TCTMD (8/11, McKeown) reports researchers conducted a review study and found “despite evidence that prescription stimulants used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) raise blood pressure and resting heart rate, the literature is unclear with regard to the long-term CV risks of using them.” The researchers also found that “prescribing rates of the medications have been climbing in the United States while global rates of ADHD remain relatively stable.” The review study was published in JACC.

Related Links:

— “ADHD Drug Overprescribing Raises Concerns Over Future CV Events, “L.A. McKeown, TCTMD, August 11, 2020

Healio (8/11, Gramigna) reports researchers conducted a survey study and found “LGBTQ youth appeared to experience negative mental health outcomes associated with frequent social media use.” The findings were published in Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “LGBTQ youth experience mental health benefits from social media break, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, August 11, 2020

Medscape (8/11, Greb, Subscription Publication) reports, “Concussion is associated with increased risk for subsequent development of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as dementia and Parkinson’s disease, new research suggests.” The findings indicate that “after experiencing a concussion, the risk of developing ADHD was 28% higher and the risk of developing mood and anxiety disorder was 7% higher among women than men,” although “gender was not associated with risk for dementia or Parkinson’s disease after concussion.” The research was published in Family Medicine and Community Health, a BMJ journal.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (8/11, Hlavinka) reports researchers found “fewer than half of youth admitted to a psychiatric hospital received follow-up care within a week of discharge, despite such care being associated with better outcomes.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Psychiatric News (8/11) reports the researchers also found that those youth who had a follow-up visit within a week “appear to be at lower risk of suicide in the six months following hospitalization compared with those who do not receive such timely care.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Medscape (8/10, Yasgur, Subscription Publication) reports, “Chloroquine may be associated with serious psychiatric side effects, even in patients with no family or personal history of psychiatric disorders, a new review suggests.” The researchers “summarize data from several studies published as far back as 1993 and as recently as May 2020” in a letter to the editor published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. The lead author told Medscape Medical News, “In addition to previously reported side effects, chloroquine could also induce psychiatric side effects which are polymorphic and can persist even after stopping the drug.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)