Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mental Health Study: Depression Rates Soar During Pandemic
NPR: Pandemic Depression Hits 25% Of Americans, Study Finds
Nearly a quarter of people in the United States are experiencing symptoms of depression, according to a study published Wednesday. That's nearly three times the number before the COVID-19 pandemic began.And those with a lower income, smaller savings and people severely affected by the pandemic — either through a job loss, for example, or by the death of a loved one — are more likely to be bearing the burden of these symptoms. (Chatterjee, 9/2)
ABC News: Depression Rates Tripled During The Pandemic: Study
Mental health effects following widespread traumatic events, such natural disasters, terrorist attacks and civil unrest, are well documented in scientific literature. Despite that existing research, Catherine Ettman, lead author of the study, which was published in JAMA Network Open on Wednesday, said the magnitude of depression symptoms during COVID-19 surprised her. "The scope is much larger than what we’ve seen in the past," said Ettman, a doctoral student at Brown University's School of Public Health who works at the Boston University School of Public Health. (Schumaker, 9/2)
AP: Depression, Anxiety Spike Amid Outbreak And Turbulent Times
Mental health therapists’ caseloads are bulging. Waiting lists for appointments are growing. And anxiety and depression are rising among Americans amid the coronavirus crisis, research suggests. In the latest study to suggest an uptick, half of U.S. adults surveyed reported at least some signs of depression, such as hopelessness, feeling like a failure or getting little pleasure from doing things. That’s double the rate from a different survey two years ago, Boston University researchers said Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA Network Open. (Tanner, 9/2)
In related news —
USA Today: COVID-19 And Social Unrest Increase Need For Therapists Of Color
Jeannine Adams was already listening and offering help as a therapist, but she sought out someone to talk with. A Black woman, Adams "wanted to see someone I felt I could relate to. "That wasn't always easy. It usually required a long drive from her Morris County home, often to Montclair. The demand for therapists of color has historically surpassed the supply. Current events, including the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest, have made the need greater. (Havsy, 9/2)
USA Today: COVID-19 Pandemic Creates Fears That May Constrain Economic Growth
The nation is awaiting a vaccine that can halt the COVID-19 pandemic in its tracks, allowing life – and the battered U.S. economy – to return to normal. But a new study suggests the crisis has generated fears that are likely to dampen risk-taking and economic output for decades by increasing the “perceived probability of an extreme, negative shock in the future.” Over time, the economic cost of that warier outlook is “many times larger” than the short-term damage, the study says. The study, titled, “Scarring Body and Mind: The long-term belief-scarring effects of COVID-19,” attempts to quantify such long-term economic losses by assessing the toll taken by other economic upheavals, such as the Great Recession of 2007-09. (Davidson, 9/3)
