HealthDay (4/27, Norton) reports research suggests the movie “Joker” stoked “prejudices against people with mental illnesses.” After randomizing “164 adults to watch either ‘Joker’ or the movie ‘Terminator: Dark Fate,’” investigators “found that shortly after viewing “Joker,” moviegoers showed an uptick in negative feelings toward” people with mental illnesses, while “there was no such change among people who saw a film that was similarly violent, but had no depiction of mental illness.” The findings were published online April 24 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Did the Movie ‘Joker’ Reinforce Prejudice Against Mentally Ill?,  “Amy Norton, HealthDay, April 27, 2020

MD Magazine (4/27, Walter) reports NIDA Director Dr. Nora D. Volkow spoke at the American Psychiatric Association Spring Highlights Meeting 2020 about the risk of coronavirus infection for people with substance abuse disorders. Dr. Volkow “said because of the COVID-19 pandemic there is concern over a surge and increase in drug use.” Dr. Volkow compared the lung pathologies seen in some coronavirus cases to those seen in people with vaping-associated lung injuries. Dr. Volkow also said that some people with substance use disorder may be at increased risk for the transmission of other infectious diseases for certain groups.

Related Links:

— “Substance Abuse Disorders Particularly Concerning During COVID-19 Pandemic, “Kenny Walter, MD Magazine, April 27, 2020

Healio (4/27, Gramigna) reports that even though “substance use is less prevalent among pregnant women than nonpregnant women, use during pregnancy has significant adverse effects on maternal, as well as fetal, neonatal and childhood health outcomes, according to” a presentation given by Kimberly Yonkers, MD, director of psychological medicine and the Center for Wellbeing of Women and Mothers at Yale School of Medicine, at the American Psychiatric Association Spring Highlights Meeting. In addition, “the legalization of cannabis…has directly affected pregnant women, since this population has exhibited significant preconception, prenatal and postpartum prevalence rates, according to Yonkers.” Finally, “maternal nicotine use also presents significant perinatal risks, including fetal growth restriction, ectopic pregnancy, placental disorders and fetal or infant death, Yonkers said.”

Related Links:

— “The landscape of perinatal substance use: Prevalence, outcomes and interventions, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, April 27, 2020

MD Magazine (4/25, Kunzmann) reported, “In a virtual presentation as part of the American Psychiatric Association…Spring Highlights Meeting 2020, Kimberly A. Yonkers, MD, of the Yale University School of Medicine, discussed national data-based understandings of substance use among” pregnant women. In her presentation, Dr. “Yonkers also appealed for the implementation of both universal and health equity approaches to addressing the prevalence of such cases.” In addition, she “called for understanding that, though substance use remains lower among pregnant women than those who are not pregnant, it is a severely detrimental risk to both the mother’s and child’s long-term health, and a combination of care team collaboration and proven therapies should be prepared to address it.”

Related Links:

— “Treating, Understanding Substance Use in Pregnant Women, “Kevin Kunzmann, MD Magazine , April 25, 2020

Psychiatric News (4/23) reports the coronavirus pandemic “and the associated public health response could be causing the number of people who are the victims of intimate partner violence and child abuse to rise dramatically, according to a resource document published this week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).” The document from SAMHSA said, “COVID-19 has caused major economic devastation, disconnected many from community resources and support systems, and created widespread uncertainty and panic. Such conditions may stimulate violence in families where it didn’t exist before and worsen situations in homes where mistreatment and violence have been a problem.”

Related Links:

— “Intimate Partner Violence, Child Abuse May Rise During Pandemic, Psychiatric News, April 23, 2020

The New York Times (4/23, Carey) reports many mental-health residential centers have closed because of the pandemic leaving many patients in difficult situations. Across the US, the “pandemic has scrambled mental health services, forcing thousands of people with disabling psychological distress, and their families, to adjust on the fly.” The New York Times highlights several specific examples of facilities that have been forced to close or change their operations because of the pandemic and how this has affected patients and staff.

Related Links:

— “When Mental Distress Comes Home, “Benedict Carey, The New York Times, April 23, 2020

NPR (4/23, Noguchi) reports Dr. Bruce Schwartz, president of the APA, says Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx where he works is “in the center of the epidemic.” Dr. Schwartz describes an overworked hospital staff who have endured weeks of people dying from coronavirus, “It is really a very horrendous experience that no one could possibly be prepared for.” Dr. Schwartz “says hospitals like his are offering teletherapy for their own staff” and the need will likely grow.

Related Links:

— “Trauma On The Pandemic’s Front Line Leaves Health Workers Reeling, “Yuki Noguchi, NPR, April 23, 2020

Medwire News (4/22, McDermid) reports, “A Mendelian randomization analysis supports a direct effect of major depressive disorder (MDD) on type 2 diabetes [T2D] risk, but produces no evidence for the reverse scenario,” researchers concluded after considering “89 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with an established association with the risk for MDD.” The study team learned that “as people’s chances of developing MDD increased, based on their genetic liability, so too did their chances of having” T2D. After examining “the reverse situation, using 184 SNPs with a role in the risk for” T2D, investigators “found no association with the likelihood of developing MDD.” The findings were published online April 8 in the journal Diabetologia.

Related Links:

— “Genetics casts doubt on bidirectional depression, diabetes association, “Eleanor McDermid, Medwire News, April 22, 2020

MedPage Today (4/22, Hlavinka) reports that the “increasing national suicide rate may be attributable to individuals using more lethal means when attempting suicide, according to CDC data.” From 2006 to 2015, suicide attempts “increased by 10%, from 175 to 193 per 100,000 persons, and the case fatality rate of suicidal acts increased from 7.3% to 8.3%, reported Jing Wang, MD, MPH, of the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues.” Their findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (4/22, Gramigna) reports, “Community racial/ethnic composition appeared associated with residents’ access to specific medications for opioid use disorder [OUD],” investigators concluded in a “cross-sectional study.”

MD Magazine (4/22, Rosenfeld) reports researchers arrived at this conclusion after examining “the extent that racial and ethnic segregation played a role in who received methadone and buprenorphine.” Included in the study were “all counties and county-equivalent divisions in the US in 2016,” as well as “data on racial and ethnic population distribution from the American Community Survey.” The study revealed “an association between less interaction with African American residents and more methadone facilities,” while “every 1% decrease in the probability of an interaction of a white resident with an African American resident was linked with 8.17 more buprenorphine facilities and the probability of an interaction of a white and Hispanic resident was associated with 1.61 more facilities providing buprenorphine.” The findings were published online April 22 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Access to medications for opioid use disorder linked to community racial/ethnic segregation, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, April 22, 2020