Healio (4/14, Schaffer) reported, “Adults who survived an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and developed depression or anxiety within one year were 1.4 times more likely to die during follow-up compared with those without a mental health diagnosis, researchers reported” in findings published online April 12 in JAMA Network Open.

According to Psychiatric News (4/14), investigators examined “data from the claims records of 2,373 adults…who were hospitalized after cardiac arrest between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2015, and who survived for at least one year.”

Related Links:

— “Mortality risk grows with depression, anxiety after surviving cardiac arrest “Regina Schaffer, Healio , April , 2023

The AP (4/13, Miller) reports President Biden “announced Thursday that hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children will now be able to apply for Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges.” His decision “will allow participants in the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, to access government-funded health insurance programs.”

The Washington Post (4/13, Goldstein) reports the move, “which the White House says would benefit up to 580,000 people brought to the United States as children, would broaden the definition of who qualifies for those two insurance programs and one other.”

The New York Times (4/13, Kanno-Youngs) a “White House statement said it expected ‘to get this done by the end of the month.’”

Related Links:

— “Biden says he’s expanding some migrants’ health care access “Zeke Miller, Amanda Seitz and Michael Balsamo , AP, April 13, 2023

Healio (4/13, VanDewater) reports, “Suicidality was associated with weakened positive affect reactivity during conversation, which may explain the link between suicidality and social disconnection,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 228-participant study presented at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America Annual Conference.

Related Links:

— “Emotions after socialization may explain link between suicidality, social disconnect “Kalie VanDewater, Healio, April 13, 2023

According to CNN (4/13, McPhillips), in 2021, “the suicide rate in the United States returned to a near-record high…reversing two years of decline.” In fact, “final data” for that year show that “suicide was the 11th leading cause of death nationwide, with more than 14 deaths for every 100,000 people.” While “the death rate has increased 32% over the past two decades…the 4% jump between 2020 and 2021 was the sharpest annual increase in that timeframe.” The findings were published online April 13 in the CDC’s NCHS Data Brief No. 464.

Related Links:

— “Suicide rises to 11th leading cause of death in the US in 2021, reversing two years of decline “Deidre McPhillips, CNN, April 13, 2023

USA Today (4/12, Alltucker) reports, “The Biden administration’s drug czar on Wednesday announced that illicit fentanyl spiked with the animal tranquilizer xylazine is an ‘emerging threat,’ a designation that will allow the federal government to marshal resources to counteract the street drug combination found in most states.” This marks “the first time the United States has declared a drug such a threat, a category enabled by a 2018 federal bill, said” Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Rahul Gupta, MD, MPH, FACP, MBA. Gupta “said his office is seeking $11 million to help create a strategy to stop its spread, develop an antidote and research how it has gotten into the drug supply, according to the Associated Press.”

The Hill (4/12, Weixel) reports the drug “Xylazine, also known as ‘tranq,’ is an easily accessible veterinary drug approved for use in animals as a sedative and pain reliever.” However, “it is also being used by drug dealers as a low-cost cutting agent in drugs like fentanyl as a way to extend a user’s high.”

Related Links:

— “Animal ‘tranq’ xylazine is becoming a deadly threat. Here’s how the US is trying to stop it. “Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, April 12, 2023