NBC Nightly News (1/8, story 8, 2:05, Williams) broadcast that the CDC warns that binge drinking “is a big problem especially and acutely for women.” It is responsible for the death of 23,000 women and girls each year. The CDC study claims the excessive drinking is “becoming dangerous and is often overlooked as a health problem for women, who respond to alcohol differently than men.” Dr. Aaron White of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism said the differences include women “being more susceptible to the effects of alcohol and the risk of cancer,” liver problems, and brain damage. A survey of over 278,000 women 18 years of age or older found that “nearly 14 million women binge drink about 3 times a month.” 1 in 5 high school girls also report binge drinking.

USA Today (1/8, Payne) reports the CDC study “found that binge drinking was most common among women ages 18-34 and high school girls. It also was most prevalent among women living in households with annual incomes of $75,000 or higher.” David Jernigan, director of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, said “it is crucial that the problem is highlighted” because girls are transitioning from beer to spirits. CDC Director Thomas Frieden said that in order to curb binge drinking, “effective community measures can support women and girls in making wise choices about whether to drink or how much to drink if they do.”

Related Links:

— “CDC: Binge drinking is serious problem for girls, women, “Cathy Payne, USA Today, January 8, 2013.

CQ (1/9, Adams, Subscription Publication) reports, “Prescription drug misuse is second only to marijuana as the nation’s most prevalent illicit drug problem,” according to an analysis released Jan. 8 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The study showed “seven of the 10 states with the highest rates of nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers were in the West: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington.” The authors of the SAMHSA report also noted “some progress,” namely, that “prescription drug misuse among people over age 12 fell in 10 states (Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and West Virginia).” Moreover, when they compared 2009-2010 data with the 2010-2011 data, they found that there was no worsening of prescription medication misuse in any state during the two, combined time frames.

CQ (1/9, Attias, Subscription Publication) reports that Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Rep. Grace F. Napolitano (D-CA), and Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) “are gathering signatures on a letter that calls on the Obama administration to preserve mental health funding in its fiscal 2014 budget proposal.” In their letter to Jeffrey Zients of the Office of Management and Budget, the lawmakers wrote in wake of the Newtown, CT school shootings, “Those tragedies illustrate one clear fact: America is facing a mental health crisis that we can no longer ignore.” The letter, which had gained the signatures of 34 legislators as of midday Tuesday, also “presses for programs focused on prevention and detection, as well as access to treatment services for mental health and substance abuse issues.”

The Baltimore Sun (1/8, Anderson, Walker) reported, “Mental health and law enforcement professionals say patients commonly wind up in emergency rooms and jails that are poorly equipped to handle their disorders, when earlier treatment might have prevented such crises. Even in Maryland, which advocates say is ahead of other states, tight budgets have led to fewer beds in mental health institutions and not enough community programs.” The Newtown, CT shootings have “elevated a long-simmering debate over how to provide care for the mentally ill, as treatment continues to shift from a system of government-run institutions to one that aims to keep people in their communities.” Complicating matters is the fact that funding for mental health programs has diminished considerably due to budgetary constraints over the past few years at the same time that more people have required services.

Related Links:

— “Dearth of mental health treatment options leads to emergencies,”Jessica Anderson, The Baltimore Sun, January 7, 2013.

Psychiatric News (1/9) reports that in an paper published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, “researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) are reporting that a set of four questions that emergency department (ED) physicians or nurses can ask successfully identifies youth who are at risk for attempting suicide.” In 17 young people ranging in age from 10 to 21 who presented with either a psychiatric or surgical/medical issue at the ED, researchers “found that four of the questions used as a set accurately predicted suicide attempts. The questions asked about ‘current thoughts of being…better off dead, current wish to die, current suicidal ideation, and history of suicide attempt.'” A positive answer to one or more of these four questions identified 97% of the young people at risk for suicide, investigators reported.

Related Links:

— “Four Simple Questions Identify Youth at Risk of Suicide,Psychiatric News Alert, January 8, 2013.