According to USA Today (1/25, Ramirez), in California, this year’s Lunar New Year’s “mood has been marred by Saturday’s massacre in Monterey Park, a predominantly Asian American community near Los Angeles,” and again in another mass shooting in Half Moon Bay. In the aftermath of these tragedies “and several years of collective trauma endured by the Asian American community…advocates said they are worried that recent mass shootings and attacks are creating mental health trauma for many Asian Americans,” and they now “fear many people most in need either won’t pursue help or won’t be able to access proper care.” Barriers to mental healthcare faced by Asian Americans include “stigma…high financial costs and a shortage of mental health professionals with language and cultural expertise.”

Related Links:

— “‘No safe spaces’: For Asian Americans, California shootings add to growing mental health crisis “Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, January 25, 2023

Medscape (1/25, Anderson, Subscription Publication) reports, “Middle-aged adults who spend just nine additional minutes a day participating in moderate to vigorous physical activity…experience improved cognition,” researchers concluded in the findings of a 4,481-participant study published online January 23 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (1/23, Mann) reports a study published online in Menopause “finds that older women are also vulnerable to developing” eating disorders, “especially around menopause.” When the “researchers looked at eating disorder symptoms among 36 women aged 45 to 61, they found that body dissatisfaction was a key risk factor for eating disorders across the lifespan, especially in midlife.” The findings showed “perimenopausal and early post-menopausal women were more likely to report a fear of gaining weight or losing control of their eating.”

Related Links:

— “Why Midlife Can Bring Risk of New Eating Disorders “Denise Mann, HealthDay , January 23, 2023

The New York Times (1/24, Belluck) reports a new studypublished by the New York State Insurance Fund shows long COVID is still having a significant impact on the United States’ workforce. The results show a substantial number of people have yet to return to the workforce due to prolonged COVID-19 symptoms like cognitive processing difficulties, fatigue, and respiratory struggles. The study “analyzed Covid-related claims from patients exposed to the virus at work” that were “filed between Jan. 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022.” In that analysis, “nearly a third of 3,139 Covid-related claims” that the fund “paid met its definition of long Covid.”

Related Links:

— “Long Covid Is Keeping Significant Numbers of People Out of Work, Study Finds ” Pam Belluck, The New York Times24, January 24, 2023

Healio (1/24, Downey) reports, “Adverse childhood experiences, such as having a depressive episode or suffering physical abuse, were likely to contribute to risky drinking among children of alcoholics, researchers wrote” in a 150-participant “case-control study” that used “the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test.” These findings were published online Jan. 13 in BMC Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Adverse experiences in childhood contribute to risky drinking among children of alcoholics “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, January 24, 2023

The Washington Post (1/23, Morris) reports, “Practicing mindfulness to relieve anxiety can be just as effective as medication,” research indicates. The findings of a 276-participant study published online Nov. 9, 2022 in JAMA Psychiatry “showed that people who received eight weeks of mindfulness-based interventions experienced a decrease in anxiety that matched those who were prescribed escitalopram.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (1/23) reports, “When it comes to the risk of metabolic side effects, not all antipsychotics are equal,” investigators concluded in a 137-study network meta-analysis encompassing “35,007 participants who had taken 31 different antipsychotics (both oral and injectable) that are available in the United States and/or Europe.” After comparing “the effects of these medications on body weight as well as fasting glucose, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels,” the study team found that “patients with schizophrenia who took chlorpromazine or clozapine for more than 13 weeks experienced the most weight gain on average compared with those taking placebo.” The findings were published online Jan. 14 in the journal World Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Metabolic Side Effects of Antipsychotics Vary, Meta-Analysis Finds, Psychiatric News, January 23, 2023

The Washington Post (1/22, A1, Nirappil) reports that across the U.S., “the RSV wave has receded,” influenza “cases have rapidly dwindled,” and COVID-19 “hospitalizations rose briefly after Christmas, only to fall again.” The “early waves of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza peaked before the new year, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” and “the expected winter uptick of coronavirus is nowhere close to overwhelming hospitals.” Still, “experts caution the country could see additional increases in flu, which sometimes has two peaks, and another RSV season in spring,” and warn the Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 could continue to spread.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

According to Kaiser Health News (1/20, Kreidler), the NFL “is working its way toward the kind of mental health support for its players, coaches, and staff in which a range of counseling is standard and readily accessible.” In 2019, the league “implemented a formal program to manage its employees’ mental health needs,” a program that “mandates that each team have a licensed behavioral health clinician on staff.” The “individual franchises,” however, “still have great latitude in implementing that directive.” Meanwhile, “the NFL’s best chance to make big strides in its mental health coverage, clinicians say, may derive from the simple fact that it is continually drafting and developing new talent,” and younger players are “more open to the idea of dealing with their mental health.”

Related Links:

— “NFL Has Been Slow to Embrace Mental Health Support for Players “Mark Kreidler, Kaiser Health News, January 20, 2023

Psychiatric News (1/20) reported, “Telehealth options may help increase the likelihood that veterans with substance use disorder (SUD) will initiate and stay in treatment,” researchers concluded after analyzing “electronic health record data from 373 veterans between 21 and 87 years old who were referred to an outpatient alcohol and substance treatment clinic at a VA hospital.” The study team “compared treatment initiation and retention among veterans with SUD who received telehealth referrals during the COVID-19 pandemic with that of veterans who were only referred for in-person treatment before the pandemic lockdowns began.” The findings were published online Jan. 16 in the American Journal on Addictions.

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Options May Boost Number of Veterans Who Begin Treatment for Substance Use, Psychiatric News, January 20, 2023