Healio (1/11, Swain) reports, “Among patients with cardiac disease, nearly 20% used psychotropic medications, and psychotropic medication use was linked to elevated risk for one-year mortality, researchers” concluded in a study that “analyzed 12,913 patients hospitalized for ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias, HF or valvular heart disease who were included in the DenHeart Survey.” The study revealed that “18% of the cohort used psychotropic medications within six months before hospitalization, 32% reported symptoms of anxiety and 3% died within one year of hospitalization.” The findings were published online in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. HCPlive (1/11, Iapoce) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Psychotropic medication use tied to 1-year mortality in patients with heart disease “Erik Swain, Healio, January 11, 2022

PatientEngagementHIT (1/10, Heath) reports that “more than half of low-income parents said they delayed or went without some type of healthcare within the past 12 months, largely because of social determinants of health carving out steep income-based health disparities, according to” an Urban Institute report. The article adds, “The report, comprised of data from an April 2021 survey, showed that 61.5 percent of parents making less than $30,000 – an income at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) – went without care because of cost, challenges taking time off work, challenges arranging childcare, or transportation barriers.”

Related Links:

— “Income-Based Health Disparities Impact Health of Parents ” Sara Heath, PatientEngagementHIT, January 10, 2022

According to USA Today (1/8, Groppe, Elbeshbishi), a new USA Today/Suffolk University poll reveals that an “overwhelming majority of Americans believe the U.S. is in the grips of a full-blown mental health crisis.” The poll shows that nearly “two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought a rise in depression, anxiety, stress, addiction and other challenges, almost nine in ten registered voters believe there’s a ‘mental health crisis’ in the nation.” The poll also found that a “majority of those surveyed also said poor mental health is primarily responsible for mass shootings, alcohol and drug addiction, and suicides.”

Related Links:

— “Exclusive poll: Overwhelming majority says the US faces a mental health crisis “Maureen Groppe and Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY, January 8, 2022

The AP (1/8, Kelleher) reported, “The current explosion of Omicron-fueled coronavirus infections in the U.S. is causing a breakdown in basic functions and services – the latest illustration of how COVID-19 keeps upending life more than two years into the pandemic.” According to the AP, “First responders, hospitals, schools and government agencies have employed an all-hands-on-deck approach to keep the public safe, but they are worried how much longer they can keep it up.”

Related Links:

— “Omicron explosion spurs nationwide breakdown of services “Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Terry Tang, AP, January 8, 2022

Healio (1/6, Herpen) reports, “Using polygenic risk scores to determine likelihood of parental bipolar disorder [BD] passing to offspring is promising but unproven,” researchers concluded after collecting and analyzing “data from 745 participants (336 parents, 409 children) enrolled in the Pittsburgh Biological Offspring Study, which included parents with BD I/II and their offspring, as well as parents without BD and their offspring.” The findings of the “community-based case-control longitudinal study” were published online Dec. 22 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Polygenic risk scores may be useful in finding bipolar disorder link in adults, offspring “Robert Herpen, Healio, January 6, 2022