According to USA Today (1/25, Ramirez), in California, this year’s Lunar New Year’s “mood has been marred by Saturday’s massacre in Monterey Park, a predominantly Asian American community near Los Angeles,” and again in another mass shooting in Half Moon Bay. In the aftermath of these tragedies “and several years of collective trauma endured by the Asian American community…advocates said they are worried that recent mass shootings and attacks are creating mental health trauma for many Asian Americans,” and they now “fear many people most in need either won’t pursue help or won’t be able to access proper care.” Barriers to mental healthcare faced by Asian Americans include “stigma…high financial costs and a shortage of mental health professionals with language and cultural expertise.”

Related Links:

— “‘No safe spaces’: For Asian Americans, California shootings add to growing mental health crisis “Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, January 25, 2023

Medscape (1/25, Anderson, Subscription Publication) reports, “Middle-aged adults who spend just nine additional minutes a day participating in moderate to vigorous physical activity…experience improved cognition,” researchers concluded in the findings of a 4,481-participant study published online January 23 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (1/23, Mann) reports a study published online in Menopause “finds that older women are also vulnerable to developing” eating disorders, “especially around menopause.” When the “researchers looked at eating disorder symptoms among 36 women aged 45 to 61, they found that body dissatisfaction was a key risk factor for eating disorders across the lifespan, especially in midlife.” The findings showed “perimenopausal and early post-menopausal women were more likely to report a fear of gaining weight or losing control of their eating.”

Related Links:

— “Why Midlife Can Bring Risk of New Eating Disorders “Denise Mann, HealthDay , January 23, 2023

The New York Times (1/24, Belluck) reports a new studypublished by the New York State Insurance Fund shows long COVID is still having a significant impact on the United States’ workforce. The results show a substantial number of people have yet to return to the workforce due to prolonged COVID-19 symptoms like cognitive processing difficulties, fatigue, and respiratory struggles. The study “analyzed Covid-related claims from patients exposed to the virus at work” that were “filed between Jan. 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022.” In that analysis, “nearly a third of 3,139 Covid-related claims” that the fund “paid met its definition of long Covid.”

Related Links:

— “Long Covid Is Keeping Significant Numbers of People Out of Work, Study Finds ” Pam Belluck, The New York Times24, January 24, 2023

Healio (1/24, Downey) reports, “Adverse childhood experiences, such as having a depressive episode or suffering physical abuse, were likely to contribute to risky drinking among children of alcoholics, researchers wrote” in a 150-participant “case-control study” that used “the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test.” These findings were published online Jan. 13 in BMC Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Adverse experiences in childhood contribute to risky drinking among children of alcoholics “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, January 24, 2023