The Washington Post (3/20, Naqvi) reports that research published in Pediatrics indicates that “from January 2000 until December 2015, about 188,000 calls were placed to poison control centers regarding pediatric and teenage exposure to opioids.” The data indicated “sixty percent of the children exposed to opioids were younger than 5, while teenagers accounted for 30 percent.”

Reuters (3/20, Seaman) reports, “A companion paper in Pediatrics…reports a strong link between prescribed opioids and their recreational use.” The study indicated that “teens who abused opioids were often prescribed the drugs at some point by a” physician.

Related Links:

— “Poison control centers receive 32 calls a day about children exposed to opioids,”Jia Naqvi, The Washington Post, March 20, 2017.

HealthDay (3/20, Mozes) reports, “A daily dose of vitamin E or selenium supplements won’t keep dementia at bay in older men,” researchers found after studying some “7,500 males across the United States (including Puerto Rico) and Canada,” all of whom were aged 60 or older. The findings were published online in JAMA Neurology.

MedPage Today (3/20, Jenkins) and LiveScience (3/20, Rettner) also cover the story.

Related Links:

— “Vitamin E, Selenium Supplements Won’t Curb Men’s Dementia Risk,” Alan Mozes, HealthDay, March 20, 2017.

USA Today (3/20, Slack) reports the Department of Veterans Affairs’ “suicide hotline is still sending nearly a third of calls to outside back-up centers despite pledges by Veterans Affairs officials to stop the practice last year after a scathing report found the centers had routed veterans to voicemail, an inspector general investigation found.” According to the IG’s new report, 30% of calls received by the hotline “rolled over to backup centers” as of November.

The Hill (3/20, Kheel) reports the IG also found that “none of the recommendations made in the original February 2016 report have been fully implemented.”

Related Links:

— “VA suicide hotline still riddled with problems, investigation finds,”Donovan Slack, USA Today, March 20, 2017.

A greater than 5,500-word Politico Magazine (3/17, Hattem) “Friday Cover” story reported that facing a growing number of suicides among his soldiers, Fort Bliss commander Major General Dana Pittard made it a top priority to focus on how to combat the problem and to find “the roots and causes” to prevent more suicides. A solution he came up with, Politico said, was to “aggressively expand mental health services at the base.” This included increasing mental health staff, “creat[ing] new social spaces and nighttime services, [and] treatment for substance abuse and post traumatic stress disorder.” The services were made available to all, regardless of “whether or not there was any reason to believe they were at risk of killing themselves – because he believed everyone was vulnerable to suicide.”

Related Links:

— “The General Who Went to War On Suicide,”Ben Hatten, Politico Magazine, March 17, 2017.

HealthDay (3/17, Preidt) reported, “US veterans with substance abuse problems have a higher risk of suicide than veterans who don’t,” researchers found after examining data on “more than four million veterans.” The findings were published online March 16 in the journal Addiction.

Related Links:

— “Drinking, Drug Abuse Doubles Veterans’ Suicide Risk: Study,”Robert Preidt, HealthDay, March 17, 2017.

STAT (3/15, Sheridan) reports, “Richer countries have higher rates of anxiety in their population than poorer countries and” such “anxiety also interfered more with daily activities and responsibilities,” researchers from the World Health Organization’s World Mental Health Survey Consortium found. In particular, “there was a higher proportion of people in higher-income countries with generalized anxiety disorder [GAD]…and with severe GAD.” The findings were published online March 15 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Rich countries are more anxious than poorer countries,”Kate Sheridan, STAT, March 15, 2017.

The New York Times (3/15, Bakalar, Subscription Publication) reports, “Background checks and waiting periods for gun purchases are associated with lower suicide rates,” investigators found. The findings were published in the April issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Related Links:

— “Some Gun Laws Tied to Lower Suicide Rates,”Nicholas Bakalar, The New York Times , March 15, 2017.

Healio (3/15, Oldt) reports, “Individuals with intermittent explosive disorder had increased risk for substance use disorders,” researchers found after analyzing “data from the community-based National Comorbidity Survey Replication (n = 9,282).” The study’s conclusion “suggests aggressive behavior may be an indicator of substance use disorder risk.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Aggression may predict substance use disorder, Healio, March 15, 2017.

Healio (3/15, Oldt) reports, “Individuals recently discharged from inpatient psychiatric treatment had significantly increased risk for premature death, particularly in the first year after discharge,” researchers found after analyzing “data from Danish national registers for 48,599 individuals discharged from inpatient treatment at ages 15 to 44 years.” All “study participants were followed from age 15 years until death, emigration or through December 2011.” The findings were published online March 15 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Psychiatric News (3/15) quotes the study authors, who wrote, “Clinicians should keep these patients safe by serving as a liaison between primary and secondary health care services to ensure patients are receiving holistic care that meets their physical and mental health needs as well as addresses their psychosocial problems.”

Related Links:

— “Risk of Premature Death May Be Highest in Year Following Psychiatric Hospital Discharge,Psychiatric News, March 15, 2017.

HealthDay (3/16, Steele) reports that even though the “US suicide rate has been rising gradually since 2000, suicides in less urban areas are outpacing those in more urban areas,” researchers found in a report published March 17 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “U.S. Suicide Rates Rising Faster Outside Cities,”Margaret Farley Steele, HealthDay , March 16, 2017.