Publications on Mental Health Topics

Showing compassion, accepting cultures: Preventing suicide in the Latino community, by Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, CNN, Mar 26 2019.

“Latina teens in the United States have had higher rates of suicide attempts than Caucasian teens and Latino boys for the past 20 years, according to the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey  ”

New Postpartum Depression Drug Could Be Hard To Access For Moms Most In Need, by Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, Mar 21 2019.

“One in nine women in the United States suffer from depression after childbirth. For some women, postpartum depression is so bad that they struggle to care for their children and may even consider or attempt suicide. [...] Depression during pregnancy and soon after childbirth can be debilitating and can even lead to hospitalization for some women. It can prevent a mother from taking care of her baby, which in turn affects the mother-child bonding, the baby's development and emotional well-being. Postpartum depression even increases an infant's risk of having depression later in life. [...] This week, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug that can help, the first drug approved specifically for postpartum depression. While researchers and clinicians are excited about the drug's potential, some foresee obstacles to making it available to women who need it the most. ”

More U.S. youth seeking help during psychiatric emergencies, by Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, Mar 18 2019.

“The number of young people visiting U.S. emergency rooms with psychiatric problems is rising, driven largely by a surge in teens and minority youth seeking urgent help for mental illnesses, a new study suggests. ”

Misophonia: When Life's Noises Drive You Mad, by April Fulton, NPR, Mar 18 2019.

“Misophonia is characterized by intense emotion like rage or fear in response to highly specific sounds, particularly ordinary sounds that other people make. The cause is unknown. For people who suffer from it, mouth sounds are common triggers. "Chewing is almost universal. Gum chewing is almost universal. They also don't like the sound of throat clearing. Coughing, sniffing, nose blowing — a number of things," says Jaelline Jaffe, a psychotherapist in Los Angeles who specializes in misophonia. ”

Fresh Challenges To State Exclusions On Transgender Health Coverage, by Keren Landman, NPR, Mar 12 2019.

“Studies assessing the financial implications of covering transgender-related health care have demonstrated that the cost of care to insurers, including hormones and surgical therapies, is relatively small. Hormone therapy, which around 75 percent of transgender people seek, starts at $20 to $80 a month and is usually taken for the duration of a person's life after transition. Surgeries range widely in type and cost anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 each, although many trans people don't desiresurgical treatment. Perhaps of even greater significance is the finding that providing this coverage is cost-effective. Untreated gender dysphoria leads to high rates of adverse — and expensive – outcomes, including HIV infection, depression, suicidality and drug abuse. The cost of accepting these outcomes outweighs the cost of treating their cause. ”

VA Struggles To Unlock The Reasons Behind High Suicide Rates Among Older Veterans, by Steve Walsh, NPR, Mar 11 2019.

“The VA National Suicide Data Report for 2005 to 2016, which came out in September 2018, highlights an alarming rise in suicides among veterans age 18 to 34 — 45 per 100,000 veterans. Younger veterans have the highest rate of suicide among veterans, but those 55 and older still represent the largest number of suicides. Moreover, the suicide rate for older veterans is higher than that of non-veterans. For veterans age 55 to 74 years old, the rate of suicide is 26 per 100,000, while nationally, the suicide rate in the same age group is 17.4 per 100,000. The rate ticks up even higher for veterans over 85 years old. ”

Suicide games can spread online for months before parents know, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Mar 8 2019.

“Researchers traced the path of one suicide game, the “blue whale challenge,” as awareness of it spread across social media and mainstream news outlets from 2013 to 2017. By the time the first U.S. news article about this suicide game appeared, the game had been circulating in English language social media posts for four months and in other languages for nine months, the study found. Nobody knows for sure whether this particular suicide game really existed or caused teens to harm themselves, or if it was an elaborate hoax. But as reports of these suicide games continue to go viral - including the latest one known as the “Momo challenge” - researchers say that it’s crucial for parents to know what their children and teens are exposed to in their digital lives. ”

Alzheimer's Screenings Often Left Out Of Seniors' Wellness Exams, by Jon Hamilton, NPR, Mar 5 2019.

“A brief cognitive test can detect signs of Alzheimer's in older patients.  Fewer than half of primary care doctors surveyed say they routinely test patients 65 and older for problems with memory and thinking, despite coverage by Medicare as part of annual wellness visits. ”

FDA Approves Esketamine Nasal Spray For Hard-To-Treat Depression, by Jon Hamilton, NPR, Mar 5 2019.

“The Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug that can relieve depression in hours instead of weeks. Esketamine, a chemical cousin of the anesthetic and party drug ketamine, represents the first truly new kind of depression drug since Prozac hit the market in 1988. ”

MMR vaccine does not cause autism, another study confirms, by Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, CNN, Mar 4 2019.

“The measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine does not increase the risk of autism and does not trigger autism in children who are at risk, according to a new study of over 650,000 children. ”

CBD Is Everywhere, but Scientists Still Don’t Know Much About, by Roni Caryn Rabin, The New York Times, Feb 25 2019.

“Cannabidiol, or CBD, a nonintoxicating component of the marijuana plant, is touted as a magic bullet that eases pain, anxiety, insomnia and depression. But scientists know little about what it can do. Most of the information about CBD’s effects in humans is anecdotal or extrapolated from animal studies, and few rigorous trials have been conducted. ”

One in four pre-teen suicides may be LGBT youth, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Feb 21 2019.

“Youth 12 to 14 years old who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) are much more likely to die by suicide than their heterosexual peers, a disparity that persists but becomes less pronounced by early adulthood, a U.S. study suggests. While 24 percent of the suicide deaths in the 12 to 14 age group were among LGBT youth in 2013-2015, this dropped to 8 percent of suicides among young adults 25 to 29 years old, researchers report in the Journal of Adolescent Health. ”

Friendly texts tied to fewer suicide attempts in the military, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Feb 20 2019.

“Military service members who are at risk for suicide may be less likely to attempt to harm themselves when they receive supportive text messages, a U.S. study suggests. Soldiers in the study had all received behavioral health services for considering or attempting suicide in the past, and all were on active duty, in the Reserve or in the National Guard. They all received standard treatments like medication or psychotherapy as needed; half of the 650 participants were also randomly assigned to received occasional texts with messages like “hope you’re having a good day.” Over the course of a year, people who received these texts were 44 percent less likely to experience suicidal thoughts and 48 percent less likely to attempt suicide than those who didn’t get the messages. ”

To Prevent Pregnancy-Related Depression, At-Risk Women Advised To Get Counseling, by Patti Neighmond, NPR, Feb 12 2019.

“Doctors can and should do more to prevent depression among pregnant women and new mothers by referring them to counseling. That's the recommendation of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an influential panel of clinicians and researchers that makes recommendations for patient care. [...] Depression during pregnancy and in the year after childbirth is surprisingly common. It's estimated that 1 in 7 pregnant women will suffer depression while pregnant or following childbirth. ”

Antidepressants Can Interfere With Pain Relief Of Common Opioids, by Jonathan Lambert, NPR, Feb 6 2019.

“Antidepressants may dampen the effects of some common opioids, resulting in less effective pain management according to research findings published Wednesday. The researchers suggest physicians should consider alternative pain management strategies for patients on antidepressants. ”