Reuters (12/31, Erman, O’Donnell) reported pharmaceutical companies raised US prices for 2021 amid the “effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced doctor visits and demand for some drugs.” The companies planned “to raise U.S. prices on more than 300 drugs in the United States on Jan. 1, according to drugmakers and data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors.”

The Wall Street Journal (1/1, Hopkins, Subscription Publication) reported that according to an Rx Savings Solutions analysis, companies raised their prices by an average of 3.3%.

Related Links:

— “Exclusive: Drugmakers to hike prices for 2021 as pandemic, political pressure put revenues at risk “Michael Erman, Carl O’Donnell, Reuters, December 31, 2020

HealthDay (12/30, Thompson) reports, “Almost half of teenagers who regularly use” marijuana “admit they’ve gotten behind the wheel while stoned,” researchers concluded after analyzing “responses from more than 6,800 students 14 or older who participated in the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.” The study revealed that “nearly 13% of teen drivers said they’d operated a vehicle while stoned within the past month, compared with 5% who said they drove drunk.” The findings were published online in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “With Pot Rules Relaxed, More U.S. Teens Driving While High: Study “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, December 30, 2020

The New York Times (12/30, Frakt) reports in “The Upshot” that “white Americans have higher rates” of suicide “than most other racial and ethnic groups.” In fact, “suicide in America has been rising for two decades, with rates for white Americans consistently well above those for Asian-Americans, Black Americans and Hispanics.” A possible “explanation may be a racial disparity in suicide data.” For example, research indicates that “deaths of Black Americans are far more likely to be coded as undetermined than those of white Americans, in part because Black Americans dying by suicide are less likely than whites to leave a note and to have a record of mental disorders.” The article includes links to a number of studies exploring racial disparities in suicide rates.

Related Links:

— “What Can Be Learned From Differing Rates of Suicide Among Groups “Austin Frakt, The New York Times, December 30, 2020

The Washington Post (12/29, Berger) reports, “Eating disorders are on the rise among children and adolescents in Britain amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health warned Tuesday, citing a survey of pediatricians – the latest indication that the pandemic has taken a searing toll on mental health worldwide, across age groups.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (12/29, Murez) reports, “When U.S. military personnel get gun locks and counseling on safe storage of their weapons, they store those guns safely, and that could be key to lowering the military suicide rate,” investigators concluded in a study that “included 232 firearm-owning members of the Mississippi National Guard.” The study team “divided them into groups, some of whom received only lethal means counseling or health and stress counseling, and some of whom received counseling plus cable gun locks.” The findings were published online Dec. 22 in the American Journal of Public Health.

Related Links:

— “Counseling on Gun Safety Could Cut Suicide Rate in Military: Study “Cara Murez, HealthDay, December 29, 2020

HealthDay (12/29) reports, “Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder” (AD/HD) appear to “have a strikingly high prevalence of attempted suicide, with women being at particular risk, researchers say.” Their “study of nearly 22,000 Canadian adults found that 14% of those with” AD/HD “had attempted suicide,” a rate that “was roughly five times” that of adults without AD/HD. The findings were published online Dec. 21 in the Archives of Suicide Research.

Related Links:

— “ADHD Raises Adult Suicide Risk, Especially for Women “Amy Norton, HealthDay, December 29, 2020

Healio (12/28, Gramigna) reports, “Racial/ethnic disparities in diagnoses and treatment of first-episode psychosis were apparent before the first psychosis diagnosis,” investigators concluded after analyzing “medical and prescription drug claims from January 2007 to September 2015 of 3,017 Black, Hispanic or white patients who were continually enrolled in commercial insurance plans and received a diagnosis of first-episode psychosis between ages 10 and 21 years.” The findings of the “observational cohort study” were published online Dec. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry.
“Because Black and Hispanic patients have fewer behavioral health–related clinical contacts before the occurrence of [first-episode psychosis], these patients may have reduced opportunities for timely detection of psychotic symptoms and early interventions,” Heun-Johnson and colleagues wrote.

Related Links:

— “Racial/ethnic disparities remain in diagnosis, treatment of first-episode psychosis “Joe Gramigna, Healio, December 28, 2020

Healio (12/28, Gramigna) reports, “Gay, lesbian and bisexual veterans were at increased risk for suicide mortality,” investigators concluded after assessing “suicide mortality of 8.1 million veterans by analyzing their Veterans Health Administration (VHA) electronic health record data between October 1999 and September 2017.” The findings of the “retrospective population-based cohort study” were published online Dec. 28 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Gay, lesbian, bisexual veterans at increased risk for suicide mortality “Joe Gramigna, Healio, December 28, 2020

The New York Times (12/28, Belluck) reports, “A small number of Covid patients who had never experienced mental health problems are developing severe psychotic symptoms weeks after contracting the coronavirus.” Medical experts have indicated “they expect that such extreme psychiatric dysfunction will affect only a small proportion of patients.” However, “the cases are considered examples of another way the Covid-19 disease process can affect mental health and brain function.”

Related Links:

— “Small Number of Covid Patients Develop Severe Psychotic Symptoms “Pam Belluck, The New York Times, December 28, 2020

In an opinion piece for the Washington Post (12/26), American Medical Association Chief Health Equity Officer Aletha Maybank, M.D., M.P.H.‎, past-president of the American Public Health Association Camara Phyllis Jones, Advancing Health Equity founder and CEO Uché Blackstock, and National Birth Equity Collaborative president Joia Crear Perry wrote about the treatment of Dr. Susan Moore, a Black family physician who died from COVID-19 after alleging she was mistreated by her health care provider due to her race. In a Facebook video about her treatment prior to her death, Dr. Moore said, “This is how Black people get killed, when you send them home and they don’t know how to fight for themselves.” According to the opinion piece, “Moore’s video offers a glimpse…of the injustice at the intersection of being a health-care provider and being a person of color during [COVID-19], and what happens when the system does not work to adequately care for the very people who are there to uphold it.” The authors of the piece urge, “As a nation, we need to understand four key messages about racism: Racism exists. Racism is a system. Racism saps the strength of the whole society. We must act to dismantle racism.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)