New Jersey 2024 2024-2025 Regular Session

New Jersey Assembly Bill AJR120 Comm Sub / Analysis

                    SENATE HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND SENIOR 
CITIZENS COMMITTEE 
 
STATEMENT TO  
 
ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION No. 120  
 
STATE OF NEW JERSEY 
 
DATED:  DECEMBER 19, 2024 
 
 The Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens 
Committee reports favorably Assembly Joint Resolution No. 120. 
 This resolution designates the first full week of May of each year 
as “Tardive Dyskinesia Awareness Week” in New Jersey. Tardive 
Dyskinesia (TD) is a persistent, irreversible, and potentially disabling 
neurological condition characterized by uncontrollable repetitive 
movements of the face, torso, or other body parts. This involuntary 
movement disorder is caused by medications that help control 
dopamine, such as antipsychotics prescribed to treat people living with 
mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major 
depression. People with mental health conditions, such as bipolar 
disorder, major depression, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective 
disorder, or gastrointestinal disorders, including gastroparesis, nausea, 
and vomiting, may be treated with medications that work as dopamine 
receptor blocking agents (DRBAs). It is estimated that about 1.1 
million adults in New Jersey, or 16.14 percent of adults in the State, 
are living with a mental illness and as a result are likely to receive 
DRBAs as a form of treatment, which can lead to the onset of TD. 
 It is vital that people taking DRBAs are monitored for TD through 
regular screenings as recommended by the American Psychiatric 
Association because long-term use of DRBAs can lead to the onset of 
TD. People living with TD face physical, social, and emotional 
barriers due to the stigma associated with uncontrollable movements, 
which can further lead to worsened mental health symptoms and cause 
embarrassment or withdrawal from society. It is estimated that TD 
affects approximately 600,000 people in the U.S. and approximately 
70 percent of people with TD have not been diagnosed. Although TD 
is treatable, many people with the disorder are unaware of the 
treatment options. Raising awareness about the symptoms and impact 
of TD will promote the importance of early screening, diagnosis, and 
treatment.