Mental health issues in kids rose during pandemic; awareness and use of COVID treatments is low

Palestinian children take part in a mental health support session in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 6, 2021. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

April 28 (Reuters) – The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that has not yet been certified by peer review.

Pandemic linked to mental health problems in children

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the mental health of children and adolescents, the researchers say, based on their analysis of the findings of 17 previous studies.

The studies, published in 2020 and 2021, found unusually high rates of anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, suicidal behavior, stress-related disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and other mental health problems during the pandemic. Individual behaviors such as hobbies, praying and listening to music were associated with positive mental health, the studies also found. “Mental health problems were more common in those with low socioeconomic status, lack of social connections and support, adverse family relationships, restricted mobility,” among other factors, including school closures and “COVID-related health experiences within family or community,” said Dr. M. Mahbub Hossain of Texas A&M University, co-author of a report released Tuesday on medRxiv before peer review.

“In many places, school and community mental health resources and services were unavailable or inaccessible, making it difficult for children and adolescents to receive timely mental health care,” Hossain said, adding that “multiple efforts are needed to alleviate immediate and future problems. Health and social consequences” of the pandemic on the mental health of children and adolescents.

Awareness, the use of drugs against COVID is low

Fewer than 2% of high-risk non-hospitalized COVID-19 patients are receiving medications that can limit the spread of their illness, the survey results suggest.

In March 2022, researchers recruited 1,159 people from 37 states who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in PCR tests and asked them if they knew of or had taken effective treatments for the virus, such as monoclonal antibodies or oral antiviral drugs. Molnupiravir from Merck & Co. (MRK.N) or from Pfizer (PFE.N) Paxlovid. Among the 241 people over the age of 65, whose age puts them at risk of severe COVID-19, 66% were aware of the treatments and 36.3% had sought them out, but only 1.7% reported using those medications, according to a report released Tuesday. on medRxiv before peer review.

Among patients younger than 65, even fewer were aware of and had sought out treatments, and rates of use were slightly higher than among the older group. “More awareness of effective COVID-19 medications is needed among the public and health care workers to prevent serious illness and death,” said study leader Noah Kojima, MD, of the University of California at The Angels.

Sewage from a plane shows Omicron entering France by plane

Aircraft sewage testing shows that requiring COVID vaccination and negative tests before international flights does not necessarily protect countries from the spread of new variants.

Researchers found the Omicron variant in the wastewater of two commercial airliners that flew from Ethiopia to France in December 2021, despite passengers being asked to take COVID tests before boarding and showing travel cards. vaccination. “This can be explained by two things,” said study leader Dr. Bernard La Scola, of the University of Aix-Marseille in France. First, on long trips, tests can be negative the day before departure and positive on arrival, “the virus has not yet multiplied enough on the day of the test to be detectable.” Second, people can obtain false documentation. Some passengers told him that it was very easy to buy tests with false negatives.

It’s not practical to test every passenger leaving a long-haul flight, he acknowledged. One solution could be to test the plane’s sewage as soon as it lands, with a result obtained before passengers pass through customs and baggage claim, his team suggested in a published paper. on medRxiv before peer review. If the sewage is positive, passengers can be tested before leaving, however such an approach would only be worthwhile in countries where a new variant is not yet circulating. “As soon as the virus circulates a lot in the country, it is useless,” La Scola said.

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Information from Nancy Lapid; Edited by Bill Berkrot

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