A new study finds an increased risk of suicide attempts in teens is associated with prescription drug abuse, Reuters reports. Teens who said they used prescription drugs for non-medical purposes at the start of the study were almost three times as likely to report a suicide attempt a year later.
Pediatricians should look for risk factors linked to teen suicide, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises. Risk factors include substance abuse, a history of physical or sexual abuse, mood disorders, being lesbian, gay or bisexual, and bullying, the group notes in new guidelines.
The shortage of child psychiatrists, which has been a problem for many years, is becoming worse at a time when the United States is facing an increase in depression and suicides among young people, experts tell NBC News.
Research suggests 50 percent or more of patients with psychiatric disorders abuse some type of drugs, including alcohol. Yet there are relatively few treatment programs that address addiction and mental health disorders together, according to John Tsuang, MD, Director of the Dual Diagnosis Treatment Program at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Rejection by family members may increase the risk of substance abuse and suicide attempts in transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, a new study suggests.
The suicide rate in the United States rose 24 percent between 1999 and 2014, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers say increasing drug use may be one of the contributing factors.
A new study suggests addiction may be linked with the high use of social media in people with depression. People who check social media most frequently throughout the week were 2.7 times more likely to be depressed than those who check it least often, the study found.
Using opioid painkillers for more than one month may increase the risk of depression, a new study suggests. People who take opioids and feel depressed should be aware that the drugs, and not just the pain, may be a potential cause, the researchers say.
All adults should be screened for depression, according to a panel appointed by the Department of Health and Human Services. If initial screening tests indicate an increased risk of depression, health care providers are advised to conduct assessments to look for substance abuse or other medical conditions.
People who suffer from chronic back pain along with high levels of anxiety or depression are 75 percent more likely to abuse opioids than those with low levels of depression or anxiety, a new study suggests.
People who use higher doses of narcotic painkillers to manage pain are at increased risk of depression, a new study suggests.
An estimated 7.6 percent of Americans ages 12 and up are moderately to severely depressed, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those with severe symptoms, only 35 percent reported having contact with a mental health professional in the past year.
U.S. soldiers who have undergone inpatient psychiatric treatment have a greatly increased risk of suicide in the year after they are discharged from the hospital, suggests a new study.
Top headlines of the week from Friday, November 7- Thursday, November 13, 2014.
U.S. health officials say Robin Williams’ death highlights the increasing rate of suicide among American adults ages 45 to 64, The Wall Street Journal reports. Williams, 63, died in an apparent suicide on Monday.
A new study finds smokers are two to four times more likely than nonsmokers to commit suicide. State public health interventions such as indoor smoking bans and cigarette taxes could reduce suicide rates by as much as 15 percent, the researchers say.
After health officials warned antidepressant use could lead to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts among young people, there was a rise in suicide attempts in this age group, according to a new study.
A new government report finds 10 percent of 16- and 17-year-olds had a major depressive episode in the past year. Almost 20 percent of young adults, ages 18 to 25, had any mental illness in the past year.
When patients under age 24 are prescribed higher-than-recommended doses of antidepressants, they are more than twice as likely to attempt to hurt themselves, compared with their peers who are treated with the recommended dose, a new study concludes.
Thoughts of suicide are more common among adults who use illicit drugs, compared with the general population, according to a new government survey.
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