HealthDay (3/19, Preidt) reported that “the pandemic is turning what should be a joyful time for pregnant women into a stress-filled experience,” and “fears that their infants might catch COVID-19 is one of the main reasons anxiety levels are soaring, a new survey finds.” The survey results, published recently in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, “showed that 52% of pregnant women and 49% of postpartum women worried about their babies contracting COVID-19, and 46% had sought additional information about COVID-19 protocols from the hospital where they planned to deliver, or had delivered, their babies.”

Related Links:

— “Pandemic Has Pregnant Women ‘Really Stressed,’ Survey Shows “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, March 19, 2021

HealthDay (3/19, Thompson) reported, “Preschoolers who spend a lot of time watching movies and shows on TVs and other screens are more likely to develop emotional and behavioral problems by age five,” but “despite their reputation, video games did not appear to promote any emotional problems in youngsters, researchers concluded” in a study that “examined data on nearly 700 children participating in a long-term pediatric health study in Finland.” The study revealed that “high levels of screen time at the age of 1.5 years is related to peer problems at five years, and that high levels of screen time is related to more psychosocial problems at five years, including emotional and behavioral symptoms as well as attention difficulties and hyperactivity.” The findings were published March 17 in the journal BMJ Open.

Related Links:

— “Does Too Much ‘Screen Time’ Have Your Preschooler Acting Out? “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, March 19, 2021

HealthDay (3/19, Murez) reported, “Among those who are facing fear, isolation and loss during the pandemic are people who experience eating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia and binge eating, according to recent research from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England.” Researchers “reconnected with participants from a 2019 study on body dysmorphia, exercise addiction and eating disorders, to find out how COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 may have impacted their eating disorders.” Participants answered questions that were “part of the eating attitudes test, called EAT-26,” and their “scores significantly increased in 2020, post-lockdown, compared to 2019. This suggested higher levels of eating behaviors such as anorexia and bulimia, according to the study authors.” The findings were published in the April issue of the journal Psychiatry Research.

Related Links:

— “Lockdowns Are Putting People With Eating Disorders in Crisis “Cara Murez, HealthDay, March 19, 2021

Healio (3/19, Gramigna) reports, “The COVID-19 pandemic has affected daily stressors, coping and suicidal ideation among psychiatrically hospitalized youth, according to a presentation at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America annual conference.” Alexandra H. Bettis, PhD, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said, “Suddenly, some of the things that kids might typically do to manage stress might be restricted or no longer available to them, so COVID-19 could have pretty dramatic impacts on how kids are able to access different skills that maybe they typically would use in the face of stress.”

Related Links:

— “Emphasizing coping methods may help at-risk youth navigate COVID-19 pandemic “Joe Gramigna, Healio, March 19, 2021

HCPlive (3/18, Walter) reports, “Traumatic events that yield post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) might also increase the risk of ischemic heart disease…for women” veterans, investigators concluded in a study that included “132,923 individuals…with PTSD and 265,846 never diagnosed with PTSD.” The findings were published online in JAMA Cardiology.

Related Links:

— “PTSD Linked to Increased Risk of Ischemic Heart Disease in Women Veterans “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, March 18, 2021