In a piece discussing model Hailey Bieber’s “mental health struggle after” a transient ischemic attack, ABC News (1/10) reports that “Bieber is not alone in facing” such “struggles after physically recovering from a health scare.” American Psychiatric Association President Rebecca Brendel, MD, JD, said, “We do know that after a serious injury or illness, PTSD can be quite common.” Dr. Brendel added, “People oftentimes will want to avoid situations or reminders of the scary thing that happened to them or the event that caused trauma.” On its website, APA stresses that “PTSD is treatable,” and “the earlier a person gets treatment, the better chance of recovery.”

Related Links:

— “Hailey Bieber reveals mental health struggle after mini-stroke: What to know about PTSD “Katie Kindelan, ABC News, January 10, 2023

Psychiatric News (1/10) reports, “Americans reported feeling anxious about many things in 2022, but one issue stood out above the rest: inflation,” a trend “brought to light by an analysis of six months of data collected by APA’s Healthy Minds Poll, which included a question each month from June through December on how anxious Americans felt about a list of current events.” These polls “were fielded online by Morning Consult to a group of more than 2,000 American adults.” In a Jan. 9 news release, APA President Rebecca Brendel, MD, JD, stated, “Inflation directly affects people every day in every aspect of our lives, and there is little respite,” so “it’s no surprise that it is causing so much stress as Americans struggle to make ends meet.” APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, said, “We hope that by acknowledging that these issues are causing anxiety, those that are impacted will know that they are not alone and that help is available.”

Related Links:

— “Inflation Worries Loomed Large for Americans in 2022, APA Poll Finds, Psychiatric News, January 10, 2023

HealthDay (1/9, Murez) reports, “Military service members who conceal their suicidal thoughts are also more likely to store their guns unsafely,” researchers concluded in a study that “surveyed more than 700 gun-owning service members,” then “focused on 180 service members who had experienced suicidal thoughts within the past year and another group of 85 service members who had experienced suicidal thoughts in the past month.” The findings were published online Jan. 9 in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.

Related Links:

— “Suicidal Service Members With Guns at Home Often Keep Feelings Secret: Study “Cara Murez, HealthDay, January 9, 2023

According to Bloomberg Law (1/9, Subscription Publication), HHS “has awarded almost $245 million in Bipartisan Safer Communities Act funding to address youth mental health and the needs of the health-care workforce for mental health,” a Jan. 9 news release disclosed. Almost “$60 million is coming from the Health Resources and Services Administration, and $185.7 million is coming from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the HHS said.”

Related Links:

— “HHS Grants $245 Million for Youth Mental Health, Workforce, Bloomberg Law, January 9, 2023

HealthDay (1/9, Mann) reports, “Older women who don’t stick to a set sleep and wake schedule may be more likely to struggle with feelings of depression and anxiety – even if they get a normal amount” of sleep, researchers concluded after analyzing “sleep patterns and” assessing “the psychological health of close to 1,200 postmenopausal women aged 65, on average.” Additionally, “each hour of sleep irregularity increased the likelihood of depression and anxiety more than 60%,” the study revealed. The findings were published online Dec. 9 ahead of print in the journal Sleep Health.

Related Links:

— “Sleep Key to Good Mental Health for Older Women “Denise Mann, HealthDay, January 9, 2023

Psychiatric News (1/6) reported, “Past incarceration may raise the risk of cognitive impairment, mental health conditions, and heavy drinking in older people,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from 13,462 community-dwelling adults aged 50 years or older who participated in the Health and Retirement Study…in 2012 or 2014.” The study revealed that people “who had been incarcerated had an 80% higher risk of having cognitive impairment or a mental health condition and a 113% higher risk of heavy alcohol use than participants who had not been incarcerated.” The findings were published online Jan. 6 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Past Incarceration Linked to Increased Mental Health Risk, Heavy Drinking in Older People, Psychiatric News, January 6, 2023

HealthDay (1/6, Thompson) reported, “Supervised exercise programs are associated with significant reductions in symptoms of depression among children and teenagers,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 21-study systematic review and meta-analysis “involving more than 2,400” children. The findings were published online Jan. 3 in JAMA Pediatrics. Additionally, the systematic review “revealed a greater benefit from exercise among children who had already been diagnosed with depression or another mental illness.” Anish Dube, MD, MPH, Vice Chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Children, Adolescents, and Their Families, stated that “‘in a sense, physical activity itself is similar to an intervention that we would call behavioral activation,’ in which patients engage in meaningful activities to subvert…depressive lethargy.”

Related Links:

— “Exercise, Sports: A Natural Antidepressant for Teens “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, January 6, 2023

According to HCPlive (1/6, Walter), “research indicates motor impairment as a child could be a risk factor for” schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. For the study, “investigators used data from 437 children born in Denmark between Sept. 1, 2004 and Aug. 31, 2009 with no, one, or two parents born in Denmark with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.” The study then “assessed motor development and its association with psychotic experiences in children with familial high risk…of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder compared to a control group.” The findings were published online Jan. 4 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Early Motor Impairment Could Forecast Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, January 6, 2023

MedPage Today (1/5, George) reports, “Some health conditions associated with dementia appeared early and consistently long before diagnosis, while others became significant much later,” investigators concluded in findings published online in the Annals of Neurology. After evaluating “data for 347 people with Alzheimer’s disease, 76 people with vascular dementia, and 811 control participants without dementia,” researchers found that “for people with a subsequent diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, the earliest and most consistent associations at all time points over a 15-year span included depression, erectile dysfunction, gait abnormalities, hearing loss, and nervous and musculoskeletal symptoms.” For people “eventually diagnosed with vascular dementia, the earliest and most consistent associations across 13 years were an abnormal electrocardiogram…cardiac dysrhythmias, cerebrovascular disease, non-epithelial skin cancer, depression, and hearing loss.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (1/5) reports, “Aerobic physical activity may be associated with reduced depressive symptoms in children and adolescents, especially among teens over age 13,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 21-study systematic review and meta-analysis encompassing 2,441 participants. The findingswere published online Jan. 3 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Physical Activity Found Effective for Reducing Depression Symptoms in Youth, Psychiatric News, January 5, 2023