The New York Times (9/20, Baumgaertner) reports, “A panel of medical experts on Tuesday recommended for the first time that doctors screen all adult patients under 65 for anxiety, guidance that highlights the extraordinary stress levels that have plagued the United States since the start of the” COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Washington Post (9/20, Zimmerman), the purpose of the US Preventive Services Task Force’s (USPSTF) draft recommendation statement is to help “primary care clinicians identify early signs of anxiety during routine care, using questionnaires and other screening tools.”

The AP (9/20, Tanner) reports, “The proposal is open for public comment until Oct. 17, but the group usually affirms its draft guidance.” The task force’s “recommendations are based on a review that began before the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluating studies showing potential benefits and risks from screening.”

CNN (9/20, Thomas) reports, “The task force defines anxiety disorders as ‘characterized by greater duration or intensity of a stress response over everyday events.’” Types of anxiety recognized “include generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder and agoraphobia.” Additionally, the draft “recommend[s] screening for major depressive disorder in adults, consistent with recommendations for depression screening published in 2016.”

Related Links:

— “Health Panel Recommends Anxiety Screening for All Adults Under 65 ” Emily Baumgaertner, The New York Times, September 20, 2022

MedPage Today (9/19, D’Ambrosio) reports, “Women who lived in states with policies that punished women for substance use during pregnancy received worse prenatal and postpartum care, according to a cross-sectional study” published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

USA Today (9/19, Hassanein) reports “a staggering number of maternal deaths in the United States were found to be preventable, according to” a CDC report that found “more than 80%, or roughly 4 in 5 maternal deaths” from 2017 to 2019, “were due to preventable causes.” The analysis also “included a section on maternal deaths for American Indian and Alaska Native people,” which found “more than 90% of Indigenous mothers’ deaths were preventable.” The report is “based on figures from Maternal Mortality Review Committees” that are “based in 36 states.”

ABC News (9/19, Kekatos) says, “Mental health conditions…made up the plurality of deaths at 23%, the report found.” Additional “underlying causes of pregnancy-related death included hemorrhaging; heart conditions; infections; thrombotic embolism… cardiomyopathy…and high blood pressure.”

The Hill (9/19, Folmar) reports, “The leading causes of pregnancy-related death differed between ethnicities,” but “Black Americans were disproportionately affected.”

Related Links:

— “‘Staggering’ and ‘sobering’: More than 80% of US maternal deaths are preventable, CDC study shows “Nada Hassanein, USA TODAY, September 19, 2022

According to Kaiser Health News (9/19, Zurek, Rocha), refugees who arrive in the US “are 10 times as likely as the general population to have post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety.” Many of these refugees, who “fled their homelands because of violence or persecution,” now “must deal with the mental toll of integrating into new environments.” Even though “their need for mental health services is greater than that of the general population, refugees are much less likely to receive such care,” not only because of “societal differences,” but also due to “the overall shortage of mental health” professionals in the US, as well as “the myriad obstacles and barriers to receiving mental health care that refugees encounter.”

Related Links:

— “Many Refugees Dealing with Trauma Face Obstacles to Mental Health Care ” Erica Zurek and Alander Rocha, Kaiser Health News , September 19, 2022

HealthDay (9/19, Reinberg) reports, “Nearly 10% of Americans suffer from depression, with the mood disorder increasing fastest among teens and young adults,” researchers concluded after examining data drawn from the 2015-2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. In fact, “between 2015 and 2020, incidence of depression reached 9% among Americans 12 and older,” while “among teens and young adults, the depression rate stood at 17% in 2020, the researchers found.” One researcher “said it’s possible that growing feelings of helplessness and economic distress are fueling depression, the leading mental health disorder in the nation,” and “the COVID-19 pandemic has only made mental health worse.” The findings were published online Sept. 19 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Depression Affects Almost 1 in 10 Americans “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay , September 19, 2022

Psychiatric News (9/15) reports, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, many American Indian youth reported feeling less connected to friends and less engaged in schoolwork,” but despite that, “many students also showed resilience at this difficult time,” investigators concluded in a study that included data on “2,559 American Indian students” from the “annual Our Youth, Our Future study, which collects nationally representative substance use data among middle and high school students who live on or near reservations.” The findingswere published online Sept. 14 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “American Indian Youth Reported Relationship Problems but Remained Resilient During Pandemic, Psychiatric News , September 15, 2022

Healthcare Dive (9/15, Muchmore) reports, “About 63% of physicians surveyed experienced at least one manifestation of burnout in 2021, shooting up from 38% in 2020 and representing the highest amount in a decade of recurring survey findings, according to an article published…in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.” The “mean scores for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were higher in 2021 while satisfaction with work-life balance dropped,” while “depression scores were relatively stable, ‘suggesting the increase in physician distress in this interval was primarily due to increased work-related distress,’ the authors wrote.” These “findings suggest that women have been more affected by burnout during COVID-19, the authors said, also noting the results come against a backdrop of other stressors like gun violence, economic concerns and child care hurdles.”

Related Links:

— “Physician burnout higher in 2021 than 2020, study shows “Shannon Muchmore, Healthcare Dive, September 15, 2022

Modern Healthcare (9/14, Hartnet, Subscription Publication) reports the number of National Suicide Prevention Lifeline contacts “increased 45%” last month when compared to August of last year. The increase followed the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s mid-July launch, but organizations that answer 988 calls “are still figuring out where they fit into the new system and how they can be reimbursed for mobile response and call services beyond government grants.” By 2025, SAMHSA “projects that 90% of people who need support will be able to access 988 and 80% will have access to mobile crisis teams.”

Related Links:

— “Providers see opportunity in early success of 988 mental health hotline “Kara Hartnett, Modern Healthcare, September 14, 2022

Psychiatric News (9/14) reports, “Despite being at higher risk of anxiety and depression than the public, healthcare workers are often reluctant to seek mental healthcare,” but a 1,402-participant randomized controlled trial published online Sept. 13 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association, “suggests that watching a short video about the benefits of therapy for COVID-19-related anxiety and depression may reduce treatment-related stigma and encourage more healthcare workers to seek help.”

Related Links:

— “Health Care Workers More Open to Therapy After Watching Short Video About Its Benefits, Psychiatric News, September 14, 2022

Healio (9/13, Weldon) reports, “Cannabis use during pregnancy may place children at risk for attention, social and behavioral problems into early adolescence and mental health issues and substance use later on,” investigators concluded in findings published online Sept. 12 in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics.

According to Psychiatric News (9/13), included in the analysis were “10,631 individuals and 30,091 longitudinal assessments.”

HealthDay (9/13, Munez) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Study hints at negative effect on children of cannabis use during pregnancy “Rose Weldon, Healio, September 13, 2022