Scary Charts

Trends in Behavioral Health Medications

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Nurse Practitioners and Behavioral Health Medications Prescriptions

Nurse practitioners had the largest increases in prescribing incident prescriptions across the 5 drug classes. This is consistent with a study that found that behavioral health visits among Medicare beneficiaries conducted by psychiatric behavioral health nurse practitioners increased by 162%, whereas those by psychiatrists decreased by 6% from 2011 to 2019.35 Our study, based on incident prescription data, suggests an increasing contribution of nurse practitioners initiating medication treatment of behavioral health conditions compared with other health care practitioners.

Chai G, Xu J, Goyal S, et al. Trends in Incident Prescriptions for Behavioral Health Medications in the US, 2018-2022. JAMA Psychiatry. Published online January 10, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.5045 — https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2813980

Welcome to our new world of self-diagnosed ADHD, online pill mills, and “shortages” of prescription medications.

The past couple of decades have seen a continuous increase in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses. National population surveys reflect an increase in the prevalence from 6.1% to 10.2% in the 20-year period from 1997 to 2016 and experts continue to debate and disagree on the causes for this trend.1

ADHD Diagnostic Trends: Increased Recognition or Overdiagnosis? Mo Med. 2022 Sep-Oct; 119(5): 467–473.– https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9616454/

Too Old To Grow Up?

Percentage change in the leading health conditions affecting millennials in the United States from 2014 to 2018 — https://www.statista.com/statistics/1276447/percentage-change-of-the-leading-conditions-affecting-millennials

I was doing my usual Saturday morning routine, catching up on whatever was catching my attention and I came across this Scary Chart looking for ADHD incidence in Millennials. Whoa…check out the early CAD percentage increase.

Scary Charts – 11.24.23

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Source: https://www.statista.com/chart/31306/countries-with-the-highest-annual-increases-in-consumer-prices/

I suppose this should make us feel better about higher prices in the US.

More good news – lithium is cheap again.

Lithium “Shortage” Bubble Implodes (Again), Price Collapsed 77% in a Year, as Demand and Production Both Surged – https://wolfstreet.com/2023/11/23/lithium-shortage-bubble-implodes-once-again-as-demand-and-production-both-surged/

Now all we need to do is find people who want and can afford to buy an EV.

Last month, Ford had laid off some workers building the F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. Competitor General Motors also said it was postponing adding more production capacity for its electric Chevrolet Silverado EV citing slow-growing demand.

Ford battery plant is back on track but scaled down — https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/21/business/ford-battery-plant-downscaled/index.html

Average new electric vehicle prices are actually down by more than $14,000 compared with 2022, settling at around $50,683 on average, thanks to a combination of increased supply, the arrival of more affordable models and trim levels and aggressive price cuts by Tesla, the largest EV manufacturer in the US.

Cheapest Electric Cars for 2023 — https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/the-most-affordable-electric-cars-for-2023/

The Dark Side of TikTok – Scary Charts 11.19.23

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In just three years, the share of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has more than quadrupled, from 3% in 2020 to 14% in 2023.

More Americans are getting news on TikTok, bucking the trend seen on most other social media sites — https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/15/more-americans-are-getting-news-on-tiktok-bucking-the-trend-seen-on-most-other-social-media-sites/

While TikTok is an engaging entertainment and social connection platform, there are better sources for in-depth personal financial advice. Many finance content creators sell the allure of quick wealth and success, leading neophyte investors to risky decisions that may have lasting consequences. 

TikTok Personal Financial Advice Not To Take —https://due.com/tiktok-personal-financial-advice-not-to-take/

This will not end well.

Scary Charts – 10.22.23

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So that drywall mass produced home that sells for $1 million just went up from $4,519 a month to $7,016! That is a 55% increase in less than one-year. So we now have realtors struggling since they make money on high sales volume. You have commercial real estate getting absolutely smashed. Banks are in a tough spots since they made bets on a low interest rate environment. But now, that same home will cost you $2,497 more per month with no measurable increase in underlying value. The house does not have a built in chef, or unlimited childcare, or a Tesla that comes fully charged every day with no cost to you.

The Stalemate of the Century: Housing Facing an Existential Moment — http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/the-stalemate-of-the-century-housing-facing-an-existential-moment/

Scary charts as promised from the same article:

Oklahoma.

Or California.

Even More Random Thoughts on Retirement – October 2023

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Source: https://www.statista.com/chart/31034/change-in-behavior-in-response-to-inflation/

Muscle loss and chronic disease

One of the most important parts of exercise programming, no matter who I am working with, is proper resistance training to build muscle strength. Some amount of age-related loss of muscle function is normal and inevitable. But by incorporating resistance training that is appropriate and safe at any ability level, you can slow down the rate of decline and even prevent some loss of muscle function.

The medical term for a condition that involves age-related loss of muscle function and mass is sarcopenia. Sarcopenia can begin as early as age 40, but it tends to be more common in adults age 60 and older. Sarcopenia is associated with a number of health issues such as increased risk of falling, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease, among others.

In one of our team’s previous studies, we saw that otherwise healthy individuals with sarcopenia had issues delivering vital nutrients to muscle. This could lead to greater likelihood of various diseases, such as Type 2 diabetes, and slow down recovery from exercise.

Recent estimates suggest that sarcopenia affects 10% to 16% of the elderly population worldwide. But even if a person doesn’t have clinically diagnosed sarcopenia, they may still have some of the underlying symptoms that, if not dealt with, could lead to sarcopenia.

Steep physical decline with age is not inevitable – here’s how strength training can change the trajectory —https://theconversation.com/steep-physical-decline-with-age-is-not-inevitable-heres-how-strength-training-can-change-the-trajectory-213131

Reducing overall calorie intake may rejuvenate your muscles and activate biological pathways important for good health, according to researchers. Decreasing calories without depriving the body of essential vitamins and minerals, known as calorie restriction, has long been known to delay the progression of age-related diseases in animal models. This new study suggests the same biological mechanisms may also apply to humans.

NIH/National Institute on Aging. “Calorie restriction in humans builds strong muscle and stimulates healthy aging genes.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 October 2023. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231013150733.htm

When I said random thoughts I meant it.