MD Magazine (4/25, Kunzmann) reported, “In a virtual presentation as part of the American Psychiatric Association…Spring Highlights Meeting 2020, Kimberly A. Yonkers, MD, of the Yale University School of Medicine, discussed national data-based understandings of substance use among” pregnant women. In her presentation, Dr. “Yonkers also appealed for the implementation of both universal and health equity approaches to addressing the prevalence of such cases.” In addition, she “called for understanding that, though substance use remains lower among pregnant women than those who are not pregnant, it is a severely detrimental risk to both the mother’s and child’s long-term health, and a combination of care team collaboration and proven therapies should be prepared to address it.”

Related Links:

— “Treating, Understanding Substance Use in Pregnant Women, “Kevin Kunzmann, MD Magazine , April 25, 2020

Psychiatric News (4/23) reports the coronavirus pandemic “and the associated public health response could be causing the number of people who are the victims of intimate partner violence and child abuse to rise dramatically, according to a resource document published this week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).” The document from SAMHSA said, “COVID-19 has caused major economic devastation, disconnected many from community resources and support systems, and created widespread uncertainty and panic. Such conditions may stimulate violence in families where it didn’t exist before and worsen situations in homes where mistreatment and violence have been a problem.”

Related Links:

— “Intimate Partner Violence, Child Abuse May Rise During Pandemic, Psychiatric News, April 23, 2020

The New York Times (4/23, Carey) reports many mental-health residential centers have closed because of the pandemic leaving many patients in difficult situations. Across the US, the “pandemic has scrambled mental health services, forcing thousands of people with disabling psychological distress, and their families, to adjust on the fly.” The New York Times highlights several specific examples of facilities that have been forced to close or change their operations because of the pandemic and how this has affected patients and staff.

Related Links:

— “When Mental Distress Comes Home, “Benedict Carey, The New York Times, April 23, 2020

NPR (4/23, Noguchi) reports Dr. Bruce Schwartz, president of the APA, says Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx where he works is “in the center of the epidemic.” Dr. Schwartz describes an overworked hospital staff who have endured weeks of people dying from coronavirus, “It is really a very horrendous experience that no one could possibly be prepared for.” Dr. Schwartz “says hospitals like his are offering teletherapy for their own staff” and the need will likely grow.

Related Links:

— “Trauma On The Pandemic’s Front Line Leaves Health Workers Reeling, “Yuki Noguchi, NPR, April 23, 2020

Medwire News (4/22, McDermid) reports, “A Mendelian randomization analysis supports a direct effect of major depressive disorder (MDD) on type 2 diabetes [T2D] risk, but produces no evidence for the reverse scenario,” researchers concluded after considering “89 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with an established association with the risk for MDD.” The study team learned that “as people’s chances of developing MDD increased, based on their genetic liability, so too did their chances of having” T2D. After examining “the reverse situation, using 184 SNPs with a role in the risk for” T2D, investigators “found no association with the likelihood of developing MDD.” The findings were published online April 8 in the journal Diabetologia.

Related Links:

— “Genetics casts doubt on bidirectional depression, diabetes association, “Eleanor McDermid, Medwire News, April 22, 2020

MedPage Today (4/22, Hlavinka) reports that the “increasing national suicide rate may be attributable to individuals using more lethal means when attempting suicide, according to CDC data.” From 2006 to 2015, suicide attempts “increased by 10%, from 175 to 193 per 100,000 persons, and the case fatality rate of suicidal acts increased from 7.3% to 8.3%, reported Jing Wang, MD, MPH, of the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues.” Their findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (4/22, Gramigna) reports, “Community racial/ethnic composition appeared associated with residents’ access to specific medications for opioid use disorder [OUD],” investigators concluded in a “cross-sectional study.”

MD Magazine (4/22, Rosenfeld) reports researchers arrived at this conclusion after examining “the extent that racial and ethnic segregation played a role in who received methadone and buprenorphine.” Included in the study were “all counties and county-equivalent divisions in the US in 2016,” as well as “data on racial and ethnic population distribution from the American Community Survey.” The study revealed “an association between less interaction with African American residents and more methadone facilities,” while “every 1% decrease in the probability of an interaction of a white resident with an African American resident was linked with 8.17 more buprenorphine facilities and the probability of an interaction of a white and Hispanic resident was associated with 1.61 more facilities providing buprenorphine.” The findings were published online April 22 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Access to medications for opioid use disorder linked to community racial/ethnic segregation, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, April 22, 2020

The Wall Street Journal (4/21, MacDonald, Subscription Publication) reports coronavirus lockdowns have disrupted the routines, therapy, and special education that many people with autism depend on, which has increased anxiety for many of them and their families.

Related Links:

— “For People With Autism, Lockdowns Shatter Routine, Heighten Anxiety, “Alistair MacDonald, The Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2020

Healio (4/20, Gramigna) reports, “Opioid-involved overdose deaths commonly featured alcohol and benzodiazepine co-involvement,” investigators concluded in a “repeated cross-section analysis” involving data on “399,230 opioid-involved poisoning deaths from 1999 to 2017.” The findings were published online April 9 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Alcohol, benzodiazepines often co-involved in opioid overdose deaths
, “Joe Gramigna , Healio, April 20, 2020

Healio (4/20, Gramigna) reports, “Risk factors for first nonfatal suicide attempt likely differ by age,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from the second wave of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions – a nationally representative sample of 34,629 U.S. adults.” The findings of the “nationally representative study” were published online April 7 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “First nonfatal suicide attempt risk factors differ significantly by age, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, April 20, 2020