National Trends in Emergency Department Visits for Suicide Attempts and Intentional Self-Harm.

OBJECTIVE: This study estimated national annual trends and characteristics of emergency department visits for suicide attempts and intentional self-harm in the United States from 2011 to 2020. METHODS: Data were from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, an annual cross-sectional national sample survey of emergency departments. Visits for suicide attempts and intentional self-harm were identified using discharge diagnosis codes (ICD-9-CM for 2011-2015; ICD-10-CM for 2016-2020) or reason-for-visit codes. The annual proportion of emergency department visits for suicide attempts and intentional self-harm was estimated. RESULTS: The weighted number of emergency department visits for suicide attempts and intentional self-harm increased from 1.43 million, or 0.6% of total emergency department visits, in 2011-2012 to 5.37 million, or 2.1% of total emergency department visits in 2019-2020 (average annual percent change, 19.5%, 95% CI=16.9, 22.2). Visits per capita increased from 261 to 871 visits per 100,000 persons (average annual percent change, 18.8%, 95% CI=17.6, 20.0). The increase in visits was widely distributed across sociodemographic groups. While suicide attempt and intentional self-harm visits were most common among adolescents, adults age 65 or older demonstrated the largest increase (average annual percent change, 30.2%, 95% CI=28.5, 32.0). Drug-related diagnoses were the most common co-occurring diagnosis among suicide attempt and intentional self-harm visits. Despite the rise in emergency department visits for suicide attempts and intentional self-harm, less than 16% included an evaluation by a mental health professional. CONCLUSIONS: A significant national increase in emergency department visits for suicide attempts and intentional self-harm occurred from 2011 to 2020, as a proportion of total emergency department visits and as visits per capita. These trends underscore an urgent need to improve the continuum of mental health care for individuals with suicidal symptoms.

Cervical Cancer Screening Among Female Medicaid Beneficiaries With and Without Schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS: In the United States, women with schizophrenia face challenges in receiving gynecologic care, but little is known about how cervical cancer screening rates vary across time or states in a publicly insured population. We hypothesized that women Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia would be less likely to receive cervical cancer screening across the United States compared with a control population, and that women with schizophrenia and other markers of vulnerability would be least likely to receive screening. STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective cohort study used US Medicaid administrative data from across 44 states between 2002 and 2012 and examined differences in cervical cancer screening test rates among 283 950 female Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia and a frequency-matched control group without serious mental illness, matched on age and race/ethnicity. Among women with schizophrenia, multivariable logistic regression estimated the odds of receiving cervical cancer screening using individual sociodemographics, comorbid conditions, and health care service utilization. STUDY RESULTS: Compared to the control group, women with schizophrenia were less likely to receive cervical cancer screening (OR = 0.76; 95% CI 0.75-0.77). Among women with schizophrenia, nonwhite populations, younger women, urban dwellers, those with substance use disorders, anxiety, and depression and those connected to primary care were more likely to complete screening. CONCLUSIONS: Cervical cancer screening rates among US women Medicaid beneficiaries with schizophrenia were suboptimal. To address cervical cancer care disparities for this population, interventions are needed to prioritize women with schizophrenia who are less engaged with the health care system or who reside in rural areas.

Alcohol-Related Deaths of US Health Care Workers.

This cohort study investigates the risk of alcohol-related death among US health care workers compared with non­health care workers.

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.

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.

Physician Antipsychotic Overprescribing Letters and Cognitive, Behavioral, and Physical Health Outcomes Among People With Dementia: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Antipsychotics, such as quetiapine, are frequently prescribed to people with dementia to address behavioral symptoms but can also cause harm in this population. Objective: To determine whether warning letters to high prescribers of quetiapine can successfully reduce its use among patients with dementia and to investigate the impacts on patients' health outcomes. Design, Setting, and Participants: This is a secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial of overprescribing letters that began in April 2015 and included the highest-volume primary care physician (PCP) prescribers of quetiapine in original Medicare. Outcomes of patients with dementia were analyzed in repeated 90-day cross-sections through December 2018. Analyses were conducted from September 2021 to February 2024. Interventions: PCPs were randomized to a placebo letter or 3 overprescribing warning letters stating that their prescribing of quetiapine was high and under review by Medicare. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome of this analysis was patients' total quetiapine use in days per 90-day period (the original trial primary outcome was total quetiapine prescribing by study PCPs). Prespecified secondary outcomes included measures of cognitive function and behavioral symptoms from nursing home assessments, indicators of depression from screening questionnaires in assessments and diagnoses in claims, metabolic diagnoses derived from assessments and claims, indicators of use of the hospital and other health care services, and death. Outcomes were analyzed separately for patients living in nursing homes and in the community. Results: Of the 5055 study PCPs, 2528 were randomized to the placebo letter, and 2527 were randomized to the 3 warning letters. A total of 84 881 patients with dementia living in nursing homes and 261 288 community-dwelling patients with dementia were attributed to these PCPs. There were 92 874 baseline patients (mean [SD] age, 81.5 [10.5] years; 64 242 female [69.2%]). The intervention reduced quetiapine use among both nursing home patients (adjusted difference, -0.7 days; 95% CI, -1.3 to -0.1 days; P = .02) and community-dwelling patients (adjusted difference, -1.5 days; 95% CI, -1.8 to -1.1 days; P < .001). There were no detected adverse effects on cognitive function (cognitive function scale adjusted difference, 0.01; 95% CI, -0.01 to 0.03; P = .19), behavioral symptoms (agitated or reactive behavior adjusted difference, -0.2%; 95% CI -1.2% to 0.8% percentage points; P = .72), depression, metabolic diagnoses, or more severe outcomes, including hospitalization and death. Conclusions and Relevance: This study found that overprescribing warning letters to PCPs safely reduced quetiapine prescribing to their patients with dementia. This intervention and others like it may be useful for future efforts to promote guideline-concordant care. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05172687.

Inpatient antipsychotic medication switching and rehospitalization risk among patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.

OBJECTIVE: To describe patterns of antipsychotic switching among patients hospitalized for schizophrenia and to correlate antipsychotic switching with hospital readmission risk. METHODS: We identified 3295 patients with index hospitalizations for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder from New York State Medicaid claims 2017-2018 who had filled at least one prescription for an antipsychotic in both the 44 days (one month +14 day grace period) prior to and after their admission. We identified patients who had kept or switched any of their antipsychotic medication between the pre- and post-periods surrounding their index hospitalization. We compared the kept and switched any groups, adjusting for patient characteristics. RESULTS: Of patients who had filled antipsychotic prescriptions in both the 44 days prior to and after their hospitalization, 1599 (48.6 %) had switched at least one antipsychotic and 1215 (36.8 %) had switched their primary antipsychotic. Switching any antipsychotic was associated with increased hazards of readmission, HR = 1.21, 95%CI 1.09-1.35, which was slightly concentrated during the first 90 days after hospital discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Switching antipsychotic medications during hospitalization occurs commonly and is associated with higher rehospitalization risk following hospital discharge.

Psychiatric comorbidities and prescribing tendencies of sleep medications and related medications in young people with insomnia: a United States commercial claims-based analysis.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To characterize children and youth newly diagnosed with insomnia and to describe their use of sleep and other related prescription medications. METHODS: Within a commercial claims database (January 1, 2016-December 31, 2021), we identified children and youth (2-24 years) with a newly recorded insomnia diagnosis (G47.0x; F51.0x) and examined psychiatric diagnoses in the prior 6 months. We evaluated sleep and related prescription medications dispensed in the week after new insomnia diagnoses (i.e. trazodone, other antidepressants, hydroxyzine, alpha-agonists, benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine hypnotics "z-drugs," antipsychotics, and others). Analyses were stratified by age and psychiatric comorbidities. RESULTS: Among 68 698 children and 108 118 older youth (18-24 years) with a new insomnia diagnosis, three-quarters had a diagnosed comorbid psychiatric condition; anxiety disorders, depression, and ADHD were the most common. Among those without comorbid psychiatric diagnoses, 20.2% of children and 37.4% of older youth had a sleep or related medication dispensed in the following week. In children without a comorbid psychiatric diagnosis, alpha-agonists, hydroxyzine, and trazodone were the most common medications; in older youth, trazodone was the most common medication followed by hydroxyzine, z-drugs, and SSRIs. Sleep and related prescription medications were more commonly dispensed to those with psychiatric comorbidities. From 2017 to 2021, there was an increase in hydroxyzine prescriptions following a new insomnia diagnosis and decline in z-drug and benzodiazepine prescriptions. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings from a nationwide sample of young people with insomnia highlight the high prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities and variety of sleep and related medications they receive. Characterizing prescribing tendencies informs guideline development and future research.

Impact of Emergency Department Safety Planning on 30-Day Mental Health Service Use.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the association between emergency department (ED) safety planning and subsequent use of mental health care among individuals treated in the ED for suicidal behavior and to determine whether subsequent use differed by patients' receipt of recent mental health care. METHODS: Data from 130 hospitals, derived from a 2017-2018 national hospital survey, were paired with national health insurance data from 2,328 patients with suicidal behavior treated in the EDs of these hospitals. Rates of ED readmission, inpatient admission, and outpatient mental health follow-up care in the 30 days after discharge from the index ED visit were examined. RESULTS: During the 30 days after discharge from the index visit, readmissions to the ED (18% vs. 22%) and inpatient admissions (12% vs. 15%) for suicidal behavior or other mental health issues were significantly lower among patients treated in the EDs that routinely implemented safety planning, compared with those that did not, respectively. Among patients who had not received mental health care within 30 days before the index visit, those treated in an ED implementing routine safety planning were about half as likely (adjusted risk ratio=0.60) as those treated in an ED without such planning to have an ED readmission. CONCLUSIONS: Safety planning was associated with fewer subsequent ED and inpatient admissions among patients treated in the ED for suicidal behavior. The authors recommend that safety planning be universally implemented in EDs and included in routine outpatient care.

Mental Health Impairment and Outpatient Mental Health Care of US Children and Adolescents.

Importance: Despite a federal declaration of a national child and adolescent mental health crisis in 2021, little is known about recent national trends in mental health impairment and outpatient mental health treatment of US children and adolescents. Objective: To characterize trends in mental health impairment and outpatient mental health care among US children and adolescents from 2019 to 2021 across demographic groups and levels of impairment. Design, Setting, and Participants: Survey study with a repeated cross-sectional analysis of mental health impairment and outpatient mental health care use among youth (ages 6-17 years) within the 2019 and 2021 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys, nationally representative surveys of US households. Race and ethnicity were parent reported separately from 15 racial categories and 8 ethnic categories that were aggregated into Black, non-Hispanic; Hispanic; Other, non-Hispanic; and White, non-Hispanic. Exposure: Time period from 2019 to 2021. Main Outcomes and Measures: Age- and sex-adjusted differences between 2019 and 2021 in mental health impairment measured with the Columbia Impairment Scale (a score ≥16 indicates severe; 1-15, less severe; and 0, no impairment) and age-, sex-, and Columbia Impairment Scale strata-adjusted differences in the use of any outpatient mental health care in 2019 and 2021. Results: The analysis involved 8331 participants, including 4031 girls and 4300 boys; among them, 1248 were Black and 3385 were White. The overall mean (SE) age was 11.6 (3.4) years. The percentage of children and adolescents with severe mental health impairment was 9.7% in 2019 and 9.4% in 2021 (adjusted difference, -0.3%; 95% CI, -1.9% to 1.2%). Between 2019 and 2021, there was also no significant difference in the percentage of children and adolescents with less severe impairment and no impairment. The overall annual percentages of children with any outpatient mental health care showed little change: 11.9% in 2019 and 13.0% in 2021 (adjusted difference, 1.3%; 95% CI, -0.4% to 3.0%); however, this masked widening differences by race. Outpatient mental health care decreased for Black youth from 9.2% in 2019 to 4.0% in 2021 (adjusted difference, -4.3%; 95% CI, -7.3% to -1.4%) and increased for White youth from 15.1% to 18.4% (adjusted difference, 3.0%; 95% CI, 0.0% to 6.0%). Conclusions and Relevance: Between 2019 and 2021, there was little change in the overall percentage of US children and adolescents with severe mental health impairment. During this period, however, there was a significant increase in the gap separating outpatient mental health care of Black and White youth.

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.

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.

Comparative effectiveness of extended release naltrexone and sublingual buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder among Medicaid patients.

Aims: To compare the real-world effectiveness of extended release naltrexone (XR-NTX) and sublingual buprenorphine (SL-BUP) for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). Design: An observational active comparator, new user cohort study. Setting: Medicaid claims records for patients in New Jersey and California, 2016-2019. Participants/Cases: Adult Medicaid patients aged 18-64 years who initiated XR-NTX or SL-BUP for maintenance treatment of OUD and did not use medications for OUD in the 90-days before initiation. Comparators: New initiation with XR-NTX versus SL-BUP for the treatment of OUD. Measurements: We examined two outcomes up to 180 days after medication initiation, 1) composite of medication discontinuation and death, and 2) composite of overdose and death. Findings: Our cohort included 1,755 XR-NTX and 9,886 SL-BUP patients. In adjusted analyses, treatment with XR-NTX was more likely to result in discontinuation or death by the end of follow-up than treatment with SL-BUP: cumulative risk 76% (95% confidence interval [CI] 75%, 78%) versus 62% (95% CI 61%, 63%), respectively (risk difference 14 percentage points, 95% CI 13, 16). There was minimal difference in the cumulative risk of overdose or death by the end of follow-up: XR-NTX 3.8% (95% CI 2.9%, 4.7%) versus SL-BUP 3.3% (95% 2.9%, 3.7%); risk difference 0.5 percentage points, 95%CI -0.5, 1.5. Results were consistent across sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: Longer medication retention is important because risks of negative outcomes are elevated after discontinuation. Our results support selection of SL-BUP over XR-NTX. However, most patients discontinued medication by 6 months indicating that more effective tools are needed to improve medication retention, particularly after initiation with XR-NTX, and to identify which patients do best on which medication.

Gender Differences in the Association Between Screen Time and Depression.

Introduction: Previous research has shown that screen time is associated with depression, especially in children. Some evidence further suggests that the association may be stronger in women than in men, although findings are inconclusive. This cross-sectional study examines the association between screen time and depression in representative U.S. adults, stratified by gender. Methods: This study used data from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; analysis was conducted in 2023. Screen time was partitioned into 3 categories-0-2 hours, 3-4 hours, and >4 hours-and included TV and computer time. Depression was defined as a Patient Health Questionnaire score ≥10. TV time and computer time were also analyzed as separate exposures. A multivariable logistic regression model examined the association between screen time and depression. Results: Results showed that there was a significant interaction between gender and screen time. An association between the highest screen time exposure group and depression was observed for women (>4 hours per day: OR=3.09; 95% CI=1.68, 5.70). The type of screen time affected the relationship, with TV showing a stronger association than computer time. There were no significant associations in men across all exposure groups. Conclusions: Further research is needed to determine whether higher levels of screen time, especially TV, may be a depression risk marker for women but not men.

Lifetime Suicide Attempts in Otherwise Psychiatrically Healthy Individuals.

Importance: Not all people who die by suicide have a psychiatric diagnosis; yet, little is known about the percentage and demographics of individuals with lifetime suicide attempts who are apparently psychiatrically healthy. If such suicide attempts are common, there are implications for suicide risk screening, research, policy, and nosology. Objective: To estimate the percentage of people with lifetime suicide attempts whose first attempt occurred prior to onset of any psychiatric disorder. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional study used data from the US National Epidemiologic Study of Addictions and Related Conditions III (NESARC-III), a cross-sectional face-to-face survey conducted with a nationally representative sample of the US civilian noninstitutionalized population, and included persons with lifetime suicide attempts who were aged 20 to 65 years at survey administration (April 2012 to June 2013). Data from the NESARC, Wave 2 survey from August 2004 to September 2005 were used for replication. Analyses were performed from April to August 2023. Exposure: Lifetime suicide attempts. Main Outcomes and Measures: The main outcome was presence or absence of a psychiatric disorder before the first lifetime suicide attempt. Among persons with lifetime suicide attempts, the percentage and 95% CI of those whose first suicide attempt occurred before the onset of any apparent psychiatric disorders was calculated, weighted by NESARC sampling and nonresponse weights. Separate analyses were performed for males, females, and 3 age groups (20 to <35, 35-50, and >50 to 65 years). Results: In the total sample of 36 309 respondents, 1948 persons had lifetime suicide attempts; 66.8% (95% CI, 64.1%-69.4%) were female, and 6.2% (95% CI, 4.9%-7.4%) had no apparent lifetime psychiatric diagnoses when surveyed. In addition, 13.4% (95% CI, 11.6%-15.2%) made their first suicide attempt prior to psychiatric disorder onset. Thus, an estimated 19.6% of respondents first attempted suicide without an antecedent psychiatric disorder. No significant age or sex differences were detected in the percentage of those with lifetime suicide attempts absent psychiatric disorders, although females were more likely than males to attempt suicide in the year of psychiatric disorder onset (14.9% [95% CI, 12.5%-17.3%] vs 8.6% [95% CI, 6.0%-11.2%]; P < .001), and attempts were less frequent among those older than 50 to 65 years (3.9% [95% CI, 3.5%-4.4%] vs 6.1% [95% CI, 5.4%-6.8%] for 35-50 years and 6.2% [95% CI, 5.6%-6.9%] for 20 to <35 years; P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance: In this study, an estimated 19.6% of individuals who attempted suicide did so despite not meeting criteria for an antecedent psychiatric disorder. This finding challenges clinical notions of who is at risk for suicidal behavior and raises questions about the safety of limiting suicide risk screening to psychiatric populations.

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.

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.