Publications on Mental Health Topics

LGBT Navajos Discover Unexpected Champions: Their Grandparents, by Laurel Morales, NPR, Jan 26 2019.

“Nationwide, the share of gay, lesbian and bisexual teens who attempt suicide is high — 23 percent. For Navajo LGBTQ youth, the rate is 70 percent, according to the Navajo Nation's Diné Policy Institute. [...] It's not unusual that Navajo grandparents are accepting of being LGBT while parents are not. Historians say federally run boarding schools and other assimilation tactics taught a generation of Navajos that same-sex relationships are wrong. ”

Steep Climb In Benzodiazepine Prescribing By Primary Care Doctors, by Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, Jan 25 2019.

“The percentage of outpatient medical visits that led to a benzodiazepine prescription doubled from 2003 to 2015, according to a study published Friday. And about half those prescriptions came from primary care physicians. This class of drugs includes the commonly used medications Valium, Ativan and Xanax. While benzodiazepines are mostly prescribed for anxiety, insomnia and seizures, the study found that the biggest rise in prescriptions during this time period was for back pain and other types of chronic pain. ”

U.S. substance abuse helpline largely unknown, by Linda Carroll, Reuters, Jan 14 2019.

“The U.S. government’s toll-free substance abuse helpline, which provides free referral services to those looking for treatment, gets little publicity, a new study finds. By contrast, suicide helplines are regularly publicized, the research team points out. When the researchers compared how often the addiction helpline was mentioned in news stories and social media after Demi Lovato’s overdose to how often the suicide helpline was noted after Anthony Bourdain killed himself, they found a huge disparity. They hope their study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, will help change that. ”

Parents often don't know when teens have suicidal thoughts, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Jan 14 2019.

“Three in four parents are unaware when their teens have recurrent thoughts about suicide, and a big part of the problem may be that adolescents often deny feeling this way, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers interviewed 5,137 adolescents, ages 11 to 17, along with one parent or stepparent. Most teens in the study didn’t report suicidal thoughts. But when they did, half of their parents were unaware these teens had thoughts of killing themselves and 76 percent of parents didn’t know when teens regularly thought about death, researchers report in Pediatrics. ”

Report: Americans Are Now More Likely To Die Of An Opioid Overdose Than On The Road, by Ian Stewart, NPR, Jan 14 2019.

“For the first time in U.S. history, a leading cause of deaths — vehicle crashes — has been surpassed in likelihood by opioid overdoses, according to a new report on preventable deaths from the National Safety Council. Americans now have a 1 in 96 chance of dying from an opioid overdose, according to the council's analysis of 2017 data on accidental death. The probability of dying in a motor vehicle crash is 1 in 103. ”

When your child vapes, what's a parent to do?, by Michael Nedelman, CNN, Jan 11 2019.

“Health experts say parents whose kids are vaping often don't know what to do or where to turn for help. While federal authorities grapple with how to regulate e-cigarettes on a broad scale and while leading tobacco company Altria invests billions in e-cigarette maker Juul, parents are scrambling at home to deal with nicotine dependence -- or to prevent their kids from getting hooked on something that's ubiquitous at many schools. Some are even approaching addiction rehab programs in hopes of weaning their kids off these products. ”

Link between social media and depression stronger in teen girls than boys, study says, by Jacqueline Howard, CNN, Jan 3 2019.

“There appears to be a connection between social media use and depressive symptoms in 14-year-olds, and that connection may be much stronger for girls than boys, according to a study published in the journal EClinicalMedicine on Thursday...Among teens who use social media the most -- more than five hours a day -- the study showed a 50% increase in depressive symptoms among girls versus 35% among boys, when their symptoms were compared with those who use social media for only one to three hours daily. ”

Lesbian, Gay Youth at Higher Risk for Self-Harm, by Richard Liu., 2019.

“An alarming number of teens practice self-harm, but lesbian, gay and bisexual teens may be more than twice as likely as their straight peers to cut, hit or bruise themselves, new research warns. LGBT youth -- particularly those of color -- are often subject to "emotional isolation" as a result of blame, shame and criticism of their core identities and feelings. They are also much more likely to end up homeless, in foster care or involved with the juvenile justice system, and they face a harder time finding work ”

ER visits for physical ailments tied to self-harm risk, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Dec 20 2018.

“Teens and young adults who visit emergency rooms for injuries or physical illnesses may be more likely to harm themselves afterward, a U.S. study suggests. Emergency room (ER) visits for mental health disorders or substance misuse have long been linked to an increased risk for self-harm and suicidal thoughts and behaviors among teens and young adults. The current study focused on teens and young adults, ages 15 to 29, who visited an ER for more common reasons: physical illnesses and injuries. It found that these individuals were much more likely to harm themselves after being treated for a wide range of conditions including epilepsy, back pain, headaches and dental problems. ”

Pre-deployment insomnia linked to increased risk of PTSD for soldiers, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Dec 20 2018.

“Soldiers who have insomnia before deployment may be more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or experience suicidal thoughts than service members who don’t struggle to sleep before they deploy, a U.S. study suggests. For the study, researchers surveyed U.S. Army soldiers one to two months before they deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, right after they returned from deployment, and again three months and nine months later. Soldiers who experienced insomnia in the 30 days prior to deployment were more than three times more likely to experience PTSD and more than twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts after their return than peers who didn’t have sleep difficulties at the start of the study. ”

Doctors struggle to help older gun owners, by Carolyn Crist, Reuters, Dec 14 2018.

“Doctors who work with seniors are grappling with ways to prevent gun-related suicides and accidents, often among gun-owning older patients with dementia or depression, according to a recent review article. People older than 65 have the highest rates of gun ownership, depression and suicide in the U.S., and while they’re less likely to be victims of violent crimes, they are more likely to become victims of their own guns, the authors write in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. ”

Eczema patients at 36% higher risk of suicide attempts, study says, by Susan Scutti, CNN, Dec 12 2018.

“Eczema is a common skin condition that can pack a profound psychological punch: People with eczema are more likely to have suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts than others without the condition, according to new research published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Dermatology...The researchers found that patients with eczema were 44% more likely to have suicidal thoughts and 36% more likely to attempt suicide compared to people without the skin condition. ”

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. ”

Younger siblings of kids with autism and ADHD have higher risk of these disorders, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Dec 11 2018.

“Children who have an older brother or sister with autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be more likely to develop these conditions than kids who don’t have an older sibling with these neurological problems, a new study suggests. When an older sibling had autism, younger kids were more than 30 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism and three times more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD than children whose siblings didn’t have these disorders, researchers report in JAMA Pediatrics. ”

Immigration Is A Public Health Issue, But Not For The Reasons Some Politicians Claim, by Carolina Moreno, Huffington Post, Dec 8 2018.

“However, this small fraction of global migrants ― refugees and displaced populations, of which nearly 53 percent are children ― have the highest risk of exploitation, disease and death because they usually lack access to equitable health services in their home country and initially live in cramped refugee camps or shelters with substandard health services when they first arrive in their host country. In the United States, this narrative can be seen playing out along the U.S.-Mexico border, where asylum-seekers crossing into the country are often placed in crowded detention centers where adults and children face an increased risk of disease transmission and mental health consequences. ”