Healio (11/24, Gramigna) reports, “A significant proportion of U.S. adults reported serious psychological distress related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” investigators concluded after receiving and analyzing “online survey data from 1,337 individuals aged 18 years or older who were included in NORC’s AmeriSpeak panel, with second wave data fielded between July 7 and July 22.” The findings were published Nov. 23 in a research letter in JAMA.

Related Links:

— “Many U.S. adults experienced serious psychological distress related to COVID-19 pandemic “Joe Gramigna, Healio, November 24, 2020

Psychiatric News (11/23) reports, “Prazosin is effective at reducing alcohol consumption in adults with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and severe withdrawal symptoms such as sweating, headache, and nausea,” investigators concluded in a “12-week, randomized clinical trial of 112 treatment-seeking adults with AUD.” The study revealed that “those with severe withdrawal symptoms who took prazosin had half as many drinking days and only one-fifth the number of heavy drinking days as adults with severe withdrawal symptoms taking placebo.” The findings were published online Nov. 19 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Prazosin Can Reduce Drinking in AUD Patients With Severe Withdrawal Symptoms, Psychiatric News, November 23, 2020

The New York Times (11/23, Carey) reports, “The Department of Veterans Affairs [VA] has turned to machine-learning to help identify vets at risk of taking their own lives.” Suicide rates among veterans have risen by 30% since 2000, and are generally higher than the civilian population. The VA has developed a program called Reach Vet which deploys an algorithm that “updates continually, generating a new list of high-risk veterans each month.” The VA will reach out to a vet to make an appointment if their name appears on the list.

Related Links:

— “Department Of Veterans Affairs Employing New Algorithm To Identify Veterans At Risk Of Suicide “Benedict Carey, The New York Times, November 23, 2020

Healio (11/20, Gramigna) reported, “Older adults with higher levels of loneliness were at increased risk for more severe depression symptoms,” investigators concluded after “analyzing seven waves of data collected once every two years between 2004 and 2017 of adults aged 50 years and older who were included in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.” The findings of the 4,211-participant, “population-based cohort study” were published online Nov. 9 in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Reducing loneliness among older adults may prevent future depressive symptoms “Joe Gramigna, Healio, November 20, 2020

HealthDay (11/20, Murez) reported research indicates that “severe emotional distress and anxiety for those who have lived through major disasters can…lead to suicide.” Investigators arrived at that conclusion after examining data on “281 natural disasters during a 12-year period and their impact on suicide rates in those communities.” The study revealed that “suicide rates increased by 23% when compared to rates before and after the disaster.” The findings were published online Oct. 9 in the Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention.

Related Links:

— “Disasters Leave a Rise in Suicides in Their Wake: Study ” Cara Murez, HealthDay, November 20, 2020