The term anhedonia could serve as the name of a mythical kingdom in a 1930’s movie about a place ruled by a madcap assortment of ardent Marxists (Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Gummo, and Zeppo). Instead, it denotes a clinical term to classify a condition that involves a diminished capacity to experience pleasure in acts that normally produce it. In his novel A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens began the book with the following passage, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us (Dickens continued with additional contrasts, but the general thrust of his thinking seems evident).
The year 2020 began on a relatively positive note. The stock market was booming much to the benefit of retirement plans, unemployment was at all-time low levels, the upcoming college football series was on the near horizon, basketball’s March Madness was directly ahead, and students could look forward to colorful graduation ceremonies in late spring. Then, a malady known as COVID-19 entered the picture and hopes and dreams across the globe underwent a giant pause in fulfillment. Gloom and doom were accompanied by mass weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth as age-old darker thoughts regarding the loneliness of the soul and the human heart in conflict with itself began to resurface more forcefully.
The floodgates gradually opened and unparalleled amounts of information about this invisible intruder began to appear in mass media outlets, social media, and respected professional journals. Regarding the latter, an article published in the journal Science on May 29 of this year indicated that the COVID-19 literature had grown to more than 31,000 papers since January and by one estimate was on pace to reach more than 52,000 by mid-June. Reasonable queries seem justified, such as how is it humanly possible to stay abreast of the voluminous information being generated, and perhaps even more importantly, to what extent do all these articles meet acceptable standards associated with methodological rigor and the ability to draw accurate conclusions from the purported data?
Much research addresses broad categories involving vaccine development, treatment of patients, harmful impacts on health care personnel (e.g., PTSD and staff burnout), and incidence of community problems that pertain to domestic/child abuse, substance abuse disorders, and suicide. Widely heralded findings on remedial treatments, such as convalescent plasma and hydroxychloroquine, that are greeted with immediate approbation in some quarters soon are debunked by other investigators who insist that the results are uninterpretable due to non-randomized studies and lack of placebo controls. Meanwhile, excitement and enthusiasm precede the expected arrival of one or more vaccines to prevent the occurrence of infections. The following considerations remain pending: which population sub-groups should be vaccinated first, how long will protection be conferred, how safe is any new vaccine, and how effective will it be if the virus undergoes mutation?
More July-August 2020 TRENDS Articles
ANHEDONIA AND MORE PLEASURABLE TIMES
Indicates the kinds of changes that have occurred since COVID-19 made its appearance, including the flood of scientific papers about this disease that have been produced since January of this year. Read More
PRESIDENT’S CORNER
ASAHP President Phyllis King presents some reflections on impacts that the coronavirus has had on the health workforce. Read More
LEGISLATION VS. EXECUTIVE ORDERS
contains information about steps taken by the Trump Administration in response to Congressional deadlock in reaching agreement on a new coronavirus relief package. Read More
HEALTH REFORM DEVELOPMENTS
Points out how disparities can result from housing policies outside the health domain that entail historic redlining and its effects on birth outcomes. Read More
DEVELOPMENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Describes financial aspects related to closing schools because of COVID-19, mental health services for students, and a new grant program aimed at enabling higher education institutions to emerge from the current pandemic better able to expand educational opportunities for students. Read More
QUICK STAT (SHORT, TIMELY, AND TOPICAL)
The COVID-19 Pandemic And Exacerbation Of Intimate Partner Violence
Mental Health, Substance Use, And Suicidal Ideation During The Coronavirus Pandemic
Digital Biomarker Of Diabetes From Smartphone-Based Vascular Signals
Using Smartphone Accelerometers To Sense Gait Impairments Due To Alcohol Intoxication Read More
AVAILABLE RESOURCES ACCESSIBLE ELECTRONICALLY
Sharing Clinical Trial Data: Challenges And A Way Forward
National Inpatient Hospital Costs: The Most Expensive Conditions By Payer, 2017
Racial And Ethnic Disparities Among COVID-19 Cases In Workplace Outbreaks Read More
RACIAL DISPARITIES AND NOMENCLATURE IN NEUROSCIENCE
Early life adversity, exposure to toxins throughout life, and racial discrimination are factors contributing to psychiatric disorders, while differences in how nomenclature is used by clinicians and family caregivers may compromise the quality of treatment for Alzheimer’s patients. Read More
AUTOPSIES, HEALTH DISPARITIES, AND INFORMED CONSENT
Differences in autopsy rates between blacks and whites may reflect health disparities while the incorporation of genetic testing in the performance of autopsies raises important questions pertaining to informed consent by relatives of decedents. Read More