Healio (8/11, Downey) reports, “Preterm and early term birth were associated with a significantly increased risk for autism spectrum disorder [ASD] in both boys and girls in a study that included more than four million children born over a 40-year period in Sweden.” The study revealed that ASD prevalence “was 2.1% for all preterm births, 1.6% for early term births and in 1.4% for term births.” The findings were published online in Pediatrics.

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— “ “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, August 11, 2021

Healio (8/11, Gramigna) reports, “Individuals with schizophrenia had lower COVID-19 vaccination rates than the general population despite having higher hospitalization and mortality risk,” research indicated.

MedPage Today (8/11, Grant) reports investigators arrived at this conclusion after examining data from “Clalit Health Services, a large Israeli healthcare system, amassing a large sample of 51,078 participants – 25,539 with schizophrenia and 25,539 controls.” The findings of the longitudinal cohort study were published online Aug. 5 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “COVID-19 vaccination rates lower among those with schizophrenia despite increased risks “Joe Gramigna, Healio, August 11, 2021

The Washington Post (8/11, Kornfield) reports that naloxone, “an affordable antidote for opioid overdoses, has become more difficult to obtain amid a fatal epidemic.” According to the Post, “after a manufacturing issue halted Pfizer’s production of the single-dose injectable naloxone in April, groups that distribute a significant amount of the lifesaving medicine say they are facing an unprecedented obstacle to reverse drug overdoses as they reach an all-time high.” What’s more, “organizers say the insufficient supply has been felt unequally across the” US. For its part, drugmaker “Pfizer, which offers naloxone at a discount to a national buyer’s club made up of harm prevention programs, said it may take until February before it can meet demand again.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (8/10) reports, “Adults aged 65 years and older who are suicidal appear to report higher levels of intent compared with younger adults who are suicidal, but they are less likely to meet the criteria for major depression and several other mental disorders,” investigators concluded in a study involving “a total of 683 participants…divided into three age groups: younger (18 to 44), middle-aged (45 to 64), and older (65 and older) adults.” The findings were published online Aug. 9 in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Older Adults Less Likely Than Younger to Report Psychiatric Symptoms After Suicide Attempt, Psychiatric News, August 10, 2021

In a lengthy investigatory piece, the Marshall Project (8/10, Schwartzapfel) reports that three years ago, “Congress passed the First Step Act, a wide-ranging prison reform legislation that, among other things, required the federal prison system to expand access to medications for people addicted to opioids.” Currently, however, the combination of “bureaucratic inertia and outdated thinking about addiction treatment means the federal program is still serving only a tiny fraction of those eligible, The Marshall Project has learned.” As of last month, “the Bureau of Prisons [BOP] had only 268 people on medications to treat opioid dependence, according to Jeffrey A. Burkett, who helps oversee the rollout of the program as the National Health Services Administrator for the BOP.” This figure represents “less than 2% of the more than 15,000 people the bureau itself estimated were eligible, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report.”

Related Links:

— “Drugs that treat opioid addiction and overdoses not widely available in federal prisons “Beth Schwartzapfel, The Marshall Project, August 10, 2021