HealthDay (3/15, Reinberg) reports, “People who have severe COVID-19 are at higher risk for depression and other mental woes that can last more than a year, a large study suggests.” Investigators “reported that COVID patients who were bedridden but not hospitalized for a week or more can experience depression, anxiety, distress and trouble sleeping up to 16 months after being ill.” The researchers’ findings were published in The Lancet.

Related Links:

— “Mental Issues Can Linger More Than a Year After Severe COVID “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, March 15, 2022

Newsweek (3/14, Slisco) reports, “American soldiers are not receiving adequate and timely care for alcohol abuse issues, according to a new report from the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Inspector General.” Results of an audit “found that 104 out of 270 active duty service members sent for alcohol use disorder treatment did not receive an intake assessment to be diagnosed on time.” Furthermore, “another 98 were diagnosed but not sent to treatment within a required timeline, while three diagnosed soldiers did not ultimately receive any treatment.” The inspector general’s report “found that treatment was not provided on time due to guidance on the matter being ‘unclear and inconsistent’ with inadequate staffing at treatment facilities and deferrals of treatment by soldiers and their commanders also playing a role.”

Related Links:

— “U.S. Soldiers Not Receiving Alcohol Abuse Treatment They Need: DOD Study “Aila Slisco, Newsweek, March 14, 2022

HealthDay (3/14, Mozes) reports, “A fresh review of recent government surveys suggests the well-being of 73 million American kids is under strain and seems to be getting worse.” Researchers “looked at recent results from the U.S. National Survey of Children’s Health” and “found that between 2016 and 2019, childhood diagnoses of anxiety rose by 27%, while depression risk rose by 24%” and “once the pandemic struck…behavioral problems appeared to worsen even more.” Furthermore, “the analysis also indicates that about a fifth of kids who need mental health services are not getting them.” The findings were published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Mental Health of America’s Children Only Getting Worse “Alan Mozes, HealthDay, March 14, 2022

Healio (3/14, Herpen) reports, “Independent of treatment, socioeconomic factors such as employment are closely associated with prognosis for adults with depression, according to” a study. Investigators “sought to determine if socioeconomic issues like employment status, financial strain, housing status and education have an impact on the prognosis for adults with depression, independent of treatment and after accounting for clinical prognostic factors.” The analysis “pulled data from The Embase, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Cochrane (CENTRAL) databases from inception of each through Oct. 8, 2021.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Socioeconomic factors associated with prognosis in adults with depression “Robert Herpen, Healio, March 14, 2022

MedPage Today (3/11, George) reported, “Peripheral nerve impairments in older adults were tied to a higher risk of subsequent dementia,” investigators concluded after examining “data on 2,174 people who were 70 to 79 years old and dementia-free when they enrolled in the National Institute on Aging’s Health ABC study.” Research revealed that “combined sensory and motor impairments in the lower leg doubled the risk of subsequent dementia…compared with people who had no leg impairments,” while “sensory nerve impairments alone were associated with a 1.4 times higher dementia risk.” The findings were published online in the journal Neurology.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)