The Hill (5/31, Barnes) reports “the number of suspected suicide attempts by poisoning among children rose sharply between 2015 and 2020,” according to a study published online in the journal Clinical Toxicology. The study found that while “all pediatric groups saw increases in suspected suicides…the largest jump occurred in children between the ages of 10 and 12 who saw an increase of more than 109 percent.” Also, “the over-the-counter pain killers ibuprofen and acetaminophen were the two most common substances used in the suspected pediatric attempted suicide cases, researchers found.”

Related Links:

— “Pediatric suicide attempts by poisoning on the rise, study says “Adam Barnes, The Hill, May 31, 2022

The Washington Post (5/31, Meckler) reports a National Center for Education Statistics survey released Tuesday “documents the toll the pandemic has taken on students’ mental health, with 7 in 10 public schools seeing a rise in the number of children seeking services. Even more, 76 percent, said faculty and staff members have expressed concerns about depression, anxiety and trauma in students since the start of the pandemic.” The results “add to the evidence that the pandemic is leaving this generation of students with significant mental health challenges.” Despite these survey findings, “only about half of all schools said they were able to effectively provide needed services.” NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr said, “The pandemic has taken a clear and significant toll on students’ mental health.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (5/30, Ruprecht) reports, “Each day between 2017 and 2019, nearly 2,300 adolescents and young adults became new daily tobacco users – a figure that mirrors statistics from 1989 to 1993,” according to results from a longitudinal study published in Pediatrics. The study found that “the total number of daily vape (or e-cigarette) users under 21 years of age rose to more than 1 million by 2019,” and “of those, 56.3% used Juul products in particular.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

According to Healio (5/27, Downey), Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, MD, MPH, “discussed the mental health of female veterans, or ‘invisible veterans,’ at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting.” Dr. Ritchie explained, “Traditionally, the services that are offered to veterans are for older, single, male, often Vietnam-era veterans.” What this means is that “women often cannot find services that are right for them, and may end up homeless or on the streets.”

Related Links:

— “VIDEO: Consider special mental health needs of female veterans “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, May 27, 2022

Psychiatric News (5/27) reported, “Rheumatoid arthritis [RA] and depression have a bidirectional association in which having one condition raises the risk of developing the other,” investigators concluded in a “meta-analysis of 11 studies that included a total of 39,130 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 550,782 patients with depression, and 7,802,230” controls. The findings were published online ahead of print in the August 15 issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Rheumatoid Arthritis, Depression Raise Risk of One Another, Meta-Analysis Finds, Psychiatric News, May 27, 2022