Antidepressants Safe in Pregnancy; Psych Hospital Staffing Shortages; COVID Delirium

Antidepressants were cleared of neurodevelopment disorder risk in kids exposed in utero, according to a study of over 145,000 pregnancies. (JAMA Internal Medicine)

Nearly 20% of inpatient psychiatric beds lay empty due to staffing shortages in Massachusetts — up 9% since February 2021 — according to a survey from the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association and the Massachusetts Association of Behavioral Health Systems. (The Boston Globe)

A similar scene is playing out in Michigan as 77 inpatient beds at state-run psychiatric centers have been scrapped due to staffing shortages. (Bridge Michigan)

A whopping 90% of Americans feel there’s a mental health crisis in the U.S., with the opioid epidemic cited as one of the top concerns, a CNN-Kaiser Family Foundation survey found.

Compared with treatment gap months, Medicare beneficiaries treated with buprenorphine had a lower risk for opioid overdose, as well as lower levels of healthcare spending. (JAMA Psychiatry)

Cytokine storm is likely responsible for the neurological symptoms of COVID-19-related delirium in hospitalized patients. (Molecular Psychiatry)

Among Japanese adults, newly diagnosed cases of attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder increased 21-fold from 2010 to 2019. (JAMA Network Open)

In addition to buprenorphine and methadone, San Francisco may start turning to the narcotic hydromorphone in an effort to curb rising opioid overdose deaths. (San Francisco Chronicle)

New data from the Clarify Health Institute found a 61% rise in psychiatric hospitalizations for Americans under 19 from 2016 to 2021. (Forbes)