Medscape (11/7, Stiles, Subscription Publication) reports researchers found that “of more than 100 patients who left a major tertiary care center after experiencing cardiac arrest, about 30% showed early signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The group with PTSD also showed a threefold increased adjusted risk for death or cardiac events over the next year compared with the rest.” The findings are scheduled to be presented “during the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2018.”

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (11/7, Preidt) reports, “As stigmas surrounding mental health issues have eased, more U.S. college students are seeking help for emotional problems,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from the Healthy Minds Study, an annual online survey involving more than 150,000 students from 196 campuses.” The study revealed that “the percentage of students seeking mental health treatment rose from 19 percent to 34 percent, straining college health services” across the US. The findings were published online Nov. 5 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Psychiatric News (11/7) quotes the study authors, who wrote, “The trends revealed in this study have strained counseling centers across the country, given that many are underresourced and operate at full capacity with waitlists for much of the year.” But, “there are a multitude of approaches to consider for alleviating this strain, including universal prevention programs and rapid referral to community treatment,” the study authors added.

Related Links:

— “Colleges Strain to Keep Up With Students’ Mental Health Concerns, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, November 07, 2018.

MedPage Today (11/5, Walsh) reports, “Lupus psychosis is a rare, potentially devastating, but treatable manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) that is associated with certain patient characteristics,” research indicated. The 1,826-patient study revealed that “factors that were positively associated with lupus psychosis on a multivariate analysis included African ancestry (HR 4.59, 95% CI 1.79-11.76), previous SLE neuropsychiatric events (HR 3.59, 95% CI 1.16-11.14), male sex (HR 3, 95% CI 1.20-7.50), and younger age at the time of SLE diagnosis (per 10 years, HR 1.45, 95% CI 1.01-2.07).” The findings were published online in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

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— “MedPage Today (requires login and subscription), November 05, 2018.

TIME (11/5, Ducharme) reports, “Fewer women are smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol during pregnancy, but more are using marijuana,” researchers concluded after examining “responses to the National Survey of Drug Use and Health.” Included in that survey were some “12,000 pregnant women ages 18 to 44.”

HealthDay (11/5, Mundell) reports, “Between 2002 and 2016, the percentage of pregnant women ages 18 to 44 who said they used pot rose from 2.85 percent to nearly five percent,” the study found. But, the survey also revealed that “many fewer were smoking cigarettes in 2016 (10.3 percent) than in 2002 (17.5 percent).” In addition, there was “a slight decline in the percentage of women who drank alcohol during a pregnancy – about 8.4 percent in 2016, down from 9.6 percent in 2002, the researchers said.” The findings were published online in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “More Women Are Using Marijuana During Pregnancy, Report Says, “Jamie Ducharme, TIME , November 05, 2018.

Healio (11/5, Demko) reported, “Treatment-resistant depression was associated with greater health care resource use and cost among veterans than those with non–treatment-resistant depression,” researchers concluded after examining “data from inpatient and outpatient health claims from the U.S. Veterans Health Administration Medical SAS Datasets from April 2014 to March 31, 2018.” The findings were presented at the Psych Congress.

Related Links:

— “Economic burden high among veterans with treatment-resistant depression, “Savannah Demko, , November 05, 2018.