HealthDay (8/22, Mundell ) reports, “There’s a strong association between a state’s policies and laws around the rights of transgender people and the mental health of transgender residents, a new study shows.” Investigators also discovered that Washington-based participants “who said they were aware of [the state’s] efforts to safeguard trans people’s rights had a 56% lower odds for current depression and an 89% lower odds for anxiety, compared to those who weren’t aware.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “State Laws Strongly Affect Mental Health of Trans People, Study Finds,”Ernie Mundell, HeathDay, August 22, 2024

Healio (8/21, Rhoades) reports, “Individuals with type 2 diabetes who experience trauma may be at a lower risk for microvascular complications after resolving PTSD symptoms, according to…results from a retrospective study of U.S. veterans.” Investigators also “reported an association between no longer meeting the diagnostic criteria for PTSD and lower risk for mortality,” as well as “a lower likelihood of starting insulin (HR = 0.69; 95% CI, 0.53-0.88) among veterans aged 18 to 49 years.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Resolving PTSD may lower risk for some diabetes-related complications,”Andrew (Drew) Rhoades, Healio, August 21, 2024

Psychiatric News (8/21) reports, “Resilience and a strong sense of gratitude were significantly associated with self-reported successful aging among U.S. veterans with depression, anxiety, and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to” a study. Investigators also observed that “somatic symptoms, such as pain, were negatively associated with successful aging, but veterans with more somatic symptoms who also had higher degrees of gratitude were significantly more likely to report successful aging.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Resilience and Gratitude Linked to Successful Aging Among Vets With Mental Disorders, Psychiatric News, August 21, 2024

CNN (8/21, Howard ) reports, “Having a severe case of COVID-19 appears to be linked with an increased risk of subsequent mental illness, including depression and anxiety disorders, and a new study finds that the association is strongest among people who were not vaccinated against the disease.” Specifically, investigators observed the “incidence of depression in the four weeks after a COVID-19 diagnosis was 1.93 times higher in people who had COVID before vaccinations were available, 1.79 times higher among the unvaccinated group and 1.16 times higher among the vaccinated group.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Also reporting is MedPage Today (8/21, Kahn).

Related Links:

— “Covid tied to higher risk of depression, anxiety, PTSD and other conditions, with the unvaccinated most affected, study shows,” Jacqueline Howard, CNN, August 21, 2024

Bloomberg (8/20, Kresge, Subscription Publication) reports, “A new study that found evidence of a higher rate of suicidal thoughts among patients taking Novo Nordisk A/S’s popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs is adding to a debate among doctors about the drugs’ safety.”

STAT (8/20, Chen , Subscription Publication) says that after analyzing “a World Health Organization database that tracks suspected adverse drug reactions,” investigators discovered “a 45% greater rate of reports of suicidal thoughts associated with semaglutide, the ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy, compared with all other drugs in the database.” After comparing “semaglutide specifically against other diabetes and obesity drugs – including Farxiga, metformin, and orlistat –” investigators “again saw a higher rate of suicidal ideation reported for semaglutide.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Ozempic Suicide Debate Stoked by Study Into Potential Link,”Naomi Kresge, Bloomberg, August 20, 2024