The New York Times (7/10, B2, Meier, Subscription Publication) reports, “The Food and Drug Administration, overriding the advice of an expert panel, said Monday that it would not require doctors to have special training before they could prescribe long-acting narcotic painkillers that can lead to addiction.” The FDA, however, “said companies that make the drugs…would be required to underwrite the cost of voluntary programs aimed at teaching doctors how to best use them.” The Times adds, “In introducing the plan on Monday, both Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the FDA commissioner, and R. Gil Kerlikowske, President Obama’s top drug policy adviser, said they were hopeful that Congress would eventually enact mandatory physician training,” although the Obama administration has not yet drafted legislation.

Related Links:

— “F.D.A. Won’t Order Doctors to Get Pain-Drug Training, “Barry Meier, The New York Times, July 9, 2012.

In print and in its “Well” blog, the New York Times (7/10, D6, Bakalar, Subscription Publication) reports, “Mothers face a significantly increased risk of death in the years following the death of a child,” according to an analysis published in the June issue of the journal Economics & Human Biology. “Using federal Census Bureau data, researchers tracked information on 69,224 mothers ages 20 to 50 over nine years.” Investigators found that “in the two years following the death of a child, the odds of the mother dying increased to more than three times that of mothers whose children survived. After two years, the difference narrowed, but it was still 22 percent higher for grieving mothers.”

Related Links:

— “Child’s Death May Raise Mother’s Mortality, “Nicholas Bakalar, The New York Times, July 9, 2012.

The New York Times (7/9, B5, Newman, Subscription Publication) reports that a suicide-prevention public service announcement (PSA) “campaign based in Colorado aimed at men ages 25 to 64 introduces a fictional therapist, Dr. Rich Mahogany, an affable, mustachioed, middle-aged man,” played by actor John Arp, who uses humor to get men with mental-health issues to get help, either by visiting the ManTherapy website or by seeing a mental healthcare professional. “Partners in the effort are the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention and the Carson J. Spencer Foundation, a suicide-prevention organization, with financing from the Anschutz Family Foundation.”

Related Links:

— “A Light Approach to a Grim Issue: Suicide Prevention,”Andrew Newman, The New York Times, July 8, 2012.

MedWire (7/7, Cowen) reported, “A wide range of demographic, clinical, and environmental factors are associated with an increased risk for transition from major depressive disorder (MDD) to bipolar disorder (BD),” according to a study published June 20 in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. The three-year, 6,214-patient study revealed that “risk factors include lower levels of education, younger age, prior psychopathology, and a history of child abuse.” However, “Interestingly, clinical characteristics of depression were not associated with diagnostic conversion,” the study found.

Related Links:

— “Factors linked with MDD transition to BD identified, “Mark Cowen, MedWire, July 6, 2012.

American Medical News (7/9, Moyer) reports that the problem of eating disorders “is affecting older women nationwide, according to a study of 1,849 women 50 and older published online June 21 in the International Journal of Eating Disorders.” Specifically, “the study shows that 62% of respondents said their weight or shape negatively impacts their life, and 64% think about their weight at least once a day.” The study, “based on an anonymous online survey conducted between September 2010 and January 2011, found that 13.3% of women 50 and older exhibited eating disorder symptoms.”

Related Links:

— “Eating disorders an increasing problem in older women, “Christine S. Moyer, American Medical News, July 9, 2012.