Healio (1/20, Gramigna) reports, “Prolonged exposure had a slight advantage over cognitive processing therapy for PTSD symptoms, although both treatments offered meaningful improvements, according to results of a randomized clinical trial.” Because of this, “clinicians should consider patient preferences regarding these interventions, researchers noted.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Patient preferences important when considering PTSD treatments, study suggests “Joe Gramigna, Healio, January 20, 2022

HealthDay (1/19, Preidt) reports that “nearly half of U.S. adults” gained weight “during the first year of the pandemic, making a national obesity crisis even worse,” according to a study published in Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research and Reviews. Investigators “surveyed more than 3,400 adults and found that 48% said they gained weight during the first 12 months of the pandemic.” Furthermore, the investigators “found that people were more likely to have gained weight if they were overweight before the pandemic…, had children at home…, had depression or anxiety…, or checked body weight within the last six months.”

Related Links:

— “Nearly Half of Americans Gained Weight in Pandemic’s First Year “Robert Preidt, HealthDay , January 19, 2022

PatientEngagementHIT (1/19, Heath) says a report from “patient experience consulting and surveying firm” NRC Health “outlined a future for 2022 defined by still subpar preventive care access and a need for better mental health offerings.” Despite the gains in “access to care in 2021, the NRC Health authors stated that preventive care is still sorely lacking, while the industry confronts a mounting mental health crisis.” While telehealth proved effective at the pandemic’s onset, the report “advised healthcare organizations to critically consider the services and populations for whom telehealth is truly effective,” noting decreased usage for the service among “ophthalmology, dermatology, and orthopedic surgery.”

Related Links:

— “Preventive Care Access, Mental Health Left Wanting Ahead of 2022 ” Sara Heath, Patient Engagement HIT, January 19, 2022

HealthDay (1/19, Mozes) reports, “Homelessness is difficult enough, but when it’s compounded by serious mental health issues,” sometimes “a state-appointed psychiatric conservator can take over, making critical healthcare decisions for a person deemed mentally unstable.” Now, in a study involving “nearly 800 Los Angeles residents, aged 18 to 56, who were involuntarily hospitalized within a non-profit ‘safety net’ psychiatric facility sometime between 2016 and 2018,” investigators found that “nearly half of admittees to psychiatric care were homeless,” and “among that group, about one in every seven were placed under a mental health conservatorship.” Often, these particular patients “faced ‘very lengthy hospital stays,’ averaging about five months, although some went even longer.” The findings were published online Oct. 27 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Conservatorships Keep the Homeless in Psychiatric Wards Too Long: Study ” Alan Mozes, HealthDay, January 19, 2022

The New York Times (1/19, Barry) reports, “Suicide attempts in the United States showed a ‘substantial and alarming increase’ over the last decade, but one number remained the same, a new study has found: Year in and year out, about 40 percent of people who had recently tried suicide said they were not receiving mental health services.” The study’s “researchers drew on data from 484,732 responses to the federal government’s annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health.” The findings were published January 19 in JAMA Psychiatry.

HCPlive (1/19, Kunzmann) reports, “The annual rate of suicide attempts among US adults increased 17% from 2008 to 2019,” investigators concluded in the analysis, “which also showed that the rate of surveyed suicidal persons who did not know from where to seek treatment more than doubled in the same time.”

MedPage Today (1/19, Grant) also reports.

Related Links:

— “Survey of Americans Who Attempted Suicide Finds Many Aren’t Getting Care “Ellen Barry, The New York Times, January 19, 2022

MedPage Today (1/18, Walker) reports, “While more adverse events (AEs) were reported among those who received the COVID-19 vaccine during clinical trials versus placebo, the number of AEs reported in the placebo group was disproportionately high, a systematic review and meta-analysis found.” According to the review, “about a third of placebo recipients reported at least one systemic AE following both doses,” and these “so-called ‘nocebo responses’ in the active arms likely accounted for 76% of the reported systemic AEs after the first vaccine dose and 52% of AEs after the second vaccine dose.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (1/18, Thompson) reports that patients with prostate cancer “treated with the latest forms of hormone blockers were twice as likely to develop depression compared with men treated with older forms of hormone therapy or those who received no such medication at all, results from a new study show.” The findings were published in JAMA.

Related Links:

— “Newer Hormone Treatments for Prostate Cancer May Raise Risk of Depression ” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, January 18, 2022

According to HealthDay (1/17, Thompson), some people who have become vaccinated and boosted against COVID, who wear their masks, maintain social distance and adhere to hand washing protocols are now joining “a contingent of people who consider themselves ‘vaxxed and done’ with the COVID-19 pandemic.” Many “public health and mental health officials agree that ‘vaxxed and done’ is a real phenomenon, in that some vaccinated Americans are becoming exasperated with COVID-19 safety mandates that many fear will never” be lifted. American Psychiatric Association President Vivian Pender, MD, stated that “the new normal keeps changing. Just when it started to feel like things were going to go back to the way it used to be, along comes Omicron.” Nevertheless, “thoughtful and responsible people who’ve reached their ‘vaxxed and done’ limit should consider that wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing will help healthcare workers who are being slammed by the Omicron surge,” Dr. Pender said, as well as people who are immunocompromised or cannot be vaccinated.

Related Links:

— “COVID Fatigue: Are You Among the ‘Vaxxed & Done’? “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, January 17, 2022

Healio (1/18, Herpen) reports, “The prevalence of mental disorders has been on the rise and remains a significant leading cause of disease burden worldwide,” investigators concluded in a study that “estimates for prevalence and burden from both men and women within 23 different age groups across 204 countries and territories worldwide.” The findings of the “30-year global systematic analysis” were published online Jan. 10 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Mental disorders remain significant global burden on health “Robert Herpen, Healio, January 18, 2022

MedPage Today (1/14, George) reported “hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and no prior history of dementia had elevated levels of brain injury biomarkers,” according to an observational study published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Investigators examined “data from 251 hospitalized COVID-19 patients without a history of dementia, assessing seven serum markers of neurodegeneration: t-tau, p-tau181, GFAP, NfL, UCHL1, amyloid beta 40, and amyloid beta 42,” and then compared the biomarker levels “with 161 controls without COVID-19, including 54 people with no cognitive impairment, 54 people with mild cognitive impairment, and 53 people with Alzheimer’s disease dementia.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)