Publications - Substance Abuse and Addictions

Even with insurance, getting mental health treatment is a struggle in Mass., study says, by Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, Dec 11 2018.

“Massachusetts residents who need health care are colliding with a hard reality: Having medical insurance doesn’t guarantee you can get treatment, particularly for psychiatric problems. More than half of adults who sought mental health or addiction treatment in recent months had difficulty getting that care, according to a survey of 2,201 residents by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation in Boston...The obstacle wasn’t a lack of insurance; the vast majority of patients were insured. Rather, the problem was that providers either did not accept their insurance or their practices were closed to new patients. ”

Infections May Raise The Risk Of Mental Illness In Children, by Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, Dec 5 2018.

“Researchers have traced a connection between some infections and mental illnesses like schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. New research from Denmark bolsters that connection. The study, published Thursday in JAMA Psychiatry, shows that a wide variety of infections, even common ones like bronchitis, are linked to a higher risk of many mental illnesses in children and adolescents...For all mental illnesses — excluding depression and bipolar disorder — the team found that being hospitalized for an infection was associated with a 84 percent higher risk of subsequently being diagnosed with a mental health disorder at a hospital and a 42 percent increased risk of being prescribed a medication for mental illness. ”

Suicide, at 50-year peak, pushes down US life expectancy, by Mike Stobbe, AP, Nov 29 2018.

“Suicides and drug overdoses pushed up U.S. deaths last year, and drove a continuing decline in how long Americans are expected to live. Overall, there were more than 2.8 million U.S. deaths in 2017, or nearly 70,000 more than the previous year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. It was the most deaths in a single year since the government began counting more than a century ago. ”

States may now broaden mental health treatment under Medicaid, by Michael Nedelman, CNN, Nov 13 2018.

“The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may now allow for states to pursue Medicaid reimbursements for short-term inpatient treatment in mental health facilities despite a decades-old exclusion, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced Tuesday. In a letter to state Medicaid directors, CMS detailed a new Medicaid waiver opportunity through which states may bypass longstanding reimbursement restrictions on inpatient psychiatric treatment, which apply to mental health facilities with more than 16 beds. Azar said the original policy has posed a "significant barrier" to people getting the treatments they need. ”

When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves, by Rachel D. Cohen, NPR, Oct 30 2018.

“A study published Tuesday in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry finds that when adolescents stop using marijuana – even for just one week – their verbal learning and memory improves. The study contributes to growing evidence that marijuana use in adolescents is associated with reduced neurocognitive functioning...Researchers are particularly concerned with use of marijuana among the young because THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, most sharply affects the parts of the brain that develop during adolescence...The researchers found that after four weeks, there was no noticeable difference in attention scores between the marijuana users and the non-users. But, the memory scores of the non-users improved, whereas the users' memories mostly stayed the same. ”

Teen Cannabis Use Linked to Impaired Cognitive Development, by Janice Wood, Psych Central, Oct 7 2018.

“A new study shows that the lasting effects of adolescent cannabis use can be observed on important cognitive functions and appear to be more pronounced than those observed for alcohol...'While many studies have reported group differences in cognitive performance between young users and non-users, what had yet to be established was the causal and lasting effects of teen substance use on cognitive development,' said Jean-François G. Morin, co-author and a Ph.D. student at the Université de Montréal. ”

Teens are smoking, vaping and eating cannabis, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Oct 3 2018.

“Adolescents who try marijuana are not just smoking it. Many are also vaping or eating cannabis, a U.S. study suggests. Almost one in three teens have smoked cannabis at least once, the survey of 3,177 Los Angeles high school students found. More than one in five adolescents have consumed edible cannabis, and more than one in 10 have vaped it. In the study of 10th-graders, two-thirds of teen cannabis users had tried at least two forms of the drug, and about 8 percent had tried all three methods of consuming cannabis. 'This raises the question whether teens who have traditionally been at lower risk for use of cannabis and other drugs in traditional smoked forms may be drawn into cannabis in alternative forms that may lack some of the deterrents . . . like the smell, taste, and harshness of inhaling cannabis smoke and difficulty concealing use of smoked cannabis to authority figures,' said senior study author Adam Leventhal, director of the University of Southern California’s Health, Emotion, and Addiction Laboratory in Los Angeles. ”

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Youth at Increased Risk of Using Multiple Substances, by Janice Wood, Psych Central, Sep 16 2018.

“Young people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual are at increased risk of using substances such as alcohol, nicotine, and marijuana, according to a new study. The study from researchers at Oregon State University also found that these teens are at a higher risk of using more than one substance, known as polysubstance use...Among youth, alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine are the three most commonly used drugs. That is a concern because kids who use those substances are at risk of negative health and social outcomes, including addiction and poor cognitive, social and academic function, the researcher noted. ”

Young people with opioid addiction not getting proper treatment, by Linda Carroll, Reuters, Sep 10 2018.

“ The vast majority of young people struggling with addiction to opioids are not receiving medications that have been recommended to treat their disease, a new study shows. Only one in four received one of the medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration - methadone, buprenorphine or naltrexone - within three months of their diagnosis, according to the report in JAMA Pediatrics. The situation was even worse for the younger people with addiction, researchers found. Just one in 21 adolescents under age 18 received one of the guideline-recommended medications, researchers found. 'This study shows that the great majority of youth are not receiving treatment recommended in evidence-based guidelines,' said the study’s lead author, Dr. Scott Hadland, a pediatrician and addiction specialist at the Grayken Center for Addiction at the Boston Medical Center. 'That’s really concerning because the data suggest that when people do receive medication they are much more likely to remain in treatment.' Remaining in treatment can be the difference between life and death, Hadland said. ”

Discrimination fears tied to teen drinking and smoking, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Sep 6 2018.

“Adolescents who worry about discrimination in society may be more likely to drink, smoke or experiment with drugs than teens who don’t have these concerns, a U.S. study suggests...For the study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers surveyed 2,572 high school students once in eleventh grade and again a year later to see how often they experienced stress, worry or concern regarding 'increasing hostility and discrimination of people because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation/identity, immigrant status, religion, or disability status in society...'As kids’ scores rose higher above the average, the greater their odds of risky behavior a year later. Each one-unit standard deviation increase above the average scores in 2016 was associated with 77 percent higher odds that students used cigarettes in 2017, 13 percent higher likelihood that they used marijuana, and 11 percent greater odds that they used alcohol...the effects did appear more pronounced for students of color at the 10 Los Angeles high schools where the surveys were conducted.   ”

Families Choose Empathy Over 'Tough Love' To Rescue Loved Ones From Opioids, by Martha Bebinger, NPR, Aug 10 2018.

“It was Bea Duncan who answered the phone at 2 a.m. on a January morning. Her son Jeff had been caught using drugs in a New Hampshire sober home and was being kicked out. Bea and her husband, Doug Duncan, drove north that night nine years ago to pick Jeff up. On the ride back home, to Natick, Mass., the parents delivered an ultimatum: Their son had to go back to rehab, or leave home...Doug Duncan says many parents had told him to expect this moment. He remembers them saying their son would have to 'hit rock bottom; you're going to have to kick him out of the house...'Many drug users say, in hindsight, they've appreciated being forced into treatment. But studies show that a compassionate approach and voluntary treatment are the more effective ways to engage drug users in recovery and keep them alive. That's a critical consideration for families in this era of fentanyl, a powerful opioid that can shut down breathing in seconds. ”

Pot smoking by parents tied to risk of psychotic episodes in kids, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Aug 2 2018.

“Cannabis use by mothers or fathers during pregnancy, or even only before pregnancy, is associated with an increased risk of psychotic-like episodes in their children, a Dutch study suggests. Because pot use by mothers and fathers carried similar risk, and a mother’s use before pregnancy had the same effect as use during pregnancy, the study team speculates that parental pot use is likely a marker for genetic and environmental vulnerability to psychotic experiences rather than a cause, and could be useful for screening kids at risk for psychosis later in life. ”

America's Drinking Habits Are Killing More Young People, Study Suggests, by Jamie Ducharme, TIME, Jul 21 2018.

“Liver disease deaths are growing more common in the U.S. and disproportionately affecting younger Americans, according to a recent study. The paper, published in The BMJ just a day after a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report on rising liver cancer death rates, paints a troubling picture of how Americans’ drinking habits may be affecting their health. While the new study couldn’t prove causation, the researchers say drinking is likely to blame for the growing number of adults aged 24 to 35 who are dying from cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver. ”

Alcohol-related liver deaths have increased sharply, by Kate Furby, The Washington Post, Jul 18 2018.

“Deaths from liver disease have increased sharply in recent years in the United States, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. Cirrhosis-related deaths increased by 65 percent from 1999 to 2016, and deaths from liver cancer doubled, the study said. The rise in death rates was driven predominantly by alcohol-induced disease, the report said. ”

WHO classifies 'gaming disorder' as mental health condition, by Susan Scutti, CNN, Jun 18 2018.

“Watching as a video game ensnares their child, many a parent has grumbled about "digital heroin," likening the flashing images to one of the world's most addictive substances. Now, they may have backup: The World Health Organization announced "gaming disorder" as a new mental health condition included in the 11th edition of its International Classification of Diseases, released Monday. ”