Mood Disorders Now Qualify for COVID Boosters; Psych Bed Shortages; Sad Vegans?

The CDC added mood disorders, including depression and schizophrenia, to the list of underlying conditions eligible for COVID-19 booster shots. (Washington Post)

New Hampshire’s new 111-bed inpatient psychiatric hospital for children will also feature a unit dedicated to young adults up to age 25. (U.S. News & World Report)

A large postmarketing analysis of 15 mono-treated antidepressants prescribed to over 3 million patients with major depression found that even the best antidepressant only had an average remission rate of 50.78%. (EClinicalMedicine)

Georgia is one of the many states facing a grave shortage of psychiatric hospital beds. (Kaiser Health News)

Mirtazapine (Remeron) used for agitation in dementia patients wasn’t more effective compared with placebo, and also carried a higher incidence of death. “This study shows that a common way of managing symptoms is not helpful — and could even be detrimental. It’s really important that these results are taken into account and mirtazapine is no longer used to treat agitation in people with dementia,” said study author Sube Banerjee, MD, of the University of Plymouth in England, in a statement. (The Lancet)

Long-term childhood cancer survivors seemed to be at a slightly higher risk for suicide after the age of 28 — especially for male patients. (Cancer)

A meta-analysis funded by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association found that meat consumption was linked to a lower risk for both depression and anxiety compared with a vegan diet. (Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition)

Boehringer Ingelheim announced a new collaboration with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King’s College London to study brain patterns and cognition in people with depression and schizophrenia.

Renowned New Orleans psychiatrist Irwin Marcus, MD, passed away earlier this month at the age of 102. He established the child and adolescent psychiatry program at Tulane University School of Medicine in 1952, and was the founder and president of the New Orleans Psychoanalytic Institute. (Nola.com)