The Education Week (4/16, Mader) “Rural Education” blog reports that researchers at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found after analyzing “data from 1996 to 2010 from the National Center for Health Statistics” that “suicide rates among youth ages 10 to 24 are nearly twice as high in rural communities than in urban areas.”

The authors said “isolation and lack of access to health care, especially mental health care,” were factors, and they suggested that school-based programs would improve access to care. The piece mentions other recent studies exploring the problem in Alaska and on Native American reservations. The study (4/16) appeared online March 9 in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Study: Youth Suicide Rates Higher in Rural Areas,” Jackie Mader , Education Week, April 15, 2015.

The Washington Post (4/16, Svrluga) reports on the suicide Monday of a sophomore at the College of William & Mary, illustrating how the incident, the fourth this year at the Virginia university, raises “concerns about the challenges college students handle on a daily basis and the mental health struggles students can face.” The article notes that William & Mary’s associate vice president for health and wellness “cautioned that it is easy to over-connect academic stress and the risk of suicide,” and that a history of mental health issues was a better predictor for suicide.

Related Links:

— “Suicide at William & Mary, fourth student death this year, triggers concern,” Susan Svrluga, Washington Post, April 15, 2015.

HealthDay (4/15, Thompson) reports a new study published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research suggests that “drinkers who smoke marijuana as they imbibe are twice as likely to drive drunk compared with people who stick to alcohol alone.” The study of data on nearly 9,000 people also revealed that “these ‘simultaneous’ users are also three times more likely to face social troubles as a result of drinking and marijuana – drunken brawls, broken marriages, damaged relationships and ruined careers among them.”

Related Links:

— “Pot Plus Booze Doubles Odds for Drunk Driving, Study Says,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, April 14, 2015.

HealthDay (4/15, Preidt) reports that a study published in the April issue of the journal Sleep suggests that “depression, insomnia and exhaustion may be major risk factors for frequent nightmares.” The study of approximately 14,000 adults in Finland revealed that “frequent nightmares were reported by about 28 percent of people with severe depression and about 17 percent of those with frequent insomnia.” The study’s lead author suggested in a news release, “It might be possible that nightmares could function as early indicators of onset of depression and therefore have previously untapped diagnostic value.”

Related Links:

— “Depression, Insomnia, Fatigue Are the Stuff of Nightmares,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, April 14, 2015.

The Washington Post (4/15, Swanson) “Wonkblog” reports that approximately “568,000 uninsured people who have been diagnosed with a serious mental health condition would have received treatment in 2014 if their states had chosen to expand Medicaid, according to the American Mental Health Counselors Association.” A report by the AMHCA found that “uninsured, low-income Americans in the east, mid-Atlantic and Pacific are receiving more treatment through the Medicaid expansion, while those in the south and central US are not.” An embedded infographic depicts the report’s findings.

Related Links:

— “These states leave the most mentally ill adults untreated. Guess what else they have in common.,” Ana Swanson, Washington Post, April 14, 2015.