Publications on Mental Health Topics

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. ”

Gaming addiction classified as mental health disorder by WHO, by Kate Kelland, Reuters, Jun 18 2018.

“Many parents already have concerns, but some may now have a new argument for limiting their children’s ‘screen time’ - addiction to video games has been recognised by World Health Organization as a mental health disorder. The WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD), a reference bible of recognised and diagnosable diseases, describes addiction to digital and video gaming as “a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behaviour” that becomes so extensive it “takes precedence over other life interests”. ”

What separation from parents does to children: ‘The effect is catastrophic’, by William Wan, The Washington Post, Jun 18 2018.

“"This is what happens inside children when they are forcibly separated from their parents.  Their heart rate goes up. Their body releases a flood of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. Those stress hormones can start killing off dendrites — the little branches in brain cells that transmit mes­sages. In time, the stress can start killing off neurons and — especially in young children — wreaking dramatic and long-term damage, both psychologically and to the physical structure of the brain.  'The effect is catastrophic,” said Charles Nelson, a pediatrics professor at Harvard Medical School. “There’s so much research on this that if people paid attention at all to the science, they would never do this.'" ”

One in 3 Americans Takes Meds That May Cause Depression, by Traci Pedersen, Psych Central, Jun 14 2018.

“More than one in three Americans may be taking prescription medications that can lead to depression or increase the risk of suicide, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). And since many of these medications are common and not associated with depression — such as hormonal birth control medications, blood pressure and heart medications, proton pump inhibitors, antacids and painkillers — patients and clinicians may be unaware of the risks...'Many may be surprised to learn that their medications, despite having nothing to do with mood or anxiety or any other condition normally associated with depression, can increase their risk of experiencing depressive symptoms, and may lead to a depression diagnosis.' ”

U.S. Suicide Rates Are Rising Faster Among Women Than Men, by Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, Jun 14 2018.

“The number of people dying by suicide in the United States has risen by about 30 percent in the past two decades. And while the majority of suicide-related deaths today are among boys and men, a study published Thursday by the National Center for Health Statistics finds that the number of girls and women taking their own lives is rising...when Hedegaard and her colleagues compared the rise in the rates of death by suicide from 2000 to 2016, the increase was significantly larger for females — increasing by 21 percent for boys and men, compared with 50 percent for girls and women...The biggest change was seen among women in late middle age. 'For females between the ages of 45 and 64, the suicide rate increased by 60 percent,' she says. 'That's a pretty large increase in a relatively short period of time.' ”

Rise in U.S. suicides highlights need for new depression drugs, by Julie Steenhuysen, Reuters, Jun 8 2018.

“A spike in suicide rates in the United States has cast fresh light on the need for more effective treatments for major depression, with researchers saying it is a tricky development area that has largely been abandoned by big pharmaceutical companies...With the availability of numerous cheap generic antidepressants, many of which offer only marginal benefit, developing medicines for depression is a tough sell...J&J is the only large pharmaceutical company making a major investment in a new antidepressant, Tracy said...Dr. Julie Goldstein Grumet, a behavioral health expert from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, said 122 people in the United States took their lives by suicide each day last week. Many were never even diagnosed with a mental illness. 'We’re missing opportunities to screen people for the risk of suicide,' she said. ”

Suicide Rates Are Rising In Nearly Every State, CDC Says, by Jamie Ducharme, TIME, Jun 7 2018.

“Suicide rates are climbing in nearly every demographic, age group and geographic area, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Deaths by suicide have increased by around 30% since 1999, claiming nearly 45,000 lives in 2016, according to the report. Those trends apply to nearly every segment of the U.S. population: Suicide rates have increased in 44 states, among all racial and ethnic groups and in every age range except adults older than 75. In half of all states, suicide rates increased by 30% or more. ”

Beyond drugs, it's not clear which ADHD treatments work, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Jun 1 2018.

“Although many doctors offer patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) a variety of treatments in addition to drugs, a new review suggests there’s not enough evidence that medication alternatives work...Because ADHD can mean different symptoms from one kid to the next, children need an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis before it’s really possible to decide which treatments might work best in their situation, said Dr. Timothy Wilens, chief of the division of child and adolescent psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston...'For children over age 6 years, medications should be considered first line therapy for ADHD and nonpharmacological treatments should be considered adjunct to medication in specific groups,' Wilens added. ”

Placenta May Play Key Role in Schizophrenia, Psych Central, May 31 2018.

“A new study suggests that the placenta may factor into the risk for schizophrenia, as well as other neurodevelopmental disorders including ADHD, autism and Tourette syndrome. The new findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, reveal that schizophrenia genes appear to be 'turned on' during complicated pregnancies, and the more these genes are turned on, the more the placenta shows other signs of stress such as inflammation...'The surprising results of this study make the placenta the centerpiece of a new realm of biological investigation related to how genes and the environment interact to alter the trajectory of human brain development,' said Weinberger. ”

Battling Depression And Suicide Among Female Veterans, by Jay Price, NPR, May 29 2018.

“The suicide rate for female veterans has soared 85 percent in recent years, leading the military, VA and advocacy groups to try new ways to improve women's mental health care during and after service. One key focus: how to tailor the sometimes tricky jump from the military to the civilian world. Women's experiences in the military are different from men's, so their transition needs to be different, too, said retired Army Col. Ellen Haring, director of research for the advocacy group Service Women's Action Network (SWAN). "The experiences you have on active duty carry with you, and then they manifest as mental wellness challenges as veterans," she said. "When you're transitioning out of the service, or when you return from a combat deployment to come back to a stateside demobilization and try to return to family or community, that's a challenging period." When that transition doesn't go well, the cost can be terrible. Female veterans are nearly 250 percent more likely to kill themselves than civilian women. ”

Study: Suicide Rates for Black Kids Under 13 Double That of Whites, by Traci Pedersen, Psych Central, May 22 2018.

“Suicide rates among whites have traditionally been higher than for blacks in the United States. However, a new study shows that the racial differences in suicide rates may be age-specific. The findings, published in JAMA Pediatrics, reveal that suicide rates for black children aged 5-12 are approximately double than that for white children of similar ages...'It is important not to lose sight that very young children of all races are at risk of suicide,' said Dr. Joel Greenhouse, a co-author of the study and professor of statistics and data science at Carnegie Mellon University. 'Descriptive studies like this are important for identifying trends in suicide rates. However, they leave open the question as to why there are differences.' ”

Unneccessary and accidental use of ADHD drugs increases over 60%, study suggests, by Mark Lieber , CNN, May 21 2018.

Pediatricians urged to warn vulnerable kids away from '13 Reasons Why' Netflix series, by Anne Harding, Reuters, May 18 2018.

“Mental health professionals have raised alarms that the series - which closes with a graphic depiction of the main character killing herself - could push other young people toward suicide...In an article titled, “13 Things Pediatricians Should Know (and do) About 13 Reasons Why,” Dr. Michael B. Pitt and colleagues of the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis encourage doctors to warn vulnerable young patients - and their parents - away from the show...In reviewing records at their own health system, the authors identified more than 60 documented references to the show by 31 pediatric patients treated in the six months after “13 Reasons” first aired. Three-quarters of the patients were receiving treatment related to a suicide attempt, and more than half of the children’s parents said they feared the show had made their child’s mental health symptoms worse. The authors urge pediatricians to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics’ new guidelines calling for universal depression screening for patients aged 12 and older, and to ask their patients about their media consumption. ”

Early puberty in girls tied to bullying in school, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, May 17 2018.

“Girls who go through puberty early may be more likely than peers who mature later to be involved in bullying at school - either as victims or perpetrators, a recent study suggests...Early menstruation was associated with 21 percent higher odds that girls would be occasional victims of bullying and a 35 percent greater chance of frequent victimization. At the same time, teens who started menstruating sooner than most other girls were 19 percent more likely to occasionally bully other students at school and had 46 percent higher odds of becoming frequent bullies...'Parents should let their daughters know that puberty timing is varied among adolescents, it is very normal that some are earlier and some are later,' Lian said by email. 'More importantly, parents and school teachers should recognize that adolescents need the skills and abilities to copy with the pressures caused by early puberty they enter puberty.' ”

More Kids Are Attempting and Thinking About Suicide, According to a New Study, by Jamie Ducharme, TIME, May 16 2018.

“The number of kids hospitalized for thinking about or attempting suicide doubled in less than a decade, according to a study published Wednesday in Pediatrics...The largest increases were seen among adolescents between two age groups — 15 and 17, and 12 and 14 — according to the study. Increases were also higher among girls than boys, the study says. Interestingly, the researchers also observed significantly more suicide attempts or ideations during the school year; that’s in contrast to adults, among whom suicide rates tend to spike in spring and summer...Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that the number of teenagers dying by suicide is also on the rise. ”