CNN (10/20, Musa) reported, “After years of increases, the rate of firearm-related homicides in the United States decreased in 2022, according to data published…by the” CDC. CNN added, “This is the first time the national firearm homicide rate has fallen since a sharp increase was recorded from 2019 to 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the CDC.” The “provisional CDC data from 2022 saw 5.9 deaths per 100,000 people, about a 6% decrease from 2021.”

Related Links:

— “US firearm homicide rate ticks down from pandemic peak, but remains elevated,”Amanda Musa, CNN , October 20, 2023

NBC News (10/22, Bendix) reports, “A Mediterranean diet that’s rich in vegetables, fruits and fish may help reduce or stave off symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, according to research.” These “findings are based on patient data from two studies — one in 2008 and another in 2013 — which collectively involved tens of thousands of female participants.” The findings were published in Nature Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “Mediterranean diet may reduce or prevent PTSD symptoms, new research shows,”Aria Bendix, NBC News, October 22, 2023

HealthDay (10/19, Gotkine) reports, “Female offspring of parents with mood disorders have increased z body mass index (BMI) compared with controls of unaffected parents starting at about 12 years of age, according to a study published online Oct. 19 in JAMA Network Open.” In the study, “researchers found that youth at familial risk for mood disorders showed no overall difference in body weight from controls,” but “there was a sex-specific difference observed, with a rapid peripubertal increase in body weight in females at familial risk versus controls, leading to significantly increased zBMI at 12 years and older (β = 0.57), independent of socioeconomic status, prematurity, or birth weight.”

Related Links:

— “Female Teens With Family History of Mood Disorder Prone to Weight Gain,”Elana Gotkine, HealthDay, October 19, 2023

HealthIT Security (10/19, McKeon) reports, “The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) unveiled two resource documents to help [clinicians] communicate telehealth privacy and security risks to patients.” The documents “each aim to convey risks to patients in plain language and help them reduce risk using fundamental cyber hygiene practices.” They “stress the importance of supporting the continued use of telehealth while still communicating risks effectively. The HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules do not require” clinicians “to inform or educate patients about these risks, but the documents give [clinicians] the ability to do so if they wish.”

Related Links:

— “OCR Publishes Resources On Telehealth Privacy, Security Risks,” Jill McKeon, HealthIT Security, October 19, 2023

mHealth Intelligence (10/19, Vaidya) reports, “Using telehealth to begin opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment is linked to high retention in treatment among Medicaid beneficiaries, according to a…study.” In the study, published in JAMA Network Open, “initiating buprenorphine treatment through telehealth was associated with better odds of 90-day retention in treatment in both” Kentucky and Ohio “compared with not starting treatment through telehealth. Among the individuals who initiated buprenorphine via telehealth in the second or third quarter of 2020, the proportion that continued treatment for at least 90 days was 45 percent in Kentucky and 28.5 percent in Ohio.”

Related Links:

— “Telehealth Supports OUD Treatment Retention Among Medicaid Enrollees,”Anuja Vaidya, mHealth Intelligence , October 19, 2023