Healio (5/3, Gramigna) reports, “Structural racism in the United States has had a significant effect on psychosis risk at the individual and neighborhood levels, according to results of a review paper published” online May 3 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association, and discussed during a press briefing at the American Psychiatric Association’s virtual annual meeting. The review “assessed possible risk factors for and effects of structural racism in the U.S. in three areas, which were neighborhood disparities; trauma/stress experienced on individual and collective levels; and pregnancy-related complications,” revealing that “inequitable access to health care, healthy foods, education and employment opportunities and safe housing perpetuated disparities in U.S. neighborhoods for Black and Latino individuals.”

Related Links:

— “Structural racism a ‘critical public health threat,’ increases psychosis risk “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 3, 2021

Medscape (5/3, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “Concern and anxiety around COVID-19 remains high among Americans, with more people reporting mental health effects from the pandemic this year than last, and parents concerned about the mental health of their children,” findings from “a new poll by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) show.” Even though “the overall level of anxiety has decreased from last year’s APA poll, ‘the degree to which anxiety still reigns is concerning,’ APA President Jeffrey Geller, MD, MPH, told Medscape Medical News.” Results of this “latest poll were presented at the virtual American Psychiatric Association 2021 virtual Annual Meeting and are “based on an online survey conducted March 26 to April 5 among a sample of 1000 adults age 18 years or older.

HealthDay (5/3, Preidt) reports, “Among parents, concerns about their children were significant.” Dr. Geller said, “This poll shows that even as vaccines become more widespread, Americans are still worried about the mental state of their children.” Dr. Geller added, “This is a call to action for policymakers, who need to remember that in our COVID-19 recovery, there’s no health without mental health.”

Psychiatric News (5/3) quotes APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, who stated, “While most people, including most children, will likely adapt and recover well as we emerge from the pandemic, we know from previous research that for some, the mental health impacts of this trauma and distress will continue to have repercussions into the future.” Dr. Levin added, “We need to be prepared to help those who need it in the coming months and years.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Healio (5/1, Gramigna, Houck) reported, “Black emerging adults in the United States aged 18 to 29 years commonly experienced anxiety disorders, which were the most prevalent disorders among this segment of the population,” and “frequent exposure to police violence increased this population’s risk for anxiety disorders,” investigators concluded after using “computer-assisted surveys to evaluate the prevalence and correlates of anxiety linked to police contact among 300 Black emerging adult college students at a community college or university in St. Louis, Missouri.” The findings were presented in a poster at the American Psychiatric Association’s virtual annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Police contact significant factor in Black emerging adults’ high anxiety disorder rates “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 1, 2021

Healio (5/1, Gramigna) reported, “A cultural-based peer support group appeared to benefit Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic,” researchers concluded after evaluating “peer support outcomes using a qualitative focus group analysis among 10 participants who were in the group since the pandemic began.” The findings were presented in a poster at the American Psychiatric Association’s virtual annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Pandemic-related cultural peer support group benefits Asian Americans “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 1, 2021

The Hill (4/30, Coleman) reported, “Access to mental health services dwindled as [healthcare professionals] were strained and under the demand for care during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a” GAO report. The agency’s report “concluded that the number of people experiencing anxiety, depression and drug overdoses heightened during the pandemic, while mental health professionals dealt with layoffs, decreased hours and having to turn away patients.”

Kaiser Health News (4/30, Huetteman) said the GAO report “also casts doubt on whether insurers are abiding by federal law requiring parity in insurance coverage, which forbids health plans from passing along more of the bill for mental health care to patients than they would for medical or surgical care.”

Related Links:

— “Access to mental health services dwindled as pandemic need strained providers: GAO report “Justine Coleman, The Hill, April 30, 2021

Healio (5/2, Gramigna) reported, “Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, provided an overview of lessons learned and remaining challenges” from the COVID-19 pandemic at the American Psychiatric Association’s virtual annual meeting. Discussing “psychiatric outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. Fauci also “referenced a CDC study conducted in June 2020 that surveyed 5,470 U.S. adults and found 41% reported one or more adverse mental or behavioral health condition,” including “31% with anxiety or depression symptoms, 26% with trauma or stressor-related disorder symptoms, 13% who initiated or increased substance use and 11% who seriously considered suicide.”

Related Links:

— “Fauci gives overview of lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic at APA annual meeting “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 2, 2021

HealthDay (4/29, Preidt) reports that even though “herbal kratom is used by less than 1% of the U.S. population,” its rate of use “is much higher among those who misuse opioid” analgesics, researchers concluded after examining “data collected from more than 56,000 U.S. teens and adults during the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health..” The study also revealed that “men, white people and those with depression and serious mental illness were also more likely to report using kratom.” The findings were published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Who Is Using Herbal Kratom? ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 29, 2021

Psychiatric News (4/29) reports, “People who use prescription opioid” analgesics “along with the so-called Z-drugs (zolpidem, zopiclone, and zaleplon) for insomnia have a significantly higher risk of overdose than people who use opioids alone,” researchers concluded after using “the IBM Marketscan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental Database” to analyze “data on patients 15 to 85 years of age who had filled an opioid prescription between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2017,” then comparing “510,529 patients within this group who also began taking Z-drugs with an equal number of patients who were taking opioids alone.” The findings were published online April 26 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association

Related Links:

— “Psychiatric News, Psychiatric News, April 29, 2021

Healio (4/28, Gramigna) reports, “Children exposed to mass trauma were at increased risk for developing panic disorder,” investigators concluded in research assessing the “psychiatric effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on youths.” For the study, researchers “analyzed data from 6,991 students in grades six through 12 who participated in a New York City Board of Education post-Sept. 11 needs assessment study.” The findingswere published online ahead of print in the June issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

Related Links:

— “Children with mass trauma exposure more likely to develop panic disorder “Joe Gramigna, Healio, April 28, 2021

MedPage Today (4/28, Monaco) reports, “Gender-affirming surgery can make a substantial beneficial impact on the mental health of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals,” investigators concluded. In their “secondary analysis of data from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey,” investigators found that “undergoing at least one type of gender-affirming surgery nearly halved the likelihood of TGD individuals experiencing severe psychological distress within the past month,” and “those who underwent at least one gender-affirming surgery also reported significantly less suicidal ideation within the past year.”

HealthDay (4/28, Murez) reports the study comes “at a particularly critical time, as some states move to ban certain gender-affirming treatments and surgeries for transgender minors.” The findings were published online April 28 in JAMA Surgery.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)