Depression, suicidal thoughts and other mental health problems sent record numbers of American kids, especially girls, to emergency rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once there, many waited days or even weeks to be admitted to the hospital, a new study reports. “The system was already stretched to begin with and then the pandemic hit and more people were seeking care,” said senior researcher Haiden Huskamp, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “There are just not enough providers, clinicians, facilities or inpatient beds.” For the study, Huskamp and her colleagues looked at data on more than 4 million health insurance claims for U.S. children ages 5 to 17. They discovered nearly 89,000 ER visits for mental health problems in this age group. Compared with 2020, the first year of the pandemic, ER visits rose 6.7% between March 2021 and February 2022, the researchers found. Visits by teen girls jumped 22%. During that period, hospital admissions for mental health issues rose 8.4% and the length of hospital stays increased by nearly 3.8%. Moreover, the wait for a hospital bed was 76% longer than during the year before COVID, researchers found. To ease the problem, Huskamp said several steps are needed. No. 1: The shortage of mental health providers and burnout among them must be addressed. “We need to help support primary…  read on >  read on >

Older adults who regularly spend time with family and friends may have bigger brains to show for it, a new study suggests. Healthy brain aging is a complex matter, and researchers are still trying to understand which factors keep the mind sharp and which ones feed declines in memory and thinking. But a number of studies have suggested that social life matters. Social stimulation is thought to help support mental acuity; on the other hand, social isolation in the golden years has been linked to an increased risk of dementia. Exactly why, though, is unclear. So for the new study, researchers led by Dr. Toshiharu Ninomiya, of Kyushu University in Japan, asked a different question: Is social isolation connected to older adults’ brain volume? The brain naturally “shrinks” to a degree as people age, reflecting the loss of nerve cells and their connections. But that tissue loss is accelerated during the dementia process. If older people who are isolated tend to have smaller brains, the researchers reasoned, that might help explain the link with dementia. It turned out there was indeed a relationship, although not a causal one, according to findings published July 12 in the journal Neurology. Among nearly 9,000 Japanese adults aged 65 and older, more than 600 said they “seldom” saw or spoke with friends or relatives outside their household. And those…  read on >  read on >

About one-fifth of American workers say their workplace is toxic, and many say their mental health is harmed as a result. The American Psychological Association (APA) questioned 2,515 employed adults in April for its annual Work in America Survey. Nineteen percent stated that their workplace is very or somewhat toxic. “The number of individuals who report experiencing a toxic workplace without protection from harm is troubling,” said Arthur Evans Jr., APA’s chief executive officer. “No one should feel fear at work. It is clear there is much work to be done to foster a positive work environment for all workers in this nation,” he said in an association news release. “Toxic workplace” is described as a place where infighting, intimidation and other affronts harm productivity. Such places of employment usually see high absenteeism, low productivity and soaring turnover, the report noted. Mental health is also likely to suffer. More than half (about 52%) of those who reported a toxic workplace felt work had harmed their mental health, compared to 15% of those who reported a healthy workplace. Some of the other findings: About 22% of workers overall said they experienced harm to their mental health at work. 22% said they experienced harassment at work in the previous 12 months, up from 14% in 2022. 22% said they had witnessed discrimination and 15% experienced it. More…  read on >  read on >

The cleanup of industrial chemicals following a freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, early this year released high levels of some dangerous gases, including acrolein, investigators say. The Norfolk Southern freight train was carrying numerous hazardous chemicals. To avoid a catastrophic explosion after the Feb. 3 derailment, authorities opted for a controlled release of gases, and they also burned the train cars’ contents, which included toxic vinyl chloride. But residents were worried about their health and environmental hazards, so researchers have been assessing the local air. Using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data, a team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and Texas A&M University determined that nine of 50 gases reached levels above their baseline, especially acrolein, a respiratory irritant. Researchers noted that if these nine compounds remained at those levels, breathing the air could pose health risks. However, the amounts of many pollutants decreased significantly as the month wore on. Vinyl chloride, for example, declined to concentrations below long-term limits of health concern. The researchers assessed the local air quality with stationary and mobile sampling methods, and reported their findings July 12 in the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science & Technology Letters. The team, which included Albert Presto, a research professor from Carnegie Mellon, used air-quality monitoring data from two EPA stations at fixed locations. They also drove a cargo van…  read on >  read on >

U.S. federal officials took a big step toward protecting children from a contaminant blamed for irreversible health effects, proposing tougher standards for removing lead-based paint in pre-1978 buildings and child care facilities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the proposed new standards Wednesday at an event in Newark, N.J. If finalized, the new rules would protect up to 500,000 children under age 6 from lead exposure each year. The proposed standards would apply to homes and child-care facilities. “The Biden-Harris Administration is taking a whole-of-government approach to ensuring that the most vulnerable among us — our children — are protected from exposure to lead,” EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said in an agency news release. “This proposal to safely remove lead paint along with our other efforts to deliver clean drinking water and replace lead pipes will go a long way toward protecting the health of our next generation of leaders.” The plan is aligned with the EPA’s aim to address racial, ethnic and economic disparities in lead exposure. Lead-based paint is more likely to be found in lower-income areas, putting communities of color at greater risk. Racial segregation in housing over the years, called redlining, is part of this. Michal Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, noted there is no safe level of lead. “Even low levels…  read on >  read on >

A growing obesity epidemic may affect the outcome of treatment for those dealing with cancer, according to a new study of adults and teens being treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Researchers called for further study of how weight affects the response to different chemotherapy regimens for ALL. “We have known for roughly 15 years that obesity affects survival in pediatric patients treated for ALL, and more recently, we are recognizing a similar relationship in adult populations,” said lead author Dr. Shai Shimony, an advanced fellow at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. “But we wanted more granular data on this, to understand why this correlation exists, and how dependent it is on age.” For the study, Shimony’s team collected data on 388 individuals (average age, 24 years) who were treated on Dana-Farber Consortium pediatric regimens for ALL from 2008 to 2021. The investigators examined the relationship between body mass index (BMI, a measure of body fat based on height and weight); age; toxicities; and treatment outcomes. In all, nearly 47% of the individuals were overweight or obese. The study found they had a higher rate of non-relapse death, nearly 12%, compared to just under 3% for those with a normal BMI. They also had a lower event-free survival rate — 63% versus 77% at four years. (Event-free survival is the length of time after…  read on >  read on >

As extreme heat continues to blanket numerous parts of the United States, Americans with dementia may be particularly challenged. “Triple-digit temperatures and heat indexes are especially dangerous for someone with a dementia-related illness such as Alzheimer’s disease, because the effects of dementia can impair their ability to notice if they are developing heat stroke or dehydration,” said Jennifer Reeder, director of educational and social services for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. “Taking a few simple steps will go a long way to help caregivers keep their loved one with dementia safe during the heat wave,” Reeder said in a foundation news release. Watch out for wandering, a common behavior in individuals with dementia. They can become lost or disoriented and not know whom to call for help. This can be a particularly concerning behavior during a heat wave because in extreme heat conditions heat stroke can develop within minutes. A way to reduce the chances of wandering is to help someone feel purposeful indoors, while also reducing excessive stimuli and ensuring basic needs are met. Create walking paths around the home with visual cues and stimulating objects. Help the person stay engaged with simple tasks or activities such as music, crafts and games. Just in case your loved one still does wander, be sure you have recent photo and medical information close at hand to…  read on >  read on >