New Research Revealing More About How 9/11 Has Affected Health Of First Responders, Survivors

Newsday (NY) (9/10, Spangler) reports, “More than 20 years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the volume of research on responders and survivors is substantial and growing, yielding sometimes unexpected, potentially powerful revelations about the long-term physical and mental effects of exposure to disaster.” The National database of the National Library of Medicine, PubMed, “lists roughly 1,300 scientific papers about the World Trade Center with close to 60 published in the last year alone.” Some of the most recent “papers examine links between exposure to what doctors have called the ‘toxic cocktail’ of gas and dust at Ground Zero and cancer, pulmonary and cardiovascular conditions, along with trends in substance use and post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Related Links:

— “9/11 first responders health: Study of how Ground Zero exposure affected workers yields powerful results, Newsday , September 10, 2023

988 Suicide And Crisis Lifeline Now Available To People Using ASL

CNN (9/8, Musa) reported, “The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline will now be available to the millions of people across the US who use American Sign Language (ASL), according to” HHS. These “ASL services launched” Sept. 8 “will be available for callers who are deaf, deaf-blind or hard of hearing using a videophone,” and “callers can now be connected to a 988 Lifeline counselor trained in ASL by clicking on the ‘ASL Now’ button on 988lifeline.org and following the prompts.”

Related Links:

— “988 mental health crisis line launches American Sign Language services for callers who are deaf and hard of hearing,”Amanda Musa, CNN, September 8, 2023

Administration proposes update to disability protections

Bloomberg Law (9/7, Lopez, Subscription Publication) reports that on Thursday, the administration “proposed regulatory revisions to curb disability discrimination in government-funded programs, aiming to update a decades-old regulation that is out of step with the Americans With Disabilities Act and other federal laws.” The HHS “Department’s Office for Civil Rights previously weighed issuing guidance on the matter,” but “the OCR, the administration arm that issued the proposed rule, said on Reginfo.gov that ‘not taking regulatory action could result in continued discrimination, inequitable treatment and even untimely deaths of people with disabilities.’”

Related Links:

— “Updated Disability Protections Proposed by Biden HHS Agency (2),”Ian Lopez , Bloomberg Law, September 7, 2023

Despite Increased Use, 988 Faces Shaky Financial Future

KFF Health News (9/7, Saint Louis) reports, “Since the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline transitioned a year ago to the three-digit crisis phone number 988, there has been a 33% increase in the number of calls, chats, and texts to the hotline,” but “even with that early sign of success, the program’s financial future is shaky.” For the past “two years, the federal government has provided about $1 billion from the American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Safer Communities acts to launch the number, designed as an alternative to 911 for those experiencing a mental health crisis.” But, “after that infusion runs out, it’s up to states to foot the bill for their call centers,” and many states, particularly “predominantly rural ones” where 988 is particularly needed, “have not made long-term plans to provide support.”

Related Links:

— “Most States Have Yet to Permanently Fund 988. Call Centers Want Certainty,”Christina Saint Louis, KFF Health News, September 7, 2023

Antidepressants Appear As Safe And Effective For People With Comorbid Depression As Those With Depression Only, Umbrella Systematic Review Indicates

According to Psychiatric News (9/7), findings from an umbrella systematic review and meta-analysis published online Sept. 6 in “JAMA Psychiatry suggest antidepressants are as safe and effective for people with comorbid depression as those with depression only.” After examining “52 meta-analyses involving 27 medical diseases,” the study team concluded that “the efficacy of antidepressants (relative to placebo) in patients with depression and comorbid medical diseases is comparable to their efficacy in people with depression alone.”

Related Links:

— “Antidepressants Found Effective for Depressed Patients With Other Medical Disorders, Psychiatric News, September 7, 2023

Fitter Folks Need Fewer Psychiatric Meds, Study Finds

HealthDay (9/6, Thompson) reports, “People in better physical condition appear to have less need for drugs to treat mood disorders, Norwegian researchers have found.” The investigators came to this conclusion after analyzing data from the Trøndelag Health Study, and then comparing “that data with information from the Norwegian Prescribed Drug Registry.” The findings were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Fitter Folks Need Fewer Psychiatric Meds, Study Finds,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay , September 7, 2023

Survey finds one in three health care workers planning to leave job in the next year

RevCycle Intelligence (9/5, Bailey) reports, “A third of surveyed health care workers plan to leave their job in the next year, according to new data from Tebra.” A further “14% of respondents said they planned to leave the industry entirely within the next year.” The article adds, “Recruiting and retaining staff is a key priority for many health care organizations,” but “consequences stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and other administrative burdens are creating a less-than-ideal work setting for many health care professionals.”

Related Links:

— “1 in 3 Healthcare Workers Plan to Leave Their Position, Survey Finds,” Victoria Bailey, RevCycle Intelligence, September 5, 2023

In US, Prevalence Of Adolescents Vaping CBD Has Risen In Recent Years, Study Reveals

Healio (9/5, Bascom) reports, “In the United States, the prevalence of adolescents vaping CBD has risen in recent years, highlighting the need for educating youth about the potential harms,” researchers concluded in the findings of a 28,291-participant cross-sectional study published online in JAMA Network Open. The study reveals that the “prevalence of youth vaping CBD among U.S. adolescents” appears “high, with nearly 800,000 U.S. middle and high school students reporting past-month vaping CBD.” It also “raises concern that a notable proportion of adolescents are uncertain about whether they have engaged in vaping CBD or not,” perhaps because of the “lack of consistent quality assurance standards and the mislabeling of CBD products in the market.”

Related Links:

— “Some teens do not know if they have vaped CBD,”Emma Bascom, Healio , September 5, 2023

Use Of Postnatal SSRIs Tied To Reduced Risks For Maternal Depression, Unfavorable Outcomes Associated With Postnatal Depression, Study Indicates

Healio (9/6, Welsh) reports, “Use of postnatal selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors” (SSRIs) “was associated with reduced risks for maternal depression and unfavorable outcomes associated with postnatal depression, researchers reported in” the findings of a “large prospective cohort study of 61,081 mother-child groups using longitudinal data from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study” published online Aug. 29 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “SSRIs may lower risk for postnatal depression-associated outcomes for mother and child,”Erin T. Welsh, Healio , September 6, 2023