Psychiatric News (1/28) reports, “Students in China reported high rates of psychological distress during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, but wearing a face mask frequently and exercising had some protective benefits,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from nearly 1.2 million school-aged children and adolescents living in the Guangdong province in China.” Next, the students “completed online questionnaires from March 8 to 30, 2020, which assessed mental health status using the Chinese version of the 12-item General Heath Questionnaire.” The findings were published online Jan. 26 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “High Psychological Distress Found Among Chinese Students During Early Weeks of Pandemic, Psychiatric News, January 28, 2021

Healio (1/28, Gramigna) reports, “Frequently used neuroimaging measures did not show a discrete brain signature associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors among youths,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data of a U.S. population-based sample of 7,994 unrelated children aged nine to 10 years who were included in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive study.” Investigators also “implemented quality control procedures and examined structural MRI data of 6,238 participants, resting state functional MRI data of 4,134 participants and task-based functional MRI data of between 4,075 and 4,608 participants.” The findings were published online Jan. 21 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Common neuroimaging measures do not detect youths’ risk for suicidal thoughts, behaviors “Joe Gramigna, Healio, January 28, 2021

Healio (1/27, Laday) reports, “Physical inactivity confers a ‘greater than threefold increased risk’ for developing depression within the next two years among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE],” investigators concluded after analyzing data from 225 people with SLE “without baseline depression and who completed an in-person baseline assessment and at least one follow-up.” The findings were published online in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.

Related Links:

— “Physical inactivity triples risk for depression in patients with lupus “Jason Laday, Healio, January 27, 2021

CNN (1/27, LaMotte) reports, “The effects of alcohol on your heart can be immediate, triggering an irregular rhythm called atrial fibrillation or AFib,” investigators concluded in a 100-patient, “randomized, double-blinded clinical study,” the findings of which were published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Clinical Electrophysiology.

Related Links:

— “Alcohol and your heart: Just getting a buzz can trigger an irregular rhythm “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, January 27, 2021

STAT (1/27, Silverman) reports, “As state and local governments consider how to spend proceeds from settlements with opioid makers, a coalition of medical societies and advocacy groups is urging public officials to create dedicated funds to help people with substance use disorders, rather than fix holes in their budgets.” The article adds that states, counties, municipalities, and tribal nations have filed 2,600 lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, distributors, pharmacies, and others over opioids.

Related Links:

— “‘Use that money wisely’: Coalition urges governments to spend opioid settlement funds on evidence-based efforts “Ed Silverman, STAT, January 27, 2021