Mental Health

Depression-related health care costs for teenagers who received cognitive behavioral therapy averaged about $5,000 less over a 2-year period vs. those who received treatment as usual, according to findings recently reported by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.

After comparing prescribing rates of stimulant, antidepressant and antipsychotic medications for children and young adults with prevalence rates of ADHD, depression and anxiety, researchers found that psychiatric medications are not actually overprescribed to youth, contrary to popular beliefs, according to study results.

Children who are HIV-positive or have been exposed to HIV are at increased risk of having poorer outcomes regarding cognitive and motor development when compared with children who are HIV-negative and have not been exposed, according to findings published in Pediatrics.

A prompt diagnosis is critical when encountering a patient who might have a concussion, a sports medicine doctor who specializes in sports-related concussion management told Healio Family Medicine.

PHILADELPHIA – Hockey Hall of Famer and former Philadelphia Flyer Eric Lindros recently called for more research into concussions.

Children who have a chronic physical illness such as asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, food allergy or juvenile arthritis are likely to experience a mental disorder, with 58% of children experiencing both physical and psychological conditions at time of diagnosis.

Study findings indicate that reduced orienting to synchronous sights and sounds within biological motion in infancy is an early sign of autism spectrum disorder.

A computer-based natural language processing analyses of speech transcripts predicted — with an 83% accuracy — young people at risk for developing later psychosis, researchers found.

Epigenetic changes seen in DNA methylation were not linked to victimization stress levels in young people, according to an epidemiological analysis published in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

Data from a longitudinal, 18-year follow-up study shows that peer victimization in childhood increased the risk for experiencing suicidal thoughts, anxiety problems and depressive symptoms in adolescence.