In 2020, the American Psychosomatic Society (APS) formed the Antiracism Task Force to identify manifestations of systemic racism within the society and to make recommendations for building a more inclusive and equitable professional organization. Mezuk et al. report on the task force activities, which in the first year included proposing amendments to the society’s bylaws, collecting data on member attitudes toward diversity, and consulting on other member efforts to implement antiracism activities. They describe plans and potential challenges ahead in sustaining commitment to the antiracism efforts.

Pages 466–473; https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001222

Depression doubles the risk of cardiac events in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD), but unfortunately, the effects of depression treatment in patients with CHD remain unclear. Carney and Freedland consider why it has been difficult to determine whether treatment of depression improves survival in these patients. They propose several lines of research to address this question, with the goal of definitively establishing whether treating depression can extend cardiac event–free survival and enhance quality of life in patients with CHD.

Pages 474–478; https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001219

Milde et al. investigated the influence of psychological predictors on post-COVID symptoms. Among adults (n = 137) with positive COVID tests, affective, cognitive, and behavioral psychosomatic concerns predicted COVID-related symptoms and impairment in the acute, subacute (after 3 months), and chronic (after 6 months) phases of the infection. Specific fear of COVID-related health consequences predicted COVID-related symptoms and impairment in the subacute stage. Psychological factors may affect COVID disease course, highlighting the potential for preventive psychotherapeutic interventions.

Pages 479–487; https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000d000001214

Exposure to trauma increases risk of somatic symptoms, but positive psychological adaptation is possible despite trauma exposure. Resilience to prior trauma may be a protective factor for physical health during subsequent stressors, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Nishimi et al. examined psychological resilience to lifetime potential traumatic events and risk for COVID-19 infection (n = 528). Higher psychological resilience to trauma was associated with lower likelihood of COVID-19 infection over time and lower levels of somatic symptoms during the pandemic. Promoting psychological resilience to trauma may benefit mental and physical health.

Pages 488–497; https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001215

Wildenberg et al. analyzed the association of self-reported traumatic experiences and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) disease in refugees (n = 242) who were displaced from their former homeland of East Prussia at the end of the World War II and an independent sample of first-generation offspring of refugees (n = 272). Traumatic experiences were associated with T2D among refugees but not offspring. Furthermore, different experiences were related to higher risk for T2D (emotional abuse) or lower risk (emotional neglect, caregiver separation). Differing responses to different types of traumas in childhood might lead to increased or decreased reported T2D diagnoses in adulthood and thus should by no means be considered as monolithic.

Pages 498–506; https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001213

In a diverse cohort (n = 207), Panisch et al. found that early childhood adversity was strongly associated with levels of cortisol during pregnancy. Cortisol is a stress outcome that has been associated with perinatal and child outcomes. Pre-conception experiences may shape pregnancy health, and the findings highlight the potential value of addressing pre-conception trauma to promote maternal and child health outcomes.

Pages 506–516; https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001218

The longitudinal relationship between psychological stress and body mass index (BMI) in children varies widely among studies. Tang et al. analyzed data from a cohort of school-aged children (n = 1419) in China, exploring the dynamic relationship between psychological stress and obesity (BMI and waist-to-height ratio). Changes in psychological stress and obesity were co-developmental and had significant negative correlations at the between-person level. There may be a reciprocal relationship between peer interaction, psychological stress, and obesity that suggests new ways to protect children's mental health.

Pages 517–526; https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001212

Family caregivers of adult relatives with cancer are increasing in number, yet the physical consequences of their stress are poorly understood. Kim et al. examined family caregivers’ (n = 168) bidirectional relations of perceived stress and leukocyte cellular aging, indexed by telomere length. Cancer-related stress was highest at four months and decreased at one year. Telomere length did not change significantly over two years. Perceived stress of colorectal cancer caregivers is short and intense compared with dementia caregiving, and different caregiving experiences may affect immune cell distributions and telomere length differently.

Pages 527–534; https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001220

Hostility is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality, but less is known about when hostility poses its greatest risk. Small and Zawadzki tested whether trait hostility interacts with work environments to predict highly variable ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and momentary affect. Community participants (n = 108) completed a trait hostility measurement followed by two 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) monitoring sessions. Those higher in hostility had higher ABP only when at work. Studying traits like hostility within context can reveal mechanisms for how trait hostility accumulation may lead to cardiovascular disease and mortality.

Pages 535–544; https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001211

Bereavement is among the most powerful of psychosocial stressors affecting cardiovascular health, and hypertensive episodes accompanying bereavement-related distress are one possible mechanism for this effect. Palitsky et al. examined hemodynamic responses to the Grief Recall (GR), a one-on-one interview script for eliciting the effects of acute grief on cardiovascular function, and the subsequent relationship of grief severity to blood pressure response. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased significantly after GR in participants (n = 59) tested within a year of the loss of a close loved one.

Pages 545–550; https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001223

Skvortsova et al. investigated whether a placebo effect induced by pharmacological conditioning with intranasal insulin affected glucose, insulin, c-peptide, hunger, and memory in patients with type 2 diabetes and healthy controls (n = 64). Placebo administration modified blood glucose levels and decreased hunger in older adults, but its effects depended on health status and sex. Insulin conditioning might be beneficial for groups suffering from intensive hunger but seems not to be particularly suitable for blood glucose reduction.

Pages 551–560; https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000001216