Healio (11/16, Gramigna) reports, “Prescription opioid use appeared to increase risk for depression,” investigators concluded in a “mendelian randomization analysis” that included data from “737,473 participants with predominantly European ancestry who were included in the population-based U.K. Biobank and Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research studies.” The findings were published online Nov. 11 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Prescription opioid use may increase depression risk “Joe Gramigna, Healio, November 16, 2020

Clinical Endocrinology News (11/12, Splete) reports, “All patients with postpartum depression should be screened for thyroid dysfunction, as postpartum thyroiditis is often missed and misdiagnosed, according to” a presentation given by Christine Kessler, CNS, ANP, at the Metabolic & Endocrine Disease Summit by Global Academy for Medical Education. Kessler explained that “postpartum thyroiditis (PPT) is ‘an inflammatory, autoimmune thyroid condition’” that “can involve high or low thyroid-stimulating hormone and may occur during the first postpartum year in women who were euthyroid prior to pregnancy.” Patients who present “with PPT in the hyperthyroid phase display symptoms including insomnia, anxiety, irritability, heat intolerance, fatigue, and palpitations, Ms. Kessler said,” and “these women ‘are often told they have postpartum depression; they aren’t sleeping well, and they feel like they are failing as a mom.’”

Related Links:

— “Don’t miss postpartum thyroiditis “Heidi Splete, Clinical Endocrinology News, November 12, 2020

The New York Times (11/12, Goldberg) reports, “The social isolation of the pandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of many Americans.” However, “the impact has been especially severe on teenagers, who rely on their friends to navigate the maze and pressures of high school life.” Dr. Gabrielle Shapiro, chair of the APA’s Council on Children, Adolescents, and Their Families, is concerned that teenagers whose parents dismiss mental health symptoms are not able to confide in teachers or school counselors during the pandemic. In response, Dr. Shapiro “recommended that schools put in place lessons to teach students how to share their emotions.”

Related Links:

— “Teens in Covid Isolation: ‘I Felt Like I Was Suffocating’ “Emma Goldberg, The New York Times, November 12, 2020

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