Reuters (12/31, Erman, O’Donnell) reported pharmaceutical companies raised US prices for 2021 amid the “effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced doctor visits and demand for some drugs.” The companies planned “to raise U.S. prices on more than 300 drugs in the United States on Jan. 1, according to drugmakers and data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors.”

The Wall Street Journal (1/1, Hopkins, Subscription Publication) reported that according to an Rx Savings Solutions analysis, companies raised their prices by an average of 3.3%.

Related Links:

— “Exclusive: Drugmakers to hike prices for 2021 as pandemic, political pressure put revenues at risk “Michael Erman, Carl O’Donnell, Reuters, December 31, 2020

HealthDay (12/30, Thompson) reports, “Almost half of teenagers who regularly use” marijuana “admit they’ve gotten behind the wheel while stoned,” researchers concluded after analyzing “responses from more than 6,800 students 14 or older who participated in the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey.” The study revealed that “nearly 13% of teen drivers said they’d operated a vehicle while stoned within the past month, compared with 5% who said they drove drunk.” The findings were published online in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “With Pot Rules Relaxed, More U.S. Teens Driving While High: Study “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, December 30, 2020

The New York Times (12/30, Frakt) reports in “The Upshot” that “white Americans have higher rates” of suicide “than most other racial and ethnic groups.” In fact, “suicide in America has been rising for two decades, with rates for white Americans consistently well above those for Asian-Americans, Black Americans and Hispanics.” A possible “explanation may be a racial disparity in suicide data.” For example, research indicates that “deaths of Black Americans are far more likely to be coded as undetermined than those of white Americans, in part because Black Americans dying by suicide are less likely than whites to leave a note and to have a record of mental disorders.” The article includes links to a number of studies exploring racial disparities in suicide rates.

Related Links:

— “What Can Be Learned From Differing Rates of Suicide Among Groups “Austin Frakt, The New York Times, December 30, 2020

The Washington Post (12/29, Berger) reports, “Eating disorders are on the rise among children and adolescents in Britain amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health warned Tuesday, citing a survey of pediatricians – the latest indication that the pandemic has taken a searing toll on mental health worldwide, across age groups.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (12/29, Murez) reports, “When U.S. military personnel get gun locks and counseling on safe storage of their weapons, they store those guns safely, and that could be key to lowering the military suicide rate,” investigators concluded in a study that “included 232 firearm-owning members of the Mississippi National Guard.” The study team “divided them into groups, some of whom received only lethal means counseling or health and stress counseling, and some of whom received counseling plus cable gun locks.” The findings were published online Dec. 22 in the American Journal of Public Health.

Related Links:

— “Counseling on Gun Safety Could Cut Suicide Rate in Military: Study “Cara Murez, HealthDay, December 29, 2020