term use, are sometimes prescribed for years, even though they can have severe side effects,” and a number of psychiatric medications “commonly prescribed to adolescents are not approved for people under 18.”

Related Links:

— “This Teen Was Prescribed 10 Psychiatric Drugs. She’s Not Alone. “Matt Richtel, The New York Times, August 27, 2022

HealthDay (8/25, Reinberg) reports “the length of your monthly menstrual cycle may provide clues about the severity of symptoms you’ll experience during menopause and when it will start,” according to a studypublished in the journal Menopause. Investigators “found that women with short menstrual cycles (less than 25 days) during their reproductive years were likely to experience more menopause symptoms” and “were also more likely to start menopause earlier than women with normal menstrual cycles (26 to 34 days).” The study also found “women with short cycles…were more likely to have midlife sleep problems, heart discomfort and depressive symptoms.”

Related Links:

— “Shorter Menstrual Cycles May Affect Timing of Menopause “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, August 25, 2022

HealthPayerIntelligence (8/25, Bailey) reports “large employers plan to expand mental health and virtual care offerings in their 2023 employer-sponsored health plans, but concerns about healthcare costs and health equity persist, according to” Business Group on Health’s “2023 Large Employers’ Health Care Strategy and Plan Design Survey.” This survey found that about “half of the employers plan to continue to develop new health and wellbeing programs for remote employees and expand focus on social determinants of health.”

Related Links:

— “Employer Sponsored Health Plans Will Prioritize Mental Health in 2023 “Victoria Bailey, HealthPayerIntelligence , August 25, 2022

Psychiatric News (8/24) reports, “Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder” (AD/HD) “appear to be at higher risk of infectious diseases,” investigators concluded in a “large population-based case control study” that included “more than 50,000 children and adolescents.” The findings were published online Aug. 22 ahead of print in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Children With ADHD at Higher Risk of Infectious Diseases, Study Finds, Psychiatric News , August 24, 2022

The AP (8/24, Lavoie) reports “a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week became the first federal appellate court in the country to find that” gender dysphoria is covered by the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. This “ruling could become a powerful tool to challenge legislation restricting access to medical care and other accommodations for transgender people, including employment and government benefits, advocates said.” The appellate court “cited advances in medical understanding that led the American Psychiatric Association to remove gender identity disorder from the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and to add gender dysphoria, defined in the manual as the ‘clinically significant distress’ felt by some transgender people.”

Related Links:

— “Gender dysphoria covered by disability law, court rules” Denise Lavoie, AP, August 24, 2022