NBC News (12/6, Edwards) reports, “The number of pregnant women and new mothers dying from drug overdoses grew dramatically as the pandemic took hold, reaching a record high in 2020,” according to a study. Investigators “looked at the death certificates of 7,642 people who died while pregnant or had just given birth from 2017 through 2020.” And “of those, 1,249 died of a drug overdose – usually from methamphetamine, cocaine or the synthetic opioid fentanyl,” according to the findings published in a research letter in JAMA.

MedPage Today (12/6, DePeau-Wilson) reports according to investigators, “from 2017 to 2020, overdose deaths in this population rose from 6.56 to 11.85 per 100,000 individuals, representing an 81% increase.” In “comparison, overdose deaths among non-pregnant females of reproductive age increased from 14.37 to 19.76 per 100,000, a relative increase of 38%.”

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— “Drug deaths among pregnant women hit a record high “Erika Edwards, NBC News, December 6, 2022

The Washington Post (12/6, Kim) reports, “The use of a weighted blanket may result in” the release of “more melatonin – a sleep-promoting hormone produced by the brain,” researchers concluded. For the study, “26 young men and women with no sleep problems or other medical conditions were asked to sleep in the laboratory with a weighted blanket one night and a light blanket another night.” Saliva samples revealed that “on average, the rise in melatonin was 32 percent greater on the night the participants slept with a weighted blanket.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Sleep Research.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

HealthPayerIntelligence (12/6, Bailey) reports new research indicates that “one or more outpatient behavioral health treatment (OPBHT) visits was associated with lower healthcare costs among patients with newly diagnosed behavioral health conditions.” Researchers “analyzed commercial insurance claims data from individuals newly diagnosed with one or more behavioral health conditions between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2018, to determine if those who received OPBHT incurred lower medical and pharmacy costs” and “found that having one or more OPBHT visits was associated with lower medical and pharmacy costs during 15- and 27-month follow-up periods.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Behavioral Health Treatment was Associated with Lower Healthcare Costs ” Victoria Bailey, HealthPayerIntelligence, December 6, 2022

ABC News (12/6, Crittenden) reports there has “been a substantial increase in firearm-related deaths in the United States over the past three decades and Black men are the most affected, according to new researchfrom a team of emergency room” physicians that was published in JAMA. Black men are “23 times more likely to experience firearm-related homicide than white men, the study showed.” Violence related to firearms among “Black men is at a 28-year high, the analysis found.”

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— “Firearm deaths among Black men at 28-year high, doctors are taking steps to reframe gun violence as one of America’s major health crisis “Faith Crittenden, ABC News, December 6, 2022

MedPage Today (12/5, Kneisel) reports, “Restoring hearing loss with hearing aids or cochlear implants was linked with less long-term cognitive decline and even some gain,” investigators concluded in the findings of a 31-study systematic review and meta-analysis published online in JAMA Neurology.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)