According to MedPage Today (9/23, George), on Sept. 23, the FDA announced that “benzodiazepines will be required to have class-wide labeling changes to include warnings about risks of abuse, misuse, addiction, physical dependence, and withdrawal reactions.” These “updates will be made to the boxed warning benzodiazepines already carry that cautions about risks associated with using the” medications “concurrently with certain opioids.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

CNN (9/23, LaMotte) reports maternal use of cannabis during pregnancy “may increase psychotic-like behaviors in children.” Investigators arrived at this conclusion after analyzing “data on 11,489 children who were followed as part of the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development” study, then evaluating “the children’s cognitive and behavior patterns…in middle childhood, around age nine.”

MedPage Today (9/23, D’Ambrosio) reports, “Compared to unexposed children, kids who had an in utero exposure to marijuana were more likely to develop a range of adverse outcomes in childhood, including psychopathology, reduced cognition, and lower brain volume,” the study revealed. What’s more, offspring “exposed after their mothers learned they were pregnant were at a significant risk of psychotic-like experiences, impulsivity and attention issues, and social challenges, the” researchers concluded. The findings were published online Sept. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry.

HealthDay (9/23, Thompson) also covers the study.

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— “Using weed during pregnancy linked to psychotic-like behaviors in children, study finds “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, September 23, 2020

MedPage Today (9/23, Walsh) reports, “Veterans with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had concurrent post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression or anxiety were at increased risk for early discontinuation of treatment,” investigators concluded in an analysis that “included 15,081 prescriptions for methotrexate given to 15,081 individuals and 8,412 prescriptions for a TNF inhibitor given to 7,092 patients.” After adjusting for confounding factors, researchers found that “the likelihood for stopping treatment with methotrexate was found to be higher for RA patients with PTSD,” and that “RA patients with PTSD were more likely to discontinue treatment with” a TNF inhibitor. The findings were published online Sept. 13 in ACR Open Rheumatology.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (9/23) reports, “College students whose academic performance has been negatively impacted by internet use or computer gaming are at higher risk of mental health problems than students without problematic internet use/computer gaming behaviors,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from 43,003 undergraduates aged 18 and older who participated in the 2017 American College Health Association‐National College Health Assessment.” The findings were published online Sept. 16 in the journal Depression & Anxiety.

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— “Problematic Internet Use, Gaming May Point to Students Experiencing Mental Health Symptoms Psychiatric News, September 23, 2020

HealthDay (9/23, Preidt) reports, “Severe mental illness diagnoses often get missed in patients hospitalized for physical health problems,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from nearly 13,800 U.K. adults who were diagnosed with severe mental illness, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, between 2006 and 2017 and who had more than 45,700 emergency hospital admissions over the period.” The study also revealed that “ethnic minority patients were more likely to have unrecorded mental health diagnoses.” The findings were published online in PLoS Medicine.

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— “Severe Mental Illnesses Often Overlooked at Hospital Admission: Study “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 23, 2020