CNN (4/17, McPhillips) reports, “As more communities reel from deadly mass shootings…there’s evidence that the trauma of gun violence in the United States is taking a collective toll on” mental health in the US. In fact, “research published” online Feb. 8 in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance “suggests that the negative effects that mass shootings can have on mental health may extend beyond the survivors and community directly affected to a much broader population.” To date this year, there have been “at least 162” mass shootings in the US.

Related Links:

— “As gun violence reaches record levels in the US, an underlying trauma may be building up ” Deidre McPhillips, CNN, April 17, 2023

The Washington Post (4/14, McMahan) reported on growing concern among physicians about body dysmorphia in boys and men being “fueled by the rise of social media and a lucrative, unregulated supplements industry.” Exercise or food choices for adolescents and young men may “lead to preoccupations or obsessions with appearance, body size, weight or exercise in a way that worsens their quality of life.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

According to HealthDay (4/14, Mann), research suggests that “folks who are experiencing hearing loss and don’t use a hearing aid may have a higher risk of developing dementia than people who use hearing aids and those without hearing loss.” Included in the study were “slightly more than 437,700 people in the UK Biobank” who “were asked about hearing loss and whether they used a hearing aid.” The findings were published online in The Lancet Public Health.

Related Links:

— “Hearing Aids Might Help Lower Risk for Dementia “Denise Mann, HealthDay, April 14, 2023

Healio (4/14, VanDewater) reported, “Adults with childhood trauma had greater bodily stress dysregulation, which made them more susceptible to psychopathological and somatic disorders,” researchers concluded in the findings of a 2,981-participant study presented in a poster at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America Conference.

Related Links:

— “Childhood trauma may contribute to adult stress dysregulation, anxiety, depression “Kalie VanDewater, Healio, April 14, 2023

Healio (4/14, Schaffer) reported, “Adults who survived an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and developed depression or anxiety within one year were 1.4 times more likely to die during follow-up compared with those without a mental health diagnosis, researchers reported” in findings published online April 12 in JAMA Network Open.

According to Psychiatric News (4/14), investigators examined “data from the claims records of 2,373 adults…who were hospitalized after cardiac arrest between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2015, and who survived for at least one year.”

Related Links:

— “Mortality risk grows with depression, anxiety after surviving cardiac arrest “Regina Schaffer, Healio , April , 2023

The AP (4/13, Miller) reports President Biden “announced Thursday that hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children will now be able to apply for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges.” His decision “will allow participants in the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, to access government-funded health insurance programs.”

The Washington Post (4/13, Goldstein) reports the move, “which the White House says would benefit up to 580,000 people brought to the United States as children, would broaden the definition of who qualifies for those two insurance programs and one other.”

The New York Times (4/13, Kanno-Youngs) a “White House statement said it expected ‘to get this done by the end of the month.’”

Related Links:

— “Biden says he’s expanding some migrants’ health care access “Zeke Miller, Amanda Seitz and Michael Balsamo , AP, April 13, 2023

Healio (4/13, VanDewater) reports, “Suicidality was associated with weakened positive affect reactivity during conversation, which may explain the link between suicidality and social disconnection,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 228-participant study presented at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America Annual Conference.

Related Links:

— “Emotions after socialization may explain link between suicidality, social disconnect “Kalie VanDewater, Healio, April 13, 2023

According to CNN (4/13, McPhillips), in 2021, “the suicide rate in the United States returned to a near-record high…reversing two years of decline.” In fact, “final data” for that year show that “suicide was the 11th leading cause of death nationwide, with more than 14 deaths for every 100,000 people.” While “the death rate has increased 32% over the past two decades…the 4% jump between 2020 and 2021 was the sharpest annual increase in that timeframe.” The findings were published online April 13 in the CDC’s NCHS Data Brief No. 464.

Related Links:

— “Suicide rises to 11th leading cause of death in the US in 2021, reversing two years of decline “Deidre McPhillips, CNN, April 13, 2023

USA Today (4/12, Alltucker) reports, “The Biden administration’s drug czar on Wednesday announced that illicit fentanyl spiked with the animal tranquilizer xylazine is an ‘emerging threat,’ a designation that will allow the federal government to marshal resources to counteract the street drug combination found in most states.” This marks “the first time the United States has declared a drug such a threat, a category enabled by a 2018 federal bill, said” Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Rahul Gupta, MD, MPH, FACP, MBA. Gupta “said his office is seeking $11 million to help create a strategy to stop its spread, develop an antidote and research how it has gotten into the drug supply, according to the Associated Press.”

The Hill (4/12, Weixel) reports the drug “Xylazine, also known as ‘tranq,’ is an easily accessible veterinary drug approved for use in animals as a sedative and pain reliever.” However, “it is also being used by drug dealers as a low-cost cutting agent in drugs like fentanyl as a way to extend a user’s high.”

Related Links:

— “Animal ‘tranq’ xylazine is becoming a deadly threat. Here’s how the US is trying to stop it. “Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, April 12, 2023

Healio (4/12, Bascom) reports, “Though popular dietary interventions that include polyunsaturated fatty acids, or PUFAs, and elemental metals do not seem to alleviate perinatal depression, vitamin D may be promising in this regard,” investigators concluded in a 36-study, 7,010-participant systematic review and meta-analysis, the findings of which were published online April 3 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In particular, “vitamin D taken in daily doses of 1,800 to 3,500 international units offered small to medium effect size improvements for postpartum depression,” but “further research is needed to assess causal interactions of dietary interactions on perinatal anxiety or depression.”

Related Links:

— “Vitamin D may be effective treatment for perinatal depression “Emma Bascom, Healio, April 12, 2023