The AP (11/10) reports New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a pilot program that will dispatch mental healthcare professionals rather than police officers in response to certain calls to 911. The program will be “rolled out next year in two neighborhoods” and is based on existing programs that have been in place in other cities, such as Eugene, Oregon, for decades.

Reuters (11/10, Layne) reports de Blasio said, “For the first time in our city’s history, health responders will be the default responders for a person in crisis, making sure those struggling with mental illness receive the help they need.” New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray “said in the statement that the responders would have the expertise to deal with a range of situations, including suicide attempts, drug abuse and physical problems which can mask mental health issues.

Related Links:

— “Mental health workers to take lead in some NYC 911 calls, AP, November 10, 2020

Healio (11/9, Gramigna) reports on research indicating that “childhood abuse and neglect appear to have significant effects on brain structure and function, as well as on the epigenome.” Included in the category are “physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, household mental illness left untreated, household substance use and abuse, incarceration of a household member, parental separation or divorce and domestic abuse in the household.” The study also shows that “almost 62% of children in the United States experience one or more adverse childhood experiences…and nearly 25% experience three or more.” Effects on brain structure include “reduced gray matter volume in the hippocampus and amygdala” as well as “greater activation of the amygdala, globus pallidus/parahippocampal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, cerebellum and thalamus.” The findings were presented at the NEI Max virtual conference.

Related Links:

— “Childhood abuse, neglect may significantly alter brain structure, function “Joe Gramigna, Healio, November 9, 2020

MedPage Today (11/9, Hlavinka) reports, “The FDA gave marketing authorization to an Apple Watch app that detects and disrupts nightmares for adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or nightmare disorder, the agency announced” Nov. 6. The agency “granted NightWare breakthrough device designation and reviewed it through an expedited process intended for low to moderate risk devices.”

Medscape (11/9, Brooks, Subscription Publication) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (11/9, Monostra) reports, “A cohort of adults with schizophrenia in Israel had a higher rate of hypothyroidism after diagnosis than controls without schizophrenia, although no difference was found before diagnosis between the two groups,” investigators concluded in “a retrospective study of 1,252 adults with schizophrenia who were aged 18 to 64 years at diagnosis, and 3,576 controls selected from the Clalit Health Services database in Israel from 2002 to 2015.” The study authors concluded that “hypothyroidism may have a different cause in patients with schizophrenia, either disease- or treatment-related, compared to hypothyroidism in the general population.” The findings were published in the November issue of the journal Psychiatry Research.

Related Links:

— “Rate of hypothyroidism higher in adults after schizophrenia diagnosis “Michael Monostra, Healio, November 9, 2020

Healio (11/6, Miller) reported, “Almost one in five physicians have experienced suicidal ideation in their lifetimes,” investigators concluded in a 35-study, 70,368-physician systematic review and meta-analysis. The findings were published online Oct. 6 in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.

Related Links:

— “17% of physicians have experienced suicidal ideation “Janel Miller, Healio, November 6, 2020

In a HealthDay (11/4, Reinberg) article advising people on how to deal with post-election anxiety and stress, “mental health experts…are urging healthier ways” than drinking “to cope with the anxiety of a country on the edge.” Instead, people should maintain their normal routines and not allow themselves “to fixate on the constant stream of news emanating from the TV and social media.” APA President-Elect Dr. Vivian Pender said, “We’re looking at the small minute-by-minute picture. And it’s good sometimes to rise above that and step back or refocus on something else.”

Related Links:

— “Coping With the Stress of This Election “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, November 4, 2020

Healio (11/4, Gramigna) reports, “Individuals who were recently diagnosed with a mental disorder were at increased risk for [SARS-CoV-2] infection, especially African Americans and women,” investigators concluded after analyzing data from electronic health records on “61 million adults from 360 hospitals and 317,000” clinicians “across the U.S. up to July 29, 2020.” The findings were published online Oct. 7 in the journal World Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “People with mental disorder diagnosis at increased risk for COVID-19 infection “Joe Gramigna, Healio, November 4, 2020

USA Today (11/4, Cannon) reports voters in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota all voted to legalize recreational marijuana, meaning 15 states have now legalized it. Meanwhile, Mississippi and South Dakota legalized medical marijuana. Oregon voters “further relaxed drug laws, becoming the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.”

Related Links:

— “These states legalized recreational marijuana on Election Day “Jay Cannon, USA TODAY, November 4, 2020

Healio (11/3, Gramigna) reports, “Statin use did not appear associated with suicidality, anxiety disorders or seizures,” investigators concluded after examining Swedish registry data on “1,149,384 individuals who were dispensed statins and aged 15 years or older between 2006 and 2013.” The findings of the “total-population cohort study” were published in the November issue of The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Statin treatment not associated with adverse neuropsychiatric outcomes “Joe Gramigna, Healio, November 3, 2020

HealthDay (11/3, Preidt) reports, “The more symptoms of depression people have, the higher their risk of stroke,” investigators concluded in a study that “included more than 9,500 Black people and more than 14,500 white people across the United States who were 45 and older and had no history of stroke.” The findings were published online Oct. 6 in the journal Neurology: Clinical Practice.

Related Links:

— “Depression Has Strong Ties to Stroke, Study Finds “Robert Preidt, HealthDay , November 3, 2020