The New York Times (10/5, Belluck) reports in a study published in Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, researchers at Northwestern Medicine found that almost a third of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 “experienced some type of altered mental function – ranging from confusion to delirium to unresponsiveness – in the largest study to date of neurological symptoms among coronavirus patients in an American hospital system.” In addition, the researchers found that “patients with altered mental function had significantly worse medical outcomes.”

TIME (10/5, Ducharme) reports the researchers also found that “out of 509 people admitted…for coronavirus care this spring, 82% had a neurologic symptom at some point.” TIME adds, “The most common neurologic symptoms were muscle aches and headaches, which were experienced by about 45% and 38% of patients, respectively.”

HealthDay (10/5, Preidt) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Nearly One-Third of Covid-19 Patients in Study Had Altered Mental State “Pam Belluck, The New York Times, October 5, 2020

Healio (10/3, Downey) reported, “There was a 32.5% increase in THC-exposed newborns at a Michigan hospital following the legalization of recreational marijuana in the state,” investigators concluded after identifying “the rate of newborn exposure to marijuana in utero prior to and following the legalization of recreational marijuana in Michigan in a 2018 vote.” The findings were presented during the AAP National Conference & Exhibition.

Related Links:

— “Number of THC-exposed newborns increases after recreational marijuana legalized “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, October 3, 2020

HealthDay (10/3, Preidt) reported, “Abuse of” prescription opioids in the US “fell by more than one-quarter between 2007 and 2018,” investigators concluded after analyzing “analyzed data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual survey of about 70,000 Americans aged 12 and older who are asked about their use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs.” The findings were scheduled for presentation at the virtual annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

Related Links:

— “Signs America’s Opioid Epidemic Might Finally Be Waning “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, October 3, 2020

Psychiatric News (10/2) reported, “Adults with good cardiorespiratory fitness – the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen during sustained physical activity – have half the risk of developing symptoms of depression,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from 1,730 adults aged 40 to 75 years.” The findings were published online Sept. 29 in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Cardiorespiratory Fitness May Cut Risk of Depressive Symptoms, Psychiatric News , October 2, 2020

Medscape (10/1, Franki, Subscription Publication) runs an MDEdge Clinical Psychiatry News piece

Data from the National Vital Statistics System, Mortality

• Suicide rates for urban and rural areas increased overall from 2000 through 2018, with the pace of increase greater for rural suicide rates, compared with urban, after 2007.
• In 2018, the rural male suicide rate (30.7 per 100,000) was higher than the urban male suicide rate (21.5); the rural rate for females (8.0) was higher than the urban rate (5.9).
• Over the period 2000–2018, the rural male suffocation-related suicide rate more than doubled (3.7 compared with 8.8), and in 2018, the rural male firearm-related suicide rate (18.7) was 63% higher than the urban male firearm-related suicide rate (11.5).
• Over the period of 2000–2018, the rural female suffocation-related suicide rate more than quadrupled (0.5 compared with 2.4), and firearms remained the leading method of suicide in rural females.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The New York Times (10/1, Flavelle) reports in 2020, “a year already filled with historic wildfires and hurricanes…Americans have spent far more time in emergency housing than in any year during the past decade.” Trauma resulting from natural disaster-related relocation to emergency shelters “can be particularly hard on vulnerable communities, including low-income families and minorities, according to Dr. Hector Colon-Rivera, president of the American Psychiatric Association’s Hispanic Caucus and medical director of a nonprofit organization for Hispanic communities.” Both “Hispanics and African-Americans tend to be at greater risk from disasters in the first place, Dr. Colon-Rivera said, because they’re more likely to live in areas with poor flood control, zoning or other protections against natural hazards.”

Related Links:

— “Fires and Storms Push Demand for Emergency Shelter to a New High “Christopher Flavelle, The New York Times, October 1, 2020

Healio (10/1, Weller) reports, “Patients with narcolepsy type 1 [NT1] frequently experienced depression, depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts and risk for suicide, especially those who have untreated narcolepsy,” investigators concluded in a study that “included 297 patients with NT1 (age, 39±17 years), 172 of whom were not taking medications, and 346 controls (age, 38±16 years).” The study also revealed that “treatment for” NT1 “improved depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts.” The findings were published online Sept. 22 in the journal Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Depression occurs often in narcolepsy, but improves with treatment of sleep disorder “Madison Weller, Healio, October 1, 2020

The Wall Street Journal (9/30, Mathews, Whelan, Subscription Publication) reports that physicians and hospitals say the complicated rules and differing approaches adopted by major health insurers in coverage or remote healthcare are creating confusion among healthcare professionals and a potentially increased financial burden for patients who opt for telehealth consultations.

Related Links:

— “As Covid-19 Cases Rise, Insurers Reduce Coverage for Virtual Doctors’ Visits “Anna Wilde Mathews and Robbie Whelan, The Wall Street Journal, September 30, 2020

Medical Daily (9/30, Nelson) reports many children who need mental healthcare appear not to be getting it, investigators concluded after reviewing “over 200,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance claims for kids aged 10 to 17.” The study revealed that “one in 10 had a claim related to mental health care between 2012 and 2018,” but “only 71% of those kids received follow-up treatment after the insurance claim.” The findings were published online Sept. 29 in PNAS.

Related Links:

— “Kids Need Mental Health Care, But They’re Not Getting It “Jennifer Nelson, Medical Daily, September 30, 2020

HealthDay (9/30, Thompson) reports, “People suffering from a psychiatric disorder could be more than twice as likely to die if they become infected with COVID-19,” investigators concluded after tracking “the health of 1,685 patients hospitalized at Yale New Haven Health, a five-hospital system in Connecticut, between February and April.”
        
MedPage Today (9/30, Hlavinka) reports, “the risk was higher among patients with a psychiatric diagnosis at two weeks after their index hospitalization (35.7% vs 14.7%), as well as at three weeks (40.9% vs 22.2%) and 4 weeks (44.8% vs 31.5%).” The findings were published online in a research letter published online Sept. 30 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Issues Double the Odds of Dying With COVID-19, Study Finds “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, September 30, 2020