The Washington Post (3/6, A1, Bernstein) reports, “It has been difficult to find mental health counseling in much of the United States for years, long before the coronavirus pandemic began.” But now, “after two years of unrelenting stress, turmoil and grief, many people seeking help are confronting a system at or beyond capacity, its inadequacy for this moment plainly exposed.” It “is even more difficult to find specialized care for children or those with lower income.” The Post adds, “People who might never have sought therapy are now more willing to consider it in the wake of the pandemic, led by a younger generation that sees less stigma in acknowledging mental illness, said” American Psychiatric Association CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA. Dr. Levin said, “People have been accessing mental health care a lot more now because of covid.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (3/3) reports, “Suicide mortality increased from 2000 to 2018, then decreased from 2018 to 2020,” researchers from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics concluded. The authors wrote, “Suicide rates were three to four times higher for males compared with females across the period, with both groups having lower rates in 2020 compared with 2018 and 2019.” The findings were published in a NCHS Data Brief No. 433 for March.

Related Links:

— “Suicide Mortality Decreased From 2018 to 2020 After Rising Since 2000, HealthDay , March 3, 2022

Healio (3/3, Herpen) reports, “The prevalence of PTSD in U.S. military veterans is higher than previous estimates,” researchers concluded after examining “information on a nationally representative sample of 4,069 veterans culled from the 2019–20 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, an online survey conducted from November 2019 to March 2020.” The study revealed that “prevalence of lifetime PTSD among the survey population (9.4%) was slightly higher than 2016 estimates (6.9% to 8.1%).” The findings of the “cross-sectional, retrospective study” were published online Feb. 22 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “PTSD prevalence among US military veterans higher than previously estimated “Robert Herpen, Healio, March 3, 2022

Parkinson’s News Today (3/2, Bryson) reports, “A low daily dose of aripiprazole, an antipsychotic therapy, significantly eased hallucinations and delusions in people with Parkinson’s disease and psychosis,” researchers concluded in an open-label study involving 24 patients with Parkinson’s who had psychosis. The findings were published online in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

Related Links:

— “Aripiprazole at Low Dose Eases Parkinson’s Psychosis, If Tolerable “Steve Bryson, Parkinson’s News Today, March 2, 2022

Healio (3/2, Miller) reports, “Patients who started oxycodone while taking fluoxetine or paroxetine were at increased risk for opioid overdose compared with those who were taking other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs],” researchers concluded after reviewing “data from three health insurance databases on 2,037,490 patients who received a prescription for oxycodone while receiving a SSRI.” The findings were published online Feb. 24 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Use of oxycodone with fluoxetine or paroxetine increases risk for opioid overdose “Janel Miller, Healio, March 2, 2022

In a lengthy feature piece, the New York Times (3/1, Hillstrom) reports, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in five women in the” US “experience severe intimate-partner violence over the course of their lifetimes, resulting in physical injuries, most commonly to the head, neck and face.” Even though “brain injuries among this population have never been comprehensively tracked, data suggest that the rate might be significantly higher than those incurred by athletes or soldiers.” A study published earlier this year in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation “found alterations in brain structure and function among abuse survivors with a history of brain injuries and PTSD.”

Related Links:

— “The Hidden Epidemic of Brain Injuries From Domestic Violence “Christa Hillstrom, The New York Times, March 1, 2022

USA Today (3/1, Austin) reports on ways to address “fears and phobias” exacerbated by COVID-19. For example, both children and adults can be afraid of the dark. Approximately “11% of adults were already struggling with this fear before the pandemic, and experts say COVID has made matters worse.” Having “consistent bedtime routines” may be “helpful for anyone afraid of the dark.” In addition, “taking a bath or mindful breathing techniques can be helpful for adults and children alike, said” Mari Kurahashi, MD, MPH, “a director in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Stanford School of Medicine.” Dr. Kurahashi stated, “A predictable bedtime routine…helps condition the (person) to prepare for sleep by winding them down for bedtime.”

Related Links:

— “More Americans than ever are afraid of the dark, experts say. Here’s why. “Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, March 1, 2022

CNN (2/28, Rogers) reports research indicates that “adolescents ages 11 to 15 who” had obesity, “smoked cigarettes daily, or had a psychological disorder, such as anxiety, depression or” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, “biologically aged nearly three months faster every year than their peers.” Researchers arrived at this conclusion after using “data from 910 people who were part of the Dunedin Study, a long-term investigation that tracked the health and behavior of participants born between April 1972 and March 1973 in Dunedin, New Zealand, following” participants “from age three until they were 45 years old.” The findings were published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Having certain health conditions in adolescence may be linked with faster aging in adulthood, study says “Kristen Rogers, CNN, February 28, 2022

Healio (2/28, Gramigna) reports, “Brief social contact-based videos effectively reduced adolescent transphobia and depression-related stigma,” researchers concluded in a study that randomized “1,437 participants to one of four video-based conditions in a 2:2:1:1 ratio.” The findings of the “randomized clinical trial” were published online Feb. 25 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Brief video intervention may reduce adolescent transphobia “Joe Gramigna, Healio, February 28, 2022

Healio (2/28, Gramigna) reports, “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer people had higher exposure to all adverse childhood experiences compared with heterosexual adults,” researchers concluded after analyzing the “data of 61,871 adults, of whom 6.7% identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or queer.” The findings of the “cross-sectional study” were published online Feb. 23 in a research letter in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer adults have high rates of adverse childhood experiences “Joe Gramigna, Healio, February 28, 2022