MedPage Today (4/22, Hlavinka) reports that the “increasing national suicide rate may be attributable to individuals using more lethal means when attempting suicide, according to CDC data.” From 2006 to 2015, suicide attempts “increased by 10%, from 175 to 193 per 100,000 persons, and the case fatality rate of suicidal acts increased from 7.3% to 8.3%, reported Jing Wang, MD, MPH, of the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues.” Their findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (4/22, Gramigna) reports, “Community racial/ethnic composition appeared associated with residents’ access to specific medications for opioid use disorder [OUD],” investigators concluded in a “cross-sectional study.”

MD Magazine (4/22, Rosenfeld) reports researchers arrived at this conclusion after examining “the extent that racial and ethnic segregation played a role in who received methadone and buprenorphine.” Included in the study were “all counties and county-equivalent divisions in the US in 2016,” as well as “data on racial and ethnic population distribution from the American Community Survey.” The study revealed “an association between less interaction with African American residents and more methadone facilities,” while “every 1% decrease in the probability of an interaction of a white resident with an African American resident was linked with 8.17 more buprenorphine facilities and the probability of an interaction of a white and Hispanic resident was associated with 1.61 more facilities providing buprenorphine.” The findings were published online April 22 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Access to medications for opioid use disorder linked to community racial/ethnic segregation, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, April 22, 2020

The Wall Street Journal (4/21, MacDonald, Subscription Publication) reports coronavirus lockdowns have disrupted the routines, therapy, and special education that many people with autism depend on, which has increased anxiety for many of them and their families.

Related Links:

— “For People With Autism, Lockdowns Shatter Routine, Heighten Anxiety, “Alistair MacDonald, The Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2020

Healio (4/20, Gramigna) reports, “Opioid-involved overdose deaths commonly featured alcohol and benzodiazepine co-involvement,” investigators concluded in a “repeated cross-section analysis” involving data on “399,230 opioid-involved poisoning deaths from 1999 to 2017.” The findings were published online April 9 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Alcohol, benzodiazepines often co-involved in opioid overdose deaths
, “Joe Gramigna , Healio, April 20, 2020

Healio (4/20, Gramigna) reports, “Risk factors for first nonfatal suicide attempt likely differ by age,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data from the second wave of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions – a nationally representative sample of 34,629 U.S. adults.” The findings of the “nationally representative study” were published online April 7 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “First nonfatal suicide attempt risk factors differ significantly by age, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, April 20, 2020