E71 - Disparities, Disease, and Desperation: The Impact of COVID-19 on Physical and Mental Health in Black Americans

05/20/20 • 36 min

Healthcare disparities occur around the world, due to a complex, multifaceted situation that results from socioeconomic hardships, psychosocial stress, and cultural differences. In the United States, these disparities are often seen in minority communities, such as Hispanics and Black Americans. When a pandemic, such as COVID-19 occurs, it can expose these disparities in the most tragic ways. Current statistics surrounding healthcare disparities during the pandemic are staggering, suggesting that COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted the Black American community. In this important and timely interview with Dr. Napoleon Higgins, we address your most pressing questions on why this is occurring, and how awareness can improve this situation for future generations.

Dr. Napoleon Higgins, Jr., is a psychiatrist in the Houston/Clear Lake City Area. He currently serves as Owner, CEO and President of Bay Pointe Behavioral Health Service, Inc., and South East Houston Research Group, Inc. He also practices as the Medical Director of Hold My Hand Residential Treatment Center. Dr. Higgins specializes in treating mental health disorders through medication management, psychotherapy and behavioral training.

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E70 - (CME) More Than Meets the Mouth! Important Interactions Between Food, Beverages, and Psychiatric Medications with Dr. Raj Mago

Food and beverages interact with certain psychiatric medications to alter their pharmacokinetic properties, resulting in potentially unintended health outcomes. In this podcast episode, Dr. Rajnish Mago describes common food and beverages that interact with psychiatric medication and provides recommendations for avoiding unintended food-drug interactions.

Optional CME credits / certificate instructions: After listening to the podcast, to take the optional posttest and receive CME credit, click HERE.

Learning Objectives: After completing this educational activity, you should be better able to:

Describe the effects of food on the bioavailability of certain psychotropic medications Discuss current evidence of the brain-gut connection’s impact on mental health
Describe the effects of vitamin C, caffeine, and grapefruit on the pharmacokinetics of certain psychotropic medications

Accreditation and Credit Designation Statements: The Neuroscience Education Institute (NEI) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

NEI designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. A posttest score of 70% or higher is required to receive CME credit.

Nurses and Physician Assistants: for your CE requirements, the ANCC and NCCPA will accept AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM from organizations accredited by the ACCME. The content in this activity pertains to pharmacology and is worth 0.75 continuing education hour of pharmacotherapeutics.

Peer Review: The content was peer-reviewed by a PharmD specializing in psychiatry to ensure the scientific accuracy and medical relevance of information presented and its independence from bias. NEI takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CME activity.

Disclosures: All individuals in a position to influence or control content are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships. Although potential conflicts of interest are identified and resolved prior to the activity being presented, it remains for the participant to determine whether outside interests reflect a possible bias in either the exposition or the conclusions presented.

Faculty Interviewer / Author

Andrew J. Cutler, MD Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY

Grant/Research: Acadia, Alkermes, Allergan, Axsome, Biohaven, Intra-Cellular, Lundbeck, Novartis, Otsuka, Sage, Sunovion, Tris

Consultant/Advisor: Acadia, AiCure, Alfasigma, Alkermes, Allergan, Avanir, Intra-Cellular, Ironshore, Janssen, Lundbeck, MedAvante-ProPhase, Neurocrine, Novartis, Otsuka, Sage, Sunovion, Takeda, Teva, Tris

Speakers Bureau: Acadia, Alkermes, Allergan, Avanir, Ironshore, Janssen, Lundbeck, Neurocrine, Otsuka, Sunovion, Takeda, Teva, Tris

Faculty Interviewee / Author

Rajnish Mago, MD

Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY

Travel Expenses: Intas Pharmaceuticals (for Indian Psychiatric Association annual meeting)

Stockholder: Johnson and Johnson

Pre-Interview Author

Sabrina K. Bradbury-Segal, PhD

Medical Writer, Neuroscience Education Institute, Carlsbad, CA

No financial relationships to disclose.

The Planning Committee and Peer Reviewer have no financial relationships to disclose.

Disclosure of Off-Label Use: This educational activity may include discussion of unlabeled and/or investigational uses of agents that are not currently labeled for such use by the FDA. Please consult the product prescribing information for full disclosure of labeled uses.

Cultural and Linguistic Competency: A variety of resources addressing cultural and linguistic competency can be found in this linked handout.

Support: This activity is supported solely by the provider, NEI.

Released: May 11, 2020 CME credit expires: May 11, 2023

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E72 - If You’re Happy and You Know It: An Update on Pediatric Mood Disorders with Dr. Manpreet Singh

What is the prevalence of bipolar disorder in the pediatric population and does this change, depending on age? What are important tips for recognizing hypomania in children, and diagnosing children with mixed depression? In this episode, we address these questions and more with pediatric psychiatrist, Dr. Manpreet Singh.

Dr. Singh is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and leads a program aimed to accelerate understanding and treatment in youth with or at high risk for developing lifelong mood disorders. She is the director of the Pediatric Mood Disorders Program and the Pediatric Emotion and Resilience Program at Stanford University.

Dr. Singh earned her MD at Michigan State University and her MS at University of Michigan. She completed her combined residency training in Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. After two years of T32 postdoctoral training at Stanford’s Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, she joined the faculty in 2009.

Dr. Singh leads a multidisciplinary team that evaluates and treats youth with a spectrum of mood disorders as young as age 2 and well into their 20s. Her NIMH and industry funded studies examine mechanisms underlying mood disorders and apply cutting edge strategies to directly modulate the brain using transcranial magnetic stimulation and real time neurofeedback. She is also investigating the efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapies and psychotherapies, such as family focused psychotherapy and mindfulness meditation, to reduce mood symptoms and family stress. All of these areas of research aim to elucidate core mechanisms underlying mood disorders and how treatment early in life can pave the path to more adaptive outcomes.

In her spare time, Dr. Singh enjoys traveling and hiking with her husband and three children, and avidly teaches Indian classical music. Her clinical handbook for the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric mood disorders can be found at the link below:

https://appi.org/Products/Mood-Disorders/Clinical-Handbook-for-the-Diagnosis-and-Treatment?SearchText=clinical%20handboo&sku=37174