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.

The Los Angeles Times (2/8, Healy) “Science Now” blog reports that yesterday, the US Preventive Services Task Force “recommended that physicians routinely screen children between 12 and 18 for depression and have systems in place either to diagnose, treat and monitor those who screen positive or to refer them to specialists who can.” The USPSTF’s recommendations now “bring depression screening for adolescents into line with recently issued depression-screening recommendations that apply to adults.”

Reuters (2/8, Seaman) reports that the recommendations were published online Feb. 8 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

According to CNN (2/8, Storrs), the USPSTF has decided that “for children younger than 12, there is not enough evidence around which tests work and which treatments are effective to recommend that doctors screen all individuals in this age group.” For children 12 and older, the USPSTF supports “the use of antidepressant medication for treating adolescents who have depression,” in addition to cognitive behavioral therapy or a combination of CBT and medication.

Related Links:

— “Adolescents should be screened for depression too, federal panel says,” Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times, February 8, 2016.

The Boston Globe (2/7, Kowalczyk) reported on the phasing out of “conventional hospital” nurseries in maternity wards as “part of a national movement designed to promote breastfeeding, bonding, and parenting skills by having mothers and healthy newborns room together around-the-clock.” Many new mothers and nurses are not happy with “rooming in,” however, contending that “brief breaks in a nursery will not harm breast feeding in the long run, and that rest is important to keep mothers healthy and prevent serious problems like postpartum depression.”

Related Links:

— “Maternity wards are moving away from nurseries,” Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, February 7, 2016.

ABC World News (2/6, story 6, 1:40, Vega) reported on the backlash and “fierce” reaction the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is facing following last week’s recommendation that “women should refrain from drinking alcohol, saying the risk to babies is too high.” ABC News correspondent Gloria Riviera explained that “the new guidelines hit a nerve, because they go further, telling health professionals to advise a woman to stop drinking if she is trying to get pregnant or not using birth control with sex.” Many women took to social media to express outrage, “calling the advice ‘patronizing and reactionary and sexist.’” While the CDC told ABC News that it was “sorry some people took offense at our communications,” the agency stands by its advice.

The New York Times (2/5, Victor, Subscription Publication) reported that last week’s report “focused on the possibility that children may develop fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, estimating that 3.3 million women between the ages of 15 and 44 who drink alcohol while not using birth control risked exposing their infants to the disorders.” The report also pointed out that “about half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned and most women do not know they are pregnant until four to six weeks into the pregnancy.” Reacting to criticism of the report, CDC principal deputy director Anne Schuchat, MD, said during a Friday interview, “We weren’t as clear as we had hoped to be.”

Related Links:

— “C.D.C. Defends Advice to Women on Drinking and Pregnancy,” Daniel Victor, New York Times, February 5, 2016.

Modern Healthcare (2/5, Conn, Subscription Publication) reported that CMS has proposed “modifying a key Code of Federal Regulations privacy rule covering patient records for drug and alcohol-abuse treatment, and by default, behavioral health.” The proposed change “would maintain the requirement that patient consent be obtained prior to disclosing or exchanging medical records that would identify, directly or indirectly, an individual who has been diagnosed or treated for a substance-abuse disorder.” But the change would also allow other health-related information to be disclosed without consent “if permissible, under other applicable laws.” The changes would allow a “broad general consent form” to be signed.

Related Links:

— “Proposed privacy rule changes may leave substance-abuse patients vulnerable,” Joseph Conn, Modern Healthcare, February 5, 2016.