Reuters (3/26, Chander) reported, “More young adults in the United States reported feeling anxious or depressed during the past six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and fewer people reported getting the help they needed, according to a U.S. government study released on Friday.” According to the story, “the percentage of adults under age 30 with recent symptoms of an anxiety or a depressive disorder rose significantly about five months after the U.S. imposed COVID-19 related lockdowns, and reported rising deaths from the fast-spreading virus.” Specifically, “Between August 2020 and February 2021, this number went up to 41.5% from 36.4%, as did the percentage of such people reporting that they needed, but did not receive, mental health counseling.”

Newsweek (3/27, Fearnow) reported that the study was published Friday in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “More under-30 Americans report anxiety, depression during pandemic – CDC “Vishwadha Chander, Reuters, March 26, 2021

Healio (3/26, Gramigna) reported, “Individuals with schizophrenia and co-morbid insomnia were at increased risk for suicidal ideation, recent suicide attempt and greater psychopathology,” researchers concluded after using “regression models to evaluate associations between current insomnia; suicidal ideation over the past two weeks; suicide attempt in the past six months evaluated via either the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia or self-report; and current psychopathology for individuals with baseline data from the Clinical Antipsychotic trials of Intervention Effectiveness.” The article does not disclose the number of study participants. The findings were published online March 23 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Insomnia tied to increased risk for suicidality in people with schizophrenia “Joe Gramigna, Healio, March 26, 2021

Medscape (3/25, Lowry, Subscription Publication) reports, “People who suffer abuse as children continue to have higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers as adults, likely placing them at increased risk for chronic health problems,” researchers concluded. In an 85-participant study “assessing trajectories of inflammation over a three-year period in healthy adults, those who reported higher rates of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse had higher levels of bio-inflammatory blood markers vs those who reported lower rates of abuse,” the study revealed. In addition, “these individuals…had significantly higher rates of loneliness and depression.” The findings were presented at the virtual Anxiety and Depression Association of America Conference 2021.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Healio (3/25, Gramigna) reports, “Telehealth treatment in an intensive acute care psychiatric setting was associated with equivalent patient satisfaction as in-person treatment,” researchers concluded in a study that “analyzed data of 207 individuals treated virtually between May 2020 and September 2020, as well as of a comparison group of 207 individuals treated in the in-person partial program the year prior.” The findings were published online March 16 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Patient satisfaction high for psychiatric telehealth platforms in partial hospital program “Joe Gramigna, Healio, March 25, 2021

HealthDay (3/25, Preidt) reports, “Exercise, mental stimulation and massage are among the drug-free therapies that are as good or better than medication in treating depression in” patients with dementia, investigators concluded after systematically reviewing “256 studies that ncluded a total of more than 28,000 people with dementia with or without major depression.” The findings of the systematic review were published online March 24 in the BMJ.

Related Links:

— “‘Non-Drug’ Approaches Can Fight Depression in People With Dementia “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, March 25, 2021

MedPage Today (3/24, Grant) reports, “Older VA patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia were at higher risk for attempting suicide, a longitudinal study found.” Researchers found that “in a fully-adjusted model, the risk for attempting suicide was 23% higher among those diagnosed with dementia,” and was “34% higher in patients with MCI.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (3/24) reports, “Smoking cessation is associated with improvement in mental health symptoms, according to a review published online March 9 in the Cochrane Library.” The researchers discovered “that compared with continuing to smoke, smoking cessation correlated with an improvement in mental health symptoms: anxiety symptoms (standardized mean difference [SMD], −0.28), depression symptoms (SMD, −0.30), and mixed anxiety and depression symptoms (SMD, −0.31).” In addition, smoking cessation “correlated with an improvement in symptoms of stress (SMD, −0.19), positive affect (SMD, 0.22), and psychological quality of life (SMD, 0.11).”

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Symptoms Improve With Smoking Cessation “Physician’s Briefing Staff, HealthDay, March 24, 2021

Psychiatric News (3/24) says, “Family-centered psychosocial interventions may protect young Black adolescents who experience frequent racial discrimination from subsequent mental health problems, according to a report in JAMA Open Network.” The study researchers “analyzed data from two community-based randomized clinical trials – the Strong African American–Teen (SAAF–T) program, which included 502 Black adolescents (56% girls) aged 14 to 16, and the Adults in the Making (AIM) program, which included 367 Black adolescents (59% girls and women) aged 17 to 18.”

Related Links:

— “Psychosocial Programs for Black Families May Mitigate Mental Health Effects of Racial Discrimination, Psychiatric News , March 24, 2021

Healio (3/23, Laday) reports, “Anxiety and depression symptoms reduce the likelihood of achieving sustained minimal disease activity in psoriatic arthritis [PsA],” researchers concluded after following “743 adult patients at the University of Toronto Psoriatic Arthritis Clinic from 2008 to 2017.” The findings were published online in a brief report in Arthritis Care & Research.

Related Links:

— “Anxiety, depression reduce odds of achieving minimal disease activity in PsA “Jason Laday, Healio, March 23, 2021

Healio (3/23, Weller) reports, “Patients self-reported varying opinions on cannabis use and its efficacy in alleviating the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease [PD],” investigators concluded after distributing “an anonymous survey to ‘constituents’ of the Parkinson’s Foundation with PD; they reported a 17.6% response rate.” Researchers then included “1,064 patients (mean age, 71.2 years; mean disease duration, 7.4 years) who provided complete responses…in the final analysis.” The study revealed that “most patients ‘recognize that cannabis is no substitute for PD medications,’” the study’s lead author said. The findings were published online in NPJ Parkinson’s Disease.

Related Links:

— “Opinions about cannabis, patterns of use vary among patients with Parkinson’s disease “Madison Weller, Healio, March 23, 2021