Modern Healthcare (1/20, Brady, Subscription Publication) reports that “President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed several executive orders that would impact the healthcare industry.” The President, “in addition to several actions to address the COVID-19 pandemic…ordered federal agencies to review and possibly revise policies to advance racial equity and prevent and combat discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

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— “Modern Healthcare (Requires Subscription), January 20, 2021

Healio (1/19, Miller) reports the USPSTF “recommended that clinicians ask all adults about tobacco use and provide them with behavioral interventions and even FDA-approved pharmacotherapy to help them quit smoking.” The USPSTF wrote in JAMA that the A-level recommendation is consistent with the agency’s 2015 recommendation, but incorporated “newer evidence and language in the field of tobacco cessation, including new evidence on the harms of e-cigarettes.”

MedPage Today (1/19, Boyles) also covers the story.

Related Links:

— “USPSTF: Ask adults about tobacco use “Janel Miller, Healio, January 19, 2021

HealthDay (1/19, Mundell) reports that while the overall suicide rate in the US has been increasing, researchers at the American Cancer Society found that the suicide rate among people with cancer is decreasing. The researchers “tracked national data on causes of death among Americans for the years 1999 through 2018” and found “a decreasing trend of cancer-related suicide during the past two decades.” The researchers also found that the most common types of cancer among people with cancer who died by suicide were lung cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer. The findings were published in JNCI: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

MedPage Today (1/19, Lawrence) also covers the study.

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— “Fewer U.S. Cancer Patients Are Dying From Suicide, Study Finds “Ernie Mundell, HealthDay, January 19, 2021

HealthDay (1/19) reports research indicates that children “who see their parents bicker during a separation or divorce are more likely to develop a fear of abandonment.” After analyzing interview data from “roughly 560 kids between nine and 18 years of age” and also from teachers and parents, the study also revealed that even when children feel “close to one or both parents, that fear can still undermine… mental health down the road.” The findings were published online in the journal Child Development.

Healio (1/19, Gramigna) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “How Divorce Harms Kids, and How to Lessen That Harm “Alan Mozes, HealthDay, January 19, 2021

According to Psychiatric News (1/18), on Jan. 18, the American Psychiatric Association’s Board of Trustees “issued an apology for APA’s history of racism and for ‘enabling discriminatory and prejudicial actions within APA and racist practices in psychiatric treatment for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.’” In a statement to the press, APA President Jeffrey Geller, MD, MPH, said, “The Board is issuing this document on Martin Luther King Jr. Day because we hope that it honors his life’s work of reconciliation and equality.” For his part, APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, stated, “The Board of Trustees of APA has taken an important step in issuing this apology.” Dr. Levin added, “The APA administration is committed to working toward achieving inclusion, health equity, and fairness that everyone deserves.”

Related Links:

— “APA Issues Apology for History of Racism Contributing to Discrimination, MH Care Inequities, Psychiatric News, January 18, 2021

HCPlive (1/17, Kunzmann) reported researchers “have observed a significant and direct link between pediatric” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “and a likelihood of alcohol problems at adulthood.” The findings of the 142-patient study were presented at the virtual APSARD) 2021 Annual Conference.

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— “Adulthood Alcohol Problems Linked to Adolescent ADHD “Kevin Kunzmann, HCPlive, January 17, 2021

Healio (1/14, Gramigna) reports mental illnesses “appeared to begin and peak during young adulthood, and they were linked to subsequent physical diseases and early mortality,” investigators concluded after analyzing “data of 2,349,897 individuals aged 10 to 60 years who were included in the New Zealand Integrated Data Infrastructure.” In particular, researchers “sought to identify mental [illnesses], physical diseases and deaths recorded between July 1988 and June 2018 among New Zealand’s population.” The findings were published online Jan. 13 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Mental Illnesses May Begin, Peak During Young Adulthood And May Be Tied To Subsequent Physical Diseases And Early Mortality, Researchers Say “Joe Gramigna, Healio, January 14, 2021

HealthDay (1/13, Murez) reports research indicates that “women who use cannabis may be reducing their fertility.” Investigators arrived at this conclusion and collecting and then analyzing “data from 2006 to 2012 for a broader study” that “included more than 1,200 women aged 18 to 40 who had one or two prior pregnancy losses.” The study revealed that “compared to the women who didn’t use cannabis, the cannabis users had higher levels of luteinizing hormone and a higher proportion of luteinizing hormone to follicle-stimulating hormone, which could have an impact on ovulation.” The findings were published online in the journal Human Reproduction.

Related Links:

— “Pot Might Impair a Woman’s Fertility: Study “Cara Murez, HealthDay, January 13, 2021

Healio (1/13, Buzby) reports researchers found “as little as one alcoholic drink per day may confer elevated risk for development of atrial fibrillation, regardless of age and other CV risk factors.” The findings were published in the European Heart Journal.
Other sources covering the study include: HealthDay (1/13), Cardiovascular Business (1/13, Walter), and TCTMD (1/13, Cox).

Related Links:

— “One drink per day may be enough to increase risk for AF “Scott Buzby, Healio, January 13, 2021

Healio (1/13, Gramigna) reports, “Maternal stress during pregnancy may mutate the child’s DNA and thus affect risk for developing disease,” with the risk “particularly prevalent among Black women, researchers noted” in a study in which they “conducted whole mitochondrial DNA sequencing and determined mutations for 365 placenta samples with complete data for exposures and covariates.” The findings were published online Sept. 18 in Biological Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Prenatal stress may mutate child’s DNA, increase risk for disease “Joe Gramigna, Healio, January 13, 2021