Psychiatric News (7/19) reported, “Medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder” (AD/HD) “may help lower the risk of unintentional injuries in children and adolescents with” the disorder, researchers concluded after analyzing “prescription and health data from more than 1.9 million children and adolescents aged six to 19 years who had either been diagnosed with” AD/HD “or received a prescription for” AD/HD “medication between 2005 and 2014.” The findings were published online July 11 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Medication For AD/HD May Help Lower Risk Of Unintentional Injuries In Kids And Teens With The Disorder, Study Indicates, Psychiatric News, July 19, 2019

The New York Times (7/18, Hotz) reports the organization Tea With Strangers is working to combat loneliness by inviting strangers “to chat for about two hours over tea.” The group now has 450 volunteer hosts in 15 cities. Users “can find local teatimes online and sign up for one of five slots.” Then, hosts “email those users with an introduction, location details and an emphatic ask not to flake.”

Related Links:

— “Feeling Lonely? Perhaps You’d Like to Talk to Some Strangers, “Julia Hotz, The New York Times, July 18, 2019

Kaiser Health News (7/18, Graham) reports on the risks of anticholinergic drugs for seniors. For example, the article highlights a case of an older woman who was taking so many anticholinergic drugs that she was suspected of having dementia, but her physician suspected the combination of drugs might be having a negative impact so the patient was gradually switched over to alternative medications and her dementia-like symptoms resolved. The article also mentions that studies have found links between anticholinergic drugs and dementia.

Related Links:

— “Common Medications Can Masquerade As Dementia In Seniors, “Judith Graham, Kaiser Health News, July 18, 2019

Reuters (7/18, Rapaport) reports researchers found that “people who have recently used cannabis may be more likely to experience memory deficits or difficulties with cognitive function than those who don’t use the drug.” The findings were published in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience.

Related Links:

— “Recent cannabis use tied to memory deficits, slowed mental processing, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, July 18, 2019

Kaiser Health News (7/18, Knight) reports mental health clinicians are now seeing an increasing number of people “with anxiety or depression related to climate change and the Earth’s future.” Even though “it is not an official clinical diagnosis, the psychiatric and psychological communities have names for the phenomenon: ‘climate distress,’ ‘climate grief,’ ‘climate anxiety’ or ‘eco-anxiety.’” A therapist interviewed for the piece “said the No. 1 action he recommends is sharing these concerns with others, whether a counselor, psychiatrist, family, friends or an activist group.” For some people, “personal action is a way to take control of a situation in which you feel powerless, said” psychiatrist Elizabeth Haase, MD, “at Carson Tahoe Health in Carson City, Nev.”

Related Links:

— “‘Climate Grief’: Fears About The Planet’s Future Weigh On Americans’ Mental Health, “Victoria Knight, Kaiser Health News, July 18, 2019