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Latest News Around the Web

Patients with COPD plus depression/anxiety disorder experience greater disease burden

Healio (3/26, Hornick ) reports, “Patients with COPD plus a depression/anxiety disorder had poorer scores related to disease burden and health-related quality of life, according to” research. Investigators came to this conclusion after assessing “220 patients with COPD who underwent the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview,” and then comparing “several measures of disease burden captured via questionnaires in patients with vs. without depression/anxiety disorders.” The findings were published in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation.

Related Links:

— “Patients with COPD plus depression or anxiety experience greater disease burden,” Isabella Hornick, Healio, March 26, 2025

Patients Are More Willing To See PCP For Chronic Conditions, But Prioritize Convenience For Acute Symptoms, Study Finds

Medical Economics (3/26, Littrell) reports, “A recent study suggests that patients often prefer to wait for an appointment with their own primary care physician (PCP) – particularly for chronic condition management, mental health care and other sensitive issues. It’s when symptoms are acute or urgent that speed becomes the priority.” Researchers found 94.1% of surveyed patients reported seeing a PCP, and 71.4% said it was “extremely important” to have a personal physician. More than “half of patients expressed a strong preference to only see their own physician for follow-ups involving mental health (56.8%), chronic conditions (54.6%) or annual checkups (52.6%).” Researchers stated that “most patients are willing to wait three to four weeks to see their own PCP for certain types of visits.” But only “17.1% of respondents preferred to wait to see their own physician for a new symptom, and only 7.2% said they would wait for their PCP when experiencing an urgent concern.” The study was published in the Annals of Family Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Patients are willing to wait to see their own doctor,” Austin Littrell, Medical Economics, March 26, 2025

Fewer Physicians Are Considering Leaving Medicine Despite Lingering Concerns Over State Of US Healthcare, Survey Shows

MedPage Today (3/26, Henderson ) reports a new survey suggests that “physicians remain concerned about the state of U.S. healthcare,” but “fewer are considering leaving the profession.” The survey of 750 primary care physicians and 251 specialists “found that the proportion of participants indicating optimism for the future of U.S. healthcare was down to 29% from a high of 48% in 2022.” However, just 28% of respondents “reported weighing – once a week or more – whether to leave the profession, down from 36% a year ago. Another 68% reported looking forward to coming to work, and 53% reported feeling they have a good work/life balance.” In addition, “optimism was rated higher among physicians who viewed artificial intelligence (AI) as helping to reduce administrative burden, according to the survey.”

Related Links:

MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Female patients with PCOS and diagnosed depression may face greater metabolic syndrome risk

Healio (3/25, Schaffer ) reports data show that “women with polycystic ovary syndrome and a diagnosis of depression are 56% more likely to develop metabolic syndrome compared with women without depression, increasing their risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.” Researchers said that the “findings suggest that all women with PCOS should be screened during a baseline visit for depression and anxiety, as recommended in the two most recent international PCOS guidelines.” They concluded, “We need to make all physicians aware that we need to screen women over time, because mental health is not static. If a woman has depression, then we might want to be more aggressive in managing their cardiometabolic risk.” The data were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Related Links:

— “PCOS with diagnosed depression may signal greater cardiometabolic risk,” Regina Schaffer, Healio, March 25, 2025

Psychosocial stress was associated with increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage

Healio (3/25, Buzby ) reports, “Psychosocial stress, especially financial stress, was associated with increased odds of experiencing intracerebral hemorrhage, with a particularly strong effect among Black and Hispanic patients, researchers” found. The data indicated that “hypertension mediated some of the relationship between stress and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), but not all.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Related Links:

— “Psychosocial stress possibly tied to stroke subtype,” Scott Buzby, Healio, March 25, 2025

Foundation News

New Foundation Radio Spot Looks at Maryland’s Extreme Risk Protection Order

More than 2/3 of people who die from guns in the United States have their own finger on the trigger. A gun in the home increases the chance of a suicide there by three fold. The Maryland Extreme Risk Protection Order seeks to help mitigate that. This new radio spot from the Foundation examines how the order allows family, police, and clinicians to petition a judge to temporarily remove guns from the home of someone who is at risk for using them to harm themselves or others.

Gun Suicide Risk and Maryland LawGun Suicide Risk and Maryland Law, MP3, 1.1MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Foundation Radio PSA Examines Child and Teen Adolescent Health

Among children and teens the rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide have been surging for over a decade and made severely worse by the pandemic. The latest radio spot from the Foundation examines how suicide is now the second leading cause of death among children aged 10-14 and the rise in emergency room visits for young people has become a national emergency. The Foundation asks you to reach out to your local and state legislators to urge funding for mental health help for our youth.

Child and Adolescent Mental HealthChild and Adolescent Mental Health, MP3, 1.2MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Carolyn Im to Receive MFP Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

The 2023 Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (MFP) Anti-Stigma Advocacy Prize will be awarded to Carolyn Im for her A Piece of My Mind in JAMA, “Major Developments During Medical School” published October 25, 2022.

She very effectively articulates some of the adjustments medical students with recurrent depression might have to make.  She encourages students to seek psychiatric help when needed and points out that dealing with mental health issues can foster personal growth and make us better physicians.

The Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award carries a $500 prize and will be formally presented at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting on April 20.

The Foundation established this annual prize for a worthy media piece, preferably local or regional, that accomplishes one or more of the following:

  • Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or simply in the community.
  • Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
  • Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

Click here for information about past winners.

Foundation Radio Spot Examines the Rise of Telehealth Due to Pandemic

Every dark cloud has a silver lining. Even the COVID-19 pandemic has seen some positive consequences for mental health care. A new radio spot from the Foundation examines the rise of Telehealth during days of lockdown and stress over the past few years, including increased acceptance by insurance companies in the wake of the U.S. government declaring a national mental health crisis.

Telehealth in the COVID-19 AgeTelehealth in the COVID-19 Age, MP3, 1.3MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

New Foundation Radio Spot Notes Women’s Health In Jeopardy

It’s not easy to be a woman these days. Women’s health is especially in jeopardy, particularly for those who are pregnant. A new radio spot from the Foundation examines studies about women denied reproductive choice have significantly worse mental health, and other studies about women jailed for drug addiction and more.

Women’s HealthcareWomen’s Healthcare, MP3, 1.3MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.