Healio (5/8, Gramigna) reported investigators “have observed significant changes in the treatment of bipolar disorder over the past two decades,” investigators concluded after examining “nationally representative data from the 1997 to 2016 National Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys to examine trends in the use of first- and second-generation antipsychotics, antidepressants and mood stabilizers among psychiatrist visits for which one of the primary diagnoses was bipolar disorder.” The study revealed that “second-generation antipsychotics in large measure having supplanted traditional mood stabilizers.” At the same time, “antidepressant prescriptions have persisted despite a lack of evidence for their efficacy in bipolar disorder.” The findings were published online April 21 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Second-generation antipsychotics have largely replaced mood stabilizers for treatment of bipolar disorder, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 8, 2020

CBS News (5/8, Gordon) reported, “COVID-19 has directly claimed tens of thousands of U.S. lives, but conditions stemming from the novel coronavirus – rampant unemployment, isolation and an uncertain future – could lead to 75,000 deaths from drug or alcohol abuse and suicide,” according to a report published by the Well Being Trust. Dr. Elie Aoun, vice chairman of the APA’s Council on Addiction Psychiatry, said the projections were shocking, but not surprising, “I’ve been seeing this in practices and my colleagues have been talking about it, too.” Dr. Aoun added, “Addiction patients are relapsing, and a lot of patients who don’t have drug use or alcohol problems are drinking more now, sometimes every day from 4 or 5 p.m., and they don’t stop until they sleep.”

Related Links:

— “Coronavirus pandemic may lead to 75,000 “deaths of despair” from suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, study says, “Serena Gordon, CBS News, May 8, 2020

Healio (5/7, Gramigna) reports, “Frequent religious service attendance appeared associated with lower risk for death from despair among health care professionals,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from self-reported questionnaires and medical records of 66,492 female registered nurses included in the Nurses’ Healthy Study II…from 2001 through 2017” and the “data of 43,141 male health care professionals, such as dentists, pharmacists, osteopaths, podiatrists, optometrists and veterinarians, included in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study…from 1988 through 2014.” The findings of the “population-based cohort study” were published online May 6 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Religious service attendance linked to significantly lower risk for death from despair, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, May 7, 2020

TIME (5/7, Heid) reports, “Late last month, as the full weight of the COVID-19 crises was settling on the country’s shoulders, more than one in four American adults met the criteria that psychologists use to diagnose serious mental distress and illness. That represents a roughly 700% increase from pre-pandemic data collected in 2018.” TIME adds, “While this surge in mental distress showed up across age and demographic groups, young adults and those with children experienced the most pronounced spikes. Among adults living at home with kids under the age of 18, the rate of severe distress rose from just 3% in 2018 to 37% last month.” Researchers at Florida State University and San Diego University conducted the study, which is currently in preprint on the PsyArXiv website.

Related Links:

— “COVID-19’s Psychological Toll: Mental Distress Among Americans Has Tripled During the Pandemic Compared to 2018, “Markham Heid, TIME, May 7, 2020

HealthDay (5/7, Thompson) reports experts warn that COVID-19 survivors “will be emotionally scarred by their time spent in an intensive care unit (ICU), and they are at increased risk of psychological problems, such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).” Dr. Joshua Morganstein, chair of the APA’s Committee on the Psychiatric Dimensions of Disasters, said that in addition to the potential trauma of being in the ICU, the virus might cause psychiatric or neurological problems itself, “There certainly are many infectious illnesses that have associated with them the development of temporary or permanent neuropsychiatric symptoms that can range from things like mood changes to confusion or cognitive impairment, to pain or fatigue.” Dr. Morganstein advised, “When a person’s body and mind is trying to respond to and manage a severe infection, this can be disorienting and fatiguing. Health care workers should take their time when they are talking to articulate clearly and speak in a gentle but audible manner to patients, to help ensure the patients understand what is happening.”

Related Links:

— “Depression, Anxiety, PTSD May Plague Many COVID-19 Survivors, “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, May 7, 2020