Healio (7/15, Schaffer) reported, “Adults with diabetes and depression who take antidepressant medications as prescribed are less likely to develop serious diabetes complications or die compared with those not taking antidepressants regularly,” investigators concluded in a retrospective study that “analyzed data from 36,276 adults with depression and newly treated diabetes, using Taiwan’s universal health insurance database.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Related Links:

— “Regular antidepressant use may lower risk for advanced diabetes complications “Regina Schaffer, Healio, July 15, 2021

Healio (7/16, Gramigna) reported, “One-fourth of people at clinical high risk for psychosis developed psychosis within three years,” investigators concluded in “an updated meta-analysis” that “included 130 longitudinal studies that reported transition risks among a total of 9,222 individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (mean age, 20.3 years; 55.3% men).” The findings were published online July 14 in JAMA Psychiatry.
“ Risk of transitioning to psychosis was higher in studies with a lower proportion of female individuals and a higher proportion of individuals presenting with brief limited intermittent psychotic symptoms.
Meaning This updated meta-analysis indicates that the probability of transitioning to psychosis in individuals at clinical high risk is substantial and continues increasing in the long term, suggesting that an extended duration of clinical monitoring and preventive care may be beneficial.”

Related Links:

— “25% of people at clinical high risk for psychosis develop the disorder within 3 years “Joe Gramigna, Healio, July 16, 2021

The Washington Post (7/16, Sibboney) reported, “Already subject to unique discrimination at the intersection of gender and race, Black girls with” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “often remain undiagnosed because their symptoms are mischaracterized.” Signs of “inattentiveness or impulsivity, the two main features of the disorder, could be mistaken for laziness or defiance.” What’s more, “the longer these girls aren’t diagnosed and treated, the more their problems are likely to worsen as they grow into adults.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (7/14, A1, Katz, Sanger-Katz) reports, “Drug overdose deaths rose nearly 30% in 2020 to a record 93,000, according to preliminary statistics released Wednesday by the” CDC. That figure represents the “largest single-year increase recorded.” According to the article, “Several grim records were set: the most drug overdose deaths in a year; the most deaths from opioid overdoses; the most overdose deaths from stimulants like methamphetamine; the most deaths from the deadly class of synthetic opioids known as fentanyls.”

The Washington Post (7/14, A1, Bernstein, Achenbach) reports, “The increase came as no surprise to addiction specialists, drug counselors and policy experts who have watched the steady rise in deaths throughout the pandemic. But that did not make the statistics any less horrifying.”

The Wall Street Journal (7/14, A1, McKay, Subscription Publication) says the drug overdose fatalities and the COVID-19 pandemic form a twin public health crisis.

Related Links:

— “‘It’s Huge, It’s Historic, It’s Unheard-of’: Drug Overdose Deaths Spike ” Josh Katz and Margot Sanger-Katz, The New York Times, July 14, 2021

Psychiatric News (7/14) reports, “Telehealth visits accounted for nearly two-thirds of all mental health visits by patients enrolled in private insurance plans in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic,” investigators concluded after analyzing data from “roughly 25 million separate mental health claims submitted between January and June 2020 in a national data set of commercial enrollees from FAIR Health, a nonprofit organization managing a database of more than 33 billion privately billed health insurance claims.” The study also revealed, however, that “telehealth use for mental health services from April to June 2020 was lower in rural areas compared with urban areas, and lower among those over 65 years of age compared with those 24 to 35 years of age.” The findings were published online July 13 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Services Increased During Pandemic, but Age and Regional Disparities Exist, Psychiatric News, July 14, 2021