Medscape (7/21, Davenport, Subscription Publication) reports, “The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown are associated with increased depression and lower levels of life satisfaction – but primarily in specific demographic and socioeconomic groups, new research shows.” One “survey of more than 72,000 individuals in the United Kingdom shows that young adults, those in lower income groups, and those who had been diagnosed with a mental illness were most affected.” The “second survey showed that the pandemic triggered poorer mental health among more than 1400 patients with mental illness or their caregivers.” The findings of both “studies were presented during a dedicated session at the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) 2020 Congress.”

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (7/21) reports research “describes how COVID-19-related fear and food insecurity are likely contributing to higher levels of depression in U.S. adults.” Investigators “focused on the responses of thousands of U.S. adults to an online survey in late March,” finding that “of the nearly 10,368 adults surveyed (average age 47 years),” those “respondents who identified as female, single, Hispanic, and/or not working reported higher depressive symptoms than other respondents.” Respondents “with higher levels of COVID‐19 fear and moderate-to-high levels of food insecurity reported more depressive symptoms than people with less fear and low or no food insecurity,” whereas “respondents who expressed greater optimism, control over factors impacting their lives, and greater connection with others reported fewer depressive symptoms.” The findings were published online July 15 in the journal Depression & Anxiety.

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— “COVID-19 Fear, Food Insecurity May Worsen Depressive Symptoms, Survey Finds, Psychiatric News , July 21, 2020

Healio (7/21, Gramigna) reports infection with SARS-CoV-2 “appeared associated with several acute neurological and psychiatric complications,” investigators concluded in a “surveillance study” that “developed an online network of rapid-response case report notification portals across the spectrum of major neuroscience bodies in the U.K. during the pandemic’s exponential phase.” The study revealed that “62% of patients presented with a cerebrovascular event, of whom 74% had an ischaemic stroke, 12% an intracerebral haemorrhage and 1% central nervous system vasculitis.” What’s more, “altered mental status occurred among 31% of patients, of whom 23% had unspecified encephalopathy and 18% encephalitis.” The remainder “(59%) with altered mental status met the clinical case definition for psychiatric diagnoses according to the notifying psychiatrist or neuropsychiatrist, and 92% of these were new diagnoses.” The findings were published online in The Lancet Psychiatry.

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— “COVID-19 infection linked to acute neurological, psychiatric complications, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, July 21, 2020

TODAY (7/20, Holohan) reports on the impacts of racism on the mental health of Black women, as well as the barriers for Black women in seeking mental health treatment. Although “African Americans experience mental illness at the same rate as other Americans, they’re more likely to receive inadequate care or no care at all.” TODAY adds, “The American Psychiatric Association estimates that one out of every three Black people who need mental health treatment actually receives it.” TODAY says, “Black women are often underrepresented in research and wary of seeking mental health treatment,” and “the reasons behind both sometimes overlap.”

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— “‘We’re looked at as superhuman’: How racism affects Black women’s mental health, “Meghan Holohan, TODAY, July 20, 2020

CNN (7/21, Rogers) reports, “Racial discrimination may increase stress, lead to health problems and hamper cognitive function for Black women, a new study finds.” CNN adds, “Black women who frequently experienced daily racism – including racial slurs, poor store service or forms of stereotyping – had 2.75 times the risk of poor subjective cognitive functioning than women who experienced lower levels of daily racism.” The findings were published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. Dr. Danielle Hairston, psychiatrist and “president of the Black Caucus of the American Psychiatric Association,” said, “The emotional experience of psychological trauma (like racism) can alter cognitive processes such as memory, attention, planning, and problem solving. … Racism is a source of stress and depression, so I would expect that racism can negatively impact cognitive functioning.”

Newsweek (7/21, Gander) reports the study “involved 17,320 participants of the Black Women’s Health Study, which explores variables including racism and subjective cognitive function (SCF), a measure of a person’s memory skills with a lower score meaning more problems.” Of the “participants, 60 percent were deemed to have good SCF, 28 percent moderate, and 12 percent poor.” Newsweek adds, “Depression and insomnia, which can both make cognition worse, may be mediating factors for the link, the team said.”

Related Links:

— “Racial discrimination may harm Black people’s cognitive health, study finds, “Kristen Rogers, CNN, July 21, 2020