Psychiatric News (5/4) reports that “recent traumatic events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks can provide a blueprint to help people cope with stress and prevent psychiatric problems such as chronic depression or posttraumatic stress disorder,” investigators posited in an article published online in the journal Clinical Neuropsychiatry. In the article, the authors emphasized the importance of “control,” “coherence,” and “connectedness” in promoting resilience in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related Links:

— “Control, Coherence, Connectedness May Promote Resilience, Psychiatric News, May 4, 2020

The Washington Post (5/4, Wan) reports, “Three months into the coronavirus pandemic, America is on the verge of another health crisis, with daily doses of death, isolation and fear generating widespread psychological trauma.” The Washington Post adds, “Federal agencies and experts warn that a historic wave of mental health problems is approaching: depression, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide.” On Wednesday, the American Psychiatric Association and other groups signed a joint letter urging the Trump Administration to help address the situation by saving community mental health centers that are facing financial collapse and lifting restrictions on reimbursements so therapists can talk with patients over the phone.

Related Links:

— “The coronavirus pandemic is pushing America into a mental health crisis, “William Wan, The Washington Post, May 4, 2020

According to Healio (5/1, Burba), “premature menopause and current use of hormone therapy [HT] were associated with self-reported depression,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data on menopausal status, use of HT and other sociodemographic and lifestyle variables from 13,216 women aged 45 to 64 years who participated in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging between 2010 and 2015.” The findings were published online in the journal Menopause.

Related Links:

— “More depression reported by women with premature menopause, current HT use, “Kate Burba, Healio, May 1, 2020

MD Magazine (5/3, Rosenfeld) reported research indicates that “older adults with depression” may be “at a higher risk of remaining depressed if they experienced persistent or worsening sleep problems.” Investigators arrived at this conclusion after analyzing “data from nearly 600 older adults who visited primary care centers in the Northeast US to determine the association between sleep difficulties and outcomes of depression and suicidal ideation.” The study revealed that “adults >60 years old who had a pattern of worsening insomnia symptoms over the following year had almost 30 times the odds of having a major depression diagnosis at the end of the year compared to those who had improving sleep.” The findings from the “PROSPECT study” were published online April 2 in the journal Sleep.

Related Links:

— “Worsening Sleep Increases Depression Persistence in Older Patients, “Samara Rosenfeld, MD Magazine, May 3, 2020

The Hill (4/30, Axelrod) reports, “Seventy-six lawmakers from both chambers of Congress are lobbying leadership to include funding for mental health in the next coronavirus stimulus package.” The “lawmakers called for the next coronavirus stimulus to include at least $38.5 billion for behavior health organizations (BHOs), which they say are at risk of being shuttered as part of the pandemic’s economic fallout.” They wrote that “many organizations that primarily treat individuals with mental health and/or substance use disorders…are at risk of closing their doors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The immediate and long-term effects of this cannot be overstated as millions of Americans rely on BHOs to address their mental health and substance use disorder treatment needs.”

Related Links:

— “6 lawmakers urge emergency funding for mental health in next coronavirus stimulus package, “Tal Axelrod, The Hill, April 30, 2020

Psychiatric News (4/30) reports, “People with mental illness reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has led them to feel greater feelings of isolation, less connected with others, and increasingly worried that their illnesses may worsen,” investigators concluded after analyzing “survey data collected” from 214 respondents “by the online community ForLikeMinds, which is dedicated to promoting mental health recovery and wellness.” The findings (PDF) will be published online in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “People With Mental Illness Say COVID-19 Pandemic Has Led To Greater Feelings Of Isolation And Increased Worry About Worsening Illness, Study Data Suggest, Psychiatric News, April 30, 2020

HealthDay (4/30, Holmes) reports, “Marijuana dependence goes hand in hand with poor mental health, and problems may persist long after stopping the drug,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from more than 20,000 respondents to a 2012 Canadian health survey.” The findings were published online April 15 in the journal Advances in Preventive Medicine. Jill Williams, MD, “head of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Addiction Psychiatry, reviewed the findings and said heavy pot use is associated with such problems as a lack of achievement and possibly a slight lowering of IQ. Users who self-medicate may increase their existing psychiatric problems, she added.” She stated, “THC [the ingredient in marijuana that gets users high] may be making things worse – specifically, psychosis.”

Related Links:

— “Heavy Pot Use Linked to Mental Problems, Even After Quitting, “Rich Holmes, HealthDay , April 30, 2020

Psychiatric News (4/29) reports the FCC’s COVID Telehealth Program “is offering funding to community mental health centers, teaching hospitals, medical schools, and other eligible nonprofit health systems seeking to adopt and integrate telehealth technology into their practices.” Under the CARES Act, the program has $200 million in funding and “is designed to help eligible practices, hospitals, and other organizations provide and maintain telemedicine/telepsychiatry services so they can continue to provide care during the COVID-19 pandemic, while many states are still enforcing stay-at-home orders.”

Related Links:

— “Funding for Telehealth Available Under FCC’s COVID-19 Program, Psychiatric News, April 29, 2020

MedPage Today (4/29, Hlavinka) reports, “Patients with any of 10 mental disorders had increased risk for most of 31 medical conditions, including circulatory, pulmonary, or neurologic disease,” investigators concluded in a “study aimed at developing an ‘atlas’ of connections between psychiatric and somatic illnesses.” For the study, researchers “obtained data coded in inpatient or outpatient visits, prescriptions, or diagnosis recorded in death certificates across Danish national registries,” including “31 medical conditions in nine subcategories: circulatory, endocrine, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, urogenital, musculoskeletal, hematologic, neurologic, and cancer.” Next, “they coded 10 mental disorders: organic disorders, substance use disorder, schizophrenia, mood disorders, neurotic disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders, intellectual disabilities, developmental disorders, and behavioral disorders.” The findings of the 5,940,299-patient study were published online April 30 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Brian Barnett, a psychiatrist in Cleveland, and Jack Turban, a resident physician in psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, wrote in an op-ed for The Hill (4/27) that the coronavirus pandemic is raving psychiatric facilities in the US at a time when “we need the services of psychiatric facilities more than ever.” Barnett and Turban say, “Recent outbreaks in psychiatric facilities – many fatal – have occurred in Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Washington, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C. At least 63 state psychiatric hospitals – which can house thousands of patients with the most severe forms of mental illness – are known to be afflicted across the country.” At the beginning of this month, the APA and other groups sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence urging him to help secure PPE for workers at psychiatric hospitals and residential treatment facilities, but the letter received no response, and earlier this week, the APA and other groups wrote a letter to leaders in Congress stating that the mental healthcare system in the US is “crumbling.” Barnett and Turban conclude, “We’ll always need psychiatric facilities for those who’ve become too mentally ill to remain at home safely. And though we’ve long overlooked the important work these places do, now is the time to give them the attention they deserve. In our fight against this new threat, the needs of their patients and those caring for them shouldn’t be ignored.”

Related Links:

— “COVID-19 is ravaging America’s psychiatric facilities
, “Brian Barnett and Jack Turban, The Hill, April 30, 2020