Healio (5/27, Michael) reports, “Just 16.6% of commercially insured patients receive follow-up care after being released from the” emergency department (ED) “for a nonfatal opioid overdose,” investigators concluded after examining “insurance claims data from a large commercial insurer in the United States from October 2011 through September 2016 to assess follow-up treatment 90 days after an ED visit for an opioid overdose.” The findings of the 6,451-patient study were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Few patients receive follow-up after opioid overdose, “Erin Michael, Healio, May 27, 2020

The New York Times (5/26, Cramer) reports addiction experts say that people who are drinking more during the pandemic may develop drinking problems that they did not have before. The New York Times adds that “alcohol sales have spiked” and “addiction experts say they are worried” that habits developed during the pandemic “could also trigger more serious drinking problems and even create new ones for people who have never struggled with alcohol dependency before.” For example, Dr. Sarah Wakeman, an addiction medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, said, “I expect we’re going to see pretty significant increases in what I call unhealthy alcohol use, which means drinking above recommended limits.”

Related Links:

— “Could All Those ‘Quarantinis’ Lead to Drinking Problems?, “Maria Cramer, The New York Times, May 26, 2020

CNN (5/26, Azad) reports, “A new study looking at hundreds of LGBTQ youth who died by suicide finds that many were bullied before their death.”

MedPage Today (5/26, Hlavinka) reports, “Bullying was common among LGBTQ youth who died by suicide between 2003 and 2017, especially among younger children,” investigators found. In fact, “among 9,884 children ages 10-19 who died by suicide, a far greater proportion of LGBTQ youth were bullied compared with their heterosexual peers (20.7% vs 4.4%), and LGBTQ decedents had nearly five times the odds of experiencing bullying after adjusting for depression, mental health problems, and family or relationship problems.” The findings were published online in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics. HealthDay(5/26, Mozes) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Many LGTBQ youth who die by suicide are bullied before their death, study finds, “Arman Azad, CNN, May 26, 2020

Psychiatric News (5/26) highlights a case report published in Schizophrenia Bulletin, which “suggests that patients who are taking clozapine may be at risk of clozapine toxicity if they become infected with” coronavirus. Psychiatric News adds, “Clozapine is considered the best option for patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, but patients taking the medication are at heightened risk of a rare but serious condition known as neutropenia, which can increase risk of severe infections.”

Related Links:

— “Potential Risk of Clozapine Toxicity May Occur in Patients With COVID-19, Psychiatric News, May 26, 2020

The Washington Post (5/26, Fowers, Wan) reports, “A third of Americans are showing signs of clinical anxiety or depression, Census Bureau data shows, the most definitive and alarming sign yet of the psychological toll exacted by the coronavirus pandemic.” Maria A. Oquendo, a psychiatry professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a former president of the APA, said, “It’s understandable given what’s happening. It would be strange if you didn’t feel anxious and depressed. This virus is not like a hurricane or earthquake or even terrorist attack. It’s not something you can see or touch, and yet the fear of it is everywhere.”

Related Links:

— “A third of Americans now show signs of clinical anxiety or depression, Census Bureau finds amid coronavirus pandemic, ” Alyssa Fowers and
William Wan, The Washington Post, May 26, 2020

The Wall Street Journal (5/25, Petersen, Subscription Publication) reports some physicians are concerned about long-term abuse and addiction to anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills as prescriptions for both have increased during the pandemic. In an APA survey released in March, more than one-third of Americans say the pandemic has had a “serious impact” on their mental health.

Related Links:

— “More People Are Taking Drugs for Anxiety and Insomnia, and Doctors Are Worried, “Andrea Petersen, The Wall Street Journal, May 25, 2020

HealthDay (5/22, Preidt) reported, “Mental health problems and substance abuse are common among” police officers, researchers concluded after reviewing “67 studies that included more than 272,000 police officers in 24 countries.” The systematic review revealed that “just under 26% screened positive for hazardous drinking, and 5% would be considered alcohol-dependent or drinking at harmful levels.” What’s more, “one in seven met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, and about one in 10 met the criteria for anxiety disorder or had suicidal thoughts.” The findings were published online May 21 in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Mental Health is Big Issue For Police Officers Around The World: Study, ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, May 22, 2020

NBC News (5/21, Sullivan) reports, “Combined deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide in the U.S. plateaued in 2018 for the first time in two decades, according to a” report (PDF) from Trust for America’s Health and the Well Being Trust. NBC News adds, “The so-called deaths of despair reached a high in 2017, and the leveling off in 2018 was driven by a decrease in overall drug overdose deaths – the first such decrease in a decade.”

However, CNN (5/21, Erdman) reports “that deaths of despair increased in some minority communities during the same time period. And separately alcohol-related deaths were up 4% and suicides were up 2%.”

Medscape (5/21, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports experts warn that deaths of despair “may well increase in the wake of COVID-19.”

Related Links:

— “Drug overdose deaths drop in U.S. as other deaths of despair rise, report finds, “Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC News, May 21, 2020

Psychiatric News (5/21) reports the leaders of the National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience wrote an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine arguing that organizations must take actions to protect healthcare workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The authors wrote, “Before the virus struck, the U.S. clinical workforce was already experiencing a crisis of burnout. We are now facing a surge of physical and emotional harm that amounts to a parallel pandemic. Tragically, we are already seeing reports of clinicians dying by suicide amid the pandemic, including the highly publicized death of a prominent emergency medicine physician in Manhattan, the epicenter of the U.S. COVID-19 outbreak.”

Related Links:

— “Five Actions to Promote Well-Being of Health Care Workers During, After COVID-19, Psychiatric News, May 21, 2020

Psychiatric News (5/20) reports, “The stresses on older people and their caregivers associated with COVID-19 – social isolation, financial hardship, difficulties accessing needed care and supplies, and anxiety about infection – may increase the risk of elder abuse,” experts concluded in an article published online May 18 in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “How to Identify, Help Older People in Potentially Abusive Situations, Psychiatric News , May 20, 2020