Bloomberg Law (5/3, Subscription Publication) reports HHS “awarded nearly $25 million to improve access to school-based health services, according to the department.” These “awards will support 125 health centers funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration” that “deliver primary health-care services, including comprehensive physical and mental health care, to individuals and families through school-based sites.”

Related Links:

— “HHS Awards Nearly $25 Million to School-Based Health Centers, Bloomberg Law, May 3, 2022

PatientEngagementHIT (5/2, Heath) reports the US “is still seeing the impacts of redlining and other forms of systemic racism, with recent data showing that redlining has resulted in present-day limits on patient access to mental healthcare,” according to research published in JAMA Network Open. The data “found that redlining caused nearly a 20-fold disparity in the mental healthcare workforce in Greensboro, North Carolina,” while “the mental healthcare workforce disparity was six-fold” in Richmond, Virginia. In both of these “communities, mental healthcare [professionals] were more densely located in neighborhoods historically deemed ‘favorable.’”

Related Links:

— “How Systemic Racism Impacts Patient Access to Mental Healthcare ” Sara Heath, PatientEngagementHIT , May 2, 2022

CNN (5/2, Hunt) reports research indicates that “around seven hours of sleep is the ideal night’s rest, with insufficient and excessive sleep associated with a reduced ability to pay attention, remember and learn new things, solve problems and make decisions,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from almost 500,000 adults ages 38 to 73 who were part of the UK Biobank – a long-term, government-backed health study. Participants were asked about their sleep patterns, mental health and well-being, and took part in a series of cognitive tests.” The study also revealed that “seven hours of slumber was…linked with better mental health, with people experiencing more symptoms of anxiety and depression and worse overall well-being if they reported sleeping for longer or shorter stints.” The findings (PDF) were published online in the journal Nature Aging.

Related Links:

— “Scientists say they have nailed down the ideal amount of sleep in middle and old age “Katie Hunt, CNN, May 2, 2022

Medscape (5/2, Osorio, Subscription Publication) reports, “Black patients presenting with psychiatric disorders to hospital emergency departments (EDs) across the US have significantly higher rates of chemical restraint than their white counterparts,” investigators concluded. After evaluating “76.2 million total ED visits,” the study team “found that Black patients presenting with a psychiatric disorder were significantly more likely to receive chemical sedation with antipsychotics or ketamine than white patients presenting with the same conditions.” The findings were published in the May issue of the Annals of Epidemiology. Speaking to Medscape Medical News, “Regina James, MD, the American Psychiatric Association’s chief of Diversity and Health Equity and deputy medical director, said the large-scale study confirms the widespread existence of racial and ethnic disparities in patients with psychiatric disorders.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (4/29) reported, “People who are homosexual, bisexual, or unsure of their sexual orientation are more likely than their heterosexual peers to have symptoms of an eating disorder,” researchers concluded in a study that “examined data from approximately 36,000 adults who participated in the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III.” The study also revealed “differences in symptoms between men and women in this population.” The findings were published online April 25 in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Symptoms of Eating Disorders More Common in Members of Sexual Minorities, Psychiatric News, April 29, 2022

Healio (4/29, Herpen) reported, “Those hospitalized for psychiatric illness were less likely to be tested for COVID-19 and had lower confirmed infection rates but higher risk for COVID-19-related mortality than the general population,” researchers concluded in an “epidemiological study” utilizing “several national databases to include a nationwide cohort of 125,273 persons, 28 years and older, who had ever been hospitalized with a psychiatric disorder before March 1, 2020, along with reported rates of testing, infection, hospitalization, mortality and vaccinations between March 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.” The findings were published online April 22 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Those with psychiatric illness less likely to be tested, vaccinated than general population “Robert Herpen, Healio, April 29, 2022

mHealth Intelligence (4/28, Melchionna) reports “a study published in JAMA Network Open found that telehealth appointments for acute conditions resulted in a higher likelihood of multiple follow-up visits than in-person appointments.” For instance, “the odds ratio of a follow-up encounter following” a virtual encounter for acute bronchitis “was 1.23 as compared to 1 for those who had an in-person visit.” Between 2019 and 2020, “the COVID-19 pandemic sharply increased the percentage of telehealth encounters as a proportion of all ambulatory encounters, from 0.6% in 2019 to 14.1% in 2020.”

Related Links:

— “Telehealth More Likely to Prompt Follow-up for Acute Conditions ” Mark Melchionna, mHealth Intelligence, April 28, 2022

According to HealthDay (4/28, Preidt), the success of depression treatment may be affected by “race, income, job status and education,” investigators concluded in a study that “looked at 665 patients who had equal access to depression treatment.” Following adjustment “for sex, age and treatment type after 12 weeks of antidepressant medication, the researchers found that non-white patients had 11.3% less improvement in their depression compared to white patients,” and “patients who were non-white and unemployed, didn’t have a college degree and had incomes in the bottom quarter had 26% less improvement than those who were white and had jobs, a degree and income in the highest quarter.” The findings were published online March 31 in the journal Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Race, Income Can Be Roadblocks to Recovery From Depression ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 28, 2022

Forbes (4/28, Gordon) says that according to a survey “from the COVID States Project, nearly half (49%) of respondents reported symptoms of depression, with 26% reporting moderate symptoms or worse.” The survey – conducted between March and April 2022 – found “rates of depression varied dramatically by age,” noting that “fully half of young adults aged 18 to 24 reported moderate or severe symptoms of depression and another 23% reported mild symptoms.” The survey also noted “gender and racial differences,” with rates of depression highest among women and “Hispanic respondents and respondents identified as ‘other race.’”

Related Links:

— “50% Of Young Adults Report Symptoms Of Depression, New Covid-19 Survey Shows “Deb Gordon, Forbes, April 28, 2022

Psychiatric News (4/28) reports, “The rate of suicide among women living in previously handgun-free homes increased substantially when a cohabitant acquired a handgun,” researchers concluded after conducting “an observational cohort study involving 9.5 million adult women (average age, 41.6 years) in California who did not own guns.” The findings were published online April 27 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Suicide Rate Among Women Increases When Gun Added to Home, Psychiatric News, April 28, 2022