According to Psychiatric News (12/23), a commentary published online Dec. 14 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry posited that “physicians’ responsibilities in addressing racism and racial violence toward Black Americans range from examining and taking steps to counter our own implicit and explicit biases to addressing policies and procedures that reproduce inequities within mental health delivery systems.” After “drawing from literature and their personal experience, the authors” of the commentary “offered…recommendations for the field of medicine, as it relates” to educators, clinicians, and medical administrators.

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— “Psychiatrists Outline Strategies to Achieve Antiracism in Medicine, Psychiatric News, December 23, 2020

According to Psychiatric News (12/22), on Dec. 21, Congress “passed the Strengthening Behavioral Health Parity Act (HR 7539), a bipartisan bill based on APA’s model legislation for improving compliance with the federal mental health parity law.” The measure “was passed as part of a year-end funding package that combined annual appropriations legislation for federal agencies and a $900 billion COVID-relief package.” It is anticipated that President Trump will sign the proposed legislation into law “later this week.” Commenting on the bill, APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, said, “This act is a good example of how Congress can work in a bipartisan manner to keep Americans’ mental health needs on their radars and invest in programs that help us navigate the pandemic.”

Related Links:

— “Congress Passes Legislative Package Including APA Model Parity Enforcement Bill, Psychiatric News, December 22, 2020

Kaiser Health News (12/22, Reardon) reports that “in a typical year, Native American youth die by suicide at nearly twice the rate of their white peers in the” US, but “experts worry that the isolation and shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could make things worse.” The article adds that social distancing has isolated people who in other times could seek help from others.

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— “Health Officials Fear Pandemic-Related Suicide Spike Among Native Youth ” Sara Reardon, Kaiser Health News, December 22, 2020

Healio (12/22, Gramigna) reports, “Anxiety and depression levels during the COVID-19 pandemic reached their peak at its early stages then declined rapidly, likely because people adapted to circumstances,” investigators concluded after assessing “the trajectories of depression and anxiety over the 20 weeks following announcement of widespread lockdowns in England,” analyzing “data of 36,520 participants with three follow-up measures and no missing values who were included in the UCL COVID-19 Social Study. Weekly U.K. data from March 21 on anxiety were available from the Generalized Anxiety Disorder assessment and on depressive symptoms from the Patient Health Questionnaire.” The findings were published online Dec. 9 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Anxiety, depression highest during COVID-19 pandemic’s early stages, decreased since “Joe Gramigna, Healio, December 22, 2020

Psychiatric News (12/21) reports, “Adults with no history of unhealthy alcohol use who undergo bariatric surgery to promote weight loss may be more likely to develop unhealthy alcohol use compared with adults who do not receive surgery,” investigators concluded after analyzing “electronic health record data from 2,608 veterans (75% male) who underwent a bariatric surgical procedure between October 1, 2008, and September 30, 2016.” The findings were published online Dec. 21 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Bariatric Surgery May Increase Risk of Unhealthy Alcohol Use, Psychiatric News, December 21, 2020

The Washington Post (12/18, Chiu) reports, “Headache specialists say many of their patients have reported new or worsening symptoms this year – an increase that is believed to be largely triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on stress, daily routines and access to care.” In addition, “headaches are also the most common neurological symptom of” COVID-19.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (12/21, George) reports researchers found in a retrospective study that people hospitalized with COVID-19 “who presented with altered mental state had significantly higher risk of in-hospital death, even when pulmonary problems were not severe.” The study was published in Neurology.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (12/18) reported, “Rates of comorbid major depressive disorder [MDD] and generalized anxiety disorder [GAD] are three times higher in people who have cannabis use disorder,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from eight articles from six epidemiological surveys published from January 1980 through July 2020” that included some “177,000 respondents.” The findings of the meta-analysis were published online Dec. 16 in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Depression, Anxiety Three Times More Likely in People with Cannabis Use Disorder, Psychiatric News, December 18, 2020

The Hill (12/17, Kelley) reports, “While deaths related to COVID-19 reach record highs in the U.S., new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that deaths from drug overdoses are accelerating amid the pandemic, signaling the continued emotional strain the pandemic is having on people.” The agency “said that more than 81,000 drug overdose fatalities occurred in the U.S. over the last 12 months, ending in May 2020.” Recently, the American Medical Association (AMA) “documented a similar spike in drug overdose deaths fueled by opioid abuse.” AMA Immediate Past President Patrice A. Harris, M.D., M.A., said, “We are appropriately focused on COVID, it is still top of mind for most people, and it’s understandable that we can lose focus on other issues…but we still have to make sure we are focused on the overdose epidemic that we continue to experience in this country.”

Meanwhile, PatientEngagementHIT (12/17, Heath) reports, “As the opioid overdose epidemic continues to ravage the nation, state leaders need to zero in on strategies that will expand patient access to care and address treatment barriers for individuals with substance use disorder (SUD), according to a new paper from the American Medical Association and Manatt Health.” Dr. Harris said, “Sadly, the drug overdose epidemic continues, and it has become more complicated during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Harris added, “It is long past due for all stakeholders to remove barriers to care and address systemic inequities that have been brought to light during this pandemic. Physicians and other health care professionals will continue to take action, and the AMA is willing to work with all stakeholders to implement these recommendations to prevent future deaths.

Related Links:

— “Drug overdose deaths accelerating due to pandemic: CDC “Alexandra Kelley, The Hill, December 17, 2020

HealthDay (12/17) reports on research finding that “in Maryland, suicide mortality increased among Blacks and decreased among Whites during the progressive closure period [March 5 to May 7, 2020] of the COVID-19 pandemic.” The research included data on “1,079 suicide decedents from 2017 to 2020,” and found that “mean suicide mortality increased among Black residents during” the March to May period from 0.177 per day in 2017 to 2019 to 0.344 per day, while it declined “among White residents (0.672 per day in 2020 versus 1.224 per day in 2017 to 2019).” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Suicide Mortality Up for Blacks During Closure Period of COVID-19, HealthDay, December 17, 2020