Reuters (2/6, Rapaport) reports a study published in The BMJ suggests that “the top 1% of opioid prescribers in the U.S. are responsible for 49% of all opioid doses and 27% of all prescriptions.” Researchers “examined data on 8.9 million opioid prescriptions for 3.9 million patients from 2003 to 2017, based on records from an average of 669,495 providers each year,” and found that “by 2017, the top 1% of providers prescribed a yearly average of 748,000 ‘morphine-milligram equivalents’ (MMEs), a standardized way of describing doses of different types of opioids,” which “was roughly 1,000 times more than the providers in the middle percentiles.”

Related Links:

— “Just a few hundred prescribers responsible for half of U.S. opioid doses, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, February 6, 2020

HealthDay (2/6, Reinberg) reports that a new study has found that “survivors of the 2001 terrorist attack on New York City’s World Trade Center who developed PTSD have a lasting risk of premature death.” The study involved “nearly 64,000 emergency responders and civilians” and “found that the longer the post-traumatic stress disorder lingered, the more likely they were to die early from any cause.” The study results “were published online Feb. 5 in JAMA Network Open.”

Related Links:

— “9/11 Study Shows PTSD Tied to Earlier Death, “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, February 6, 2020

Reuters (2/6, Carroll) reports, “Children who participate in obesity treatment programs get a benefit over and above weight loss: they may also start seeing themselves more positively, a new study suggests. Based on an analysis of data from 64 previous studies, researchers concluded that obesity treatment programs appeared to boost kids’ self-esteem and improve body image – and not just because the kids lost weight.” The study was published online in Pediatric Obesity.

Related Links:

— “Obesity treatment programs may boost kids’ self-esteem, body image, “Linda Carroll, Reuters, February 6, 2020

HealthDay (2/6, Preidt) reports, “Nurses are at elevated risk for suicide, but the issue gets little attention, researchers report,” as “their study of 2005-2016 U.S. government data found the suicide rate among female nurses was significantly higher (10 per 100,000) than that of the general female population (7 per 100,000). The rate among male nurses (33 per 100,000) was also higher than in the general male population (27 per 100,000).” The study was published online February 3 in the journal WORLDviews on Evidence Based-Nursing.

Related Links:

— “Nurses May Need Suicide-Prevention Screening, ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, February 6, 2020

A Cleveland Clinic physician writes in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal (2/6, Subscription Publication), that 90-day prescriptions are creating an unnecessary risk for suicidal patients, however, Barnett notes that the American Psychiatric Association has asked insurers to give physicians flexibility.

Related Links:

— “The 90-Day Prescription Isn’t for Everyone, “Brian Barnett, The Wall Street Journal, February 6, 2020