Trends in Psychological Distress and Outpatient Mental Health Care of Adults During the COVID-19 Era.

BACKGROUND: In addition to the physical disease burden of the COVID-19 pandemic, concern exists over its adverse mental health effects. OBJECTIVE: To characterize trends in psychological distress and outpatient mental health care among U.S. adults from 2018 to 2021 and to describe patterns of in-person, telephone, and video outpatient mental health care. DESIGN: Cross-sectional nationally representative survey of noninstitutionalized adults. SETTING: United States. PARTICIPANTS: Adults included in the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component, 2018 to 2021 (n = 86 658). MEASUREMENTS: Psychological distress was measured with the Kessler-6 scale (range of 0 to 24, with higher scores indicating more severe distress), with a score of 13 or higher defined as serious psychological distress, 1 to 12 as less serious distress, and 0 as no distress. Outpatient mental health care use was measured via computer-assisted personal interviews. RESULTS: Between 2018 and 2021, the rate of serious psychological distress among adults increased from 3.5% to 4.2%. Although the rate of outpatient mental health care increased from 11.2% to 12.4% overall, the rate decreased from 46.5% to 40.4% among adults with serious psychological distress. When age, sex, and distress were controlled for, a significant increase in outpatient mental health care was observed for young adults (aged 18 to 44 years) but not middle-aged (aged 45 to 64 years) and older (aged >65 years) adults and for employed adults but not unemployed adults. In 2021, 33.4% of mental health outpatients received at least 1 video visit, including a disproportionate percentage of young, college-educated, higher-income, employed, and urban adults. LIMITATION: Information about outpatient mental health service modality (in-person, video, telephone) was first fully available in the 2021 survey. CONCLUSION: These trends and patterns underscore the persistent challenges of connecting older adults, unemployed persons, and seriously distressed adults to outpatient mental health care and the difficulties faced by older, less educated, lower-income, unemployed, and rural patients in accessing outpatient mental health care via video. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: None.

Trends in and characteristics of drug overdose morbidity among pregnant and postpartum individuals in California, 2010-2018.

Fatal drug overdoses among pregnant and postpartum individuals have risen dramatically over the past 10 years. Trends in and characteristics of nonfatal drug overdoses in this population, however, remain unknown, despite the importance of this outcome for maternal and infant health. We used statewide, longitudinally-linked hospital and emergency department administrative claims data from California to characterize the incidence, trends, drug type involvement, and sociodemographic disparities in pregnancy-associated drug overdose between 2010 and 2019. Generalized linear models accounting for multiple deliveries per individual were used to test for trends; descriptive statistics were used for other study analyses. Of California individuals with a live delivery between 2010 and 2018, approximately 0.2% had a pregnancy-associated drug overdose. Nonfatal overdoses were nearly 60 times more common than fatal overdoses. Incidence of overdoses involving stimulants increased in frequency, while incidence of overdoses involving sedative/hypnotic drugs and psychotropic medications decreased in frequency. Risk of overdose was substantially higher among delivering individuals who were young, non-Hispanic Black, Medicaid patients, or who lived in non-metropolitan areas. Ongoing public health surveillance of and clinical interventions to reduce pregnancy-associated nonfatal drug overdose events are critical for prevention efforts.

Geographic Variation, Economic Activity, and Labor Market Characteristics in Trajectories of Suicide in the United States, 2008-2020.

Suicide rates in the United States have increased over the past 15 years, with substantial geographic variation in these increases; yet there have been few attempts to cluster counties by the magnitude of suicide rate changes according to intercept and slope or to identify the economic precursors of increases. We used vital statistics data and growth mixture models to identify clusters of counties by their magnitude of suicide growth from 2008 to 2020 and examined associations with county economic and labor indices. Our models identified 5 clusters, each differentiated by intercept and slope magnitude, with the highest-rate cluster (4% of counties) being observed mainly in sparsely populated areas in the West and Alaska, starting the time series at 25.4 suicides per 100,000 population, and exhibiting the steepest increase in slope (0.69/100,000/year). There was no cluster for which the suicide rate was stable or declining. Counties in the highest-rate cluster were more likely to have agricultural and service economies and less likely to have urban professional economies. Given the increased burden of suicide, with no clusters of counties improving over time, additional policy and prevention efforts are needed, particularly targeted at rural areas in the West.

Prognosis and risk of suicide after cancer diagnosis.

INTRODUCTION: Suicide rates are elevated after cancer diagnosis. Existential distress caused by awareness of one's impending death is well-described in patients with cancer. The authors hypothesized that suicide risk is associated with cancer prognosis, and the impact of prognosis on suicide risk is greatest for populations with higher baseline suicide risk. METHODS: The authors identified patients (≥16 years old) with newly diagnosed cancers from 2000 to 2019 in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, representing 27% of US cancers. Multiple primary-standardized mortality ratios (SMR) were used to estimate the relative risk of suicide within 6 months of diagnosis compared to the general US population, adjusted for age, sex, race, and year of follow-up. Suicide rates by 20 most common cancer sites were compared with respective 2-year overall survival rates (i.e., prognosis) using a weighted linear regression model. RESULTS: Among 6,754,704 persons diagnosed with cancer, there were 1610 suicide deaths within 6 months of diagnosis, three times higher than the general population (SMR = 3.1; 95% confidence interval, 3.0-3.3). Suicide risk by cancer site was closely associated with overall prognosis (9.5%/percent survival deficit, R2  = 0.88, p < .0001). The association of prognosis with suicide risk became attenuated over time. For men, the risk of suicide increased by 2.8 suicide deaths per 100,000 person-years (p < .0001) versus 0.3 in women (p < .0001). The risk was also higher for persons ≥60 old and for the White (vs. Black) race. CONCLUSIONS: Poorer prognosis was closely associated with suicide risk early after cancer diagnosis and had a greater effect on populations with higher baseline risks of suicide. This model highlights the need for enhanced psychiatric surveillance and continued research in this patient population.

Changing adolescent activity patterns and the correlation of self-esteem and externalizing mental health symptoms across time: results from the USA from 1991 through 2020.

BACKGROUND: Common adolescent psychiatric symptoms cluster into two dominant domains: internalizing and externalizing. Both domains are linked to self-esteem, which serves as a protective factor against a wide range of internalizing and externalizing problems. This study examined trends in US adolescents' self-esteem and externalizing symptoms, and their correlation, by sex and patterns of time use. METHODS: Using Monitoring the Future data (N = 338 896 adolescents, grades:8/10/12, years:1991-2020), we generated six patterns of time use using latent profile analysis with 17 behavior items (e.g. sports participation, parties, paid work). Groups were differentiated by high/low engagement in sports and either paid work or high/low peer socialization. Within each group, we mapped annual, sex-stratified means of (and correlation between) self-esteem and externalizing factors. We also examined past-decade rates of change for factor means using linear regression and mapped proportions with top-quartile levels of poor self-esteem, externalizing symptoms, or both. RESULTS: We found consistent increases in poor self-esteem, decreases in externalizing symptoms, and a positive correlation between the two across nearly all activity groups. We also identified a relatively constant proportion of those with high levels of both in every group. Increases in poor self-esteem were most pronounced for female adolescents with low levels of socializing, among whom externalizing symptoms also increased. CONCLUSIONS: Rising trends in poor self-esteem are consistent across time use groups, as is the existence of a group facing poor self-esteem and externalizing symptoms. Effective interventions for adolescents' poor self-esteem/co-occurring symptoms are needed broadly, but especially among female adolescents with low peer socialization.

Independent and joint contributions of physical disability and chronic pain to incident opioid use disorder and opioid overdose among Medicaid patients.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain has been extensively explored as a risk factor for opioid misuse, resulting in increased focus on opioid prescribing practices for individuals with such conditions. Physical disability sometimes co-occurs with chronic pain but may also represent an independent risk factor for opioid misuse. However, previous research has not disentangled whether disability contributes to risk independent of chronic pain. METHODS: Here, we estimate the independent and joint adjusted associations between having a physical disability and co-occurring chronic pain condition at time of Medicaid enrollment on subsequent 18-month risk of incident opioid use disorder (OUD) and non-fatal, unintentional opioid overdose among non-elderly, adult Medicaid beneficiaries (2016-2019). RESULTS: We find robust evidence that having a physical disability approximately doubles the risk of incident OUD or opioid overdose, and physical disability co-occurring with chronic pain increases the risks approximately sixfold as compared to having neither chronic pain nor disability. In absolute numbers, those with neither a physical disability nor chronic pain condition have a 1.8% adjusted risk of incident OUD over 18 months of follow-up, those with physical disability alone have an 2.9% incident risk, those with chronic pain alone have a 3.6% incident risk, and those with co-occurring physical disability and chronic pain have a 11.1% incident risk. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that those with a physical disability should receive increased attention from the medical and healthcare communities to reduce their risk of opioid misuse and attendant negative outcomes.

Exposure to Operative Anesthesia in Childhood and Subsequent Neurobehavioral Diagnoses: A Natural Experiment using Appendectomy.

BACKGROUND: Observational studies of anesthetic neurotoxicity may be biased because children requiring anesthesia commonly have medical conditions associated with neurobehavioral problems. This study takes advantage of a natural experiment associated with appendicitis, in order to determine if anesthesia and surgery in childhood were specifically associated with subsequent neurobehavioral outcomes. METHODS: We identified 134,388 healthy children with appendectomy and examined the incidence of subsequent externalizing or behavioral disorders (conduct, impulse control, oppositional defiant, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder); or internalizing or mood/anxiety disorders (depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder) when compared to 671,940 matched healthy controls as identified in Medicaid data between 2001-2018. For comparison, we also examined 154,887 otherwise healthy children admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, cellulitis, and gastroenteritis, of which only 8% received anesthesia, and compared them to 774,435 matched healthy controls. We also examined the difference-in-differences between matched appendectomy patients and their controls and matched medical admission patients and their controls. RESULTS: Compared to controls, children with appendectomy were more likely to have subsequent behavioral disorders (the hazard ratio (HR) was 1.04 (95% CI 1.01, 1.06), P = 0.0010), and mood/anxiety disorders (HR: 1.15 (95% CI 1.13, 1.17), P < 0.0001). Relative to controls, children with medical admissions were also more likely to have subsequent behavioral (HR: 1.20 (95% CI 1.18, 1.22), P < 0.0001), and mood/anxiety (HR: 1.25 (95% CI 1.23, 1.27), P < 0.0001) disorders. Comparing the difference between matched appendectomy patients and their matched controls to the difference between matched medical patients and their matched controls, medical patients had more subsequent neurobehavioral problems than appendectomy patients. CONCLUSIONS: Although there is an association between neurobehavioral diagnoses and appendectomy, this association is not specific to anesthesia exposure, and is stronger in medical admissions. Medical admissions, generally without anesthesia exposure, displayed significantly higher rates of these disorders than appendectomy-exposed patients.

Hindcasts and forecasts of suicide mortality in US: A modeling study.

Deaths by suicide, as well as suicidal ideations, plans and attempts, have been increasing in the US for the past two decades. Deployment of effective interventions would require timely, geographically well-resolved estimates of suicide activity. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of a two-step process for predicting suicide mortality: a) generation of hindcasts, mortality estimates for past months for which observational data would not have been available if forecasts were generated in real-time; and b) generation of forecasts with observational data augmented with hindcasts. Calls to crisis hotline services and online queries to the Google search engine for suicide-related terms were used as proxy data sources to generate hindcasts. The primary hindcast model (auto) is an Autoregressive Integrated Moving average model (ARIMA), trained on suicide mortality rates alone. Three regression models augment hindcast estimates from auto with call rates (calls), GHT search rates (ght) and both datasets together (calls_ght). The 4 forecast models used are ARIMA models trained with corresponding hindcast estimates. All models were evaluated against a baseline random walk with drift model. Rolling monthly 6-month ahead forecasts for all 50 states between 2012 and 2020 were generated. Quantile score (QS) was used to assess the quality of the forecast distributions. Median QS for auto was better than baseline (0.114 vs. 0.21. Median QS of augmented models were lower than auto, but not significantly different from each other (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p > .05). Forecasts from augmented models were also better calibrated. Together, these results provide evidence that proxy data can address delays in release of suicide mortality data and improve forecast quality. An operational forecast system of state-level suicide risk may be feasible with sustained engagement between modelers and public health departments to appraise data sources and methods as well as to continuously evaluate forecast accuracy.

Association of 7-Day Follow-Up With 6-Month Suicide Mortality Following Hospitalization for Suicidal Thoughts or Behaviors Among Older Adults.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether timely follow-up outpatient mental health care is associated with reduced short-term suicide risk following hospitalization for suicidal thoughts or behaviors. METHODS: Retrospective cohort analysis using 2015 Medicare data for adults aged ≥ 65 years who were hospitalized for suicidal ideation or behaviors (n = 36,557) linked with the National Death Index. Adjusted risk ratios (ARR) estimated the association between 7-day follow-up and suicide risk at 30-, 90-, and 180-days, adjusted for confounding by indication using inverse probability of treatment weights of observable covariates. RESULTS: Overall, 39.3% of patients received 7-day follow-up, which was associated with 41% higher risk of suicide within 180 days. Follow-up care was associated with higher suicide risk for Medicare Advantage enrollees, patients with no recent prior mental health care, and those admitted for suicidal behaviors. CONCLUSION: Results suggest 7-day follow-up care was not associated with lower post-discharge suicide risk. For this high-risk group, suicide-specific interventions may be needed during the critical postdischarge period.

Behavioural disorders after prenatal exposure to anaesthesia for maternal surgery.

BACKGROUND: The association between prenatal exposure to general anaesthesia for maternal surgery during pregnancy and subsequent risk of disruptive or internalising behavioural disorder diagnosis in the child has not been well-defined. METHODS: A nationwide sample of pregnant women linked to their liveborn infants was evaluated using the Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX, 1999-2013). Multivariate matching was used to match each child prenatally exposed to general anaesthesia owing to maternal appendectomy or cholecystectomy during pregnancy with five unexposed children. The primary outcome was diagnosis of a disruptive or internalising behavioural disorder in children. Secondary outcomes included diagnoses for a range of other neuropsychiatric disorders. RESULTS: We matched 34,271 prenatally exposed children with 171,355 unexposed children in the database. Prenatally exposed children were more likely than unexposed children to receive a diagnosis of a disruptive or internalising behavioural disorder (hazard ratio [HR], 1.31; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23-1.40). For secondary outcomes, increased hazards of disruptive (HR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.24-1.41) and internalising (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.20-1.53) behavioural disorders were identified, and also increased hazards of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (HR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.22-1.43), behavioural disorders (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.14-1.42), developmental speech or language disorders (HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.05-1.28), and autism (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.05-1.64). CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to general anaesthesia is associated with a 31% increased risk for a subsequent diagnosis of a disruptive or internalising behavioural disorder in children. Caution is advised when making any clinical decisions regarding care of pregnant women, as avoidance of necessary surgery during pregnancy can have detrimental effects on mothers and their children.

Excess mortality and its causes among older adults with schizophrenia versus those with bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder: a 5-year prospective multicenter study.

Excess mortality observed in people with schizophrenia may persist in later life. The specific causes of increased mortality observed in older adults with schizophrenia and the potential influence of psychotropic medications remain partly unknown. We compared 5-year mortality and its causes of older adults with schizophrenia to bipolar disorder (BD) or major depressive disorder (MDD). We used a 5-year prospective cohort, including 564 older inpatients and outpatients with schizophrenia, BD or MDD (mean age: 67.9 years, SD = 7.2 years). Causes of death were cardiovascular disorder (CVD) mortality, non-CVD disease-related mortality (e.g., infections), suicide, and unintentional injury. The primary analysis was a multivariable logistic model with inverse probability weighting (IPW) to reduce the effects of confounders, including sociodemographic factors, duration and severity of the disorder, and psychiatric and non-psychiatric comorbidity. Five-year all-cause mortality among older participants with schizophrenia and with BD or MDD were 29.4% (n = 89) and 18.4% (n = 45), respectively. Following adjustments, schizophrenia compared to MDD or BD was significantly associated with increased all-cause mortality (AOR = 1.35; 95%CI = 1.04-1.76; p = 0.024) and cardiovascular mortality (AOR = 1.50; 95%CI = 1.13-1.99; p = 0.005). These associations were significantly reduced among patients taking antidepressants [interaction odds ratio (IOR) = 0.42; 95%CI = 0.22-0.79; p = 0.008 and IOR = 0.39: 95%CI = 0.16-0.94; p = 0.035, respectively]. Schizophrenia was associated with higher mortality compared to BD or MDD. Cardiovascular diseases explained most of this excess mortality. Exploratory analyses suggested that psychotropic medications did not influence this excess mortality, except for antidepressants, which were associated with significantly reduced between-group difference in all-cause and cardiovascular mortality.

Trends in mortality after emergency department presentation for suicidal behaviour in California.

INTRODUCTION: Emergency department patients presenting with non-fatal suicidal behaviour face elevated risk of suicide and all-cause mortality, but the extent to which this has changed over time is unknown. This study tracked trends in mortality risks faced by emergency department patients presenting with deliberate self-harm and suicidal ideation in California. METHODS: Using statewide linked emergency department and death data, we estimated 2010-2016 trends in suicide and all-cause mortality among emergency department patients with either deliberate self-harm (n=111 658) or suicidal ideation (n=162 959). We also calculated average annual percent changes in age-adjusted mortality rates and compared these to the general California population. RESULTS: Deliberate self-harm and suicidal ideation patients' age-adjusted suicide rates decreased by approximately 5% per year during the study period; however, their all-cause mortality trends were flat. In the general California population, suicide rate trends were flat while all-cause mortality slightly declined. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide mortality unexpectedly declined among self-harming and suicidal patients presenting to California emergency departments. Additional research is needed to understand the reasons behind this decline and inform quality improvement efforts for suicide prevention in hospital settings.

Poverty and birth cohort effects of experiencing the 2007-2009 Great Recession during adolescence on major depressive episodes and mental health treatment of young adults in the United States.

PURPOSE: Household economic adversity during adolescence is hypothesized to be a risk factor for poor mental health later in life. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a quasi-experimental analysis of an economic shock, the Great Recession of 2007-2009. We tested if going through adolescence during the Great Recession was associated with increased risk of major depressive episodes (MDE) and mental health treatment in young adulthood with potential moderation by household poverty to explore differences by economic adversity. METHODS: We analyzed data on young adults age 18-29 years from the 2005-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N = 145,394). We compared participants who were adolescents during the recession to those followed-up prior to the recession. Regression analysis tested effect modification by household poverty status. RESULTS: Adolescent exposure to the Great Recession was associated with higher likelihood of MDE during young adulthood (aOR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.23, 1.37); there was no relationship with mental health treatment. Effects on MDE were stronger among those in households with higher incomes compared to those living in poverty. CONCLUSION: Findings support the hypothesis that exposure to the Great Recession during adolescence may have increased risk for MDE, but raise questions about whether the mechanism of this association is economic distress.

Care challenges and silver linings in HIV and behavioral health service delivery for individuals living with HIV and severe mental illness during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: There has been a longstanding effort to integrate behavioral health and HIV care for people with comorbid HIV and behavioral health needs, including those with severe mental illness (SMI). As this population frequents both behavioral health and HIV care settings, they were likely to experience new obstacles to the quality and availability of care during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to describe how clinics for HIV services or behavioral healthcare-as well as co-located sites providing both-sought to rapidly shift protocols to maintain a standard of patient care for people with comorbid HIV and SMI while adapting to the unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic. METHODS: We interviewed HIV and behavioral healthcare providers, clinic leaders, and support service agencies that served clients impacted by both HIV and SMI. Seventeen key informants across three settings (HIV care settings, behavioral health care settings, and integrated or co-located care settings) were interviewed in 2022. Interviews focused on changes in clinical services, protocols, and care provision strategies during and at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews were transcribed and coded using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Commonly endorsed themes included both positive and negative changes in care and care provision during the pandemic. Negative impacts of the pandemic included the loss of physical space, exacerbated mental health needs and disengagement in HIV care, patient barriers to telehealth and the digital divide, and increased healthcare workforce burnout. Positive changes included improved healthcare delivery and care engagement through telehealth, new opportunities to provide a wide range of social services, paradoxical increases in engagement in HIV care for certain patients, and broad institution of workforce wellness practices. CONCLUSIONS: Though COVID-19 presented several complex barriers to care for providers serving patients with comorbid HIV and SMI, the increased flexibility afforded by telehealth and a greater focus on collaborative approaches to patient care may benefit this patient population in the future. Additionally, the focus on workforce wellness may serve to increase retention and avoid burnout among providers. The strategies and lessons learned through adapting to COVID-19 may be invaluable moving forward as healthcare systems respond to future pandemics.

Fatal Drug Overdose Risks of Health Care Workers in the United States : A Population-Based Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Despite an unprecedented increase in drug overdose deaths in the United States, the risks faced by U.S. health care workers, who often have access to controlled prescription drugs, are not known. OBJECTIVE: To estimate risks for drug overdose death among health care workers relative to non-health care workers. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: United States. PARTICIPANTS: Health care workers (n = 176 000) and non-health care workers (n = 1 662 000) aged 26 years or older surveyed in 2008 and followed for cause of death through 2019. MEASUREMENTS: Age- and sex-standardized drug overdose deaths were determined for 6 health care worker groups (physicians, registered nurses, other treating or diagnosing health care workers, health technicians, health care support workers, and social or behavioral health workers) and non-health care workers. Adjusted drug overdose death hazards (and 95% CIs) were also evaluated, with adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, marital status, education, income, urban or rural residence, and region. RESULTS: Approximately 0.07% of our study sample died of a drug overdose during follow-up. Among health care workers, annual standardized rates of drug overdose death per 100 000 persons ranged from 2.3 (95% CI, 0 to 4.8) for physicians to 15.5 (CI, 9.8 to 21.2) for social or behavioral health workers. Compared with those for non-health care workers, the adjusted hazards of total drug overdose death were significantly increased for social or behavioral health workers (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.55 [CI, 1.74 to 3.73]), registered nurses (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.22 [CI, 1.57 to 3.13]), and health care support workers (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.60 [CI, 1.19 to 2.16]), but not for physicians (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.61 [CI, 0.19 to 1.93]), other treating or diagnosing health care workers (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.93 [CI, 0.44 to 1.95]), or health technicians (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.13 [CI, 0.75 to 1.68]). Results were generally similar for opioid-related overdose deaths and unintentional overdose deaths. LIMITATION: Unmeasured confounding, uncertain validity of cause of death, and one-time assessment of occupation. CONCLUSION: Registered nurses, social or behavioral health workers, and health care support workers were at increased risk for drug overdose death, suggesting the need to identify and intervene on those at high risk. PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Population-Based Opioid Prescribing and Overdose Deaths in the USA: an Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Rising opioid-related death rates have prompted reductions of opioid prescribing, yet limited data exist on population-level associations between opioid prescribing and opioid-related deaths. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate population-level associations between five opioid prescribing measures and opioid-related deaths. DESIGN: An ecological panel analysis was performed using linear regression models with year and commuting zone fixed effects. PARTICIPANTS: People ≥10 years aggregated into 886 commuting zones, which are geographic regions collectively comprising the entire USA. MAIN MEASURES: Annual opioid prescriptions were measured with IQVIA Real World Longitudinal Prescription Data including 76.5% (2009) to 90.0% (2017) of US prescriptions. Prescription measures included opioid prescriptions per capita, percent of population with ≥1 opioid prescription, percent with high-dose prescription, percent with long-term prescription, and percent with opioid prescriptions from ≥3 prescribers. Outcomes were age- and sex-standardized associations of change in opioid prescriptions with change in deaths involving any opioids, synthetics other than methadone, heroin but not synthetics or methadone, and prescription opioids, but not other opioids. KEY RESULTS: Change in total regional opioid-related deaths was positively correlated with change in regional opioid prescriptions per capita (ß=.110, p<.001), percent with ≥1 opioid prescription (ß=.100, p=.001), and percent with high-dose prescription (ß=.081, p<.001). Change in total regional deaths involving prescription opioids was positively correlated with change in all five opioid prescribing measures. Conversely, change in total regional deaths involving synthetic opioids was negatively correlated with change in percent with long-term opioid prescriptions and percent with ≥3 prescribers, but not for persons ≥45 years. Change in total regional deaths in heroin was not associated with change in any prescription measure. CONCLUSIONS: Regional decreases in opioid prescriptions were associated with declines in overdose deaths involving prescription opioids, but were also associated with increases in deaths involving synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl). Individual-level inferences are limited by the ecological nature of the analysis.

Toward a generalized developmental model of psychopathological liabilities and psychiatric disorders.

BACKGROUND: Most psychiatric disorders are associated with several risk factors, but a few underlying psychopathological dimensions account for the common co-occurrence of disorders. If these underlying psychopathological dimensions mediate associations of the risk factors with psychiatric disorders, it would support a trans-diagnostic orientation to etiological research and treatment development. METHOD: An analysis was performed of the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions III (NESARC-III), a US nationally representative sample of non-institutionalized civilian adults, focusing on respondents who were aged ⩾21 (n = 34 712). Structural equation modeling was used to identify the psychopathological dimensions underlying psychiatric disorders; to examine associations between risk factors, psychopathological dimensions and individual disorders; and to test whether associations of risk factors occurring earlier in life were mediated by risk factors occurring later in life. RESULTS: A bifactor model of 13 axis I disorders provided a good fit (CFI = 0.987, TLI = 0.982, and RMSEA = 0.011) including an overall psychopathology factor as measured by all 13 disorders and 2 specific factors, one for externalizing disorders and one for fear-related disorders. A substantial proportion of the total effects of the risk factors occurring early in life were indirectly mediated through factors occurring later in life. All risk factors showed a significant total effect on the general psychopathology, externalizing and fear-related factors. Only 23 of 325 direct associations of risk factors with psychiatric disorders achieved statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Most risk factors for psychiatric disorders are mediated through broad psychopathological dimensions. The central role of these dimensions supports trans-diagnostic etiological and intervention research.

Clinical significance of psychotic-like experiences across U.S. ethnoracial groups.

BACKGROUND: Prevalence of psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) - reports of hallucinations and delusional thinking not meeting criteria for psychotic disorder - varies substantially across ethnoracial groups. What explains this range of PLE prevalence? Despite extensive research, the clinical significance of PLEs remains unclear. Are PLE prevalence and clinical severity differentially associated across ethnoracial groups? METHODS: We examined the lifetime prevalence and clinical significance of PLEs across ethnoracial groups in the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (N = 11 139) using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) psychosis symptom screener. Outcomes included mental healthcare use (inpatient, outpatient), mental health morbidity (self-perceived poor/fair mental health, suicidal ideation or attempts), and impairment (role interference). Individuals with outcome onsets prior to PLE onset were excluded. We also examined associations of PLEs with CIDI diagnoses. Cox proportional-hazards regression and logistic regression modeling identified associations of interest. RESULTS: Contrary to previous reports, only Asian Americans differed significantly from other U.S. ethnoracial groups, reporting lower lifetime prevalence (6.7% v. 8.0-11.9%) and mean number (0.09 v. 0.11-0.18) of PLEs. In multivariate analyses, PLE clinical significance showed limited ethnoracial variation among Asian Americans, non-Caribbean Latinos, and Afro-Caribbeans. In other groups, mental health outcomes showed significant ethnoracial clustering by outcome (e.g. hospitalization and role interference with Caribbean-Latino origin), possibly due to underlying differences in psychiatric disorder chronicity or treatment barriers. CONCLUSIONS: While there is limited ethnoracial variation in U.S. PLE prevalence, PLE clinical significance varies across U.S. ethnoracial groups. Clinicians should consider this variation when assessing PLEs to avoid exaggerating their clinical significance, contributing to mental healthcare disparities.

Phenotypic distinctions in depression and anxiety: a comparative analysis of comorbid and isolated cases.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety and depression are frequently comorbid yet phenotypically distinct. This study identifies differences in the clinically observable phenome across a wide variety of physical and mental disorders comparing patients with diagnoses of depression without anxiety, anxiety without depression, or both depression and anxiety. METHODS: Using electronic health records for 14 994 participants with depression and/or anxiety in the Mayo Clinic Biobank, a phenotype-based phenome-wide association study (Phe2WAS) was performed to test for differences between these groups across a broad range of clinical diagnoses observed in the electronic health record. Additional analyses were performed to determine the temporal sequencing of diagnoses. RESULTS: Compared to patients diagnosed only with anxiety, those diagnosed only with depression were more likely to have diagnoses of obesity (OR 1.75; p = 1 × 10-27), sleep apnea (OR 1.71; p = 1 × 10-22), and type II diabetes (OR 1.74; p = 9 × 10-18). Compared to those diagnosed only with depression, those diagnosed only with anxiety were more likely to have diagnoses of palpitations (OR 1.91; p = 2 × 10-25), benign skin neoplasms (OR 1.61; p = 2 × 10-17), and cardiac dysrhythmias (OR 1.45; p = 2 × 10-12). Patients with comorbid depression and anxiety were more likely to have diagnoses of other mental health disorders, substance use disorders, sleep problems, and gastroesophageal reflux relative to isolated depression. CONCLUSIONS: While depression and anxiety are closely related, this study suggests that phenotypic distinctions exist between depression and anxiety. Improving phenotypic characterization within the broad categories of depression and anxiety could improve the clinical assessment of depression and anxiety.

The importance of social activity to risk of major depression in older adults.

BACKGROUND: Several social determinants of health (SDoH) have been associated with the onset of major depressive disorder (MDD). However, prior studies largely focused on individual SDoH and thus less is known about the relative importance (RI) of SDoH variables, especially in older adults. Given that risk factors for MDD may differ across the lifespan, we aimed to identify the SDoH that was most strongly related to newly diagnosed MDD in a cohort of older adults. METHODS: We used self-reported health-related survey data from 41 174 older adults (50-89 years, median age = 67 years) who participated in the Mayo Clinic Biobank, and linked ICD codes for MDD in the participants' electronic health records. Participants with a history of clinically documented or self-reported MDD prior to survey completion were excluded from analysis (N = 10 938, 27%). We used Cox proportional hazards models with a gradient boosting machine approach to quantify the RI of 30 pre-selected SDoH variables on the risk of future MDD diagnosis. RESULTS: Following biobank enrollment, 2073 older participants were diagnosed with MDD during the follow-up period (median duration = 6.7 years). The most influential SDoH was perceived level of social activity (RI = 0.17). Lower level of social activity was associated with a higher risk of MDD [hazard ratio = 2.27 (95% CI 2.00-2.50) for highest v. lowest level]. CONCLUSION: Across a range of SDoH variables, perceived level of social activity is most strongly related to MDD in older adults. Monitoring changes in the level of social activity may help identify older adults at an increased risk of MDD.