According to the Washington Post (10/27, Portnoy), on Oct. 14, the CDC “added ‘mental health conditions’ to a long list of mostly physical conditions that make someone likely to be hospitalized, need a ventilator or die of the coronavirus, including cancer, diabetes and obesity.” What this means is that “it is important for people with ‘mood disorders, including depression, and schizophrenia spectrum disorders’ to get vaccinated – with initial doses and boosters – and take preventive measures, such as masking, social distancing and hand-washing, according to the CDC.” The Post adds, “Two comprehensive meta-analyses published” online in JAMA Psychiatry “confirmed that people with serious mental illness are more at risk for severe illness from COVID-19.” Click here and here to see those meta-analyses.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

According to the Wall Street Journal (10/26, Petersen, Subscription Publication), people are now turning to marijuana to treat depression and anxiety despite the lack of scientific evidence. The American Psychiatric Association in 2019 declared evidence is lacking that marijuana can treat any psychiatric disorder.

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— “People Are Using Marijuana to Treat Anxiety and Depression, but the Science Is Murky “Andrea Petersen, The Wall Street Journal, October 26, 2021

Psychiatric News (10/26) reports research “describes how the number of children and adolescents admitted for eating disorders at a children’s hospital in Michigan rose steadily during the first 12 months of the” COVID-19 pandemic. Investigators “performed a chart review of youth aged 10 to 23 years admitted to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., between March 1, 2017, and March 31, 2021, for medical complications of restrictive eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, atypical anorexia nervosa, and avoidant or restrictive food intake disorder,” then “compared data on youth admitted to the hospital from March 2017 through March 2020 (before the COVID-19 pandemic) with data on youth admitted to the hospital from April 2020 through March 2021 (during the COVID-19 pandemic).” The findings were published in the October issue of the journal Pediatrics.

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— “Hospitalizations of Youth With Eating Disorders Rose During Pandemic, Report Shows, Psychiatric News, October 26, 2021

According to USA Today (10/26, Miller), cities across the US “have been testing programs in recent years to send mental health professionals instead of police to some emergency calls.” Now, “a survey of 911 call centers suggests the people answering the phone may not have the resources to handle those crises.” On Oct. 26, the Pew Charitable Trusts published a survey of “more than three dozen emergency call centers,” finding that “few have staff trained to handle behavioral health crises.” In fact, “most centers also did not have access to mental health professionals who can help with the calls or first responders in the field trained to handle such crises.”

The Hill (10/26, Beals) also covers the story.

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— “911 operators need more training to handle mental health crisis calls. Here’s why it matters “Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY, October 26, 2021

The New York Times (10/25, Brody) reports “experts say acne has become an increasingly prevalent problem among adult women in recent years.” In some cases, acne “that began in adolescence persisted well past their teen years, but others developed acne for the first time as adults.” The Times adds, “In a study of 50 adult women with moderate to severe acne recently published in JAMA Dermatology,” researchers highlighted “the toll the condition can take on mental and emotional well-being. The women often experienced problems with depression, anxiety and social isolation.”

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— “The Emotional Toll of Adult Acne ” Jane E. Brody, The New York Times, October 25, 2021