NPR (2/2, Chatterjee) reports, “An abrupt spike in suicide deaths among students in the Clark County School District has officials in the Las Vegas district wondering if pressures brought on by the coronavirus pandemic might have been part of what fueled” that rise. NPR talked to medical professionals “at hospitals in seven states across the country, and all of them reported a similar trend: More suicidal children are coming to their hospitals – in worse mental states.” Meanwhile, psychiatrists and other physicians “who work with children say the pandemic has created a perfect storm of stressors for kids,” exacerbating “an ongoing children’s mental health crisis.”

Related Links:

— “Child Psychiatrists Warn That The Pandemic May Be Driving Up Kids’ Suicide Risk “Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, February 2, 2021

The New York Times (2/1, Blinder) reports, “College football players sustained far more concussions during practices than they did in games,” research indicates.

MedPage Today (2/1, George) reports, “College football players were more likely to have concussions and head hits during practices and preseason training rather than regular season play,” investigators concluded in “an observational study of National Collegiate Athletic Association…Division I players.” The study revealed that “in six NCAA teams across five pre-pandemic seasons, 72% of concussions and 67% of head impacts occurred during practices,” and “roughly half of all concussions occurred during preseason training, even though preseason training represented just 21% of the whole season.” The findings were published online in a brief report in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Football Practices Pose More Concussion Risk Than Games, Study Suggests “Alan Blinder, The New York Times, February 1, 2021

NPR (1/29, Mann) reported President Biden is facing criticism for his handling of the ongoing opioid epidemic, which has received less attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some critics have pointed to his decision to delay guidelines that would have eased access to buprenorphine as a misstep.

Related Links:

— “With Biden Team Focused On Other Crises, Experts Say Drug Epidemic Is Exploding “Brian Mann , NPR, January 29, 2021

Healio (1/29) reported, “Risk drinking levels increased significantly from 2001 and 2002 to 2012 and 2013,” researchers concluded after using “logistic regression to analyze data of 26,655 current drinkers who were included in the 2001 to 2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) and of 25,659 included in the 2012 to 2013 NESARCIII.” The findings were published online Jan. 21 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “WHO risk drinking levels provide metric for nonabstinent reduction, study finds “Joe Gramigna, Healio, January 29, 2021

Psychiatric News (1/29) reported, “Patients who have depression and frequently experience bouts of anger may have an increased risk of developing bipolar disorder,” investigators concluded in a study that also revealed “a link between aggression reactivity – aggressive behavior in response to feeling threatened, provoked, or frustrated – and conversion to bipolar disorder.” Researchers arrived at these conclusions after analyzing “data from 1,585 people with depression who participated in the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety…a longitudinal study of adults aged 18 to 65 years.” The findings were published online Jan. 27 in the journal Depression & Anxiety.

Related Links:

— “Anger, Aggression Reactivity in Depression May Signal Risk for Converting to Bipolar Disorder, Psychiatric News, January 29, 2021