According to the New York Times (3/16, Richtel), for about the past 20 years, investigators “have used brain-imaging technology to try to identify how the structure and function of a person’s brain connects to a range of mental-health ailments, from anxiety and depression to suicidal tendencies.” Now, findings published online March 16 in the journal Nature call “into question whether much of this research is actually yielding valid findings.” This is because “many such studies, the paper’s authors found, tend to include fewer than two dozen participants, far shy of the number needed to generate reliable results.”

Related Links:

— “Brain-Imaging Studies Hampered by Small Data Sets, Study Finds “Matt Richtel, The New York Times, March 16, 2022

Modern Healthcare (3/16, Devereaux, Subscription Publication) reports “Hospitals are seeing more emergency department visits for mental health issues after COVID-19 surges, particularly among young adults and racial minority groups,” according to a study that “looked at a sample of U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 64 with several million ED visits across 3,600 emergency facilities nationwide between Jan. 1, 2019 and Aug. 14, 2021 that were related to a set of 10 mental health disorders.” The study findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Mental health-related ED visits increase after COVID-19 surges, study finds “Mari Devereaux, Modern Healthcare, March 16, 2022

CNN (3/16, McPhillips) reports, “Annual drug overdose deaths have reached another record high in the United States as deaths from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids surge to unprecedented levels,” investigators concluded. In fact, “an estimated 105,752 people died of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending October 2021, according to provisional data published” March 16 by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics on its website.

Related Links:

— “US drug overdose deaths reach another record high as deaths from fentanyl surge “Deidre McPhillips, CNN, March 16, 2022

Bloomberg Law (3/15, Subscription Publication) reports, “President Joe Biden recently signaled he wants to strengthen enforcement of mental health parity rules,” an effort that “will include a demand that insurers offer an adequate network of behavioral health [professionals], including three visits for a patient each year without cost-sharing, and ask Congress to help improve parity.” Meanwhile, “some mental health [professional] groups are calling on Congress to levy fines against insurers that fall short.” American Psychiatric Association CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA said, “We need to make sure there is some penalty for not doing it right.”

Related Links:

— “Biden’s Call for Mental Health Coverage Sparks Legislative Push “Alex Ruoff, Bloomberg Law, March 15, 2022

HealthDay (3/15, Munez) reports, “In the past two decades, a growing number of preteens have taken medicines or other chemicals as a way to end their lives,” investigators concluded after examining data “collected in the National Poison Data System for children aged six to 18.” The study revealed “a 4.5-fold increase in suicidal ingestion cases among children between the ages of 10 and 12 since 2000.” The findingswere published online March 14 in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Suicide Rate Is Spiking Upwards in Preadolescent Children “Cara Murez, HealthDay, March 15, 2022