In a more than 1,200-word article in “The Upshot,” the New York Times (7/8, SR7, Kolata, Subscription Publication) reported that “something strange is going on in medicine,” as many “major diseases, like colon cancer, dementia and heart disease, are waning in wealthy countries, and improved diagnosis and treatment cannot fully explain it.” According to the Times, while “scientists marvel at this good news, a medical mystery of the best sort,” others “are puzzled.”

Related Links:

— “http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/upshot/a-medical-mystery-of-the-best-kind-major-diseases-are-in-decline.html,” Gina Kolata, New York Times, July 8, 2016.

The New York Times (7/11, Peachman) reports that a study release today in the journal Pediatrics finds that “many teenagers who never would have smoked cigarettes are now ‘vaping’ with flavored e-cigarettes, leading to a new generation using nicotine at rates not seen since the 1990s.” According to University of Southern California researchers, “e-cigarettes do not appear to have made a dent in regular cigarette use,” and “the rate of teenagers using nicotine — either through tobacco cigarettes or e-cigarettes — is on the rise” at 14%, which is the highest it has been since 1995.

Related Links:

— “More Nonsmoking Teens Inhaling Flavored Nicotine Through Vaping,” RACHEL RABKIN PEACHMAN, New York Times, July 11, 2016.

HealthDay (7/7, Dallas) reports that during the period 2013 to 2014, nearly three “million US teens suffered a major bout of depression,” newly released research from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reveals. In fact, “the overall rate of depression among young people jumped to 11 percent between 2013 and 2014, up from 9.9 percent the previous year, the SAMHSA report found.”

Related Links:

— “Depression Strikes Nearly 3 Million U.S. Teens a Year,” Mary Elizabeth Dallas, HealthDay, July , 2016.

USA Today (7/7, Zoroya) reports new data from the Department of Veterans Affairs show that on average, 20 veterans committed suicide daily in 2014. The article says this figure is “the first actual count of suicides among former service members,” and points out that the 2010 average of 22 suicides per day was an estimate. David Shulkin, VA undersecretary for health, highlighted “the slight decline from the 2010 estimate, but added, ‘it’s still far too high.’” The piece adds that according to the figures, the highest number of suicides occurred among male veterans aged 18-29, who had a suicide rate of 86 per 100,000 people; female veterans in that age group had a rate of 33 per 100,000, but the national average is 13 per 100,000 people.

Related Links:

— “20 veterans a day committed suicide in 2014, new data show,” Gregg Zoroya, USA Today, July 7, 2016.

Healthcare IT News (7/5, Lagasse) reports telemedicine may be most helpful when used to remotely monitor patients with certain chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular and respiratory disease, as well as for conducting psychotherapy as part of a behavioral health treatment, according to a research review conducted by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The AHRQ reviewed “58 systematic reviews amid a substantial volume of research on telemedicine” with the aim of finding the situations where the practice was most effective. Researchers looked for instances in which telemedicine programs reduced costs and improved patient outcomes.

Related Links:

— “Telehealth sweet spot? Remote monitoring of patients with cardiovascular or respiratory disease, AHRQ says,” Jeff Lagasse, Healthcare IT News, July , 2016.

Forbes (7/5, Burns) reports the University of Missouri “has been providing psychiatric and counseling services via telemedicine to patients around the state,” and a recent study “by the University of Missouri School of Medicine revealed that the video-based mental health services are being utilized in mostly rural areas by individuals who might otherwise need to travel upwards of 20 miles for support, and whose average age is 16.” Healthcare administrators across the country are looking to use telehealth for help curb opioid abuse, improve women’s access to sexual and reproductive health support, and could potentially turn to the technology to benefit children and teens looking for counseling.

Related Links:

— “Families In Rural Areas Using Telemedicine For Psychiatric, Specialty Care,” Janet Burns, Forbes, July , 2016.

Modern Healthcare (7/5, Dickson, Subscription Publication) reports ever since Medicaid was created in 1965, it “has excluded payment for institutions of mental disease (IMDs) for beneficiaries 21 and over,” and the majority of “residential treatment facilities for mental health and substance use disorders with more than 16 beds did not qualify for Medicaid reimbursement.” On July 5, that five-decade ban was lifted, but experts say it will take some time before beneficiaries can take advantage of the change. According to Andrew Sperling, director of legislative affairs for NAMI, “No radical change is expected July 5th as plans need to contract with facilities and those agreements may not kick in until the next contract year.”

Related Links:

— “Medicaid plans can now pay mental health institutions. Most won’t until 2017,” Virgil Dickson, Modern Healthcare, July 5, 2016.

In “To Your Health,” the Washington Post (7/1, Beachum) reported that researchers for the Treatment Advocacy Center have found the number of psychiatric beds in state hospitals across the US has fallen to a historic low, and almost half of those that are available “are filled with patients from the criminal justice system.” Both sets of data “reflect the sweeping changes” that have occurred in the 50 years since the nation began deinstitutionalizing mental-health patients “in favor of outpatient treatment.” The “promise of that shift was never fulfilled,” however, “and experts and advocates say the result is seen even today in the increasing ranks of homeless and incarcerated Americans suffering from serious mental conditions.”

Related Links:

— “Nation’s psychiatric bed count falls to record low,” Lateshia Beachum, , July 1, 2016.

HealthDay (6/30, Preidt) reports that a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society “suggests that the problem of missed” medication “rises with age and failing memory, especially for men.” Researchers found that “overall, people aged 80 and older were 1.5 to 3 times more likely to require help taking medications than those ages 65-69.” The investigators found that other factors linked to “medication lapses” were “memory deficits” and having “trouble with the tasks of everyday living.”

Related Links:

— “Why Some Seniors Don’t Take Their Meds,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 30, 2016.

The AP (6/30, Stobbe) reports, “Farmers, lumberjacks and fishermen have the highest suicide rate in the US, while librarians and educators have the lowest,” the findings of a CDC report published July 1 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report suggest. Investigators “found the highest suicide rates in manual laborers who work in isolation and face unsteady employment,” but “high rates were also seen in carpenters, miners, electricians and people who work in construction.” Dentists, physicians, and “other health care professionals had an 80 percent lower suicide rate than the farmers, fishermen and lumberjacks.”

STAT (6/30, Seervai) reports that “men were far more likely to take their own lives than women,” the paper found. Report lead author and health scientist Wendy LiKam Wa McIntosh, of the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention, “said she hopes the report’s findings will help employers design strategies to prevent suicide – including wellness and education programs – and encourage people showing signs of distress to seek help.”

Related Links:

— “Professions at highest risk of suicide: Farming, fishing, construction work,” SHANOOR SEERVAI, StatNews, June 30, 2016.