Cannabis Use in the Teen Years Affects Brain Development, Maturation
What’s new Use of cannabis — such as marijuana products — during one’s middle and late teen years may alter neurological development in the brain, according to a study published on June 16 in JAMA Psychiatry. Research details For the study, researchers assessed 1,598 images from MRI scans of 799 European participants, most of whom were nearly 14.5 years old at the start of the study. Their cannabis use was measured at the study’s onset and again after five years. “We found that the rate of age-related cortical thinning was associated with cannabis use, primarily in dorsal and medial portions of the prefrontal cortex — areas that are central to aspects of attention, emotion regulation, and decision-making,” says an author of the study, Matthew Albaugh, PhD, who is a clinical psychologist and an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. “Interestingly, we found that accelerated age-related cortical thinning in some prefrontal areas was not only tied to greater cannabis use, but also to increased attentional impulsivity — a type of impulsivity characterized by intrusive thoughts and difficulties with task focus,” Dr. Albaugh says. Why it matters Rates of recreational use of cannabis are already high among teens and may become even higher as more and more states legalize its use for adults. As a result, access to the drug is likely to become easier, making it crucial to determine the effects of cannabis on the growing brain. Albaugh and his colleagues continue to study the participants, who are now in their mid-twenties, to determine the extent of the apparent cannabis-related effects on brain development, cognition, and mental health in adulthood. RELATED: Speaking CBD: A Glossary of Terms Used to Describe Cannabidiol and Cannabis
Surge of Mental Health Issues in Public Health Workers Tied to COVID-19 Pandemic
What’s new Approximately 53 percent of U.S. public health workers who participated in a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted in March and April 2021 reported having symptoms of at least one mental health condition within the previous two weeks. These symptoms were most common in respondents who were 29 years old or younger, identified as transgender or nonbinary (a gender identity that is not strictly male or female), worked at least 41 hours per week, or were unable to take time off. Research details The CDC surveyed 26,174 state, local, tribal, and territorial public health workers. The results of the survey showed:
36.8 percent of respondents had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder32.0 percent had symptoms of depression30.3 percent had anxiety symptoms8.4 percent had suicidal thoughts or ideas
The severity of mental health symptoms increased in conjunction with higher weekly work hours, as well as the proportion of work time associated with pandemic-response-related tasks, researchers also found. Why it matters “Addressing work practices that contribute to stress and trauma is critical to managing workers’ adverse mental health status during emergency responses,” the researchers wrote, noting potential strategies such as:
Bolstering work systems to support behavior changes that are conducive to good mental health.Evaluating and adjusting employee assistance programs to make them more accessible and satisfactory to workers.Establishing a workplace culture that fosters wellness and destigmatizes requests for mental healthcare.
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Depression, Schizophrenia May Raise Tuberculosis Risk
What’s new Tuberculosis is more common among people with mental illnesses like depression and schizophrenia than it is among people without a mental illness, according to new findings to be discussed at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Research details These findings emerged from a systematic review of 1,546 studies with 607,184 participants in Asia, Africa, and South America. The included studies had assessed people with depression and psychotic disorders like schizophrenia. The authors of the review found that people with depression had a 15 percent to 2.6 times higher risk of tuberculosis, and that people with schizophrenia had a 52 percent to 3 times higher risk of the infection. One large study included in the review showed that people with tuberculosis living in low- to middle-income countries had a more than 3 times higher risk of a depressive episode than people without the infection. Why it matters These findings underscore that mental illness is a significant risk factor for tuberculosis. Further, according to the study’s lead author, Sally Hayward, a PhD student representative at the Institute for Infection and Immunity at St. George’s University of London, the study suggests there could even be a direct relationship between mental illness and tuberculosis. What might explain this relationship? “It’s not yet known for certain, but it is possible that mental illnesses are altering the immune system in such a way as to increase tuberculosis risk,” says Dr. Hayward. “We know that mental health disorders modulate the immune system (including increasing risk of infectious diseases from the common cold to AIDS), and that the immune response underpins whether tuberculosis infection leads to active disease.” This study also underscores the importance of seeking treatment for mental illnesses like depression and schizophrenia. “My advice to anyone with mental illness would be to get treatment for that as recommended by their doctor and keep an eye out for the symptoms of tuberculosis, such as persistent cough, fever, night sweats, and weight loss,” says Hayward. RELATED: 12 Surprising Facts About Depression
Matching Therapists and Patients by Therapists’ Strengths May Equal Better Care
What’s new Intentional matching of therapists with patients on the basis of therapists’ documented strengths in treating certain mental health issues substantially improves patient care when compared with standard case assignment, according to research published on June 9 in JAMA Psychiatry. Research details In a clinical trial, 48 therapists and 218 outpatients were matched according to measurements of each therapist’s prior performance in caring for 12 different mental health issues, including depression, panic or somatic anxiety, substance misuse, and suicidal thoughts or behaviors. Each therapist was classified as effective, neutral, or ineffective in treating each of the 12 issues. The study’s findings showed that this matching intervention led to meaningful improvements in patients’ symptoms, functioning, overall psychological distress, and issue-specific impairment for each patient’s most significant mental health issue. Why it matters According to the authors of the study, an estimated 60 percent of people who receive mental healthcare don’t meaningfully benefit from the care they receive. Their study showed that matching therapists and patients according to therapists’ strengths in certain mental health areas helped ensure patients benefited from their care. “Notably, the good fit in this study came not from changing what the therapists did in their treatment, but rather who they treated,” the authors wrote. “Capitalizing on whatever it is that a therapist historically does well when treating patients with certain mental health problems, the current data indicate that our match system can improve the effectiveness of that care.”
