ABC News (9/23, Ramos, Su, Halsey, Valle) reported, “According to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in 2020, more than 18% of the Latinx community reported having a mental health condition,” and research available on the CDC’s “website also showed that 40.3% of Hispanic people experienced symptoms of depression, compared to 25.3% of white people.” Additionally, Latinos “face disparities in access and quality of mental health treatment, according to the American Psychiatric Association, which cites language barriers, lack of insurance and ‘lack of culturally tailored services and culturally competent mental health professionals’ among the many contributing factors.”

Related Links:

— “Mental health crisis among Latinos prompts push for accessible treatment, candid conversations “Stephanie Ramos, Amanda Su, Jilian Fama Halsey, and Alondra Valle, ABC News, September 23, 2022

MedPage Today (9/23, Lopalito) reported, “While patients with major depressive disorder [MDD] and childhood trauma had more severe depressive symptoms, they benefited from treatment as much as those without childhood trauma,” researchers concluded in a 29-study systematic review and meta-analysis that encompassed “6,830 participants.” The findings were published online Sept. 22 in The Lancet Psychiatry. Healio (9/23, Herpen) also covered the story.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HCPlive (9/23, Grossi) reported researchers have provided “evidence that nightmares occur frequently among adolescent patients with” major depressive disorder (MDD). What’s more, the study revealed a “statistically significant association…between suicide risk and nightmare frequency.” The findings of the 499-patient study were published online Sept. 22 in the journal Nature and Science of Sleep.

Related Links:

— “Higher Risk of Suicide Observed in Adolescents Suffering from Nightmare Distress “Giuliana Grossi, HCPlive, September 23, 2022

HealthDay (9/22, Reinberg) reports a study published in eClinical Medicine found “people aged 35 to 64 who had bad dreams weekly were four times more likely to have cognitive decline over the following 10 years, and older people were twice as likely to develop dementia.” Researchers evaluated data “on more than 600 adult men and women between the ages of 35 and 64” as well as “2,600 adults aged 79 and older who didn’t have dementia” and “also found that the risk for dementia tied to nightmares was stronger among men than women.”

Related Links:

— “Lots of Nightmares in Middle Age Might Be Warning Sign of Dementia “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, September 22, 2022

According to Psychiatric News (9/22), “Participating in at least two sessions of a telephone-delivered intervention may help reduce total alcohol consumption, alcohol problem severity, and risky drinking patterns among patients with alcohol use problems,” a study published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry shows. The findings of the 344-participant study, researchers wrote, “demonstrate the potential benefits of this highly scalable telehealth model of alcohol treatment, with potential to reduce the treatment gap for problem alcohol use.”

Related Links:

— “Telephone Intervention May Reduce Risky Alcohol Consumption, Psychiatric News, September 22, 2022