Psychiatric News (11/16) reports, “People who develop major depression following a COVID-19 infection appear to respond to treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) within four weeks,” researchers concluded in a study that “included 60 adults (average age: 55 years) who developed a major depressive episode within six months following recovery from COVID-19 and were starting a new SSRI treatment; 26 were treated with sertraline, 18 with citalopram, 10 with paroxetine, four with fluvoxamine, and two with fluoxetine.” The findings were published online ahead of print in the upcoming January issue of the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology.

Related Links:

— “COVID-19 Survivors With Depression Respond to SSRIs Within 4 Weeks, Small Study Suggests, Psychiatric News, November 16, 2021

On its website, ABC News (11/16, Kindelan, Joseph) reports, “The number of people who were hospitalized for eating disorders in the United States doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic, new research shows.” According to the study, published in JAMA, “rising cases were seen across anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and unspecified eating disorders.”

Related Links:

— “Eating disorder hospitalizations doubled during COVID-19 pandemic, new data shows “Katie Kindelan and Lauren Joseph, ABC News, November 16, 2021

HealthDay (11/16, Norton) reports, “Medical training may be taking less of a mental health toll on young” physicians “than it used to, but depression remains common,” researchers concluded in a study that “tracked nearly 17,000 U.S. interns (first-year residents) who entered residency programs between 2007 and 2019.” The study revealed that “overall, interns in 2019 did show an increase in depression symptoms during that first year of training, but it was about one-quarter less, compared to their counterparts in 2007.” The findingswere published online Nov. 16 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Better Work Conditions Bringing Better Mental Health to Resident Doctors: Study “Amy Norton, HealthDay, November 16, 2021

Healio (11/15, Gawel) reports, “Stretch marks can negatively impact pregnancy, quality of life and the psychological and emotional well-being of those who experience them,” investigators from Michigan Medicine concluded after surveying “116 pregnant patients with” striae gravidarum. The findings were discussed here.

Related Links:

— “Pregnancy stretch marks cause psychological, emotional burden “Richard Gawel, Healio, November 15, 2021

MedPage Today (11/15, Monaco) reports patients with COVID-19 “on an antidepressant were less likely to die from the infection, a retrospective study found.” According to researchers, “compared with patients not on an antidepressant, patients with COVID-19…taking a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) had a modest but significant 8% reduced risk of death.” Overall, the study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that “14.6% of patients (497 of 3,401) on an SSRI died from COVID-19 versus 16.6% (1,130 of 6,802) of patients who never had a history of taking an SSRI.”

HealthDay (11/15, Mozes) reports the study also revealed a “higher survival rate among those taking two specific SSRIs – Prozac (fluoxetine) and Luvox (fluvoxamine). The 481 patients taking either Prozac or Luvox alone…were 26% to 28% less likely to die from COVID-19, the study team found.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)