HealthDay (6/24, Preidt) reports, “U.S. veterans with PTSD are twice as likely as the general population to die from suicide, accidents and viral hepatitis,” researchers concluded after examining “the top causes of death among 491,000 veterans who began PTSD treatment at V.A. medical centers between 2008 and 2013.” The study also revealed that “veterans with PTSD also have a higher risk of death from diabetes and liver disease.” The findings were published online June 24 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Vets With PTSD Face Higher Odds for Early Death From Multiple Causes, ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 24, 2019

The Hill (6/21, Sullivan) reported, “The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent to the White House for review a proposal to lower certain drug prices in Medicare by linking them to the lower prices paid in other countries, an idea called the international pricing index.” President Trump “unveiled the original proposal in October,” and Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar voiced support for the proposal sent to the White House on Friday.

Related Links:

— “Key Trump proposal to lower drug prices takes step forward, “Peter Sullivan, The Hill, June 21, 2019

USA Today (6/21, Dastagir) reported, “The US suicide rate is up 33% since 1999, but for Native American women and men, the increase is even greater: 139% and 71%, respectively, according to an analysis out this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.” The article added, “Native Americans and Alaska Natives also experience PTSD more than twice as often as the general population, according to” the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA Regional Administrator Karen Hearod said, “You get this historical trauma, and people aren’t able to resolve it. It gets internalized and passed down to future generations.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide rate for Native American women is up 139%, “Alia E. Dastagir, USA Today, June 21, 2019

Bloomberg (6/20, Koons) reports, “U.S. suicide rates are at the highest level since World War II, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” and the problem is becoming “worse: The U.S. suicide rate increased on average by about 1% a year from 2000 through 2006 and by 2% a year from 2006 through 2016.”

CNN (6/20, Howard) reports the U.S. suicide rate “continues to climb, with a rate in 2017 that was 33% higher than in 1999,” research indicates. During that period, “suicide rates among people 15 to 64 increased significantly…rising from 10.5 per 100,000 people in 1999 to 14 per 100,000 in 2017, the most recent year with available data.” The findings were “published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics” on June 20.

Related Links:

— “Latest Suicide Data Show the Depth of U.S. Mental Health Crisis, “Cynthia Koons, Bloomberg, June 20, 2019

FierceHealthcare (6/20, Kuhrt) reports a study indicates that “a decrease in reports of child neglect in states that participated in Medicaid expansion suggests the program plays a part in reducing child maltreatment.” Medicaid expansion “has been associated with improved financial stability for families and better access to mental health care, which led a research team at the University of Washington to look for a correlation between Medicaid expansion and improvement in rates of child abuse and neglect.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Study: Medicaid expansion linked to decrease in child neglect, “Matt Kuhrt, FierceHealthcare, June 20, 2019

E.J. Mundell (6/20, Mundell) reports, “As society relaxes its rules around marijuana, U.S. teens seem to be responding by using the drug in much bigger numbers than a generation ago,” researchers concluded after examining “1991-2017 U.S. federal health data on more than 200,000 high school students.” Investigators “found that the number who said they’d used pot at least once over the past month rose 10-fold – from 0.6% in 1991 to 6.3% by 2017.” The findings were published online in the American Journal of Public Health.

Related Links:

— “Marijuana Use By Teens In The US Has Risen Tenfold Since The 1990s, Research Indicates, ” E.J. Mundell, HealthDay, June 20, 2019

The Hill (6/19, Slaughter) reports, “Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie told lawmakers his agency is stepping up efforts to prevent veteran suicides during testimony before a Senate panel Wednesday.” During testimony, Wilkie said, “Suicide is a national public health issue that affects communities everywhere. Just as there is no single cause of suicide, no single organization can end veteran suicide.” He added, “We must work side-by-side with our partners at all levels of government and in the private sector to provide our veterans with the mental health and suicide prevention services they need.”

Related Links:

— “VA chief pressed on efforts to prevent veteran suicides, “Brittany Slaughter, The Hill, June 19, 2019

TIME (6/20, Ducharme) reports a new analysis released by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reveals suicide rates in the US “are at their highest since World War II…and the opioid crisis, widespread social media use and high rates of stress may be among the myriad contributing factors.” The data indicate that in 2017, “14 out of every 100,000 Americans died by suicide” – a “33% increase since 1999.” In addition, the data show that “the male suicide rate was more than three times higher than the female rate,” but “female suicide rates are rising more quickly.” The analysis also reveals that for both men and women, “suicide rates are highest among American Indians and Alaska natives, compared to other ethnicities.”

Related Links:

— “U.S. Suicide Rates Are the Highest They’ve Been Since World War II, “Jamie Ducharme, TIME, June 20, 2019

The AP (6/18, Tanner) reports in health surveys in 2016-2017 of almost 500,000 women in the US “7% of pregnant women, or 1 in 14, said they used marijuana in the past month,” compared to “a little over 3% in 2002-03.” The findings were published in JAMA and presented at a medical conference.

Medscape (6/18, Haelle, Subscription Publication) reports in a second study, “Canadian research reveals that such use comes with greater risk of preterm birth and several other poor perinatal and neonatal outcomes.” The second study was also published in JAMA. Michael Silverstein, MD, MPH, of Boston University School of Medicine, and two colleagues wrote in an accompanying editorial, “These two studies send a straightforward message: cannabis use in pregnancy is likely unsafe; with an increasing prevalence of use (presumably related to growing social acceptability and legalization in many states), its potential for harm may represent a public health problem.”

Related Links:

— “Marijuana use doubles in US pregnant women to 1 in 14, “Lindsey Tanner, AP, June 18, 2019

HealthDay (6/18, Reinberg) reports a study based on over one million California hospital records found nearly 20 percent of deaths among women who died within a year of giving birth were due to drug overdose or suicide from 2010 to 2012. The research also indicated “about 75% of those who died had visited an emergency department at least once after giving birth.” The research was published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Related Links:

— “Drug Overdoses, Suicide Are Risk for New Mothers: Study, “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, June 18, 2019