According to the Washington Post (2/9, Johnson) “Wonkblog,” a research letter published online Feb. 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that “guns, drugs and motor vehicle crashes account for half of the life-expectancy gap between men in the United States and other high-income countries.” While the US spends more per person on healthcare than any other nation, life expectancy in the US “trails that of people in other high-income countries.”

The AP (2/9, Tanner) reports the findings strengthen “the argument that improving US life expectancy will require addressing premature deaths among younger ages, said Jessica Ho, a Duke University sociologist.” Ho said buttressing “gun laws, making safer cars and addressing the root causes of drug use, including income inequality, are among policies that might help.”

Bloomberg News (2/9, Tozzi) reports that “political realities make bridging the chasm between European and US laws unlikely” regarding gun violence. Nevertheless, “some American firearm deaths could be avoided by encouraging safer gun storage.” Deaths from illicit drugs and prescription medications may also “be affected by looser US practices in prescribing opioids, according to the JAMA report.”

HealthDay (2/9, Preidt) reports that under the pilot 24/7 Sobriety Program launched in South Dakota in 2005, offenders “must undergo breathalyzer tests twice a day or wear bracelets that continuously check for alcohol.” Individuals “who skip or fail the tests are immediately jailed for a short time.” The study, conducted by RAND Corp. researchers, found that “the largest reductions occurred among causes of death linked with excessive drinking.”

Related Links:

— “Three very American reasons we’re still so unhealthy,” Carolyn Y. Johnson, Washington Post, February 9, 2016.

The AP (2/10, Marcelo) reports that “organizations that work with refugees said it’s too early to assess the full scope of” Syrian “arrivals’ mental health needs.” Some “experts estimate 10 to 20 percent of incoming Syrians will have war-related psychological problems warranting treatment.” For that reason, “experts say it’s important to keep tabs on the emotional state of new arrivals, since symptoms may not appear until months or years later.” The stresses of finding employment, “adjusting to a new culture or dealing with life apart from family” may also “contribute to mental health problems, said” Bengt Arnetz, MD, PhD, MPH, “a professor at Michigan State University who has been studying trauma in Middle Eastern refugees.”

Related Links:

— “REFUGEE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS COULD OVERWHELM, EXPERTS FEAR,” Philip Marcello, Associated Press, February 10, 2016.

Medscape (2/9, Brown) reports, “The numbers of men and women in medical school and medical residency programs are approximately equal, but the proportion of women in leadership positions in nine major clinical specialties is much lower,” research published in the March issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology suggests. Researchers arrived at this conclusion after searching “the websites of 950 academic departments of nine specialties to determine the gender of department-based leaders (chair, vice chair, and division director) and residency program directors” in the specialties of “anesthesiology, diagnostic radiology, general surgery, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, pathology, pediatrics, and psychiatry.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

The AP (2/8, Aney) reports that “many law enforcement officers” across the US are spending “more and more of their time dealing with people” with mental illnesses who are in a crisis situation. Now, “a growing number of police officers…have completed Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) to hone their street-counselor skills.” The “week-long course” covers the “basics of behavioral health and an array of de-escalation techniques” to help interactions “end peacefully.”

Related Links:

— “Rural police chiefs see uptick of mentally ill on streets,” Kathy Aney, Washington Times via Associated Press, February 8, 2016.

Reuters (2/8, Doyle) reports that concussion may result in a threefold increase in the long-term suicide risk in adults, the findings of a 235,000-participant study published online Feb. 8 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggest.

According to AFP (2/8), “the likelihood of suicide was even greater among those whose head injury was incurred on the weekend, suggesting they had hurt themselves during a recreational activity.” Overall, whether concussions were incurred on the job or during recreation, “the average time from concussion to subsequent suicide was nearly six years.”

The ABC News (2/8, Hawkins) website reports that because “each additional concussion is associated with a further increase” in the risk for suicide, the study’s lead researcher, Donald Redelmeier, MD, of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, Canada, “said the findings emphasize that it’s important for medical” professionals “to be aware of a patient’s concussion history.” Dr. Redelmeier also “said he is hopeful that the research will encourage doctors to take a second look at patients who had a concussion, even if the concussion occurred years ago.”

Related Links:

— “Risk of suicide increases three-fold after a concussion,” Kathryn Doyle, Reuters, February 8, 2016.