NPR (5/14, Dembosky) reports that some people are newly motivated to quit smoking based on reports of smokers being more likely to become infected with SARS-CoV-2 and more likely to develop severe symptoms. For example, “early studies suggest that smokers who develop COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, are 14 times more likely to need intensive treatment compared with nonsmokers.”

Related Links:

— “Fear Of Contracting Coronavirus Propels Some Smokers To Quit, “April Dembosky, NPR, May 14, 2020

CNN (5/14, Alfonso) reports that fears of contracting COVID-19 “have infected thousands of people suffering with substance abuse disorders around the Appalachian region, where substance abuse experts, doctors and state officials have seen a rise in relapses as the US struggles with the coronavirus pandemic.” Public health officials also “say the pandemic is aggravating the problem by forcing people in recovery into isolation, stripping them of crucial support systems and causing some to relapse.” In response “to this grim reality, officials in the region are developing new medical practices and guidelines to help an already at-risk community cope with the pandemic.”

Related Links:

— “The pandemic is triggering opioid relapses across Appalachia, “Fernando Alfonso III, CNN, May 14, 2020

NPR (5/14, Kamenetz) reports, “In response to a call on social media, parents across the country shared with NPR that the mental health of their young children appears to be suffering as the weeks of lockdown drag on.” According to Dr. Dimitri Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and the editor-in-chief of the journal JAMA Pediatrics, the problem “isn’t just learning loss.” Christakis says a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics “documents elevated depression and anxiety among children under lockdown in China.” Christakis wrote an editorial, also published in JAMA Pediatrics, arguing “that the risks to children’s learning, social-emotional development and mental health need to be better balanced with the risks of spreading the coronavirus.”

Related Links:

— “With School Buildings Closed, Children’s Mental Health Is Suffering, “Anya Kamenetz, NPR, May 14, 2020

Kaiser Health News (5/13, Gold, Hawryluk) reports that “from cafeteria staff to doctors and nurses, hospital workers around the country report frustrating failures by management to notify them when they have been exposed to co-workers or patients known to be infected with COVID-19.” There are “some medical centers” that “do carefully trace the close contacts of every infected patient and worker, alert them to the exposure and offer guidance on the next steps.” However, “others, by policy, do not personally follow up with health workers who unknowingly treated an infected patient or worked with a colleague who later tested positive for the virus.”

Related Links:

— “Hospital Workers Complain of Minimal Disclosure After COVID Exposures, “Jenny Gold and Markian Hawryluk, Kaiser Health News, May 13, 2020

NPR (5/13, Noguchi) reports, “Mental health specialists are working now to bolster the resilience of Americans who are suffering from feelings of despair — in hopes of preventing increases in suicides among people who are under increased pressure during the coronavirus pandemic.” NPR adds that experience with past natural disasters “shows that a rise in suicide often happens in the months after the immediate physical dangers of the disaster have passed.” Dr. Roger McIntyre, professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, said, “The two most replicated, robust factors linked to suicide are economic change – downturn – and social disconnection,” and both are present during the current pandemic.

Related Links:

— “Act Now To Get Ahead Of A Mental Health Crisis, Specialists Advise U.S., “Yuki Noguchi, NPR, May 13, 2020

CNBC (5/12, Higgins-Dunn) reports, “As millions of Americans lose their jobs and economists predict a slow recovery, mental health professionals warn that the prolonged financial and personal stress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic increases the risk of suicide, especially in people already grappling with depression and anxiety.” Dr. Vaile Wright, director of clinical research and quality for the APA, said, “We’re in for a long-term mental health crisis.” Dr. Wright added that people should engage in activities to maintain their well-being, such as staying connected to people virtually, “They sound very simple, but they provide the structures that need to protect our mental health. When we’re able to do that and have some sort of even keel, then we can figure out, ‘OK, what do I do about the fact that I don’t have a job?’”

Related Links:

— “Coronavirus crisis creates ‘perfect storm’ for suicide risk as job losses soar and people are isolated at home, “Noah Higgins-Dunn, CNBC, May 12, 2020

CNN (5/11, Fox) reports that the “first US study of autism in adults estimates that 2.2% of Americans adults have an autism spectrum” disorder, totaling “5.4 million people age 18 and older, or about 1 in 45 people, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday.” The CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities said, “This is the first CDC study to provide estimates of the number of U.S. adults with autism and fills a gap in data on adults living with autism spectrum disorder in the United States because there is no existing surveillance system to collect this information.”

Related Links:

— “First US study of autism in adults estimates 2.2% have autism spectrum disorder, “Maggie Fox, CNN, May 11, 2020

The AP (5/11, Morgan) reports the VA and veterans groups are preparing for a surge in veterans with mental health needs. The VA and its partners “have kept thousands of veterans in treatment during the coronavirus pandemic through telehealth appointments. But as job losses and increased social isolation take an extended toll, some veterans’ advocates worry the already understaffed VA medical facilities can’t keep up and that telehealth isn’t enough.”

Related Links:

— “Veterans groups, govt brace for surge in mental health needs, “Sarah Blake Morgan, Claudia Lauer And Hope Yen , AP, May 11, 2020

Psychiatric News (5/11) reports that in spite of “some challenges, 20 psychiatrists who completed interviews from March 31 to April 9 said that the transition to seeing patients via telemedicine due to COVID-19 has generally been a positive experience.” The findings (PDF) now “appear in an article in press at Psychiatric Services,” a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Psychiatrists Report Mostly Positive Transition to Telemedicine During Pandemic, Psychiatric News, May 11, 2020

MedPage Today (5/11, Hlavinka) reports, “Rates of pediatric emergency room visits among children with mental health disorders soared from 2007 to 2016, researchers found.” During the time frame, “pediatric emergency department visits increased somewhat, from 273.5 to 305.5 cases per 10,000 (11.7% increase, P=0.06), but visits among children with mental health disorders spiked 60%, from 15.9 to 25.4 cases per 10,000,” researchers reported in a study published in Pediatrics. Researchers “used the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) database to track trends among hospitals, and categorized pediatric emergency department volume for each site.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)