HCPlive (4/17, Walter) reports, “By expanding the eligibility of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), states have reduced the rates of food insecurity, which ultimately may further decrease the rates of mental illness and suicidality among adults,” according to an “ecological cross-sectional study” that “used data on adults in the US from the National Vital Statistics Systems between 2014-2017 and data on adults in the US from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health…State-Level Small Area Estimates between 2015-2019.” The study, published online April 14 in JAMA Network Open, revealed that “state adoption of…SNAP eligibility policies” in which “the state eliminates the asset test and increases the income limit resulted in decreases in the rates of past-year major depressive episodes, mental illness, serious mental illness, and suicidal ideation.”

Related Links:

— “SNAP Program Leads to Less Food Insecurity, Mental Illness Rates “Kenny Walter, HCPlive , April 17, 2023

HealthDay (4/17, Murez) reports, “Consistently good sleep is…particularly important for patients with schizophrenia,” researchers concluded in a study that “used wrist monitors to measure activity and rest in 250 people, including 150 patients with schizophrenia, in both outpatient settings and in psychiatric hospitals.” The study revealed that patients with schizophrenia “had erratic sleep patterns, dysregulated transitions between sleep and wake cycles, and excessively rigid daily routines that were predictive of worse symptoms.” Researchers also found that “both inpatient and outpatient” patients with schizophrenia “tended to have fewer active hours during the day and spent more time sleeping or passively resting than the study’s healthy controls.” The findings were published online April 14 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Regular Sleep May Be Crucial for People Living With Schizophrenia “Cara Murez, HealthDay, April 17, 2023

CNN (4/17, McPhillips) reports, “As more communities reel from deadly mass shootings…there’s evidence that the trauma of gun violence in the United States is taking a collective toll on” mental health in the US. In fact, “research published” online Feb. 8 in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance “suggests that the negative effects that mass shootings can have on mental health may extend beyond the survivors and community directly affected to a much broader population.” To date this year, there have been “at least 162” mass shootings in the US.

Related Links:

— “As gun violence reaches record levels in the US, an underlying trauma may be building up ” Deidre McPhillips, CNN, April 17, 2023

The Washington Post (4/14, McMahan) reported on growing concern among physicians about body dysmorphia in boys and men being “fueled by the rise of social media and a lucrative, unregulated supplements industry.” Exercise or food choices for adolescents and young men may “lead to preoccupations or obsessions with appearance, body size, weight or exercise in a way that worsens their quality of life.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

According to HealthDay (4/14, Mann), research suggests that “folks who are experiencing hearing loss and don’t use a hearing aid may have a higher risk of developing dementia than people who use hearing aids and those without hearing loss.” Included in the study were “slightly more than 437,700 people in the UK Biobank” who “were asked about hearing loss and whether they used a hearing aid.” The findings were published online in The Lancet Public Health.

Related Links:

— “Hearing Aids Might Help Lower Risk for Dementia “Denise Mann, HealthDay, April 14, 2023