Medscape (5/28, Anderson, Subscription Publication) reports, “After a lull in the rates of prescription stimulant abuse in youth, it looks as though the phenomenon is on the rise again,” researchers concluded after analyzing survey responses “from 1777 respondents ages 10 to 17 years.” Specifically, data from “the Study of Non-Oral Administration of Prescription Stimulants (SNAPS) found that almost 14% of young respondents who used a prescription stimulant had snorted, smoked, or injected” the medication. The findings were presented at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Prescription Stimulant Abuse in Youth Rising… Again, “Pauline Anderson, Medscape, May 28, 2019

On its website, CBS News (5/28, Lewis) reports the World Health Organization (WHO) announced it will remove “gender identity disorder” from the revised version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), “its global manual of diagnoses.” The change, announced last summer, includes “a resolution to amend the health guidelines” officially approved on Saturday and reclassifies “gender identity disorder” as “gender incongruence.” That classification “is now featured under the sexual health chapter rather than the mental disorders chapter.” The piece adds that “both the ICD and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) are used to diagnose patients,” and the American Psychiatric Association “last revised the DSM in 2012 to remove the term ‘gender identity disorder’ from the manual and add the term ‘gender dysphoria.’”

The New York Daily News (5/28, Assunção) reports the changes received approval Saturday at the World Health Assembly. Graeme Reid, LGBT rights director at Human Rights Watch, said, “The WHO’s removal of ‘gender identity disorder’ from its diagnostic manual will have a liberating effect on transgender people worldwide,” adding, “Governments should swiftly reform national medical systems and laws that require this now officially outdated diagnosis.” Dr. Jack Drescher, a member of the ICD-11 working group, wrote, “there is substantial evidence that the stigma associated with the intersection of transgender status and mental disorders contributes to precarious legal status [and] human rights violations.”

TIME (5/28, Haynes) and the Washington Examiner (5/28, Correll) also report.

Related Links:

— “World Health Organization removes “gender identity disorder” from list of mental illnesses, “Sophie Lewis, CBS News, May 28, 2019

Bloomberg (5/27, Owram) reports that “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will hold its first public hearing Friday into how it should regulate CBD products, and it may end up limiting how much of the cannabis compound can be included in food and drinks.” There is currently “pressure on the FDA to act quickly” in deciding how to regulate CBD products, “but the agency has expressed concern that allowing the substance in food, beverages and supplements will lessen the incentive for pharmaceutical companies to conduct clinical research into the health benefits of CBD.” The piece adds that “in announcing the May 31 hearings, then-FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement that there are ‘open questions about whether some threshold level of CBD could be allowed in foods without undermining the drug approval process or diminishing commercial incentives for further clinical study of the relevant drug substance.’”

Related Links:

— “U.S. Reviews CBD Amid Pressure to Act Quickly, ” Kristine Owram, Bloomberg, May 27, 2019

MD Magazine (5/27, Genn) reported researchers from “the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) found that opioid overdose and associated mortality rates increased among veterans from 2010-2016.” Included in the study were any veterans “who had at least one VHA inpatient or outpatient interaction during the year of their death or preceding year.” For the study, “forms of overdose deaths were categorized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) death codes, while the tenth revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) defined forms of opioids associated with veteran deaths.” The findings (pdf) were published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Veteran Opioid Overdose Deaths Are on the Rise, “Laura Genn, MD Magazine, May 27, 2019

Reuters (5/22, Dobuzinskis) reports, “The U.S. opioid crisis is taking a toll on children of users as a” new study indicates “they were more likely to attempt suicide.”

U.S. News & World Report (5/22, Newman) reports investigators “caution parents’ long-term use of opioids may increase the odds of their kids attempting suicide.” Included in the health insurance claims data analysis were “184,142 children who had parents that used opioids and 148,395 children whose parents did not.” The study revealed that “children whose parents had used opioids long-term had a risk of 3.68 per 1,000 of attempting suicide – 2.25 times the risk of suicidal behavior for those whose parents had not filled their prescriptions.” The findings were published online May 22 in JAMA Psychiatry. HealthDay (5/22, Preidt) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Children of opioid users more likely to attempt suicide: U.S. study, “Alex Dobuzinskis, Reuters, May 22, 2019