HealthDay (4/14, Preidt) reports that “interviews with 750 private security guards in the United Kingdom revealed that nearly 40% had symptoms of PTSD, and also that security guard companies provide them with little mental health support.” In addition, investigators found that “security guards often face verbal and physical abuse – including violent assaults – from the public.” The research was conducted by a team from the University of Portsmouth in England. The article does not disclose where the study was published or presented.

Related Links:

— “4 in 10 Security Guards Suffer PTSD, Study Finds, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 14, 2020

MD Magazine (4/14, Campbell) reports researchers are “shedding light on a potential link between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia in patients with stable coronary artery disease [CAD].” The 303-patient study revealed that “patients who survived a recent myocardial infarction (MI) and had PTSD were at a greater risk of developing myocardial ischemia than those who did not have PTSD.” The findings were published online April 14 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “PTSD Associated With Increase of Mental Stress Induced Myocardial Infarction, “Patrick Campbell, MD Magazine, April 14, 2020

Psychiatric News (4/14) reports that in a viewpoint published online April 10 in JAMA Internal Medicine, Sandro Galea, MD, of Boston University School of Medicine; Raina M. Merchant, MD, of Perelman School of Medicine; and Nicole Lurie, MD, of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations in Norway, “recommended three steps they believe can help…address the likely rise of mental disorders and related challenges from the” COVID-19 pandemic. The three steps include making “plans to address loneliness and its aftereffects as populations physically isolate and to develop ways to intervene,” having “mechanisms in place for surveillance, reporting, and intervention, particularly when it comes to domestic violence and child abuse,” and bolstering “the mental health system.”

Related Links:

— “Take Steps Now to Mitigate Mental Health Effects of COVID-19, Psychiatric News, April 14, 2020

HealthDay (4/14, McNiff) reports, “Teenagers who use marijuana to fall asleep may be setting themselves up for insomnia later in life,” researchers concluded after analyzing “the sleep habits and history of marijuana use among 1,882 teens from Colorado.” The study revealed that “roughly one-third of the participants who started using marijuana before age 18 had insomnia later in life.” In comparison, just “20% of the other participants – who either never became regular marijuana users or started their use at age 18 or older – had insomnia in adulthood.” The findings were published online in the journal Sleep.

Related Links:

— “Using Pot to Help You Sleep? It Could Backfire, “Serena McNiff, HealthDay, April 14, 2020

Psychiatric News (4/14) reports that in a viewpoint published online April 10 in JAMA Internal Medicine, Sandro Galea, MD, of Boston University School of Medicine; Raina M. Merchant, MD, of Perelman School of Medicine; and Nicole Lurie, MD, of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations in Norway, “recommended three steps they believe can help…address the likely rise of mental disorders and related challenges from the” COVID-19 pandemic. The three steps include making “plans to address loneliness and its aftereffects as populations physically isolate and to develop ways to intervene,” having “mechanisms in place for surveillance, reporting, and intervention, particularly when it comes to domestic violence and child abuse,” and bolstering “the mental health system.”

Related Links:

— “Take Steps Now to Mitigate Mental Health Effects of COVID-19, Psychiatric News, April 14, 2020