Healio (10/15, Gramigna) reported, “Systemic inflammation appeared to have symptom-specific rather than generalized effects on depression,” researchers concluded after bringing “together raw data from 15 population-based cohorts comprising over 55,000 individuals [aged 18 years or older]” to examine “the association between two inflammatory markers and an array of depression-related symptoms, considering the potential influence of socio-demographic, lifestyle and illness related factors.” The findings of the “random-effects pooled analysis” were published online Oct. 14 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Higher inflammatory markers “…associated with an increased risk of experiencing four physical symptoms (changes in appetite, felt everything was an effort, loss of energy, sleep problems) and one cognitive symptom (little interest in doing things)….. For four exclusively emotional symptoms (bothered by things, hopelessness about the future, felt fearful, life had been a failure), the overall evidence was strongly against an association with inflammation.”

Related Links:

— “Systemic inflammation linked to symptom-specific depression effects “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 15, 2021

Psychiatric News (10/15) reported, “How people’s brains respond to stress following a traumatic event may help…predict their long-term mental health outcomes,” researchers concluded after analyzing data from 146 participants. The study revealed that “participants with the reactive/disinhibited profile – those who showed high reactivity to both threat and reward – reported higher levels of symptoms of both PTSD and anxiety over time compared with participants with the other profiles.” The findings were published online Oct. 14 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Brain Activity Patterns After Trauma May Predict Long-Term Mental Health, Likelihood of Stress Disorders, Psychiatric News, October 15, 2021

According to the New York Times (10/15, Gebeloff) “The Upshot,” a push in 2012 on the part of the US government to decrease unneeded antipsychotic medication “use in nursing homes included an exemption for residents with schizophrenia,” and experts indicate that a number of facilities are utilizing the exemption “to continue sedating” patients with dementia rather than “providing the more costly, staff-intensive care that regulators are trying to promote.” According to a study published online Sept. 30 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, this has affected Black residents more severely. The Times added, “Since the new rules went into place, Black Americans with dementia have been 1.7 times as likely as their white nursing home neighbors to be diagnosed with schizophrenia, said Shekinah A. Fashaw-Walters, a public health researcher at the University of Minnesota and the study’s lead author.”

Related Links:

— “A Racial Disparity in Schizophrenia Diagnoses in Nursing Homes “Robert Gebeloff, The New York Times, October 15, 2021

USA Today (10/14, Fernando) reports, “During the pandemic, U.S. adults have on average exercised less, drank and smoked more, and spent more time in front of computer or TV screens, according to a studypublished” this week on MDPI. Researchers “surveyed American adults in October 2020 about five ‘lifestyle behaviors’: exercise time, screen time, fast food consumption, alcohol drinking and cigarette smoking.” Compared with “before the COVID-19 pandemic, exercise time decreased by 31%, screen time increased by 60%, alcohol consumption increased by 23%, and smoking by 9%.

Related Links:

— “Did Americans work out more during pandemic? Study finds the opposite, in fact “Christine Fernando, USA Today, October 14, 2021

Healio (10/13, Gramigna) reports, “Interventions that help limit youth access to handguns during moments of crisis may especially benefit rural-remote communities,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data of 59,556 students who participated in the 2019 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, which was conducted at 256 high schools in Colorado.” The study revealed that “increasing rurality coincided with prevalence of perceived easy access to handguns.” The findings were published online Oct. 8 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Youth from rural communities at increased risk for firearm-related suicide “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 13, 2021