CNN (7/4, Vera) reported that for some survivors of gun violence and mass shootings, “the loud explosions and bangs” that surround Independence Day fireworks “have become nightmarish triggers.” Gun-related “violence can lead to life-long trauma that can even develop into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),” a “a psychiatric disorder that occurs in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event like a shooting, natural disaster or abuse, according to the American Psychiatric Association.” The article interviewed several gun violence “survivors and witnesses of mass shootings, including some who have been diagnosed with PTSD, in an effort to understand how July 4 fireworks celebrations might affect them.”

Related Links:

— “Independence Day fireworks, once joyous celebrations, are now nightmares for these gun violence survivors ” Amir Vera, CNN, July 4, 2021

Healio (7/1, Gramigna) reports, “Depression treatment among older adults reduced functional disability, which in turn reduced suicide ideation,” researchers concluded in a study that “sought to assess the relationship between changes in functional disability and suicide ideation among 65 adults aged 65 to 91 years (72% white; 66% women) with depression after they received psychotherapy.” The findings were published in a brief report in the June issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Psychotherapy reduces functional disability, suicide ideation among older adults “Joe Gramigna, Healio, July 1, 2021

Healio (7/1, Gramigna) reports, “Eating disorder behaviors appeared to change brain reward processing,” researchers concluded in a functional brain imaging study that sought “to evaluate brain response during unexpected receipt or omission of a salient sweet stimulus in 317 women, of whom 197 had eating disorders and 120 served as healthy controls, and to determine whether this brain response was linked to the ventral striatal-hypothalamic circuitry, which has correlated with food intake control.” The study revealed that “BMI modulated prediction error and food intake control circuitry in the brain, and alteration of this circuitry may reinforce eating disorder behaviors when paired with behavioral traits linked to overeating or undereating, researchers noted.” The findings were published online June 30 in JAMA Psychiatry. HealthDay (7/1, Preidt) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Eating disorder behaviors linked to changes in brain reward processing “Joe Gramigna, Healio, July 1, 2021

Psychiatric News (6/30) reports, “Paid family leave policies enacted by states for new parents appear to improve mental health and decrease psychological distress of new parents,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data collected between 1997 and 2016 as part of the annual National Health Interview Survey,” then comparing “changes in parental psychological distress (as determined by the Kessler 6 score) and child behavioral problems (as determined by the Mental Health Indicator score) among families in California and New Jersey before and after implementation of paid family leave policies.” The findings were published online June 28 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Paid Family Leave May Reduce Psychological Distress of New Parents, Psychiatric News, June 30, 2021

Psychiatric News (6/29) reports, “People with substance-induced psychosis appear to be at a greater risk of dying earlier than those who do not experience psychosis,” investigators concluded in a study that included 9,303 people who “were diagnosed with substance-induced psychosis only, 2,197” who were “were diagnosed with schizophrenia following substance-induced psychosis, and 39,738” who “were diagnosed with schizophrenia without preceding substance-induced psychosis.” The study population “was followed until death, emigration, or August 10, 2017, whichever came first.” The study “revealed that the risk of death was elevated in people with substance-induced psychosis regardless of whether they later developed schizophrenia.” The findings were published online June 9 in the journal Addiction.

Related Links:

— “People With Substance-Induced Psychosis Found to Be at Greater Risk of Death Than General Population, Psychiatric News, June 29, 2021