General Mental Health Issues
- A decades-old policy incentivizes Colorado health providers to prematurely discharge patients with serious mental illness from psychiatric hospitals, crisis stabilization units, residential treatment centers and nursing homes, state leaders said. Now, legislators are working to address the issue by recommending that $7.2 million is allocated to the Colorado Medicaid department to reimburse providers that work with patients who need care for up to 30 days. The additional funding would also allow the state Medicaid department to reimburse facilities for patients who stay for up to 60 days in rare instances when mental health providers deem it medically necessary. Read more here.
- A much-awaited treatment for postpartum depression, zuranolone (Zurzuvae), hit the market in December, promising an accessible and fast-acting medication for a debilitating illness. But most private health insurers have yet to publish criteria for when they will cover it, according to a new analysis of insurance policies. Lawyers, advocates, and regulators are watching closely to see how insurance companies will shape policies for zuranolone because of how some handled its predecessor, an intravenous form of the same drug called brexanolone (Zulresso), which came on the market in 2019. Read more here.
- The Gallup World Poll has a simple way to gauge well-being around the globe. Imagine a ladder, and think about your current life. The top rung, 10, represents the best possible life and the bottom rung, 0, represents the worst. Pick your number. Researchers use the responses to rank happiness in countries around the globe, and the 2024 results have just been released. This year, Finland is at the top of the list. Read more here.
- A new analysis of data in Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses finds that the incidence of COVID-19 hospitalization is more than double among patients with any psychiatric disorder compared to adults with no psychiatric disorder. The longitudinal study is based on electronic health records collected from four health systems and research centers in Indiana, Oregon, Texas, and Utah that partner with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study follow-up period lasted from December 2021 to August 2022, after both widespread vaccination campaigns and the Omicron variant became features of the pandemic in the United States. Read more here.
- A recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology reveals new insight into the period after incarceration, offering the most in-depth look at suicide rates among formerly incarcerated North Carolinians. Researchers from UNC Chapel Hill and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services found that, on average, people who have been incarcerated are at twice the risk of death by suicide — even years after their release — compared to those never imprisoned. Read more here.
Youth Mental Health
- Teenage boys are drowning in just as much of the depression and anxiety that’s been well documented in girls. Experts warn that many young men struggling with their mental health are left undetected and without the help they need. “We are right to be concerned about girls,” said Kathleen Ethier, director of the Division of Adolescent and School Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “But I don’t ever want us to lose sight of the fact that boys aren’t doing well, either.” Read more here.
- A shocking number of American kids are sad, suicidal and stuck on small screens sucking away their zest for life. This is the indisputable and alarming trend among American children, based on the latest polling and deep research by an NYU professor in a book out next week. The pandemic is often cited as a driver of the teen mental health crisis, but it was brewing long before then. A growing body of research links the acceleration of the crisis to one of this century’s biggest events: the arrival of the smartphone. Read more here.
- Boredom isn't bad for kids — it actually benefits their development, psychologists say. Boredom that leads to unstructured play can curb attention-seeking behavior and inspire creativity. A self-directed project might challenge and frustrate a child, but it can also build those "keep trying" skills, says Kimberly Alexander, a clinical psychologist in the Mood Disorders Center at the Child Mind Institute. Read more here.
The Opioid Crisis and Addiction Issues
- A federal appeals court asked West Virginia’s highest court Monday whether opioid distributions can cause a public nuisance as it reviews a landmark lawsuit against three major U.S. drug distributors accused of causing a health crisis in one of the state’s counties. In July 2022, a federal judge in Charleston, West Virginia, ruled in favor of AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. The lawsuit accused them of distributing 81 million pills over eight years in Cabell County, which has been ravaged by opioid addiction. Read more here.
- U.S. life expectancy increased for the first time in two years, according to a new report by the CDC. The report, released Thursday, marks a notable reversal: People born in the U.S. in 2022 can expect to live 77.5 years, an increase from 76.4 in 2021. Life expectancy had dropped in 2020 and 2021, which experts have said was driven by Covid-19 deaths and drug overdoses. The 2021 life expectancy report — a decline from 77 years to 76.4 years — marked the lowest U.S. life expectancy since 1996. Read more here.
- As authorities clamp down on fentanyl distribution and the amount of heroin produced in Afghanistan decreases under the Taliban, criminal enterprises have turned to a deadly alternative. Some health agencies in Europe are reporting a rise in deaths and overdoses from a type of synthetic opioid that can reportedly be hundreds of times stronger than heroin and up to forty times stronger than fentanyl. 2-Benzyl Benzimidazole opioids, commonly known as nitazines, are a class of synthetic compound developed in the 1950s as painkillers, but which were never approved for use as medicines. Read more here.
988 Hotline
- The US Federal Communications Commission has taken the first step toward adopting a rule that would require telecommunications companies to route calls to the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline based on the caller’s physical location rather than their phone number’s area code. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said she has submitted a notice of proposed rulemaking to the full commission and expects the rule to pass a vote in the next several weeks, given bipartisan support for the change. Read more here.
Research
- Findings suggest that in-person schooling and several coping behaviors (caring for one’s body, exercising, and engaging in healthy behaviors) were associated with significantly higher PA and lower PS during the COVID-19 pandemic among adolescents with high ACEs. Adolescents with high ACEs demonstrated especially greater mental health scores when they reported in-person schooling. Read more here.
Gender-Affirming Care and LGTBQ Issues
- This year, states have tried to prevent transgender people from using public bathrooms and from being able to update identity documents like driver’s licenses. Legislators in multiple states are attempting to rewrite state code to define sex based on reproductive capacity, and to exclude gender identity from discrimination protections. So far, these bills that aim to weaken civil rights protections for trans people, and to bar them from public facilities, aren’t getting very far. Still, these efforts would have a disastrous impact on the lives of trans adults, and medical health professionals are worried about the long-term physical and mental health effects of the ongoing political effort to restrict LGBTQ+ rights. What’s more, many of the active bills would create gaps in medical care for trans people during a time of heightened anxiety. Read more here.
- Idaho lawmakers are expected to vote this week on a bill that would ban the use of any public funds for gender-affirming care, including for state employees using work health insurance and for adults covered by Medicaid. If the legislation is enacted, Idaho would become at least the 10th state to ban Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care for people of all ages, according to the advocacy and information organization Movement Advancement Project. The laws are part of an ongoing national battle over the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans. Read more here.
- Alabama state lawmakers on Wednesday advanced legislation that would prohibit classroom discussions or instruction related to gender identity or sexual orientation in public schools through 12th grade, expanding the existing law that extends through 5th grade. The House Education Policy Committee advanced the legislation, which now heads to the Alabama House of Representatives for a full vote. The legislation tightens the language of the existing law. The proposal strikes from current legislation the line specifying that such discussions may not be provided “in a manner that is not age or developmentally appropriate or is not in accordance with state standards.” Read more here.
Federal Policy
- President Joe Biden on Monday signed an executive order directing the most comprehensive set of actions ever taken by the president’s office to expand and improve research on women’s health. In a statement, the president and First Lady Jill Biden also announced more than 20 new actions and commitments by a wide range of federal agencies for research on issues that emerge across a woman’s lifespan, from maternal health outcomes and mental health challenges to autoimmune diseases and menopause. Read more here.
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