MMWR News Synopsis
Friday, August 14, 2020
- Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, June 24-30, 2020
- Characteristics of Marijuana Use During Pregnancy — Eight States, Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 2017
- Top Food Category Contributors to Sodium and Potassium Intake — United States, 2015–2016
- Serious Adverse Health Events, Including Death, Associated with Ingesting Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Containing Methanol — Arizona and New Mexico, May–June 2020
- COVID-19–Associated Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children — United States, March–July 2020
- Hospitalization Rates and Characteristics of Children Aged
- Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Involving Residents Receiving Dialysis in a Nursing Home — Maryland, April 2020
- Facility-Wide Testing for SARS-CoV-2 in Nursing Homes — Seven U.S. Jurisdictions, March–June 2020
- Notes from the Field
- QuickStats
Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, June 24-30, 2020
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
The COVID-19 pandemic is the most serious public health crisis our nation has faced in more than a century, affecting how we work, learn, and play. As we’ve seen during other health emergencies, symptoms of anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, substance use, and suicidal ideation increase. These symptoms increased considerably in the United States during April–June of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. Young adults, Hispanics and Blacks, essential workers, unpaid adult caregivers, and people receiving treatment for pre-existing psychiatric conditions are disproportionally affected. Learning how to cope with stress and access to additional support systems that address mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic are urgent needs that, if addressed, have the potential to save lives.
Characteristics of Marijuana Use During Pregnancy — Eight States, Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, 2017
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
Clinical guidelines recommend discontinuing marijuana use during pregnancy and lactation due to insufficient information on safety and health effects. Healthcare providers should use evidenced-based approaches to screen for marijuana use. New findings from CDC’s Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) show that about 4% percent of women reported using marijuana during pregnancy. Among women who used marijuana before pregnancy, 41% continued use during pregnancy. The most common reasons for using marijuana during pregnancy were to relieve stress or anxiety, nausea or vomiting, and pain. These findings reveal a need for health care providers to conduct evidence-based substance use screening for marijuana use.
Top Food Category Contributors to Sodium and Potassium Intake — United States, 2015–2016
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
Decreasing sodium intake and increasing potassium intake can help lower blood pressure and prevent cardiovascular disease. Understanding the food sources for population sodium and potassium intake can help inform cardiovascular disease prevention programs. This analysis found that 40% of sodium intake came from 10 commonly consumed categories of foods, mostly consisting of prepared foods with sodium added. Additionally, 43% of potassium intake came from 10 commonly consumed categories of foods, primarily including foods naturally low in sodium but also some prepared foods. Monitoring the food categories contributing to population sodium and potassium intake can inform cardiovascular disease prevention initiatives. Replacing foods that are high in sodium (e.g., prepared foods with added sodium) with those naturally low in sodium (e.g., fruits and vegetables without added sodium) might have the dual benefit of decreasing sodium intake and increasing potassium intake. In addition, there were differences in top food categories contributing to sodium and potassium intake by race and ethnicity. These differences indicate the need for dietary strategies that encompass the variability in foods consumed to reach the populations at elevated risk for cardiovascular disease. Understanding the top food categories contributing to sodium and potassium intake informs individual and public health strategies to lower blood pressure and reduce cardiovascular disease risk.
Serious Adverse Health Events, Including Death, Associated with Ingesting Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Containing Methanol — Arizona and New Mexico, May–June 2020
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
COVID-19–Associated Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children — United States, March–July 2020
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
Hospitalization Rates and Characteristics of Children Aged <18 Years Hospitalized with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 — COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1–July 25, 2020
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Involving Residents Receiving Dialysis in a Nursing Home — Maryland, April 2020
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
Facility-Wide Testing for SARS-CoV-2 in Nursing Homes — Seven U.S. Jurisdictions, March–June 2020
CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286
Jonathan Modie
Oregon Health Authority
Lead Communications Officer
Office Phone: 971-673-1102
Cell Phone: 971-246-9139
Email Address: jonathan.n.modie@dhsoha.state.or.us
From mid-May through mid-June in Oregon, investigators tested blood samples to look for antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19 to help determine how many people had been infected with the virus. Results from this testing found about 1 in 100 of these specimens tested had evidence of past infection. The estimated rate of past infection in Oregonians was approximately 10 times the overall reported rate of COVID-19 infections obtained through conventional testing. There wasn’t evidence of past infection in any of the pediatric specimens, and the rate of past infection generally increased with age – though the sample size was small. These data suggest a substantial number of undiagnosed and unreported infections in Oregon, and that the great majority of Oregon’s population remains susceptible to COVID-19.
Buprenorphine, a critical drug for treating opioid use disorder, can also be misused and result in emergency department visits, especially for injection-related complications. Buprenorphine is a critical medication for treating opioid use disorder, but it can be misused, leading to injection-related complications and overdoses. Buprenorphine tablets or films are designed to dissolve under the tongue or inside the cheek. However, buprenorphine and other prescription opioids can be misused by injection. In this study, CDC estimated that each year in the three year period of 2016-2018, an average of 47,000 emergency department visits for nonmedical injection of prescription opioids occurred in the United States. Of these emergency department visits, an estimated one-third involved buprenorphine products. The average age of patients was 33 years old, and two thirds were men. Complications from buprenorphine injection ranged from abscess, cellulitis, and infections at the injection site to infection of the heart valve, sepsis, and septic arthritis. Almost one-third of patients misusing buprenorphine were also using other substances like heroin and cocaine.
Given the nonspecific signs and symptoms of tuberculosis (TB), health care providers should consider TB when examining patients with cough, chest pain, weight loss, and other symptoms suggestive of TB – especially among people with TB risk factors such as being born in countries with high TB incidence or having recent contact with a person with infectious TB. Prompt diagnosis of multidrug-resistant TB is especially important to ensure effective treatment. During 2018-2019, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) reported three cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) in people who worked in two food processing facilities. An investigation by ODH and CDC found the index case occurred in a person born in a country with a high burden of MDR TB. Also, during the index patient’s infectious period, the second and third patients in this cluster had worked on the same food production line in the same facility as the index patient, suggesting transmission occurred here. Given the nonspecific signs and symptoms of TB, health care providers should consider TB when examining patients with cough, chest pain, weight loss, and other symptoms suggestive of TB – especially when the person has TB risk factors, including being born in countries with high TB rates. Prompt detection of MDR TB helps patients start effective treatments sooner. To enhance disease investigations, public health agencies should engage in activities that aim to build trust with communities with higher rates of TB.
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
CDC works 24/7 protecting America’s health, safety and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America’s most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.
