Month: December 2021

Reading of the Week: Cannabis & Cannabinoids in Psychiatry – the New AJP Paper; Also, Dr. Jillian Horton on Her Burnout & Recovery (QT)

December 16, 2021 /

From the Editor

It’s popular – but is it actually helpful?

With legalization, cannabis is readily available. Not surprisingly, our patients are increasingly trying it. But what’s the latest evidence? In the first selection, we consider a new paper that was just published by The American Journal of Psychiatry. Dr. Kevin P. Hill (of Harvard University) and his co-authors review almost 850 papers and comment on everything from the potential therapeutic effects of cannabis to clinician guidance. “There is little data indicating that cannabinoids are helpful in treating psychiatric illness, while there is considerable evidence that there is potential for harm in vulnerable populations such as adolescents and those with psychotic disorders.” We consider the big paper and its clinical implications.

marijuana_cannabis_plant

In this week’s second selection, we mull physicians and burnout. Dr. Jillian Horton (of the University of Manitoba) joins me for a Quick Takes podcast interview. We discuss burnout, mindfulness, and recovery. She comments on her own burnout: “I would get home at the end of my long shifts on the wards, and I would have nothing left. Nothing left for myself, nothing left for my spouse, nothing left for my children.”

Please note that there will be no Readings for the next two weeks. We will return in early January with the best of 2021.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Suicide and Ethnic Groups – the New Lancet Psychiatry Paper; Also, Cannabis & the Differential (JAMA Int Med)

December 9, 2021 /

From the Editor

Discrimination. Microaggression. Stigma. Patients in ethnic groups often face greater challenges and stresses than others. Do suicide rates differ? What are the implications for interventions?

These are good and important questions, yet the literature is thin. In a new paper for The Lancet Psychiatry, Isabelle M. Hunt (of the University of Manchester) and her co-authors consider suicide rates by ethnic group in the UK, focused on those who have had contact with mental health care. Drawing on a large database, they find lower rates of suicide completions compared to White patients, but significant variation among the different groups. The authors see potential clinical implications: “Clinicians and the services in which they work should be aware of the common and distinct social and clinical needs of minority ethnic patients with mental illness.”

fd1c8d415f97df29c61ed70a727e8974The Death of Socrates – and, yes, White patients died by suicide more

In the second selection, Dr. Anees Bahji (of the University of Calgary) and his co-authors consider cannabis use disorder in a patient who presents with cannabis hyperemesis syndrome. Their JAMA Internal Medicine paper is very practical; they suggest: “a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates psychotherapy, withdrawal symptom management, and close follow-up in the primary care setting is recommended for treatment of cannabis-related harms.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Can We Prevent Depression in Older Adults? The New JAMA Psych Paper; Also, Homeless Youth and Mental Health (CJP)

December 2, 2021 /

From the Editor

It’s disabling and difficult to treat.

Can we prevent depression in older adults? Prevention is, of course, an important goal for any psychiatric disorder, reducing distress and health care costs. And the morbidity of major depressive disorder is great. A patient recently commented on his depressive episode: “I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”

Dr. Michael R. Irwin (of the University of California, Los Angeles) and his co-authors offer interesting data in a new JAMA Psychiatry paper. Focused on elderly adults with insomnia, they provided a form of CBT in an RCT. They find: “In this trial of older adults without depression but with insomnia disorder, delivery of CBT-I prevented incident and recurrent major depressive disorder by more than 50% compared with SET, an active comparator.” We review this big paper and its clinical implications.

unknownLess time with depression, more time for dancing

In the other selection, we consider homeless youth. In a new Canadian Journal of Psychiatry paper, Sean A. Kidd (of the University of Toronto) et al. draw on national survey data. “Youth homelessness is a wicked social problem with variable definitions, multiple determinants, corollaries, and outcomes.” They note the connection to sexual violence and make policy recommendations.

DG

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