Healio (6/1, Wursta) reports research indicates that “compared with no sport participation, adolescents who participate in team sports experience fewer mental health difficulties, while those who compete in individual sports experience more mental health difficulties.” Investigators arrived at these conclusions after having “analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, which included a sample of 11,235 U.S. children aged nine to 13 years.” The findings were published online in PLOS One.

Related Links:

— “Study: Participation in team sports fosters adolescent mental health “Max R. Wursta, Healio, June 1, 2022

HealthDay (6/2, Preidt) reports, “Children whose mothers had rising levels of depression during pregnancy appear to have an increased risk of behavioral problems,” investigators concluded in a seven-year study that “included 125 U.S. women and their children who were followed from before pregnancy until the children were five years old.” The findings were published online ahead of print in the July 15 issue of the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Depression in Pregnancy Tied to Behavior Issues in Kids ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 2, 2022

Medwire News (6/1, Piper) ​​​​​​​reports, “Depression in patients with incident rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with a sixfold increased risk for mortality,” investigators concluded in a study that “followed up 11,071 patients with incident RA,” 1,095 of whom “were exposed to antidepressants.” The findings were presented at the EULAR 2022 Congress and published online in a supplemental issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

Related Links:

— “Increased mortality risk with antidepressant use in patients with RA ” Lucy Piper, Medwire News, June 1, 2022

Psychiatric News (6/2) reports, “Beginning July 16, people in the United States experiencing a mental health crisis have to remember only three numbers – 988 – to connect with trained staff who are part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network,” but “many state, regional, and county behavioral health program directors are feeling unprepared for this transition,” according to a RAND Corporation report (PDF) “based on an online survey of 180 state, regional, and county behavioral health program directors who, according to the authors, ‘represented jurisdictional coverage of more than one-third of the U.S. population and 23 states.’”

Related Links:

— “Many Behavioral Health Program Directors Feel Unprepared for 988 Rollout, RAND Report Suggests, Psychiatric News, June 2, 2022

Psychiatric News (6/1) reports, “The overwhelming majority of people with mental illness are not violent and are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators, APA said in a statement” released June 1. The statement also “condemned the senseless loss of lives from firearm violence that has become all too common – most recently in mass shootings in Uvalde, Buffalo, Houston and more than 200 other locations across the country in 2022 so far.” The statement asserted, “APA is committed to federal efforts to protect our youth and all citizens from gun violence and implores Congress to enact firearm safety legislation that will promote safe communities and reduce morbidity and mortality due to firearm-related violence.”

Related Links:

— “APA Implores Congress to Act to Prevent Firearm Violence, Psychiatric News, June 1, 2022