Psychiatric News (12/2) reports the American Psychiatric Association (APA) commissioned “a nationwide poll[PDF]” revealing that 41% “of Americans said their level of stress increases during the holidays, compared with just 7% percent who said it diminishes.” Respondents were concerned about “contracting COVID-19 during gatherings (38%) and finding (40%) and affording (46%) gifts.” The poll, which was “conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of APA, was fielded between November 17 to 21 among a nationally representative sample of 2,119 adults.” APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, stated, “While we are pleased to be rejoining our families and friends, depending on who you are or where you work, stress may be a bigger factor.”

Related Links:

— “APA Poll Reveals COVID-19 and Other Worries During Holiday Festivities, Psychiatric News, December 2, 2021

Healio (12/1, Gramigna) reports, “Healthcare professionals experienced fear of infection, short staffing and inadequate protective equipment during the pandemic in 2020, resulting in emotional distress,” researchers concluded in a study that “recruited healthcare professionals to answer a survey in two phases of five weeks each: April 24, 2020, to May 30, 2020 (phase one; n = 335; 86% women), and October 24, 2020, to Nov. 30, 2020 (phase two; n = 1,009; 90.5% women),” receiving “responses from 1,831 individuals on demographic questions and assessments for moral injury, intrinsic religiosity and burnout.” The findings were published online Nov. 24 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Health care workers faced moral injury during pandemic “Joe Gramigna, Healio, December 1, 2021

Psychiatric News (12/1) reports, “Patients with schizophrenia are significantly more likely to die from COVID-19 than those without the disorder, even though they appear to have lower rates of infection,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from the electronic health records (EHRs) of more than 2.5 million patients in the Optum COVID-19 Electronic Health Record database.” Additionally, the study revealed that “while patients with mood disorders and anxiety were found less likely to die from COVID-19 than those with schizophrenia, they still died at higher rates from the virus than those without mental disorders.” The findings were published online Nov. 23 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “COVID-19 Most Deadly for Patients With Schizophrenia, Study Suggests, Psychiatric News, December 1, 2021

Psychiatric News (11/30) reports, “Child and adolescent survivors of cancer – particularly those experiencing cognitive problems – may be at higher risk of suicidal thoughts than other youth their age,” researchers concluded in a study recruiting “youth who had been diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 6 and 19 and were receiving care at a pediatric neuropsychology clinic.” Researchers found that 17.5% “of the 166 pediatric cancer patients in the analysis…had experienced suicidal ideation.” The findings were published online Nov. 19 in the journal Psycho-Oncology.

Related Links:

— “Young Cancer Survivors May Experience Cognitive Problems, Suicidal Thoughts, Psychiatric News, November 30, 2021

HealthDay (11/30, Preidt) reports research indicates that “people with psychiatric disorders often have to deal with…higher rates of type 2 diabetes [T2D] than the general population,” researchers concluded in an umbrella review encompassing “32 reviews based on 245 studies that included people with 11 categories of psychiatric disorders: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, substance use disorder, anxiety disorder, eating disorder, intellectual disability, psychosis, sleep disorder, dementia and a mixed group with different types of disorders.”

Medwire News (11/30, Cowen) reports, “The prevalence of” T2D “in people with psychiatric disorder…often substantially exceeds global population-based estimates of 6% to 9%,” the umbrella review revealed. For example, “people with schizophrenia had a” T2D “prevalence of 10.1%, while the rates were 10.0%, 9.1%, and 8.1% in those with a mixed group of psychiatric disorders, depression, and an intellectual disability, respectively.” The findings were published online Nov. 29 in the journal Diabetologia.

Related Links:

— “Psychiatric Disorders and Type 2 Diabetes Often Go Together “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, November 30, 2021