TODAY (7/20, Holohan) reports on the impacts of racism on the mental health of Black women, as well as the barriers for Black women in seeking mental health treatment. Although “African Americans experience mental illness at the same rate as other Americans, they’re more likely to receive inadequate care or no care at all.” TODAY adds, “The American Psychiatric Association estimates that one out of every three Black people who need mental health treatment actually receives it.” TODAY says, “Black women are often underrepresented in research and wary of seeking mental health treatment,” and “the reasons behind both sometimes overlap.”

Related Links:

— “‘We’re looked at as superhuman’: How racism affects Black women’s mental health, “Meghan Holohan, TODAY, July 20, 2020

CNN (7/21, Rogers) reports, “Racial discrimination may increase stress, lead to health problems and hamper cognitive function for Black women, a new study finds.” CNN adds, “Black women who frequently experienced daily racism – including racial slurs, poor store service or forms of stereotyping – had 2.75 times the risk of poor subjective cognitive functioning than women who experienced lower levels of daily racism.” The findings were published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. Dr. Danielle Hairston, psychiatrist and “president of the Black Caucus of the American Psychiatric Association,” said, “The emotional experience of psychological trauma (like racism) can alter cognitive processes such as memory, attention, planning, and problem solving. … Racism is a source of stress and depression, so I would expect that racism can negatively impact cognitive functioning.”

Newsweek (7/21, Gander) reports the study “involved 17,320 participants of the Black Women’s Health Study, which explores variables including racism and subjective cognitive function (SCF), a measure of a person’s memory skills with a lower score meaning more problems.” Of the “participants, 60 percent were deemed to have good SCF, 28 percent moderate, and 12 percent poor.” Newsweek adds, “Depression and insomnia, which can both make cognition worse, may be mediating factors for the link, the team said.”

Related Links:

— “Racial discrimination may harm Black people’s cognitive health, study finds, “Kristen Rogers, CNN, July 21, 2020

HealthDay (7/17, Reinberg) reported, “The death of a twin, especially earlier in life, leaves the surviving twin at risk for psychiatric problems,” particularly in identical twins, investigators concluded. After analyzing data from Sweden, researchers “found people who had experienced the death of a co-twin between 1973 and 2013,” then compared “psychiatric diagnoses in these twins with their non-twin siblings and with more than 22,600 people whose twin was still alive.” The study revealed that the “risk of being diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder increased by 55% to 65% after the death of a co-twin.” The findings were published online July 15 in the journal e-Life.

Related Links:

— “Loss of a Twin Linked to Risk for Mental Illness, ” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, July 17, 2020

Healio (7/17, Monostra) reported, “Postmenopausal women who are prescribed antidepressants, beta-blockers and insulin are more likely to experience weight gain than those who do not use these medications,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data on BMI (n = 76,252) and waist circumference (n = 76,579) during a three-year period from postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative.” The findings were published online in the journal Menopause.

Related Links:

— “Certain drugs may promote unintentional weight gain in postmenopausal women, “Michael Monostra, Healio, July 17, 2020

Medscape (7/16, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “A growing number of psychiatrists in the US no longer accept insurance and will only see patients who can pay upfront, out-of-pocket for office visits,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from 2007-2016 from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.” The study revealed that “the percentage of self-paid psychiatrist office visits has trended upward (from 18.5% in 2007-2009 to 26.7% in 2014-2016).” In addition, “the percentage of psychiatrists who work in predominantly self-pay practices has also trended upward (from 16.4% in 2007-2009 to 26.4% in 2014-2016).” The findings were published online July 15 in a research letter in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)