MedPage Today (1/31, Wu) reports, “Young people in the U.S. lost more than 1 million cumulative years of life to unintentional drug overdoses from 2015 to 2019, according to a new analysis.” The findings were published in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (1/28) reported, “Recreational ketamine use appears to be associated with depressive symptoms in youth,” researchers concluded after examining “data from 15,673 youth who participated in the Monitoring the Future survey, an annual survey administered to middle- and high-school students in approximately 130 public and private schools in the 48 contiguous states.” The study also revealed that “the higher the dose of ketamine and more frequent use, the higher the risk of depression.” The findings were published online Jan. 25 in the American Journal on Addictions.

Related Links:

— “Illicit Ketamine Use Linked to Depression in Youth, Psychiatric News, January 28, 2022

NBC News (1/30, Carroll) reports a systematic review involving 10 meta-analyses “on the impact of cannabis on young’s people’s cognition found that many of the known learning and memory difficulties – such as slowed processing speed, and difficulties in focusing – could linger for weeks.” The review revealed that “verbal learning, retention and recall were especially affected for longer periods when the person was no longer high.” The findings were published online in the journal Addiction.

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— “Marijuana use may cause cognitive impairment even when not still high “Linda Carroll, NBC News, January 30, 2022

HCPlive (1/29, Grossi) reported, “Because the opioid epidemic continues to be a public health crisis in the US, investigators aimed to assess the patient and prescription-related factors associated with opioid-related overdose,” finding that “the primary risk factors included being 75 years or older, being male, receiving Medicaid or Medicare Advantage coverage, having a comorbid substance use disorder or depression, and having medical comorbidities.” The findings of the 236,921-individual cohort study were published online Jan. 28 in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Investigators Identify Factors Associated with Opioid Overdose Post Prescription “Giuliana Grossi, HCPlive, January 29, 2022

HCPlive (1/27, Butera) reports research suggests there may be “significant associations” between attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) and “common allergic conditions such as food allergy, respiratory allergy, and skin allergy” in children. Included in the study were “192,573 children aged four to 17 years old.” The study revealed that the “weighted prevalence” of AD/HD “was higher among children with allergic conditions.” The findings were published online in the journal Nutrients.

Related Links:

— “ADHD Associated with Food, Skin and Respiratory Allergy “Armand Butera, HCPlive, January 27, 2022