For people with schizophrenia hospitalized after a psychotic episode, getting a long-acting antipsychotic injection works far better than pills to keep them from returning to hospital care. That’s the finding of a new study from researchers at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. They found that injected antipsychotic meds — which provide continuous treatment from two weeks up to six months — were 75% more effective in reducing rehospitalization, compared to the same meds in pill form. “I suspect the lower readmission rate that has been observed with long-acting injections has more to do with people forgetting to take a pill each and every day than with any inherent superiority of the injectable medication,” noted study lead author Dr. Daniel Greer, a clinical assistant professor at the Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. The findings were published recently in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. As Greer’s team noted, expert guidance already recommends that people with schizophrenia receive long-acting antipsychotics by injection upon discharge from a hospital, rather than pills. But many patients, whether due to needle fears or cost issues, may still opt for pills. That’s a real problem, Greer said, because “other studies on the use of antipsychotic medication have found that roughly three-fourths of patients do not take oral medications exactly as directed.” Conversely, “it’s much easier to get a shot every few…  read on >  read on >

Older adults frequently delay needed surgery because of financial concerns, a new study finds. Nearly half of people ages 50 and older who were very concerned about the cost of surgery wound up not having an operation they had considered, researchers reported Jan. 30 in the journal JAMA Network Open. Further, more than half who were very concerned about taking time off work wound up dropping plans for surgery, results show. “When I counsel patients in my clinic who are considering elective surgery, I now also spend a good deal of time discussing the financial and employment implications of surgery with them,” said researcher Dr. Nicholas Berlin, a surgical fellow with the University of Michigan Medical School. “Unfortunately, I have seen a number of insured patients forego needed surgery because they are unable to afford the out-of-pocket costs or take time away from work for recovery,” Berlin added in a university news release. For the study, Berlin and his colleagues analyzed data from the National Poll on Healthy Aging, which showed in 2022 that nearly half of older adults considering surgery had concerns about costs, work time lost or COVID risk. About two-thirds who said they were very concerned about COVID exposure during surgery or recovery wound up not having an operation they had considered, researchers found. On the other hand, few patients dropped plans…  read on >  read on >

New research is helping confirm smoking as a risk factor for the devastating brain illness amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS affects roughly 31,000 Americans each year, with about 5,000 new cases diagnosed annually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s a progressive, fatal illness that causes nerves cells controlling muscles to slowly die, leading to weakness and paralysis. The causes of ALS are unknown, and even risk factors for the disease remain unclear. In their new research, a team from South Korea looked at the data from 32 different studies for possible links between smoking and ALS. They found that people who had smoked had a 12% higher odds of developing ALS compared to those who hadn’t, with risks rising even higher if the person was a current smoker. “One of our most pivotal findings was the dose-response analysis, revealing an inverted U-shaped curve,” said study lead author Dr. Yun Hak Kim, of the department of biomedical informatics at Pusan National University in Busan, Korea. According to Kim, a U-shaped curve means that the “risk associated with smoking isn’t a linear progression.” “Instead, it peaks and then starts to decrease or plateau, suggesting that the risk of ALS is influenced by the intensity of smoking,” he said in a university news release. Gender seemed to play a role as well. The…  read on >  read on >

Deaths related to ozone air pollution will rise significantly around the world during the next two decades due to climate change, a new study warns. Cities in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa can expect to see ozone-related deaths increase by as many as 6,200 fatalities a year by 2054 unless humans rein in global warming, researchers project. “This paper is further evidence of the health benefits that can be achieved if more countries adhered to the Paris Climate Agreement’s goals,” said senior researcher Kai Chen, an assistant professor of public health at the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Conn. In the study, researchers analyzed short-term exposure to ground-level ozone pollution and daily deaths in 406 cities across 20 countries and regions. They used four specific climate change scenarios to predict future death rates due to air pollution. Ozone is the primary component of smog, and it has been linked to respiratory problems, heart disease and premature death, researchers said in background notes. Ozone forms when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants and industry chemically react in the presence of sunlight. Ozone is most likely to reach unhealthy levels on hot, sunny days in cities, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Researchers estimated that ozone-related deaths will claim as many as 6,200 lives a year in those cities by 2050-2054,…  read on >  read on >

High school students who smoke, drink or use weed are more likely to be emotionally troubled and have suicidal thoughts, a new study finds. Teens who turn to nicotine, alcohol or marijuana are more likely to think about suicide, feel depressed or anxious, have psychotic episodes and exhibit inattention or hyperactivity, researchers report Jan. 29 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. For example, thoughts of suicide occurred about five times more often among high schoolers who used substances daily or near-daily, compared with those who didn’t. Increases in psychiatric symptoms occurred even among teens with relatively low levels of use, the researchers noted. The results “lend strong support for the notion that screening, prevention, intervention and policy efforts need to comprehensively address targets beyond substance use alone,” such as the mental health impacts of drug use, said lead study author Brenden Tervo-Clemmens, an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “Also, these efforts may not need to necessarily be specific to a given substance, but rather reflect the multifaceted mental health needs of all adolescents who use substances,” Tervo-Clemmens added in a university news release. For the study, the team analyzed survey results from more than 15,000 high school students in Massachusetts in 2022 and 2023. “We sought to determine whether substance use was dose-dependently associated with various psychiatric symptoms in a large sample…  read on >  read on >

Imagine being subjected to domestic violence in your home, wanting to escape — but there’s no place you can go that will accept a beloved pet. That’s the gut-wrenching situation facing too many victims of domestic abuse, according to a new data review spanning 27 years. “In a lot of cases of domestic violence, there is evidence to suggest that people will delay leaving their relationship to protect their pet,” said study lead author Jasmine Montgomery, a PhD student at James Cook University in Townsland, Australia. “This is often because there’s a lack of shelters or housing places which can accommodate pets, or a lack of trust… that they won’t be separated from their pet,” she said in a university news release. “In those cases where threats to pets are made, victims can be lured back by the perpetrator, which places significant risk to their safety as well,” Montgomery noted. “Sadly, the review also confirmed that a common outcome for pets in cases of domestic violence was maltreatment and/or death.” The Australian authors noted that similar scenarios exist for people fleeing natural disasters or those who become homeless. The new data review looked at information from 42 studies on the human-animal bond in the context of personal crises. “Our results reveal the strong emotional attachment between people and animals may result in vulnerability for both…  read on >  read on >