Medscape (7/12, Brooks) reports, “The antidepressant fluoxetine (multiple brands) may help ease hypochondriasis, and adding cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) provides a small incremental benefit,” researchers found. The findings of the 195-patient study were published online June 29 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Reuters (7/12, Seaman) reports, “Pregnant women’s use of antidepressants does not increase their babies’ risk of intellectual disability,” researchers found. The findings were published online July 12 in JAMA Psychiatry.

HealthDay (7/12, Preidt) reports investigators arrived at that conclusion after tracking “data on more than 179,000 children born in Sweden in 2006 and 2007, including about 4,000 whose mothers took antidepressants during pregnancy.”

Healio (7/12, Oldt) reports that included in the study were children “exposed to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants, all other non-SSRI antidepressants, or other nonantidepressant psychotropic medications.”

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants in pregnancy not tied to intellectual disability in kids,” Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters>, July 12, 2017.

California Healthline (7/11, Korry) reports a class-action lawsuit filed in the District Court for the Northern District of California alleges that Blue Shield of California “wrongly restricted patients’ access to outpatient and residential mental health treatment” by developing “criteria that violate accepted professional standards and the terms of the health plan itself” along with Magellan Health Services of California.

Blue Shield said it disagrees “with the allegations in the lawsuit” and plans to “defend the case vigorously.” According to California Healthline, “The plaintiffs seek to change Blue Shield’s and Magellan’s policies to be consistent with the law, generally accepted professional standards and the terms of its own plans, according to the lawsuit.”

According to Dr. Anita Everett, president of the American Psychiatric Association, “A win in this case would mean that ‘medically necessary’ means just that, necessary as an objective medical matter not medically necessary only if not too expensive.”

Related Links:

— “Blue Shield Improperly Denied Mental Health, Drug Treatment Claims, Suit Alleges,” Elaine Korry, California Healthline, July 11, 2017.

In a 1,200-word article focused on mental health in the workplace, USA Today (7/11, Dastagir) reports that “approximately one in five” US adults “experiences mental illness in a given year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).” What’s more, “according to the World Health Organization, what happens in the workplace is key to a person’s overall mental health.” An increasing number of “employers acknowledge the connection between their employees’ well-being and their bottom line.”

Related Links:

— “A woman’s tweet about taking a mental health day went viral. Here’s why it shouldn’t have,” Alia E. Dastagir, USA Today, July 11, 2017.

The Washington Times (7/6, Kelly) reports a study published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that “rates of suicide remain high for many years after discharge” from psychiatric facilities based on data from 100 worldwide studies between 1948 and 2016. Researchers suggest the study data shows “that hospitalized treatment, while providing a safe place for patients to explore the triggering factors that lead to their attempt of suicide or thoughts to attempt suicide, does not offer a quick fix in countering the multiple elements that drive people to the extreme of suicide.”

They instead advocate for long-term care methods. In an accompanying editorial, psychology professor Dr. Mark Olfson argues that “universal and continuing suicide prevention interventions are needed for patients after psychiatric hospital discharge.”

Related Links:

— “Lack of follow-up visits a factor in increase in suicide rates, study shows,” Laura Kelly , Washington Times, July 6, 2017.