Minneapolis St. Paul Mental Health Blog

Mental Health Studies | A greater percentage of patients in the migraine group were found to have restless leg syndrome compared with the control group.

Patients with migraine may exhibit higher prevalence of restless legs syndrome, fibromyalgia, and depressive symptoms compared with individuals not experiencing migraines, according to a study published in Neurological Sciences.

Patients with migraine (n=200) and healthy volunteer controls (n=200) were enrolled in this study. The presence of fibromyalgia and restless legs syndrome was determined by medical interview, and the Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were used to determine the frequency of depression and anxiety, respectively.

Patients were asked whether they received treatment for their conditions, and investigators also questioned patients about relevant risk factors associated with restless legs syndrome, fibromyalgia, and depression/anxiety (eg, family history, polyneuropathy, Parkinson disease, caffeine use).

A greater percentage of patients in the migraine group were found to have restless legs syndrome compared with the control group (33% vs 9.5%, respectively; P =.0001). Restless legs syndrome was more frequent in patients with migraine with aura vs simple migraine (P =.001).

The prevalence of a family history of restless legs syndrome as well as other risk factors for the disease were comparable in participants with and without migraine (family history: 24.2% vs 21.1%, respectively; P =.773; other risk factors: P =.638).

The frequency of fibromyalgia was higher in patients with vs without migraine (61% vs 10%, respectively; P =.0001), and more patients in the migraine group reported having depressive and anxiety symptoms compared with controls (depressive symptoms: 39% vs 13.5%, respectively; P =.0001; anxiety symptoms [BAI scores]: 33.83 vs 23.93, respectively; P =.0001). Patients with restless legs syndrome with and without migraine had comparable BAI scores (36.23 vs 32.80, respectively; P =.088).

Mental Health Matters | Deaths from suicide in children and teenagers have dramatically increased during the past decade, with a notable spike in the past year, a new report shows.

The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Well Being Trust released Pain in the Nation: Education Brief, which reports that suicide rates almost doubled in youth aged 17 years and younger during the past 10 years and that it more than tripled in girls aged 10 to 14.

Moreover, more than one million adolescents had a substance abuse disorder in 2016.

The report authors call for the development of partnerships between educators, school- and community-based health professionals, state and federal government agencies, businesses, and healthcare organizations to design and implement screening and care programs for youngsters.

"This brief is a reflection of the fact that we're seeing a dramatic increase in gaps associated with drug and alcohol abuse and that we have a particular interest in preventing those deaths by working with children, adolescents, and families to propose policies that decrease the likelihood that those students will develop addictions or suicide," John Auerbach, MBA, president and CEO of TFAH and associate director for policy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Medscape Medical News.

"The good news is that there are a number of programs that have been shown effective, some based in schools or in schools working together with other community organizations, and we shine a light on what these programs are," he said.

TFAH is "a nonpartisan organization that focuses on prevention and public health policies and programs throughout the country," Auerbach reported. Because the foundation is "intentionally" not funded by governmental or corporate sources, "we can be a trusted, independent voice for policies and approaches that will be most useful for promoting the health and well-being of the American people," he said.

The brief reports that deaths from suicide among persons aged 17 and younger rose 84% from 2007 to 2016, with a 10% increase in from 2015 to 2016 in those younger than 18 years.

The statistics are particularly alarming for girls aged 10 to 14, whose suicide rate rose by 231% in the past decade and by 8% in 2016 alone.
The report shows that more than one million adolescents (aged 12 to 17) had a substance use disorder (either alcohol or drugs) in 2016 and that one fifth reported alcohol consumption within the past month.

An estimated 90% of adolescent drinking was binge drinking; 2 in 5 high school students reported consuming eight or more drinks on a single occasion.

The report touches upon broader systemic reasons for these alarming statistics, including "despair deaths" that "are straining our country's child welfare system, as more and more children are forced into foster care because of parental death or substance misuse.” In 2016 alone, the number of children in foster care increased for the fourth consecutive year. Parental drug misuse constituted the reason for the child's removal in more than one third of cases.

Adverse childhood experiences increase the risk for negative outcomes, including substance use disorders, and increase the odds of suicidality in offspring. Alcohol use during pregnancy leads to an array of adverse birth outcomes, as well as a higher risk for subsequent abuse by parents.

Mental Health | Using methamphetamine within the last 6 months doubled the risk of having psychotic symptoms,

... researchers found in a prospective cohort study published online in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Longer continuous use was shown to increase the risk even more.

Researchers followed 528 chronic methamphetamine users for 2 years after they left a treatment center in Guangdong, China. Their methamphetamine use and psychotic symptoms (measured with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) were assessed every 6 months.

Mind and Body health | Tai chi mind-body treatments improved fibromyalgia more than aerobic exercise.

Compared with aerobic exercise, the more frequently recommended non-drug treatment for fibromyalgia, tai chi mind-body treatment is similarly or more effective in therapeutically improving fibromyalgia symptoms.....

Mental Health Update | In children aged 6 to 12 years old, increased use of media or electronic devices (screen time) is associated with a risk for mental health issues,

...including social phobia and depressive symptoms, according to research presented at the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners' 39th National Conference on Pediatric Health Care.

Kimberly Buck, DNP, RN, CPNP, Assistant Professor at Loma Linda University School of Nursing in California, and colleagues conducted a study to determine whether the length of screen time was correlated with academic and mental health effects in children between the ages of 6 and 12.

Volunteers included 250 English-speaking parent-child dyads. Children aged 6 to 12 with no previous mental health issues were eligible, and parents were asked to complete a survey involving the child's mental health, media usage, and parental socio-demographics.

The majority of volunteering parents were women (87.1%) with an average age of 35.5 years and an average education level of a high school diploma. Nearly equivalent numbers of boys and girls were included (50.2% boys) with an average age of 9 years. The cohort was primarily Hispanic (79.1%) with 59.5% of parental participants either married or living together.

According to the results, children were not adhering to the AAP recommendations to place consistent restrictions on lengths of screen use. The investigators reported an average screen time of 3 hours in homes with an average of 6 electronic devices.

Children were likely to get less than 9 hours of sleep if they had a television in their room (compared with the recommended 9-12 hours of sleep), possibly leading to sleep issues. Among the 12-year olds in the cohort, 73% used electronic devices more than 2 hours per day; 54% of children between ages 6 and 11 confirmed the same usage per day.

Additionally, more than 2 hours of screen time was reported in 71% of children with fair academic grades, 77% of children with social phobia, and 90% of children with high risk for depressive symptoms.

“Future studies should re-examine the potential negative impact of excessive screen time on young children's mental health using larger samples and different pediatric surveys in a more diverse population,” reported the authors. “Furthermore, the amount of screen time related to school work must be explored, since Chromebooks are now becoming the newest revolution in academic learning.”

Mental Health | Almost 47 million Americans have brain pathology that places them on a trajectory to Alzheimer's disease (AD), and that number is growing, researchers report.

Mental Health Matters | One in five Americans suffer from mental illness each year, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Of those, 60% diagnosed with stress, anxiety and depression do not seek treatment, according to the 2016 state of mental health in America report compiled by Mental Health America.

Drug Effectiveness | A vast research study that sought to settle a long-standing debate ...

about whether or not anti-depressant drugs really work has found they are indeed effective in relieving acute depression in adults.

Low-frequency and rare genetic variants may play a role in the development of tardive dyskinesia (TD),...