The New York Times (5/4, Ghorayshi) reports “young children who transition to a new gender with social changes…are likely to continue identifying as that gender five years later, according to a” study published in Pediatrics. The study also found that “many had begun hormonal medications in adolescence to prompt biological changes to align with their gender identities.” Meanwhile, “2.5% of the group had reverted to identifying as the gender they were assigned at birth.”
The AP (5/4, Tanner) reports the study “involved 317 youngsters who were 3 to 12 years old when they were recruited.” The AP adds, “On average, the kids began identifying as transgender at around age 6.”

Related Links:

— “Few Transgender Children Change Their Minds After 5 Years, Study Finds “Azeen Ghorayshi, The New York Times, May 4, 2022

Bloomberg (5/4, Ceron) reports, “Almost half of LGBTQ youth considered attempting suicide in the past year,” according to a “survey from the advocacy group The Trevor Project” that “chronicled the responses of more than 34,000 LGBTQ people between the ages of 13 and 24 in the U.S.” The survey data disclosed on May 4 reveal that “73% of respondents…said they had symptoms of anxiety, and 45%…said they considered attempting suicide in the past year.” CBS News (5/4, Powell) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “Almost Half of LGBTQ Youth Contemplated Suicide Last Year “Ella Ceron, Bloomberg, May 4, 2022

Psychiatric News (5/4) reports, “Black parents’ experiences of racial discrimination may be linked to greater conflict with their children, which could in turn be associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety among children,” researchers concluded in a 199-family assessment. The findings were published online May 1 ahead of print in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Black Parents’ Experiences of Racial Discrimination Associated With Children’s Depression, Psychiatric News, May 4, 2022

CNN (5/4, Marples) reports, “Women of all ages and younger men with certain mood disorders are more likely to develop certain chronic illnesses,” investigators concluded after analyzing “health data of 40,360 adults from Olmsted County in Minnesota.” The study revealed that “women in their 20s were most likely to develop chronic illnesses if they had both anxiety and depression, with an over 61% increase in risk compared with participants without either mental disorder,” while men with “with anxiety and depression in the age 20 group were most likely to develop a chronic condition, with a nearly 72% risk increase compared with the control group, and men with anxiety in the age 60 group were least likely with an over 8% decrease in risk.” The findings were published online May 2 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Chronic diseases are more likely to develop in these groups of people with anxiety and depression “Megan Marples, CNN, May 4, 2022

Psychiatric News (5/3) reports, “Even as the number of people who identify as Hispanic in the United States grew by an estimated 5.2 million people (or about 4.5%) between 2014 and 2019, the proportion of U.S. mental health treatment facilities offering services in Spanish fell by nearly 18%,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from the National Mental Health Services Survey” that “focused on data collected from 13,015 facilities in 2014 and 12,345 facilities in 2019.” Investigators also found that “among states with the fastest Hispanic population growth, several also experienced the greatest reduction in Spanish-language services.” The findings were published online May 3 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Study Reveals Drop in Spanish-Language Services at U.S. Mental Health Treatment Facilities, Psychiatric News , May 3, 2022

HealthPayerIntelligence (5/3, Bailey) reports, “The CMS telehealth waiver that expanded coverage for virtual care services during the COVID-19 pandemic helped increase access to virtual care for Medicare beneficiaries in disadvantaged neighborhoods,” according to a study published in Health Affairs. After “coverage was expanded, utilization increased across all ADI [Area Deprivation Index] quartiles. Following the waiver, 28 million beneficiaries had at least one outpatient visit claim, with more than 2.7 million participating in a visit via telemedicine (9.97 percent).”

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Waiver Boosted Care Access for Medicare Beneficiaries “Victoria Bailey, HealthPayerIntelligence, May 3, 2022

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)