MedPage Today (10/5, George) reports, “Omega-3 fatty acid concentrations in red blood cells were linked with brain structure and cognitive function in midlife,” investigators concluded. In the study involving “about 2,200 people with an average age of 46, a higher omega-3 index was associated with a larger hippocampal volume and better abstract reasoning,” investigators found. What’s more, “APOE4 carriers with a higher omega-3 index had a lower white matter hyperintensity burden,” the study revealed. The findings were published online in the journal Neurology.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (10/5, Rhoades) reports, “High psychological distress, including anxiety, worry and depression, before SARS-CoV-2 infection may be a risk factor for developing post-COVID-19 symptoms,” researchers concluded in a study that “examined data on 54,960 participants from three ongoing longitudinal studies beginning in April 2020.” The findings were published online Sept. 7 in JAMA Psychiatry.

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— “Preexisting psychological distress may be risk factor for long COVID “Andrew Rhoades, , October 5, 2022

CNN (10/5, McPhillips) reports, “An overwhelming majority of people in the United States think the country is experiencing a mental health crisis,” findings from “a new survey [PDF] from CNN in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation” indicate. Survey data revealed that “nine out of 10 adults said they believed that there’s a mental health crisis in the US today.” Captured by the survey were “the perceptions of a nationally representative sample of about 2,000 adults over the summer – 2½ years into the Covid-19 pandemic and amid ongoing public health threats including racism and gun violence.”

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— “90% of US adults say the United States is experiencing a mental health crisis, CNN/KFF poll finds “Deidre McPhillips, CNN, October 5, 2022

Healthcare Finance News (10/4, Lagasse) reports, “According to the newly released J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Telehealth Satisfaction Study, a growing majority of consumers now say they prefer telehealth over in-person visits for a wide range of routine care, including prescription refills, reviews of medication options and to discuss medical results.” Furthermore, “almost all – 94% – of telehealth users say they would use the technology to receive medical services in the future.” And “another 57% of patients say they prefer telehealth for regular mental health visits.”

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— “Telehealth patients flocking to virtual appointments for some routine care “Jeff Lagasse, Healthcare Finance News, October 4, 2022

Psychiatric News (10/3) reports, “Children who were exposed to antidepressants in the womb do not appear to have an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders,” investigators concluded in a study that “included over 145,000 women who took an antidepressant during the second half of pregnancy and over three million who did not,” and then tracked “the children of these women…from birth until they were diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder, died, disenrolled, or reached age 14.” The findings were published online Oct. 3 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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— “Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy Not Associated With Neurodevelopmental Risk in Children, Psychiatric News, October 3, 2022

Kaiser Health News (10/3, Leys, Zionts) reports, “For years, many cities have sent social workers, medics, trained outreach workers, or mental health professionals to” respond to some calls previously handled by police officers. In rural areas, however, “crisis response teams have been slower to catch on…even though mental illness is just as prevalent” in those areas as in cities. Meanwhile, Iowa now funds a program that dispatches crisis teams “via the statewide crisis line or the new national 988 mental health crisis line.”

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— “Mental Health Crisis Teams Aren’t Just for Cities Anymore “Tony Leys and Arielle Zionts, Kaiser Health News, October 3, 2022

CNN (10/3, LaMotte) reports, “A diagnosis of dementia more than doubles the risk of suicide in the first three months after a patient is told the news,” investigators concluded in a study that “followed nearly 600,000 English people for 18 years.”

MedPage Today (10/3, George) reports, “Suicide risk was higher in people recently diagnosed with dementia, especially younger patients,” investigators concluded in a study revealing that “compared with people who didn’t have dementia, suicides rose in people who received a dementia diagnosis in the past three months.” Also, “for people under age 65, suicide risk within three months of diagnosis was 6.69 times…higher than in patients without dementia.” The findings were published online Oct. 3 in JAMA Neurology.

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— “Dementia diagnosis increases suicide risk for those under age 65, study finds “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, October 3, 2022

Healio (9/30, Herpen) reported, “Data gained from existing academic research shows that hearing loss is associated with depression but a causal relationship between the two has yet to be established,” according to findings presented at BRAINWeek 2022 by Justin S. Golub, MD, MS, associate professor of otolaryngology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. In the presentation, Dr. “Golub cited his own study from 2018, which focused on age-related hearing loss with depressive symptoms in more than 5,300 Hispanic individuals,” finding that “compared to those with normal hearing, those with mild hearing loss had a 1.8 times greater chance to develop depression, those with moderate hearing loss were 2.4 times more likely to experience depression, and those with severe hearing loss 4.3 times more likely for the same.”

Related Links:

— “Hearing loss associated with depression, causal relationship less clear “Robert Herpen, Healio, September 30, 2022

According to the Washington Post (10/2, Atkins), in response to rising “child mental health problems…in the past few years, a growing number of states have adopted laws that let students take an excused absence if they feel anxious, depressed or need a day to ‘recharge.’” Already, “a dozen states…have measures in place that allow kids to take off for mental health and not just physical health reasons,” while “a handful of others are considering making similar changes to school absentee rules.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Healio (9/29, Downey) reports, “Two-thirds of an estimated 108,174 overdose deaths in the United States in the 12 months ending in April 2022 can be attributed to synthetic opioids, specifically illicitly manufactured fentanyl,” investigators concluded after assessing “overdose death data from the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System to examine monthly frequencies of overdose deaths involving para-fluorofentanyl.” The findings were published online Sept. 30 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “Two-thirds of US overdose deaths attributable to fentanyl “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, September 29, 2022