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Latest News Around the Web

Being Eldest Sibling Or Only Child Linked To Anxiety, Depression In Children As Young As Age Eight, Study Suggests

ABC News (10/16, Kindelan ) reports, “Being the eldest sibling or being an only child may be linked to anxiety and depression in kids as young as age 8, according to a new study.” Researchers at Epic, a company “that manages a majority of electronic health records across the United States, studied more than 182,000 children in the U.S. who had a well-child visit at age 8, the age at which children should start being screened for anxiety by their pediatrician, according to guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.” Among the kids studied, children “born first among their siblings were 48% more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety and 35% more likely to be diagnosed with depression compared with children born second or later.”

Related Links:

— “Firstborn and only children more likely to face anxiety, depression, study finds,” Katie Kindelan, ABC News, October 16, 2024

No Individual Antipsychotic Linked To Better Cognitive Outcomes Than Placebo In Patients With SSD, Research Finds

MedPage Today (10/16, DePeau-Wilson ) reports, “No individual antipsychotic was associated with better cognitive outcomes than placebo in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), according to a systematic review and network meta-analysis.” The research “revealed that two first-generation dopamine antagonists” – haloperidol and fluphenazine – “were connected with lower cognitive performance.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Adolescents Treated For Obesity With GLP-1 Medications Are Less Likely To Have Suicidal Thoughts Or Attempts, Review Finds

Adolescents Treated For Obesity With GLP-1 Medications Are Less Likely To Have Suicidal Thoughts Or Attempts, Review Finds
CNN (10/15, Tirrell ) reports, “A review of the medical records of thousands of adolescents treated for obesity found that kids who received the GLP-1 medications semaglutide or liraglutide were less likely to have suicidal thoughts or attempts than those treated with behavioral interventions.” The study of roughly “7,000 children between ages 12 and 18…showed that the medicines were associated with a 33% lower risk over a year.” The findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Adolescents treated for obesity with GLP-1 drugs had lower risk of suicidal thoughts, study finds,” Meg Tirrell, CNN, October 15, 2024

At Least 4.3M People 55 Or Older Who Have Cognitive Impairment Or Dementia Live Alone In US, Project Estimates

At Least 4.3M People 55 Or Older Who Have Cognitive Impairment Or Dementia Live Alone In US, Project Estimates
KFF Health News (10/15, Graham) reports the Living Alone With Cognitive Impairment Project at UCSF “estimates that…at least 4.3 million people 55 or older who have cognitive impairment or dementia live alone in the United States.”

Roughly “half have trouble with daily activities such as bathing, eating, cooking, shopping, taking medications, and managing money, according to their research.” However, “only 1 in 3 received help with at least one such activity.” Compared to “other older adults who live by themselves, people living alone with cognitive impairment are older, more likely to be women, and disproportionately Black or Latino, with lower levels of education, wealth, and homeownership.”

Yet just “21% qualify for publicly funded programs such as Medicaid that pay for aides to provide services in the home.”

Related Links:

— “Millions of Aging Americans Are Facing Dementia by Themselves,” Judith Graham, KFF Health News, October 15, 2024

Psychosocial Intervention May Be Effective In Treating Male Postpartum Depression, Research Suggests

According to Medscape (10/11, Lowry, Subscription Publication), new research shows “a psychosocial intervention” conducted by community health workers and “designed to improve depressive symptoms and promote good parenting skills can be an effective way of treating male postpartum depression.” The research– published in JAMA Psychiatry – found that “about 70% fathers with postpartum depression who received the intervention showed complete remission of their depressive symptoms and experienced enhanced relationships with their children and domestic partners.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Foundation News

New PSA Examines Anxiety as Pandemic Improves

As the pandemic improves and restrictions and shutdowns are lifted, many people may be experiencing anxiety at returning to the world and being amongst people. This new PSA from the Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc. examines fears people may have as they try to navigate uncertainty about going outside as well as deal with conflicting messages about how to stay safe and healthy.

Post-Pandemic AnxietyPost Pandemic Anxiety, MP3, 1.3MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Jamie and Sarah Raskin Recognized with Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

Congressman Jamie Raskin and Sarah Bloom Raskin were awarded the Foundation’s 2021 Anti-Stigma Advocacy Prize for the tribute about their son, Tommy, posted on January 4, 2021. The MFP board of directors felt that it was very effective in conveying what a wonderful and gifted person their son was, that depression did not detract from this, and how painful and sad his loss and the loss of others suffering from depression can be. The board also greatly admired their courage in writing about him in such a forthright manner. The Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award was formally presented at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting on April 22.

The Foundation established this annual prize for a worthy media piece, preferably local or regional, that accomplishes one or more of the following:

  • Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or simply in the community.
  • Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
  • Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

Click here for information about past winners.

Psychiatrist Weighs Taking The COVID Vaccine in New Radio Ad

Psychiatrists aren’t necessarily on the front lines treating COVID patients in a hospital, so should they take or not take a COVID vaccine? In this new ad from The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc., one psychiatrist goes trough his thoughts as he decided whether to take it. He examines the science, the risks, possible complications, and what his decision means to his patients as well as to mental health in general.

COVID Vaccination — Why You Should Take ItCOVID Vaccination — Why You Should Take It , MP3, 1.3MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Political Anxiety PSA is Timely Again

As this election cycle nears election day, there is no guarantee we will know the results very soon. A combination of many factors, including a pandemic that brings its own anxiety and has seen record numbers use absentee voting and early voting to avoid crowds on election day, could cause delays in vote counts and that can add to the stress and anxiety of many people. We are featuring our PSA from 2017 which examines the wide variety of feelings people experience after a particularly divisive political campaign and things that can be done to help, ranging from breaks from Facebook and Twitter and similar sites to seeking actual help from professionals.

Listen to the PSA on our home page or on our PSA collection here, where you can listen to or download other advice given in past PSAs, also.

Schuster to Receive Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

Janice Lynch Schuster will be awarded the 2020 Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (MFP) Anti-Stigma Advocacy Prize for her op-ed, “People are not defined by their diseases” in the October 14, 2019 Baltimore Sun. The MFP Board unanimously felt that her article very effectively portrayed not only how hurtful stigma can be, but that health care providers themselves may be the culprits thoughtlessly participating in stigmatizing people – particularly when people are abusing drugs. Her statement inspires others to seek and give help, and to reframe substance abuse as a disease that must be treated scientifically and empathically.

The Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award, which carries a $500 prize, will be formally presented at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting on October 8.

The Foundation established this annual prize for a worthy piece published in a major newspaper (preferably local or regional) that accomplishes one or more of the following:
Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family
member, or simply in the community.
Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental
illness.
Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

Click here for information about past winners.