Objective
To evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of omega‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation for treatment of trait anxiety among adolescent females with restrictive anorexia nervosa (AN).
Method
A pilot double‐blind, placebo‐controlled randomized trial of adolescent females with AN (N = 24) entering Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) from January 2015 to February 2016. Participants were randomized to four daily PUFA (2,120 mg eicosapentaenoic acid/600 mg docosohexaenoic acid) or placebo capsules for 12 weeks. A 9‐item questionnaire of side effect frequency assessed medication tolerability. The Beck Anxiety Inventory‐Trait measured anxiety at baseline, 6, and 12 weeks. Linear mixed models evaluated associations between randomization group and study outcomes. Twenty‐two and 18 participants completed 6 and 12 weeks of data collection, respectively.
Results
Medication side effect scores were low and were not significantly different between randomization groups at Week 6 (p = .20) or 12 (p = .41). Mean trait anxiety score significantly (p < .01) decreased from baseline to 12 weeks in both groups, and the rate of change over the course of time did not differ between omega‐3 PUFA and placebo groups (p = .55).
Conclusion
Omega‐3 PUFA supplementation was well tolerated in adolescent females with AN. Although power to detect differences was limited, we found no evidence that omega‐3 PUFA benefited anxiety beyond nutritional restoration.
Young women who presented for opioid use disorder treatment were at high risk of adverse reproductive health outcomes. Most were sexually active and not using prescription contraception. Findings underscore the need for contraceptive counseling in this patient population. Optimally, these services would be provided in conjunction with substance use treatment. Improved contraceptive counseling documentation will allow evaluation of effective contraceptive counseling strategies for adolescents with opioid use disorders and might serve to inform future interventions.
Background: Strategies to mitigate depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) side effects would increase acceptability and uptake of this highly reliable contraceptive method. The study objective was to assess the degree of association between medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) exposure and bone mineral density (BMD) loss and weight gain in adolescents randomized to 1 of 3 DMPA dose groups. We hypothesized that lower DMPA doses would be associated with reductions in BMD loss and weight gain. Methods: Healthy, post-menarcheal, females aged 12-21 (N¼34) self
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