MedPage Today (8/16, Petrochko) reports, “Students who started drinking and getting drunk at an early age were more likely to engage in frequent heavy drinking and associated problems by senior year of college,” according to a study published online Aug. 15 in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. “A longitudinal analysis of incoming college freshmen showed a significant association not only between younger drinking age and heavy drinking, but also with difficulties in work and school, blackouts, vomiting, and other problems by senior year (P<0.001 for all)," researchers reported. "Those who started drinking and getting drunk at a later age were at a lower risk for heavy drinking and problems overall, but had significantly steeper increases in heavy drinking and associated problems over time (P<0.001 for both)," the study of 1,160 incoming university freshmen found. Related Links:

— “Young Drinking Tied to Drinking Problems Later, “Cole Petrochko, MedPage Today, August 15, 2012.

Bloomberg News (8/14, Lopatto) reports, “Men in rural areas may be prone to suicide during times of drought,” according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. After analyzing nearly 40 years of Australian rainfall records, researchers found that “in addition to the financial stress of failed crops, environmental degradation caused by extended dry spells also can be psychologically harmful.” In “men ages 30 to 49 who live in farming communities, droughts were associated with a 15 percent increase in the relative risk of suicide, the” study found.

Related Links:

— “Drought Increases Suicides For Rural Men, Researchers Say, “Elizabeth Lopatto, Bloomberg, August 13, 2012.

The Arizona Republic (8/12, Ortega) noted that although it “can seem all but impossible to understand why anyone would commit a mass murder” as James Holmes is “accused of doing” in Aurora, Colorado in July, “forensic psychologists and other behavioral scientists are increasingly identifying reasons that can predispose someone to commit mass violence, and ‘warning behaviors,’ such as a fast-growing fascination with weapons and violence, that should signal the need for intervention.” J. Reid Meloy, a “forensic psychologist and professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of California-San Diego” said it’s often “possible to identify people who fall into high-risk groups and to take some action to intervene — from requiring counseling to restricting someone’s access to weapons to seeking involuntary commitment, or many other steps in between.”

Physicians Want Gun Violence Treated As A “Social Disease.” The AP (8/11, Marchione) reported that some public health experts want gun violence to be treated as a “social disease” that requires a public health approach. They give examples from past public health problems addressed with “highway safety measures, product changes and driving laws that slashed deaths from car crashes decades ago.” The CDC estimates that some 73,000 visits to emergency rooms in 2010 stemmed from firearms, and recent mass shootings have led one expert, Dr. Stephen Hargarten of the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Injury Research Center, to ask whether “we have a public health issue to discuss.” The AP cites other experts and lists some examples of how a public health approach would work.

Related Links:

— “Psychologists look for ‘warning behaviors’ to stop killings,”Bob Ortega, USA Today, August 12, 2012.

The Washington Times (8/13, Howell) reports, “The District and Maryland are moving aggressively to implement virtual markets of insurance plans, becoming national leaders in carrying out President Obama’s vision for health care reform.” In the district, the Health Reform Implementation Committee “has met twice, to organize itself and to elect Dr. Mohammad Akhter as its chairman,” and “needs to submit a proposal on its exchange to the federal government by Wednesday to obtain an estimated $70 million to $80 million in federal funding this October.” The exchange may be designed as “an open system that welcomes all providers, or it can be selective about which providers fit the city’s needs.” Maryland “has already received $34.4 million in federal grants and is expecting to receive additional federal funds,” to implement an exchange on the basis of a state law enacted last year with the strong support of the governor.

Related Links:

— “Health law readiness follows state, party lines, “Tom Howell Jr., The Washington Times, August 12, 2012.

USA Today (8/6, Jayson) reports on psychologist Robert Hogan’s presentation, during a psychology conference this past weekend, about the stress impact of poor management. USA Today quotes Hogan as saying, “Seventy-five percent of working adults say the worst aspect of their job — the most stressful aspect of their job — is their immediate boss. Bad managers create enormous health costs and are a major source of misery for many people.” USA Today adds, “Other leadership consultants across the country agree that the impact of immediate supervisors is more far-reaching than many would believe.”

Related Links:

— “Bad bosses can be bad for your health, “Sharon Jayson, USA Today, August 06, 2012.