The Washington Post (8/4, Blakemore) reports, “People living with chronic pain are more likely than their peers without pain to need mental health treatment, yet less likely to get it, a new analysis suggests.” Using “data from the 2019 National Health Interview Survey,” researchers discovered that “43.2 percent of respondents with chronic pain had a mental health need compared with 17.4 percent of those not in pain.” Investigators also observed that “over 44 percent of those with chronic pain received mental health treatment, yet still had symptoms of unremitted depression or anxiety, unlike 71.5 percent of those without chronic pain.” The findings were published in PAIN.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Healio (7/31, Buzby) reports, “Risk for psychiatric disorder or suicide attempt is particularly high in the first year following hospitalization for heart disease, and patient support is important to lower such risk, researchers” found. The “analysis included 63,923 patients hospitalized for the first time with CVD between 1997 and 2020 and 127,845 matched individuals without a CVD hospitalization.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

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— “Mental health ‘crucial’ after first-time hospitalization for heart disease,”Scott Buzby, Healio, July 31, 2024

Psychiatric News (7/31) reports, “In a statement issued [Wednesday], APA denounced the July 7 police shooting of Sonya Massey by former sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson in Springfield, Illinois, calling it ‘a disturbing and horrifying tragedy that should never have happened.’” The association “said that when visiting the home of anyone reported to have mental illness or substance use disorders, law enforcement should be prepared to respond with care and empathy, not violence and harm.” APA urged “law enforcement organizations to ensure that they prepare their workforce with both training in dealing with mental health issues and anti-bias training,” saying “the injustice of Ms. Massey’s killing lays bare the ways in which racial inequities can play out in our communities.”

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— “APA Denounces Police Killing of Sonya Massey, Psychiatric News, July 31, 2024

Healio (8/1, Herpen) reports, “Among men who played American football, researchers found that exposure to the sport at a younger age was strongly associated with worse cognitive performance and resilience, particularly in those who lived to at least 60 years.” Analyzing “data from the UNITE Brain Bank within the CTE Center at” Boston University, researchers “found that in those aged 60 years or older at the time of donation, strong associations existed between younger [age of first exposure to football] and worse performance on the [Cognitive Difficulties Scale], [Meta Cognition Index] and overall worse scores for all three composites.” The findings were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.

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— “Younger exposure to football linked to worse cognitive outcomes in later life,”Robert Herpen, Healio, August 1, 2024

KFF Health News (8/1, Giles) reports, “Clinicians from various ethnic groups have recently begun to draw a direct line between colorism and poor health,” pointing to a 2023 KFF survey which “found that, among Black and Hispanic adults, those with self-described darker skin tones reported more experiences with discrimination in daily life compared with those who have lighter skin tones.” Due to the potential health implications of this data, “the health care system should pay more attention to colorism, said Regina James, a child and adolescent psychiatrist who heads the American Psychiatric Association’s Division of Diversity and Health Equity.” While “clinical approaches that incorporate cultural competence” are an important step, “therapists, doctors, and other clinicians from diverse backgrounds say that…more efforts are needed to diversify the pool of mental health practitioners and to collaborate between disciplines.”

Related Links:

— “‘I feel dismissed’: People experiencing colorism say health system fails them,”Chaseedaw Giles, KFF Health News, August 1, 2024