NBC News (11/12, Arkin) reports, “From the middle of March to October, the proportion of” emergency department (ED) “visits related to children’s mental health rose dramatically for school-aged children and adolescents compared to the previous year, according to” a CDC report. The report’s authors wrote that the “findings provide initial insight into children’s mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the importance of continued monitoring of children’s mental health throughout the pandemic, ensuring access to care during public health crises, and improving healthy coping strategies and resiliency among children and families.”

The Hill (11/12, Budryk) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Covid stress taking a toll on children’s mental health, CDC finds “Daniel Arkin, NBC News, November 12, 2020

The Washington Post (11/11, Fears, Achenbach, Martin) reports, “The number of new daily coronavirus cases in the United States jumped from 104,000 a week earlier to more than 145,000 on Wednesday, an all-time high.” Almost every metric “is trending in the wrong direction, prompting states to add new restrictions and hospitals to prepare for a potentially dark future.” Dave Dillon, a spokesman for the Missouri Hospital Association, said: “We’re at a fairly critical juncture.”

Related Links:

— “As coronavirus soars, hospitals hope to avoid an agonizing choice: Who gets care and who goes home “Darryl Fears, Joel Achenbach, The Washington Post, November 11, 2020

MedPage Today (11/11, Monaco) reports, “The alopecia treatment finasteride (Propecia) was tied to suicidality in male users,” investigators concluded. After examining data on some “3,200 users,” investigators found “2,926 reports of psychological adverse events – defined as cases of depression and anxiety – associated with the use of finasteride,” which “equated to a more than four times higher chance of experiencing depression and anxiety while using finasteride.” What’s more, researchers “found a 63% higher odds of experiencing suicidality…with a more than four times higher chance of experiencing suicidal ideation.” The findings were published online Nov. 11 in JAMA Dermatology.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (11/10, Rabin) reports, “People with intellectual disabilities and developmental disorders are three times more likely to die if they have Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, compared with others with the diagnosis, according to a large analysis of insurance claims data.” The analysis “included claims filed by 467,773 privately insured patients” and “was evaluated only by an academic reviewer and has not been published in a scientific journal.”

Related Links:

— “Developmental Disabilities Heighten Risk of Covid Death “Roni Caryn Rabin, The New York Times, November 10, 2020

HealthDay (11/10, Norton) reports, “Instead of being a safe alternative to smoking, vaping may serve as an enticing gateway to the cigarette habit for some teens,” researchers concluded in a study that “included more than 8,660 U.S. adolescents ages 12 to 17 who were surveyed between 2014 and 2016.” The study revealed that among teens “with no intention to smoke traditional cigarettes, almost 10% of e-cigarette users went on to try cigarettes, versus about 2% of other teens.” The findings were published online in the journal Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Vaping Lures Teens to Smoking: Study “Amy Norton, HealthDay, November 10, 2020