According to the New York Times (11/2, Dance, Twohey), legislators “are seeking to make online assistance of suicide a federal crime, pushing to hold accountable both individual users and the tech companies and websites that allow such content on their platforms.” A bipartisan measure “introduced in the House of Representatives on Monday, the Stop Online Suicide Assistance Forums Act, comes amid rising concern over suicide rates among young people, and mounting evidence of online dangers.” This proposed legislation “would allow prosecution under an existing exception to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the law that governs online activity and typically shields website operators from liability for content posted by users.”

Related Links:

— “Bill Outlawing Online Suicide Assistance Would Open Sites to Liability ” Gabriel J.X. Dance and Megan Twohey, The New York Times, November 2, 2022

Psychiatric News (11/1) reports, “Women who begin taking oral or transdermal estrogen or estrogen/progestin for menopause between the ages of 45 and 50 appear to be at greater risk of developing depression,” investigators concluded in a study that “included 825,238 women in Denmark who turned 45 years between 1995 and the end of 2017.” The findings were published online Nov. 1 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Oral, Transdermal Hormone Therapy for Menopause Before Age 50 May Increase Risk of Depression, Psychiatric News , November 1, 2022

The New York Times (11/1, Alcorn) reports, “An estimated one in eight deaths of Americans ages 20 to 64 in the years 2015-19 was the result of injuries or illness caused by excessive alcohol use, according to a” study that “assessed the effects of alcohol on people of working age, who accounted for nearly two-thirds of the country’s annual average of 140,000 alcohol-related deaths.” The study showed that “among those ages 20 to 49, one in five deaths was attributable to drinking, and for those ages 20 to 34, it was one in four.” The findings were published online in JAMA Network Open.

MedPage Today (11/1, Hamza) reports alcohol-attributed deaths “were more common among men than women (15% vs 9.4%), the authors wrote.”

CNN (11/1, Holcombe) also reports.

Related Links:

— “Alcohol Deaths Claim Lives of Working-Age Americans “Ted Alcorn, The New York Times, November 1, 2022

mHealth Intelligence (10/31, Melchionna) reports “that although in-person care is the preferred channel of care, telehealth use remains highly used among young adults and those engaging in primary care and mental health services,” according to a survey by Stericycle Communication Solutions in collaboration with Ipsos. In comparison, the “survey of 1,004 adults” found that “patients do not prefer virtual visits for specialties such as dermatology, pediatrics, ENT, cardiology, urology, gynecology, orthopedics, and pulmonology.”

Related Links:

— “Patients Prefer Telehealth for Primary Care, Mental Health Needs ” Mark Melchionna, mHealth Intelligence, October 31, 2022

Psychiatric News (10/31) reports, “Naltrexone may significantly reduce binge drinking among sexual and gender minority men (men who have sex with men) with mild or moderate alcohol use disorder,” investigators concluded in a 12-week study that “involved 120 sexual and gender minority men (one transgender male and 119 cisgender males) who reported at least one binge-drinking episode (five or more drinks on a single occasion) per week in the past three months, but who did not meet DSM-IV criteria for alcohol dependence.” The findings were published online Oct. 26 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Related Links:

— “Naltrexone May Reduce Binge Drinking in Sexual and Gender Minority Men, Psychiatric News, October 31, 2022