Healio (9/22, Herpen) reports a study found that “depression and PTSD were highly prevalent 5 years after the onset of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, suggesting that public-works disasters have large-scale, long-term psychological impacts.” The results, published in JAMA Network Open, “showed that 435 (22.1%) respondents met DSM-5 criteria for presumptive past-year depression, 480 (24.4%) for presumptive past-year PTSD, and 276 (14%) for both disorders.”

Related Links:

— “Five years after Flint water crisis – depression, PTSD highly prevalent “Robert Herpen, Healio, September 22, 2022

MedPage Today (9/21, Lopilato) reports, “Maternal depressive symptoms were associated with an increase in the number of unhealthy adolescent behaviors,” researchers concluded in a 213-participant, “15-year longitudinal study,” the findings of which were published online Sept. 21 in the journal Pediatrics.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (9/21, DePeau-Wilson) reports, “Patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are often treated for symptoms of the condition before ever receiving a formal diagnosis,” investigators concluded in “a retrospective analysis” that “identified 26,306 adult patients in the IBM MarketScan Commercial Subset database who were diagnosed with and treated for PTSD from 2015 to 2020,” and then analyzed “data for each patient in the six months before and the 24 months after diagnosis.” The findings were presented in a poster at the Psych Congress 2022.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

According to CNN (9/20, McPhillips), not only have “overdose deaths in the United States increased sharply throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching record levels in 2021,” but “the burden on different racial and ethnic groups has changed,” researchers concluded in findings published online Sept. 20 in a research letter in JAMA Network Open. After analyzing data “from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics System” that “compared semiannual drug overdose deaths between the months of March to August for 2018, 2020 and 2021,” researchers found that overdose death rates appeared to be highest among American Indian and middle-aged Black men.

Related Links:

— “Drug overdose death rates highest among American Indian people and middle-age Black men, study shows “Deidre McPhillips, CNN, September 20, 2022

Bloomberg Law (9/20, Subscription Publication) reports, “The Office of Minority Health has awarded more than $3 million in grants to eight organizations as part of a three-year initiative surrounding Black youth mental health policies, the Department of Health and Human Services” announced on Sept. 20. The project period of this initiative “begins Sept. 30, the HHS said.”

Related Links:

— “HHS Grants $3 Million for Black Youth Mental Health Initiative Bloomberg Law, September 20, 2022