MD Magazine (3/23, Rosenfeld) reports, “Frontline healthcare workers, women, and nurses exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at a greater risk of developing unfavorable mental health outcomes,” research indicates. Investigators in China “used data from >1200 healthcare workers to assess the magnitude of mental health outcomes and associated factors among those treating patients who were exposed to the virus in” that country. Researchers “found that among the Chinese workers exposed to COVID-19, women, nurses, those in Wuhan, and frontline healthcare workers had a greater risk of worsening mental health outcomes than average,” which suggests that “such individuals may need psychological support or interventions.” The findings were published online March 23 in JAMA Network Open.

Psychiatric News (3/23) quotes the author of an accompanying commentary, who wrote, “These findings, consistent with those observed in the 2003 severe acute respiratory system (SARS) epidemic, may help to guide strategies for responding to mental health sequelae of this and future epidemics.” He added the study “provides a reminder of the toll that will likely linger” after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, that is, “the consequences of chronic stress, including major depression and anxiety disorders.”

Related Links:

— “COVID-19 Affects Mental Health of Nurses, Frontline Workers More Than Others, “Samara Rosenfeld, MD Magazine, March 23, 2020

Healio (3/20, Gramigna) reported, “Access to identity documents that reflected transgender individuals’ identified gender helped to improve their mental health and reduced suicidal thoughts,” investigators concluded after obtaining and analyzing data derived from “27,715 participants in the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey.” The study revealed that while just “11% of transgender individuals had their preferred name and gender markers on all IDs…this group saw a marked reduction in serious psychological distress and suicide ideation.” The findings of the “cross-sectional observational study” were published online March 16 in The Lancet Public Health.

Related Links:

— “Gender-concordant IDs improve mental health, reduce suicidal thoughts among transgender individuals, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, March 20, 2020

CQ Roll Call (3/19, Raman) reports the coronavirus pandemic is requiring healthcare professionals to change how they offer behavioral treatments in light of social distancing practices and stay-at-home orders. The article outlines what government agencies and behavioral health organizations are doing to try to address the problem.

For example, Psychiatric News (3/19) reports, “In light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, some patients receiving treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) may take a 28-day supply of their medications home to avoid daily trips to their clinic, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)” announced “in a guidance [pdf] issued on” March 16.

Related Links:

— “Mental health care adapts to telehealth because of COVID-19, “Sandhya Raman, CQ Roll Call, March 19, 2020

Medscape (3/19, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “Media reports of celebrity suicides are associated with a ‘clear and compelling’ increase in suicide rates in the general population,” investigators concluded after identifying and then analyzing data from “31 relevant studies.” The conclusions of the “systematic review and meta-analysis show reports of celebrity suicide were linked to an increase in suicide of up to 18% over the following one to two months.” Additionally, “reporting the method of suicide was associated with an increase of 18% to 44% in the risk of suicide by the same method.” The findings were published online March 18 in BMJ. The authors of an accompanying editorial wrote that “these findings will help give media outlets a ‘clearer sense of the potential effect of their reporting.’” HealthDay (3/19, Norton) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Medscape (3/19, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “Opioid overdose deaths in the United States involving prescription opioids and heroin decreased from 2017 to 2018, while deaths involving synthetic opioids (excluding methadone) increased,” CDC data indicate. Specifically, “from 2017, to 2018, US overdose death rates involving all opioids, prescription opioids, and heroin fell 2%, 13.5%, and 4.1%, respectively, while deaths involving synthetic opioids (other than methadone) jumped by 10%.”

Healio (3/19, Miller) reports the study authors “linked the decrease in prescription opioid-involved deaths to an increase in efforts to reduce high-dose opioid prescribing.” Investigators also “associated the increase in synthetic opioid-involved deaths to an uptick in illicitly manufactured fentanyl or fentanyl analogs in the illegal drug supply.” The findings were published online in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)