NBC News (9/7, Bendix) reports “people who felt stressed, anxious, lonely, depressed or worried about COVID before getting infected were at higher risk of developing long-term symptoms from their illness,” according to results from a survey study of “nearly 55,000 people in the United States and Canada.” The study published online in JAMA Psychiatry “showed that people who reported psychological distress before they got infected had a 32% to 46% increased risk of long COVID,” and people “who reported high levels of two or more types of psychological distress…had a 50% increased risk.”

STAT (9/7, Trang) reports the researchers “found that psychological stressors…were more predictive of…patients’ likelihood of experiencing long COVID than classically associated physical factors.”

Related Links:

— “Stress, anxiety and depression may increase the risk of long Covid, study finds “Aria Bendix, NBC News, September 7, 2022

MedPage Today (9/7, Monaco) reports, “The percentage of young U.S. adults receiving mental health treatment increased by nearly 5% from 2019 to 2021, according to National Health Interview Survey data.” In total, “the proportion of adults receiving mental health treatment – defined as receiving counseling, therapy, taking a medication, or any combination of the three – increased from 19.2% in 2019 to 21.6% by 2021,” but “this appeared to be driven by an uptick in mental health treatment for younger adults between the ages of 18 and 44, whose rates of mental health treatment jumped from 18.5% in 2019 to 23.2% in 2021.” These data were published online in an NCHS Data Brief.

HealthDay (9/7, Mundell) reports, “Young white American adults had the highest use of mental health care in 2021 (30.4%), while rates were much lower among young Black adults (14.8%), Hispanics (12.8%) and Asians (10.8%)

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

CNN (9/6, LaMotte) reports that to reduce the risk for dementia, people “need between 3,800 and 9,800 [steps] each day,” according to findings published online in a brief report in JAMA Neurology. The study found that people aged 40-79 “who took 9,826 steps per day were 50% less likely to develop dementia within seven years.” In addition, people with a pace of over 40 steps a minute “were able to cut their risk of dementia by 57% with just 6,315 steps a day.”

Related Links:

— “Walk this number of steps each day to cut your risk of dementia “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, September 6, 2022

The New York Times (9/6, Blum) reports, “As increasing numbers of people turn to melatonin, and more report taking high doses of the supplement, those who try to give up the supplement might find the process harder than they anticipated.” For instance, on social media platforms, people are “swapping stories about craving the supplement, or being unable to sleep without it,” and stressing “over how to stop taking melatonin after years of nightly use.” The Times adds, “Taking the supplement for years likely poses minimal risk for the average person, experts said, but there isn’t enough evidence to say for sure.”

Related Links:

— “Can You Get Hooked on Melatonin? “Dani Blum, The New York Times, September 6, 2022

HCPlive (9/6, Walter) reports research indicates that “pediatric patients with” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) appear to be at “increased risk of injuries and hospitalization because of the injuries.” Investigators came to this conclusion after evaluating data on “4658 patients with” AD/HD “aged six to 18 years” who “were matched with 18,632 sex-, age- and index day-matched…control participants” without AD/HD. The findings were published online Sept. 6 in the journal Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences.

Related Links:

— “Patients With ADHD at an Increased Risk of Injuries “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, September 6, 2022

HCPlive (9/5, Walter) reports, “An older individual’s 24-hour activity pattern could help forecast their depressive symptom subgroup,” investigators concluded in a study that “identified four distinct subgroups – earlier rising/robust…shorter active period/less modelable…shorter active period/very weak…and later settling/very weak.” The findings were published online Aug. 31 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Activity Patterns Related to Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, September 5, 2022

Healio (9/2, Monostra) reported, “Adults with type 2 diabetes [T2D] or a sleep disorder have an increased risk for depression compared with those with neither condition,” investigators concluded after conducting “a population-based cohort study of 115,807 adults with type 2 diabetes aged 40 years and older registered in the Danish National Diabetes Register from 2000 to 2012.” The findings were published online in the September issue of the Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications.

Related Links:

— “Type 2 diabetes, sleep disorders linked to increased risk for depression “Michael Monostra, Healio, September 2, 2022

HealthDay (9/2, Mozes) reported, “Up to 9% of American teens say they’ve engaged in what’s known as ‘digital self-harm,’” that is, “anonymously posting negative comments about themselves on social media,” researchers concluded after examining “survey responses offered up by nearly 5,000 middle and high schoolers in 2019.” The study also revealed that “teens who engaged in digital self-harm were up to seven times more likely to have considered suicide and as much as 15 times more likely to have made an attempt.” The findingswere published online in the journal Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “‘Digital Self-Harm’: When Teens Cyberbully Themselves “Alan Mozes, , September 2, 2022