ABC News (6/29, Kekatos ) reported, “While anti-LGBTQ+ legislation can have a harmful effect on mental health, experts and LGBTQ+ rights advocates say legislation that strengthens protections for LGBTQ+ people can do just the opposite as well as bring a sense of acceptance and belonging.” Studies have “shown that LGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience mental health struggles than those who are heterosexual or cisgender. LGBTQ+ individuals are 2.5 times more likely to have depression and anxiety or to misuse substances compared with heterosexual individuals, according to the American Psychiatric Association.”

Related Links:

— “LGBTQ people say their mental health is positively impacted when states have protective laws,”Mary Kekatos, ABC News, June 29, 2024

Healio (6/27, Welsh) says, “Perinatal vs. non-perinatal suicide was more likely to be associated with depression, substance use, physical health issues and recent bereavement, highlighting the need for targeted interventions and policies, researchers reported” in JAMA Network Open. In the study, “researchers observed higher odds of the following contributing factors for perinatal vs. matched non-perinatal deaths: intimate partner problems (OR = 1.45); recent argument (OR = 1.33;); depressed mood (OR = 1.39); substance or other abuse (OR = 1.21); physical health problems (OR = 1.37); and death of a family member or friend (OR = 1.47).”

Related Links:

— “Mental, physical health, domestic violence, substance use tied to maternal suicide rate,”Erin T. Welsh, Healio, June 27, 2024

Psychiatric News (6/27) reports, “The U.S. Surgeon General issued a landmark advisory Tuesday spelling out the crisis of firearm violence and calling for a commitment from the nation – from firearm owners to clinicians to community leaders – to tackle the growing and urgent threat using a public health approach.” The advisory “calls for implementing community violence prevention programs and firearm risk reduction strategies; expanding research funding; and improving access to mental health care and support for those exposed to or at risk for firearm violence including trauma-informed care.” American Psychiatric Association CEO and Medical Director Marketa Wills, MD, MBA, said in response to the advisory, “The members of the American Psychiatric Association have become all too familiar with suicides and homicides involving gun violence and the additional impacts on people’s mental and physical health. … The Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence elevates this crisis in our national attention and emphasizes the damage gun violence has caused to families across the United States. It affirms that people with mental illness are especially vulnerable and includes prevention strategies that could help save lives.”

Related Links:

— “Surgeon General Lays Out Approach to Stem Growing Crisis of Gun Violence, Psychiatric News , June 27, 2024

Healio (6/26, Buzby) says, “The association between daily alcohol consumption and risk for hypertension is a linear relationship and the strength of the association varied between men and women, researchers reported” in Hypertension. In the study, “compared with a daily intake of 12 g per day, risk for hypertension increased with higher daily alcohol intake in a linear fashion: 0 g per day (RR = 0.89; 95% CI, 0.84-0.94); 24 g per day (RR = 1.11; 95% CI, 1.07-1.15); 36 g per day (RR = 1.22; 95% CI, 1.14-1.3); and 48 g per day (RR = 1.33; 95% CI, 1.18-1.49).” (1 ounce = 28 g)

Related Links:

— “Analysis suggests causal link between daily alcohol consumption and high blood pressure,”Scott Buzby, Healio, June 26, 2024

The AP (6/26, Bose ) says, “Racial and ethnic inequities in health care are found in every state in the U.S. despite the passage of legislation intended to improve health outcomes for minorities and increased awareness of health care disparities over the past two decades, according to a new national report released Wednesday.” The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report “detailed how structural racism and people’s surroundings have contributed to worse health outcomes for minorities,” and offered “recommendationsand solutions to health care organizations and the federal government, like a more diverse workforce and adjusting payment systems to make health care more affordable.”

The Hill (6/26, Daniels) says, “The report found that racial and ethnic minorities are significantly less likely to have primary care,” and “during emergency room visits, minorities experience longer wait times and are assigned less acute triage severity scores.” Meanwhile, “long-term care facilities serving minority residents offer fewer clinical services and have lower staffing levels.” In order to address the issue, “one action is to report data on the inequities. The report calls on the Office of Management and Budget to aggressively enforce requirements for routine collection of race, ethnicity, tribal affiliation and language data by all federal health care agencies and research programs.” Additionally, the report “urges the National Institutes of Health and other research funders to expand funding for research aimed at addressing health care inequities, structural racism and health-related social needs.”

Related Links:

— “Health care needs to diversify its workforce to get rid of racial inequalities, a new report says,”Devna Bose, AP, June 26, 2024