Healio (7/26, Monostra) reports, “Nearly 30% of adults with obesity gained 5% or more body weight during the COVID-19 pandemic, and those who gained weight were more likely to have depression and engage in unhealthy eating,” investigators concluded in a study that “recruited 404 adults aged 18 years and older with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or higher (82.6% women; mean age, 52.5 years) to complete a 15-minute online survey on the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on health and lifestyle behaviors from March to November 2021.” The findings were published online June 30 in the journal Obesity. HealthDay (7/27) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Depression, unhealthy eating linked to weight gain during COVID-19 in adults with obesity “Michael Monostra, Healio, July 26, 2022

Healio (7/27, Downey) reports, “Increased levels of discrimination were associated with higher odds of depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, especially among Hispanic or Latino individuals,” investigators concluded in a 62,651-participant study, the findings of which were published online July 27 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Discrimination associated with higher odds of experiencing depression, suicidal ideation “Ken Downey Jr., Healio, July 27, 2022

HCPlive (7/27, Walter) reports, “Young patients with autism are similarly at risk of self-harm as patients with depression or” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), investigators concluded in a 410,372-participant study, “9,070 of which had a diagnosis of autism.” The findings were published online July 22 in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.

Related Links:

— “Self-Harm Common for Young Patients With Autism “Kenny Walter, HCPlive, July 27, 2022

The Hill (7/26, Barnes) reports, “Patients who reported smoking or vaping prior to COVID-19 hospitalization were more likely to experience severe complications, including death, than nonsmokers, according to a… study” published in PLOS One. Moreover, “smoking was linked to greater risk factor for death in people between 18 to 59 years of age and those who were white or” had obesity.

Related Links:

— “Smoking linked to severe COVID-19 complications, study finds “Adam Barnes, The Hill, July 26, 2022

HealthDay (7/26, Mozes) reports an analysis published in the American Journal of Medicine Open “finds that American youth became 30% more likely to die as a result of gun violence over the past decade.” This “jump in risk appears to have been largely driven by big spikes in gun-related suicides, as well as increases in all manner of gun-related deaths among both girls and non-Hispanic white kids, investigators found.” The analysis focused on CDC data “among boys and girls aged 19 and younger” between 2010 to 2019.

Related Links:

— “Gun Deaths Rose 30% Among U.S. Kids in a Decade “Alan Mozes, HealthDay, July 26, 2022