The Wall Street Journal (8/10, Petersen, Subscription Publication) reports the pandemic and the resulting economic impact are negatively impacting the mental health of many Americans, particularly young adults. For example, past president of the American Psychiatric Association Maria A. Oquendo says the development and maturation of teenagers may be derailed by social isolation.

Related Links:

— “Coronavirus Turmoil Raises Depression Risks in Young Adults, “Andrea Petersen, Andrea Petersen, August 10, 2020

CNN (8/10, Lamotte) reports, “In what they call the largest study ever done, researchers found using marijuana while pregnant may increase the risk that a child will develop autism.” The findings were published in Nature Medicine. One study author said, “Women who used cannabis during pregnancy were 1.5 times more likely to have a child with autism. … These are not reassuring findings. We highly discourage use of cannabis during pregnancy and breastfeeding.”

NBC News (8/10) reports that in the “analysis of data from more than 500,000 Canadian mothers and their children, researchers found a 50 percent increase in the risk of autism spectrum disorder in kids whose mothers had used cannabis while pregnant, according to the report.” Researchers “reviewed data from all Ontario births that occurred from 2007 to 2012, which was before the drug was legalized in Canada.”

MedPage Today (8/10, D’Ambrosio) reports that “hints of increased risk of intellectual and learning disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were also seen, according to” the report.

Psychiatric News (8/10) reports, “During the study period, 2.2% of children with prenatal cannabis exposure were diagnosed with ASD, compared with a rate of 1.4% among all children.”

Related Links:

— “Marijuana use during pregnancy linked to autism in babies, study says, “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, August 10, 2020

MedPage Today (8/7, George) reported, “Hearing impairment was linked to neuropathological hallmarks of dementia,” investigators concluded after assessing data from “2,755 autopsied participants age 55 and older from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center…database.” The study revealed that “in older adults who were cognitively normal, impaired hearing was associated with tau neurofibrillary degeneration,” while “in people with dementia, hearing loss was tied to microinfarcts but not to tau tangles.” The findings were published online in Neurology.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Medscape (8/7, Yasgur, Subscription Publication) reported, “Emergency department (ED) visits related to mental health conditions increased nearly twofold from 2007–2008 to 2015–2016,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS)” that “showed that over the 10-year study period, the proportion of ED visits for mental health diagnoses increased from 6.6% to 10.9%, with substance use accounting for much of the increase.” The findings were published online July 28 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

CNN (8/6, Thomas) reports the US has the most cases of SARS-CoV-2 and deaths from COVID-19. In addition, “the US population is also suffering more mental health consequences than people in other countries, according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund released on Thursday.” Dr. David Blumenthal, president of the Commonwealth Fund, said, “As our country struggles with the surging number of cases and the economic havoc that the pandemic is wreaking, people in other countries are living a different, better reality. Americans should realize that our country can do better, too.”

Related Links:

— “Coronavirus stresses Americans more than others, study finds, “Naomi Thomas, CNN, August 6, 2020