Oncology Nurse Advisor (2/4, Moore) reported, “Caregivers’ anxiety/depression symptoms may affect quality of life (QOL) for children with cancer, according to results of a study of caregivers of children with a cancer diagnosis.” The research was published in the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology.
Related Links:
— “Caregiver Anxiety/Mental Health Affects QOL for Children With Cancer “Vicki Moore, Oncology Nurse Advisor , February 4, 2022
MedPage Today (2/4, George) reported brains of patients with COVID-19 “had some of the same pathological changes seen in Alzheimer’s disease, which may explain the memory problems people with long COVID experience, a small study suggested.” This study, which was “based on autopsies of 10 people who died with COVID-19, linked the inflammatory response found in SARS-CoV-2 infection with pathways causing tau hyperphosphorylation typically associated with Alzheimer’s disease, reported” researchers. The findingspublished in Alzheimer’s & Dementia “also indicated a role for leaky ryanodine receptor 2…in the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the researchers wrote.”
Related Links:
— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)
Psychiatric News (2/3) reports, “The addition of the diagnostic category prolonged grief disorder to DSM-5-TRis timely and important given the COVID-19 pandemic’s enormous death toll, wrote Holly Prigerson, PhD, of Weill Cornell Medicine and colleagues in a Viewpoint” published online Feb. 2 in JAMA Psychiatry. The authors of the viewpoint wrote, “Because of the pandemic, the absolute number of [prolonged grief disorder] cases is likely to increase and the 7% to 10% prevalence rate among…bereaved people may rise.” They added, “Clinicians should learn how to accurately assess, to accurately and differentially diagnose, and to offer or refer patients for treatment.”
Related Links:
— “New Criteria Can Help Clinicians Diagnose, Treat Prolonged Grief Disorder, Psychiatric News, February 3, 2022
According to Healio (2/3, Gramigna), in an 81-study scoping review, investigators have “identified variables reported as significant in three or more randomized clinical trials with respect to adolescent depression outcomes.” Those variables included “age, sex/gender and baseline depression severity.” The findings were published online Feb. 1 in JAMA Network Open. “33 RCTs with results described across 81 publications, variable domains reported as significant in at least 3 RCTs with respect to depression outcomes included age, sex/gender, baseline depression severity, early response to treatment, sleep changes, parent-child conflict, overall psychopathology, suicidal ideation, hopelessness, functional impairment, attendance at psychotherapy sessions, and history of trauma”.
Related Links:
— “Researchers pinpoint variables linked to adolescent depression outcomes “Joe Gramigna, Healio, February 3, 2022
Healio (2/3, Gramigna) reports, “Several traits related to obsessive-compulsive personality disorder [OCPD] predicted post-pandemic adjustment difficulties,” investigators concluded after conducting “a survey of 438 adults from the general population during a temporary easing of lockdown in the U.K. between July 2020 and November 2020, which showed 25% of participants experienced readjustment difficulties.” The study revealed that people “with a history of mental disorder and obsessive-compulsive traits and symptoms, including rigidity determined via a neurocognitive test of attentional flexibility, had significant difficulties.” The findings were published online ahead of print in the April issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research.
Related Links:
— “Obsessive-compulsive traits may affect post-pandemic adjustment “Joe Gramigna, Healio, February 3, 2022
HCPlive (2/2, Butera) reports, “A recent investigation into metal health resources for children and young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic suggested a trend of increasing need for pediatric behavioral health services and treatment on an outpatient basis,” investigators concluded after examining “data from the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program (MCPAP).” In particular, the study team collected and then analyzed “data from the database on unique patient telephone and in-person encounters during fiscal years (FYs) from 2019 to 2021” on “a total of 2515 unique patients…at the MCPAP before the COVID-19 pandemic as well as 1700 patients with encounters during the pandemic.” The findings were published online Feb. 2 in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.
Related Links:
— “COVID-19 Pandemic Responsible for Increased Need for Pediatric Behavioral Health Services “Armand Butera, HCPlive, February 2, 2022
MedPage Today (2/2, Grant) reports, “Experts are warning that without urgent intervention, the U.S. will see more than 1.2 million fatal opioid-related overdoses during the next decade,” and consequently “are calling for immediate action to curtail the epidemic in North America.” The Stanford-Lancet Commission on the North American Opioid Crisis has created a “model of the opioid crisis” estimating that “there will be 1,220,000 fatal opioid overdoses in the U.S. from 2020 to 2029, underlining the value of their evaluations of the current crisis and recommendations for the future.” The commission has also “identified unique ‘domains’ of the epidemic and provided tailored recommendations for each one.” The executive summary, supporting documents, and a related editorial were published online Feb. 2 in The Lancet.
Related Links:
— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)
The Hill (2/2, Ali) reports, “Understanding rates of suicide can be tricky, as researchers in a new study initially found there was a decline in the overall number of intentional drug overdoses,” but after they isolated “data more finely, they found suicide rates actually went up for young people, Black women and the elderly.”
HealthDay (2/2, Thompson) reports, “Suicides by drug overdose have increased among teens, young adults and seniors, even as they declined for the overall population,” investigators from the US National Institute on Drug Abuse concluded. While “drug-related suicides declined for Americans in general during the latter part of the 2010s,” the “rates of suicide by overdose among 15- to 24-year-olds rose, as did those for 75- to 84-year-olds.” The findings were published online Feb. 2 in a research letter in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). HealthDay quotes Smita Das, MD, PhD, MPH, chair of the APA’s Council on Addiction Psychiatry, who said, “Young people are in a vulnerable age range, where their brains are still developing and factors like executive function and control are not in place yet,” which “can affect impulsivity and coping.”
Related Links:
— “Suicides by drug overdose increased among youth, elderly and Black women in last five years: study “Shirin Ali, The Hill, February 2, 2022
Modern Healthcare (2/1, Hellmann, Subscription Publication) reports, “More needs to be done to bolster the health workforce in response to a growing mental health and substance use crisis that the pandemic worsened, senators said during a hearing on Capitol Hill” on Feb. 1. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), “chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee” said, “If we keep stretching without taking action, something is going to break.” Legislators “have not yet issued a mental health bill, but it will likely address barriers to care including high costs, the dearth of health professionals and health insurance practices that limit access.”
Related Links:
— “Senators eye workforce fixes to improve mental health access “Jessie Hellmann, Modern Healthcare, February 1, 2022
Healio (2/1, Herpen) reports, “Biological rhythm factors unrelated to sleep influenced severity of symptoms of depression and anxiety for the period around childbirth,” investigators concluded in a study that “recruited 100 women, aged 16 years and older, in their third trimester of pregnancy, with no prior history of head trauma involving loss of consciousness or current major manic or depressive episodes, from Ontario between November 2015 and May 2018.” The study revealed that “higher symptoms for depression and anxiety were observed in the pre-birth interval and were most strongly associated with changes in biorhythm boundaries, such as strength of circadian rhythm, amount of activity during nightly rest and likelihood of smooth transition at night from resting to activity.” The findings were published online Jan. 18 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
Related Links:
— “Lack of stable biorhythms linked to depression, anxiety in peripartum population “Robert Herpen, Healio, February 1, 2022