Gaps in psychiatric care before and after the COVID-19 pandemic among patients with depression using electronic health records.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruption to health services. It is unclear if there were inequalities in the continuity of mental health care in the years around the COVID-19 pandemic. We used electronic health records (EHR) to detect mental health care gaps of more than six months in psychiatric appointments across demographic and socioeconomic characteristics among patients with depression.

Financial assets and mental health over time.

Financial, material, and social assets are core drivers of access to salutary resources. However, there is a paucity of research about how non-income financial assets shape mental health. We explore the relation of financial assets with symptoms of depression and of anxiety using a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of U.

Mental Health and Mental Health Care Utilization Across Political Affiliation in US Adults.

In the past decade, depression has become more visible in the public conversation; depression has also become bound in national divides. We sought to assess (1) whether positive screen for depression is associated with political party affiliation and (2) whether use of mental health care varies by political affiliation. Positive screen for depression did not differ significantly for Republicans versus Democrats in Spring 2023.

Area-level credit scores and symptoms of depression and anxiety in adults.

Area-level credit scores may capture aspects of a neighborhood's resources and history that may affect population mental health beyond income and other demographic determinants. Using a sample of 511,363 adults in 1,438 Pennsylvania ZIP codes who completed the COVID-19 Trends and Impact Survey, we assessed the relationship between area-level VantageScores (nine categories from <675 to ≥850) and individual mental health. We estimate odds and predicted probability of depression and anxiety symptoms, adjusting for demographics and median household income.

Generalized anxiety disorder in low-resourced adults: a nationally representative, longitudinal cohort study across the COVID-19 pandemic.

The burden of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) accrued disproportionately over the COVID-19 pandemic to low-resource populations. Using a longitudinal, nationally representative study of U.S.

Income or Job Loss and Psychological Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Importance: Given the expiration of expanded unemployment and other benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to understand the association between pandemic income or job loss and long-term implications on mental health.

Objective: To evaluate the association between income or job loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later psychological distress.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study used 5 waves of nationally representative, longitudinal survey data (September 16, 2019, through September 18, 2022) from the Pew Research Center's American Trends Panel.

Financial strain, schooling modality and mental health of US adults living with children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic upended contexts for families; relatively little work has studied the influence of rapidly changing contexts on the mental health of parents. We aimed to assess the relation between financial strain and schooling modality with the mental health of adults living with school-age children across the pandemic.

Methods: Using a large, national sample from the COVID-19 Trends and Impact Surveys (N=1 485 072 responses from November 2020 through June 2022), we used weighted multiple logistic regression with interactions for school semester to estimate changes in the association of frequent feelings of depression and anxiety, respectively, with financial strain and schooling modality, controlling for demographics and state, across time.

Regional variation in financial hardship among US veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Geographic variation in hardship, especially health-related hardship, was identified prior to and during the pandemic, but we do not know whether this variation is consistent among Veterans Health Administration (VHA)-enrolled veterans, who reported markedly high rates of financial hardship during the pandemic, despite general and veteran-specific federal policy efforts aimed at reducing hardship. In a nationwide, regionally stratified sample of VHA-enrolled veterans, we examined whether the prevalence of financial hardship during the pandemic varied by US Census region. We found veterans in the South, compared with those in other census regions, reported higher rates of severe-to-extreme financial strain, using up all or most of their savings, being unable to pay for necessities, being contacted by collections, and changing their employment due to the kind of work they could perform.

Depression and assets during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study of mental health across income and savings groups.

The prevalence of depression in U.S. adults during the COVID-19 pandemic has been high overall and particularly high among persons with fewer assets.

Experience of Personal Loss Due to Drug Overdose Among US Adults.

Importance: Since 1999, over 1 million people have died of a drug overdose in the US. However, little is known about the bereaved, meaning their family, friends, and acquaintances, and their views on the importance of addiction as a policy priority.

Objectives: To quantify the scope of the drug overdose crisis in terms of personal overdose loss (ie, knowing someone who died of a drug overdose) and to assess the policy implications of this loss.

Mental Health and U.S. Attitudes Toward Social Determinants of Health Policies.

Introduction: Research has suggested that individual health may influence policy attitudes, yet the relationship between mental health and policy support is understudied. Clarifying this relationship may help inform policies that can improve the population mental health. To address this gap, this study measures national support for 5 social determinants of health policy priorities and their relation to mental health and political affiliation.

Unmet need for mental health care is common across insurance market segments in the United States.

A substantial proportion of individuals with depression in the United States do not receive treatment. While access challenges for mental health care have been documented, few recent estimates of unmet mental health needs across insurance market segments exist. Using nationally representative survey data with participant-reported depression symptom severity and mental health care use collected in Spring 2023, we assessed access to mental health care among individuals with similar levels of depression symptom severity with commercial, Medicare, Medicaid, and no insurance.

The Potential Influence of AI on Population Mental Health.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into everyday life has galvanized a global conversation on the possibilities and perils of AI on human health. In particular, there is a growing need to anticipate and address the potential impact of widely accessible, enhanced, and conversational AI on mental health. We propose 3 considerations to frame how AI may influence population mental health: through the advancement of mental health care; by altering social and economic contexts; and through the policies that shape the adoption, use, and potential abuse of AI-enhanced tools.

Evolution of Depression and Anxiety During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Across Demographic Groups in a Large Sample of U.S. Adults.

Introduction: This study aimed to document the trends of feelings of depression and anxiety over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic within and across age, gender, education, and employment groups.

Methods: Using a large, national, serial cross-sectional sample of adults in the U.S.

Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Governmental Public Health Workforce and General Population.

We aimed to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in the governmental public health workforce and in US adults, assess differences in reporting PTSS within subgroups, and evaluate whether frontline workers reported higher levels of PTSS than persons in other jobs. We used data from 2 nationally representative studies: the 2021 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) and the COVID-19 and Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-being (CLIMB) study. Our study found that the state and local governmental public health workforce was more likely to report PTSS than the general adult population.

Assets and depression in U.S. adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review.

Purpose: Mental health is shaped by social and economic contexts, which were altered during the COVID-19 pandemic. No study has systematically reviewed the literature on the relation between different assets and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature on financial (e.

Long-COVID and comorbid depression and anxiety two years into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Long-COVID, or the persistence of COVID-19 symptoms for months after initial infection, has been shown to impact the lives of those affected. The current study sought to investigate the relationships between long-COVID, COVID-19 related stress, depression, anxiety, and comorbid depression and anxiety outcomes. Data were collected in Winter 2021-2022 from a population of adults enrolled in at least one course across multiple City University of New York (CUNY) campuses.

Pandemic stressors and mental health indicators in eight countries.

Purpose: The Covid-19 pandemic has exacted a significant physical, financial, social, and emotional toll on populations throughout the world. This study aimed to document the association between pandemic stressors and mental health during the pandemic across countries that differ in cultural, geographic, economic, and demographic factors.

Methods: We administered an online survey randomly in Brazil, China, Germany, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, and the United States from September 2020 to November 2020.

Depression and PTSD among Houston Residents who Experienced Hurricane Harvey and COVID-19: Implications for Urban Areas Affected by Multiple Disasters.

Little is known about the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other major disasters on mental health. Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast in 2017, resulting in substantial costs, significant levels of displacement, and approximately 100 deaths, and was followed in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. We randomly sampled 1167 Houstonians from 88 designated super-neighborhoods and surveyed them about their demographics, event-specific traumas and stressors, and symptoms of current depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Financial strain and depression in the U.S.: a scoping review.

While the association between assets and depression has been established, less is known about the link between financial strain and depression. Given rising financial strain and economic inequity due to the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding the role that financial strain plays in shaping population depression in the United States is particularly salient. We conducted a scoping review of the peer-reviewed literature on financial strain and depression published from inception through January 19, 2023, in Embase, Medline via PubMed, and PsycINFO, PsycArticles, SocINDEX, and EconLit via Ebsco.

Global Health Equity Requires Global Equity.

Many global health challenges are characterized by the inequitable patterning of their health and economic consequences, which are etched along the lines of pre-existing inequalities in resources, power, and opportunity. These links require us to reconsider how we define global health equity, and what we consider as most consequential in its pursuit. In this article, we discuss the extent to which improving underlying global equity is an essential prerequisite to global health equity.

Understanding the Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Individuals With Chronic Illness.

People with chronic illnesses are vulnerable to stress and psychopathology during population-level disasters, as a subset of individuals with disabilities. We aimed to examine the relationships between chronic illness, cumulative and specific stressors, and probable depression, probable anxiety, and post-traumatic stress in an under-resourced urban population in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using cross-sectional survey data collected in April 2020, we utilized bivariate chi-square analyses and multivariable logistic regression models to estimate differences in and adjusted odds of stressor endorsement and diagnostic prevalence between people with and without chronic illness.

Correlates of long-COVID-19: the role of demographics, chronic illness, and psychiatric diagnosis in an urban sample.

Long-COVID-19 symptoms are an emerging public health issue. This study sought to investigate demographics, chronic illness, and probable psychiatric diagnoses as correlates for long-COVID-19 in an urban adult sample. Self-report Qualtrics surveys were sent to students across City University of New York (CUNY) campuses in New York City in Winter 2021-2022.