Medscape (3/7, Davenport) reported, “Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for severe depression does not appear to raise long-term dementia risk,” researchers found in a “large, retrospective registry analysis of more than 1600 patients who underwent ECT.” The study found that “the procedure conferred no additional risk for cognitive impairment relative to matched control persons who did not undergo ECT, even after up to 40 years of follow-up.” The findings were presented at the European Psychiatric Association 2018 Congress.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

In a front-page story, the Wall Street Journal (3/8, A1, Whalen, Subscription Publication) reports the opioid crisis is creating a financial crisis for many families taking on huge debts to finance treatment and rehab. The Journal spotlights the highly fragmented rehab field offering expensive services which insurers often do not cover.

Related Links:

— “After Addiction Comes Families’ Second Blow: The Crushing Cost of Rehab,” Jeanne Whalen, Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2018.

The Washington Post (3/7, Moyer) reports, “Nationwide, suicides among black children under 18 are up 71 percent in the past decade, rising from 86 in 2006 to 147 in 2016, the latest year such data is available from the” CDC. During “that same period, the suicide rate among all children also increased, up 64 percent.”

Meanwhile, the Washington Post (3/7, Moyer) reports according to experts “parents should be on guard for an array of warning signs” that might indicate their child is thinking about suicide. One expert lists “risk factors” to be aware of, including “abuse, head trauma, chronic pain, addiction, mental illness and a family history of mental illness or suicide.”

Related Links:

— “‘HE WAS HAPPY. SO FAR AS I KNOW’,” Justin Wm. Moyer, Washington Post, March 7, 2018.

Medscape (3/7, Yasgur) reports, “Rates of breast cancer are higher in women with schizophrenia than in women in the general population,” researchers concluded in a meta-analysis, the findings of which were published online March 7 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Psychiatric News (3/7) points out that 12 “cohort studies that included 125,760 women were included in the meta-analysis.” Healio (3/7, Demko) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Women With Schizophrenia May Be at Greater Risk of Breast Cancer, Meta-Analysis Finds,” Psychiatric News, March 7, 2018.

The CBS Evening News (3/6, story 6, 2:10, Glor) reported, “New numbers out today show America’s opioid crisis is getting worse.” Emergency department visits for opioid overdoses “in 45 states” have risen “30 percent in a year.”

The Washington Post (3/6, Bernstein) reports there were 142,557 ED visits for opioid overdoses over a recent 15-month period, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CNN (3/6, Howard) reports on its website that opioid overdoses increased about 30% between July 2016 and September 2017, according to the report, which was based on data collected by the CDC from 45 states. Anne Schuchat, the acting director of the CDC, said, “This is really a fast-moving epidemic that’s getting worse.”

CNBC (3/6, LaVito) reports on its website that opioid overdoses increased 70% in the Midwest, 40% in the West, 21% in the Northeast, 20% in the Southwest, and 14% in the Southeast. The report said that opioid overdoses increased 30% among men and 24% among women, while overdoses increased by similar amounts among different age groups.

NBC News (3/6, Siemaszko) reports on its website that opioid overdoses increased 54% “from July 2016 through September 2017 in the major metro areas of 16 states.” The article suggests that “the opioid epidemic is fast becoming a big city problem.”

Related Links:

— “Emergency room data shows the opioid crisis continues to accelerate,” Lenny Bernstein, Washington Post, March 6, 2018.