The New York Times (7/8, Abelson) reports research from Harvard, Northeastern, Northwestern, and Rutgers universities shows that levels of social isolation increased sharply last summer “even as the public health crisis in the United States began to abate,” suggesting “recovery from the pandemic may take a long time and could affect people’s view of their relationships over time.” The researchers found feelings of social isolation increased “even though they were seeing more people,” perhaps because “people may have felt they had fewer people to lean on because they remained physically distant from a broad network of acquaintances and friends,” according to sociology professor Mario Small. According to the Times, “The researchers also point to a strong association between social isolation, particularly for those people who said they lacked people they could turn to for emotional support, and moderate or severe depression.”

Related Links:

— “Social isolation in the U.S. rose even as the Covid crisis began to subside, new research shows “Reed Abelson, The New York Times, July 8, 2021

HealthDay (7/8, Mann) reports, “Teens and adults with autism may be less likely than others to use drugs and alcohol, but new research finds those who do are nearly nine times more likely to use these substances to mask symptoms, including those related to autism,” investigators concluded after asking some “1,200 people with autism and about 1,200 without autism how often they used drugs or alcohol via an anonymous online survey.” Of this group, “more than 900 participants gave more detailed responses about why they turned to drugs and alcohol.” The findings were published online in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Autism & Drinking, Drug Abuse Can Be Dangerous Mix “Denise Mann, HealthDay, July 8, 2021

Healio (7/8, Gramigna) reports, “Longer time since trauma was associated with larger symptom reductions among patients with PTSD,” researchers concluded in a study that “196 veterans with combat-related PTSD according to DSM-IV-TR criteria that last three months or longer, with recruitment between 2012 and 2016 from four sites that participated in the 24-week PROlonGed ExpoSure and Sertraline clinical trial.” The findings were published online June 15 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Longer time since trauma linked to larger symptom reductions in PTSD “Joe Gramigna, Healio, July 8, 2021

Modern Healthcare (7/7, Devereaux, Subscription Publication) reports, “Telehealth usage continues to decline as Americans return to medical facilities,” data indicate. The FAIR Health Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker found that “in April, telehealth utilization fell 12.5%, a trend mirrored by a gradual shift back to in-person visits at hospitals and other healthcare settings.” What’s more, “mental health conditions are the top diagnoses treated via telehealth, according to FAIR Health,” rising from “57% of all mental health claims in March to 58.6% in April.”

Related Links:

— “Telehealth use falls for third straight month, in-person appointments increase “Mari Devereaux, Modern Healthcare , July 7, 2021

MedPage Today (7/7, Grant) reports, “Children who have difficulty developing age-appropriate emotion regulation skills may be at a higher risk of developing broad anorexia nervosa during adolescence,” researchers concluded “in an analysis of data from the Millennium Cohort Study.” The 15,896-participant study revealed that “lower emotion regulation skills at the age of three were not associated with greater odds of reporting symptoms of broad anorexia at a later age,” but youngsters “who had no improvements in their emotion regulation skills by age seven had statistically higher odds of developing anorexia at age 14.” The findings were published online July 7 in JAMA Psychiatry.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)