The American Journal of Managed Care (2/3, Gavidia) reported, “Prevalence of psychiatric comorbidity, emergency care usage, and inpatient psychiatric admissions were shown to be substantial among veterans with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), with women especially affected,” according to “a comprehensive retrospective analysis of a Veterans Health Administration (VHA)–wide sample” comprising 52,579 patients. Also, these results published online in Epilepsy & Behavior showed that “of the psychiatric comorbidities reported, depression (51.7%) was the most common diagnostic category, followed by posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; 38.8%) and anxiety (38.0%).”

Related Links:

— “Veterans With Drug-Resistant Epilepsy Show High Prevalence of Psychiatric Burden “Matthew Gavidia, AJMC, February 3, 2023

According to the Wall Street Journal (2/5, Frosch, Subscription Publication), across the US, both legislators and governors from many states and from both political parties are calling for increases in mental health funding to deal with shortages in services and staffing.

Related Links:

— “More Money for Mental-Health Programs Gets Bipartisan Support in Many States “Dan Frosch, Wall Street Journal, February 5, 2023

Healio (2/2, Herpen) reports, “For older adults with dementia and comorbid depression, receiving electroconvulsive therapy” (ECT) “does not worsen the trajectory of functional outcomes,” investigators concluded in a study that included “147 participants aged 65 years and older with continuous coverage in the study interval, a diagnosis of major depressive disorder along with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias and who were hospitalized between January 2014 and September 2015,” along with “a separate cohort of 415 controls” that “were not given ECT.” The findings were published online Jan. 25 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “ECT does not worsen functional outcomes in those with depression, dementia “Robert Herpen, Healio, February 2, 2023

Healio (2/2, Weldon) reports, “Universal screening helped identify high school students at risk for suicide and made them more likely to engage in mental health treatment,” researchers concluded in a study that “included 12,909 students in 14 high schools in Pennsylvania.” The findings were published in the December 2022 issue of the Journal of Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Universal screening helps identify adolescents at risk for suicide “Rose Weldon, Healio, February 2, 2023

HealthDay (2/1, Mozes) reports, “Seniors who frequently take sleeping medications may be raising their risk for developing” dementia, investigators concluded in a study that “enlisted roughly 3,000 seniors to share their sleep medication routines starting in 1997.” The study also revealed that “among white and Black participants, frequent usage was highest among women, those struggling with depression and the more highly educated.” Even though “white seniors who used sleeping pills frequently faced a 79% higher risk for dementia, that was not the case among Black seniors.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Related Links:

— “Sleeping Pills Linked to Higher Risk for Dementia “Alan Mozes, HealthDay, February 1, 2023