According to the Washington Post (10/27, Portnoy), on Oct. 14, the CDC “added ‘mental health conditions’ to a long list of mostly physical conditions that make someone likely to be hospitalized, need a ventilator or die of the coronavirus, including cancer, diabetes and obesity.” What this means is that “it is important for people with ‘mood disorders, including depression, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders’ to get vaccinated – with initial doses and boosters – and take preventive measures, such as masking, social distancing and hand-washing, according to the CDC.” The Post adds, “Two comprehensive meta-analyses published” online in JAMA Psychiatry “confirmed that people with serious mental illness are more at risk for severe illness from COVID-19.” Click here and here to see those meta-analyses.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

According to the Wall Street Journal (10/26, Petersen, Subscription Publication), people are now turning to marijuana to treat depression and anxiety despite the lack of scientific evidence. The American Psychiatric Association in 2019 declared evidence is lacking that marijuana can treat any psychiatric disorder.

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— “People Are Using Marijuana to Treat Anxiety and Depression, but the Science Is Murky “Andrea Petersen, The Wall Street Journal, October 26, 2021

Psychiatric News (10/26) reports research “describes how the number of children and adolescents admitted for eating disorders at a children’s hospital in Michigan rose steadily during the first 12 months of the” COVID-19 pandemic. Investigators “performed a chart review of youth aged 10 to 23 years admitted to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., between March 1, 2017, and March 31, 2021, for medical complications of restrictive eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, atypical anorexia nervosa, and avoidant or restrictive food intake disorder,” then “compared data on youth admitted to the hospital from March 2017 through March 2020 (before the COVID-19 pandemic) with data on youth admitted to the hospital from April 2020 through March 2021 (during the COVID-19 pandemic).” The findings were published in the October issue of the journal Pediatrics.

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— “Hospitalizations of Youth With Eating Disorders Rose During Pandemic, Report Shows, Psychiatric News, October 26, 2021

According to USA Today (10/26, Miller), cities across the US “have been testing programs in recent years to send mental health professionals instead of police to some emergency calls.” Now, “a survey of 911 call centers suggests the people answering the phone may not have the resources to handle those crises.” On Oct. 26, the Pew Charitable Trusts published a survey of “more than three dozen emergency call centers,” finding that “few have staff trained to handle behavioral health crises.” In fact, “most centers also did not have access to mental health professionals who can help with the calls or first responders in the field trained to handle such crises.”

The Hill (10/26, Beals) also covers the story.

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— “911 operators need more training to handle mental health crisis calls. Here’s why it matters “Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY, October 26, 2021

The New York Times (10/25, Brody) reports “experts say acne has become an increasingly prevalent problem among adult women in recent years.” In some cases, acne “that began in adolescence persisted well past their teen years, but others developed acne for the first time as adults.” The Times adds, “In a study of 50 adult women with moderate to severe acne recently published in JAMA Dermatology,” researchers highlighted “the toll the condition can take on mental and emotional well-being. The women often experienced problems with depression, anxiety and social isolation.”

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— “The Emotional Toll of Adult Acne ” Jane E. Brody, The New York Times, October 25, 2021

MedPage Today (10/25, Frieden) reports, “As the pandemic continues, clinicians should be on the lookout for patients at risk of” dying by homicide-suicide, according to comments made by Elias Ghossoub, MD, during the annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. Ghossoub conducted a literature review and “recommended that…healthcare professionals in the emergency department and in primary care offices should screen adults for depression, suicidality, or substance use disorder.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (10/25, Gramigna) reports “attachment style should be evaluated among adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder, according to” researchers who “analyzed data of 135 patients with OCD and 135 matched controls who completed the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised, Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire-46 and the ASQ.” According to Healio, “Higher need of approval most strongly predicted OCD diagnosis compared with the other attachment facets, even more so than obsessive beliefs.” The results were published online in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

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— “Need of approval predicts OCD diagnosis “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 25, 2021

TCTMD (10/25, O’Riordan) reports, “Older adults prescribed a stimulant are at a higher risk for adverse cardiovascular events early, but that risk drops off with long-term use,” investigators concluded in a “propensity-matched analysis” that “included 6,457 older adults exposed to stimulants with 24,853 adults who were not prescribed a stimulant during the study period.” The findings were published online Oct. 25 in JAMA Network Open.

Psychiatric News (10/25) reports, “Older adults prescribed stimulant medications appear to be at an elevated risk of cardiovascular problems in the first 30 days after beginning the treatment,” investigators concluded in a study that “used hospital and prescription databases to assess the cardiovascular outcomes of 6,457 Ontario residents aged 66 years and older who received a new prescription for a stimulant (for example, amphetamine, methylphenidate, lisdexamfetamine, or dextroamphetamine) between January 1, 2002, and March 31, 2015.” Next, “these adults were matched with a control group of 24,853 similarly aged adults who did not take any stimulants during this time.”

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— “Stimulants Linked to Early Risk of CV Events in Elderly “Michael O’Riordan, TCTMD, October 25, 2021

CNN (10/22, Howard) reported, “Cognitive impairment – described as brain fog – can persist for months in Covid-19 patients, even for some who were not hospitalized, according to a new study.” The research “found that nearly a quarter of Covid-19 patients in a Mount Sinai Health System registry experienced some issues with their memory – and although hospitalized patients were more likely to have such brain fog after a coronavirus infection, some outpatients had cognitive impairment too.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Brain fog in Covid-19 patients can persist for months, even in those who were not hospitalized, study finds ” Jacqueline Howard, CNN, October 22, 2021

Healio (10/22, Gramigna) reported, “Clinical high risk for psychosis syndrome appeared linked to impairment in reciprocal social behavior [RSB],” researchers concluded in a study that “investigated RSB deficits and clinical and social functioning correlates among 45 individuals who met criteria for a CHR syndrome and 47 healthy controls.” The findings of the “cross-sectional study” were published online ahead of print in the December issue of the journal Psychiatry Research.

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— “Psychosis syndrome may impair reciprocal social behavior “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 22, 2021