Psychiatric News (3/21) reports, “Women with severe mental illness (SMI) – such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression — are less likely to receive recommended treatment for breast cancer than those without SMI, according to a [new] report.” Researchers “included 13 studies in the review, which included a total of 299,193 participants.” Among “these, four studies estimated the odds of receiving guideline-appropriate breast cancer treatment in people with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders and/or mood disorders.” The review was published online March 9 in Psycho-Oncology.

Related Links:

— “Breast Cancer in Women With Severe Mental Illness Often Undertreated, Review Suggests, Psychiatric News, March 21, 2023

Kaiser Health News (3/21, Leys) reports on the increasing frequency of “video visits” as “an increasingly common way for residents of small-town nursing homes to receive mental healthcare.” Even though the “use of some other telehealth services may dwindle as the Covid-19 pandemic winds down,” clinicians “predict demand for remote mental health services will continue to increase in rural nursing homes.”

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Care by Video Fills Gaps in Rural Nursing Homes ” Tony Leys, Kaiser Health News , March 21, 2023

Psychiatric News (3/20) reports, “Older adults who develop delirium after a surgery may experience faster cognitive decline than those who do not develop post-surgery delirium,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from the Successful Aging after Elective Surgery…cohort, which included 560 adults aged 70 years and older who showed no signs of dementia and were scheduled for an elective surgery.” The study team examined “cognitive data collected up to six years after the participants’ elective surgeries.” The findingswere published online March 20 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Postoperative Delirium Associated With Accelerated Cognitive Decline, Study Finds, Psychiatric News, March 20, 2023

Healio (3/20, Weldon) reports, “For the first time, a study found a link between the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on family finances and children’s mental health, researchers” concluded in a study that “used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development…study to examine 6,030 children aged between 12 and 14 years.” The study revealed that “financial disruptions during the pandemic worsened children’s levels of stress, sadness and worries related to COVID-19, with no similar impact seen from school closures.” The findings were published online March 13 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Study: Pandemic-related impact on family finances worsened child mental health “Rose Weldon, Healio, March 20, 2023

The Hill (3/16, Choi) reported, “Federal actions during the pandemic led to uninsured rates falling to record lows, especially among Black and Hispanic people, but a new report released by the Commonwealth Fund suggests these improvements are vulnerable to being lost once the COVID-19 public health emergency officially ends in less than two months.”

Related Links:

— “Coverage gains for Black and Hispanic people during pandemic could be lost with end of public health emergency “Joseph Choi, The Hill , March 16, 2023