Healio (5/19) reports, “Delivery of a psychological intervention during a patient’s antidepressant tapering may be an alternative long-term antidepressant use for treating recurrent depression,” researchers concluded in a four-trial meta-analysis encompassing 714 participants. The findings were published online May 19 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Psychological intervention during tapering an alternative to long-term antidepressant use “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 19, 2021

Healio (5/18, Gramigna) reports, “School-aged children with autism spectrum disorder [ASD] and/or” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “were capable of face covering across activities during the COVID-19 pandemic,” investigators concluded after assessing “face covering behavior among 104 children aged 5 to 13 years (mean age, 8.9 years; 81% male) who took part in a summer treatment program at the University of Washington Autism Center in July 2020.” The findings of the “cohort study” were published online May 17 in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Children with autism, ADHD capable of face covering during COVID-19 pandemic “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 18, 2021

Modern Healthcare (5/18, Brady, Subscription Publication) reports SAMHSA “will give states and territories $3 billion in block grants to support behavioral health.” Half of the funding “will help states and territories provide comprehensive community-based mental health services and improve existing services for people with severe mental health conditions,” and the other half “will go toward substance use disorder prevention and treatment.”

Related Links:

— “Modern Healthcare (Requires Subscription)

Healio (5/18, Gramigna) reports, “Stigmatization surrounding alcohol use disorder is high compared with most other mental health conditions,” researchers posited in a systematic review that “updated findings of a prior systematic review conducted in 2011 that evaluated attitudes toward individuals with alcohol use disorder.” The findings were published online May 10 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

“We identified 20,561 records, of which 24 met the inclusion criteria, reporting results from 16 unique studies conducted in 9 different countries. Compared to substance‐unrelated mental disorders, persons with AUD were generally less likely to be considered mentally ill, while they were perceived as being more dangerous and responsible for their condition. Further, the public desire for social distance was consistently higher for people with AUD. We found no consistent differences in the public stigma toward persons with AUD in comparison with other substance use disorders.

Related Links:

— “Alcohol use disorder has more stigma surrounding it than do other mental health conditions “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 18, 2021

Clinical Psychiatry News (5/17, Anderson) reports researchers conducted a literature review and an expert survey and concluded that “medications typically used to treat opioid use disorder may also be effective for the growing public health problem of” kratom use disorder. During an interview, Dr. Saeed Ahmed, medical director of West Ridge Center at Rutland Regional Medical Center in Rutland, Vermont, said that based on his research, buprenorphine, methadone, and naloxone are effective for the treatment of patients with kratom use disorder. The findings were presented at the APA’s virtual annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Opioid addiction meds may curb growing problem of kratom dependence “Pauline Anderson, Clinical Psychiatry News, May 17, 2021