Reuters (9/12, Carroll) reports a new study suggests that “the sum total of taxes on alcohol doesn’t come close to paying the bills associated with excessive alcohol consumption in the U.S. The total damages from excess consumption add up to $2.05 per drink, while state and federal taxes bring in about $0.21 per drink, according to an analysis published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.”

Related Links:

— “Alcohol taxes not close to covering cost of drinking harms in the U.S., “Linda Carrol, Reuters, September 12, 2019

Psychiatry Advisor (9/12, Ranger) reports a study suggests “a pattern of increasing psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) during adolescence predicts greater risk of developing a mental disorder, particularly psychosis.” The study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry “discerned two clear-cut patterns: stable low levels of PLE frequency and a growing frequency of PLEs. In the latter group, 3.39% of patients transitioned to a mental disorder compared with 1.28% of the stable PLE group.” Meanwhile, “in individuals with increasingly frequent PLEs, the odds ratio (OR) was 2.7 for transition to any mental health disorder, while the OR for transition to psychosis was 22.14.”

Related Links:

— “Frequent Psychotic-Like Experiences in Youth Predict Future Psychiatric Illness, “Laurel Ranger, Psychiatry Advisor, September 12, 2019

HealthDay (9/12) reports a study indicates “autism rates among U.S. children are rising fastest among blacks and Hispanics.” The analysis showed “among children born between 2007 and 2013, autism rates at ages 3 to 5 rose 73% among Hispanics, 44% among blacks and 25% among whites.” The findings were published in Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Related Links:

— “U.S. Autism Rates Rising Fastest for Hispanics, Blacks, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 12, 2019

HealthDay (9/11, Thompson) reports, “Teens who spend more time with social media are more likely to suffer from social withdrawal, anxiety or depression,” research indicated. In the nearly 6,600-adolescent study, 12- “to 15-year-olds who spent more than six hours a day on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media were nearly three times more likely to have these types of ‘internalizing’ mental health issues,” researchers found. The findings were published online in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Lots of Time on Social Media Linked to Anxiety, Depression in Teens, “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, September 11, 2019

Psychiatric News (9/11) reports, “In an editorial” published online Sept. 4 in JAMA Psychiatry, the authors of research “published last year showing that even relatively modest regular exercise has significant beneficial effects on an individual’s mental health said that including exercise in the treatment of mental illness could improve rates of recovery and reduce illness burden.” The editorialists “wrote that when applied to the entire population, exercise could have a significant effect on reducing the population burden of mental illness.”

Related Links:

— “Getting Patients to Exercise Could Reduce Population Burden of Mental Illness, Psychiatric News, September 11, 2019