Healio (5/1, Gramigna, Houck) reported, “Black emerging adults in the United States aged 18 to 29 years commonly experienced anxiety disorders, which were the most prevalent disorders among this segment of the population,” and “frequent exposure to police violence increased this population’s risk for anxiety disorders,” investigators concluded after using “computer-assisted surveys to evaluate the prevalence and correlates of anxiety linked to police contact among 300 Black emerging adult college students at a community college or university in St. Louis, Missouri.” The findings were presented in a poster at the American Psychiatric Association’s virtual annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Police contact significant factor in Black emerging adults’ high anxiety disorder rates “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 1, 2021

Healio (5/1, Gramigna) reported, “A cultural-based peer support group appeared to benefit Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic,” researchers concluded after evaluating “peer support outcomes using a qualitative focus group analysis among 10 participants who were in the group since the pandemic began.” The findings were presented in a poster at the American Psychiatric Association’s virtual annual meeting.

Related Links:

— “Pandemic-related cultural peer support group benefits Asian Americans “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 1, 2021

The Hill (4/30, Coleman) reported, “Access to mental health services dwindled as [healthcare professionals] were strained and under the demand for care during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a” GAO report. The agency’s report “concluded that the number of people experiencing anxiety, depression and drug overdoses heightened during the pandemic, while mental health professionals dealt with layoffs, decreased hours and having to turn away patients.”

Kaiser Health News (4/30, Huetteman) said the GAO report “also casts doubt on whether insurers are abiding by federal law requiring parity in insurance coverage, which forbids health plans from passing along more of the bill for mental health care to patients than they would for medical or surgical care.”

Related Links:

— “Access to mental health services dwindled as pandemic need strained providers: GAO report “Justine Coleman, The Hill, April 30, 2021

Healio (5/2, Gramigna) reported, “Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, provided an overview of lessons learned and remaining challenges” from the COVID-19 pandemic at the American Psychiatric Association’s virtual annual meeting. Discussing “psychiatric outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. Fauci also “referenced a CDC study conducted in June 2020 that surveyed 5,470 U.S. adults and found 41% reported one or more adverse mental or behavioral health condition,” including “31% with anxiety or depression symptoms, 26% with trauma or stressor-related disorder symptoms, 13% who initiated or increased substance use and 11% who seriously considered suicide.”

Related Links:

— “Fauci gives overview of lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic at APA annual meeting “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 2, 2021

HealthDay (4/29, Preidt) reports that even though “herbal kratom is used by less than 1% of the U.S. population,” its rate of use “is much higher among those who misuse opioid” analgesics, researchers concluded after examining “data collected from more than 56,000 U.S. teens and adults during the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health..” The study also revealed that “men, white people and those with depression and serious mental illness were also more likely to report using kratom.” The findings were published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Who Is Using Herbal Kratom? ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 29, 2021