NBC News (8/25, Bendix ) reports “a recent survey suggests that” the share of US adults who don’t have close friends “has risen overall, particularly among those who did not graduate college – creating a kind of class divide in people’s level of social engagement and connection.” Investigators observed that “nearly a quarter of U.S. adults with a high school diploma or lower education level said they had no close friends,” with the number being “higher for Black adults in that group: 35%.” These findings “come amid a documented rise in social isolation nationwide,” wherein “around 30% of adults say they’ve felt lonely at least once per week over the past year, and 10% say they’re lonely every day, according to a January poll from the American Psychiatric Association.” The findings were published by the Survey Center on American Life.

Related Links:

— “A stark social divide: Adults without college degrees more likely to have no close friends, survey finds,”Aria Bendix, NBC News, August 25, 2024

Psychiatric News (8/23) reported, “More than three-quarters of Americans (84%) believe school staff play a crucial role in identifying signs of mental health problems in students, but less than half (45%) believe most school staff have been trained in identifying these concerns, according to the latest Healthy Minds Monthly Poll, commissioned by APA and fielded by Morning Consult.” Investigators also found “that Americans are widely supportive of education about mental health in school, with 89% saying that students should be educated about mental health and the same number saying that school staff should participate in mental health trainings.” APA President Ramaswamy Viswanathan, MD, “affirmed the importance of mental health training for school staff” in a statement, saying, “One of the best things we can do in light of the youth mental health crisis is to give children and teenagers, and the people that are around them most days, the tools to understand what to do if someone isn’t feeling right.

Related Links:

— “Majority of Americans Believe Schools Play a Vital Role in Youth Mental Health, Psychiatric News , August 23, 2024

HealthDay (8/22, Mundell ) reports, “There’s a strong association between a state’s policies and laws around the rights of transgender people and the mental health of transgender residents, a new study shows.” Investigators also discovered that Washington-based participants “who said they were aware of [the state’s] efforts to safeguard trans people’s rights had a 56% lower odds for current depression and an 89% lower odds for anxiety, compared to those who weren’t aware.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “State Laws Strongly Affect Mental Health of Trans People, Study Finds,”Ernie Mundell, HeathDay, August 22, 2024

Healio (8/21, Rhoades) reports, “Individuals with type 2 diabetes who experience trauma may be at a lower risk for microvascular complications after resolving PTSD symptoms, according to…results from a retrospective study of U.S. veterans.” Investigators also “reported an association between no longer meeting the diagnostic criteria for PTSD and lower risk for mortality,” as well as “a lower likelihood of starting insulin (HR = 0.69; 95% CI, 0.53-0.88) among veterans aged 18 to 49 years.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Resolving PTSD may lower risk for some diabetes-related complications,”Andrew (Drew) Rhoades, Healio, August 21, 2024

Psychiatric News (8/21) reports, “Resilience and a strong sense of gratitude were significantly associated with self-reported successful aging among U.S. veterans with depression, anxiety, and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to” a study. Investigators also observed that “somatic symptoms, such as pain, were negatively associated with successful aging, but veterans with more somatic symptoms who also had higher degrees of gratitude were significantly more likely to report successful aging.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Resilience and Gratitude Linked to Successful Aging Among Vets With Mental Disorders, Psychiatric News, August 21, 2024

CNN (8/21, Howard ) reports, “Having a severe case of COVID-19 appears to be linked with an increased risk of subsequent mental illness, including depression and anxiety disorders, and a new study finds that the association is strongest among people who were not vaccinated against the disease.” Specifically, investigators observed the “incidence of depression in the four weeks after a COVID-19 diagnosis was 1.93 times higher in people who had COVID before vaccinations were available, 1.79 times higher among the unvaccinated group and 1.16 times higher among the vaccinated group.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Also reporting is MedPage Today (8/21, Kahn).

Related Links:

— “Covid tied to higher risk of depression, anxiety, PTSD and other conditions, with the unvaccinated most affected, study shows,” Jacqueline Howard, CNN, August 21, 2024

Bloomberg (8/20, Kresge, Subscription Publication) reports, “A new study that found evidence of a higher rate of suicidal thoughts among patients taking Novo Nordisk A/S’s popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs is adding to a debate among doctors about the drugs’ safety.”

STAT (8/20, Chen , Subscription Publication) says that after analyzing “a World Health Organization database that tracks suspected adverse drug reactions,” investigators discovered “a 45% greater rate of reports of suicidal thoughts associated with semaglutide, the ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, compared with all other drugs in the database.” After comparing “semaglutide specifically against other diabetes and obesity drugs – including Farxiga, metformin, and orlistat –” investigators “again saw a higher rate of suicidal ideation reported for semaglutide.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Ozempic Suicide Debate Stoked by Study Into Potential Link,”Naomi Kresge, Bloomberg, August 20, 2024

Healio (8/16, Jenkins) reported, “Benzodiazepineswere associated with increased risk for CHD, HF and CV mortality among patients with insomnia, according to a study.” In order “to investigate the association between regular use of Z-drugs (eszopiclone, zolpidem and zaleplon) and benzodiazepines (lorazepam, alprazolam, diazepam and triazolam) and CV outcomes – including CHD, HF, stroke and CV mortality – among patients with insomnia,” investigators “used multivariable Cox proportional hazard models to analyze data from 124,445 U.K. Biobank participants aged 40 to 69 years with insomnia.” The findings were published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Related Links:

— “Benzodiazepine use may carry CV risks among patients with insomnia,”Cassandra Jenkins, Healio , August 16, 2024

MedPage Today (8/16, George ) reported, “Herpes zoster (shingles) was tied to an elevated risk of subjective cognitive decline, an analysis of 150,000 U.S. healthcare professionals showed.” Investigators also observed that “the risk of subjective cognitive decline was higher for APOE4 carriers versus non-carriers among men (P for interaction=0.02) but not women,” while “the association between herpes zoster and risk of subjective cognitive decline did not differ among people with or without potentially immunocompromising conditions.” The findings were published in Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (8/16, Mundell ) reported parents’ excessive smartphone use “could be harming the mental health of children, a new study suggests.” Investigators found that “kids ages 9 to 11 who said their parents spent way too much [time] on their smartphones were more prone to anxiety, attention issues and hyperactivity later on compared to the youngsters of parents who weren’t phone-obsessed.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Parents’ Excessive Smartphone Use Could Be Harming Children’s Mental Health, Study Finds,”Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, August 16, 2024