The New York Times (10/24, Kang, Singer) reports, “Meta was sued by more than three dozen states on Tuesday for knowingly using features on Instagram and Facebook to hook children to its platforms, even as the company said its social media sites were safe for young people.” The coalition of 33 states “said that Meta – which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger – violated consumer protection laws by unfairly ensnaring children and deceiving users about the safety of its platforms.” Washington, DC, “and eight other states filed separate lawsuits on Tuesday against Meta with most of the same claims.”

The Washington Post (10/24, Lima, Nix) reports, “The barrage of lawsuits is the culmination of a sprawling 2021 investigation into claims that Meta contributes to mental health issues among young people.” The states’ “federal complaint alleges that the company engaged in a ‘scheme to exploit young users for profit’ by misleading users about its safety features and the prevalence of harmful content on its products, harvesting data from younger users and violating federal laws on children’s privacy.” Furthermore, “state officials claim that the company knowingly deployed changes to keep kids on the site to the detriment of their well-being.”

Reuters (10/24, Stempel, Bartz, Raymond) reports research has linked “children’s use of Meta’s social media platforms with ‘depression, anxiety, insomnia, interference with education and daily life, and many other negative outcomes.’”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (10/23) reports, “Older adults with depression may be least likely to discontinue or switch treatment when prescribed sertraline for the first time compared with other antidepressants, suggests a” study. Researchers came to this conclusion after comparing “one-year outcomes in 93,000 Danish residents with depression who for the first time filled a prescription for one of 10 antidepressants.” The findings were published in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Study Compares Clinical Outcomes of Older Adults Prescribed 10 Common Antidepressants, Psychiatric News , October 23, 2023

HealthDay (10/23, Reinberg) reports, “Many college kids are depressed and anxious, especially when they are a minority on campus or the first in their family to go to a university, a…study finds.” Investigators also found that “women suffered greater depression and anxiety levels than men.” The findings were published online in the Journal of American College Health.

Related Links:

— “Depression Rates Rising Among College Students, and Race Matters,”Steven Reinberg, HealthDay , October 23, 2023

CNN (10/20, Musa) reported, “After years of increases, the rate of firearm-related homicides in the United States decreased in 2022, according to data published…by the” CDC. CNN added, “This is the first time the national firearm homicide rate has fallen since a sharp increase was recorded from 2019 to 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the CDC.” The “provisional CDC data from 2022 saw 5.9 deaths per 100,000 people, about a 6% decrease from 2021.”

Related Links:

— “US firearm homicide rate ticks down from pandemic peak, but remains elevated,”Amanda Musa, CNN , October 20, 2023

NBC News (10/22, Bendix) reports, “A Mediterranean diet that’s rich in vegetables, fruits and fish may help reduce or stave off symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to research.” These “findings are based on patient data from two studies — one in 2008 and another in 2013 — which collectively involved tens of thousands of female participants.” The findings were published in Nature Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “Mediterranean diet may reduce or prevent PTSD symptoms, new research shows,”Aria Bendix, NBC News, October 22, 2023