Mental Health
- Updated guidelines for pharmacologic treatment of perinatal depression: Understanding medication options
In a guideline update, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists now recommends using pharmacotherapy to treat perinatal depression, with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors as first-line medications.
- Treating perinatal mood and anxiety disorders: A call to action
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders remain untreated in 3 of 4 affected individuals giving birth.
- Flexibility is warranted in applying prescribing guidelines
Discontinuation of benzodiazepines in chronic users may be associated with a small increase in mortality and a higher risk of adverse events, especially in the short term after cessation.
- Benzodiazepines: Caught between patient needs and guidelines
Negative sentiment about benzodiazepines has intensified in recent years, and there is increasing emphasis on deprescribing even for people who have had no ill effects from them.
- Recreational cannabis legalization: Potential implications for individual and community health
The authors discuss evidence on the effects of legalized recreational cannabis on overall cannabis consumption, crime, traffic safety, and individual and community health.
- Psychedelics in the medical toolbox?
Given the historical association of psychedelics as “recreational” mind-altering compounds within countercultures of the 1960s and 1970s, their current introduction into several aspects of medical practice is a surprise to many.
- Nociplastic pain: A practical guide to chronic pain management in the primary care setting
Nociplastic pain is characterized by amplification of pain transmission and pain perception and does not involve visible tissue injury or damage, which makes it difficult to understand and manage.
- Psychedelics, spirituality, and existential distress in patients at the end of life
The authors explore the role of psychedelics in addressing patients’ spiritual and existential suffering at the end of life from a medical, ethical, and legal perspective.
- Reducing the risks when using benzodiazepines to treat insomnia: A public health approach
The authors review measures for preventing harm before benzodiazepines are prescribed, decreasing harm within 4 weeks after they are prescribed, and limiting harmful effects of long-term prescribing.