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

The New York Times (9/29, Swift, Goodnough) reports since the COVID-19 pandemic began, opioid-related deaths have increased in more than 40 states. The pandemic disrupted daily life for many in recovery by reducing access to treatment, disrupting employment, and isolating people from those they depend on for support.

Related Links:

— “‘The Drug Became His Friend”: Pandemic Drives Hike in Opiods Deaths ” Hilary Swift and Abby Goodnough, The New York Times, September 29, 2020

CNN (9/29, Mascarenhas) reports researchers at the RAND Corporation found “Americans over 30 have been drinking more during the coronavirus pandemic compared to this time last year, and there could be consequences to their physical and mental health.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

TIME (9/29, Kluger) reports that “during the week ending March 21, national alcohol sales increased 54% from the same week a year before and online sales leapt a staggering 262%.” The researchers also found that “adults reported drinking 14% more than they did the year before.”

Other sources covering the story include: HealthDay (9/29, Mozes), MedPage Today (9/29, Walker), and Medscape (9/29, Brooks, Subscription Publication).

Related Links:

— “Americans over 30 have been drinking more during the coronavirus pandemic, research shows ” Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN, September 29, 2020

Psychiatric News (9/29) reports that while “specialty team-based services for first-episode psychosis (FEP) have the potential to improve outcomes among patients with schizophrenia,” in a viewpoint article, psychiatrists Maria Ferrara, MD, and Vinod H. Srihari, MD, of Yale University “described several factors that may disadvantage women in terms of both access to and quality of care in FEP services.” Those factors include “age of onset,” “clinical presentation,” “pathways to care,” “sexual and reproductive health,” and “preventive medicine.” The viewpoint was published online Sept. 23 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Women With First-Episode Psychosis Not Getting Targeted Care They Need Psychiatric News, September 29, 2020

The AP (9/28, Morgan) reports, “While suicide has long been a problem in the U.S. military, numbers have risen this year by as much as 20% as service members struggle with isolation and other impacts of COVID-19, added to the pressures of deploying to war zones and responding to national disasters and civil unrest.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, soldiers returning home earlier this year were restricted from visiting families and friends out-of-state and “patriotic welcome home ceremonies were replaced with a mandatory two-week quarantine.” The AP adds that the US Army is considering different measures, such as shortening deployment periods, to improve well-being and reduce suicides.

Related Links:

— “As suicides rise, Army brass reassessing outreach “Sarah Blake Morgan, AP, September 28, 2020

Healio (9/28, Miller) cites researchers in reporting that “the FDA has often approved new drug applications for opioids based on trials of inadequate length that included only patients who could tolerate the drugs.” The researchers “examined 48 new drug applications (NDAs) that were approved by the FDA between 1997 and 2018.” The trials that supported the applications “lasted a median of 84 days” though according to one researcher, many patients would take these medications for longer than that. The findings were published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “FDA approved opioids based on limited data, sometimes ‘flawed’ trial designs “Janel Miller, Healio, September 28, 2020