Drug overdose deaths in pregnant and postpartum women rose by about 81% from 2017 to 2020, researchers report in a JAMA research letter published online Dec. 6. Pregnancy-associated overdose deaths were highest in 2020 as the COVID pandemic began, according to the researchers, Emilie Bruzelius, MPH, and Silvia S. Martins, MD, PHD, with the department … Read more
The vast majority of Americans with opioid use disorder (OUD) do not potentially receive lifesaving medications. Drugs such as methadone, buprenorphine, and extended-release naltrexone have been shown to reduce opioid overdoses by more than 50%. Yet a new analysis shows that only about 1 in 10 people living with OUD receive these medications. Dr Noa … Read more
Screening adolescents for signs of depression does not reduce their emergency department visits, hospitalizations, or treatment for suicidal behaviors, according to research published on July 8 in Preventive Medicine. Adolescents who underwent a depression screening were just as likely to need these services as those who did not. In 2016, the US Preventive Services Task … Read more
Synthetic opioid use increased by almost 800% over 7 years, new research shows The results of a national urine drug test (UDT) study come as the US is reporting a record-high number of drug overdose deaths — more than 80% of which involved fentanyl or other synthetic opioids and prompting a push for better surveillance … Read more
Sexual minority adolescents in Canada — those who are attracted to the same gender or multiple genders, or who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer — experience increased risks for suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, according to a new report. Transgender youth were five times more likely to think about suicide and 7.6 … Read more
Despite a record number of drug overdose deaths in the US and a large body of evidence supporting the efficacy of medications to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) these drugs remain vastly underutilized, new research shows. Based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), investigators found only one in four … Read more
Owning an outdoor cat as a child is associated with an increased risk of psychotic experiences in adulthood — but only in males, new research suggests. Investigators found male children who owned cats that went outside had a small, but significantly increased, risk of psychotic experiences in adulthood vs their counterparts who had no cat … Read more