TIME (10/24, Oaklander) reports, “Suicide is one of the most urgent health problems facing America today,” now representing “the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., claiming 47,000 lives per year.” Not only are US “suicide rates…the highest they’ve been since World War II,” they are also “rising in nearly every state and across age groups and ethnicities.” While it remains unclear as to “what’s driving the rise…experts speculate that many factors may be contributing, including high rates of drug abuse, stress and social isolation.” But, “for all the disparate reasons people die by suicide…research suggests that 83% visit some kind of doctor in the year before their death.” For that reason, “health care facilities are logical places to prevent suicide.” The article details various efforts on the part of “hospitals and behavioral-health centers” to “include research-backed interventions that have been studied for years but haven’t, until now, been widely used.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide Is Preventable. Hospitals and Doctors Are Finally Catching Up, “MANDY OAKLANDER, TIMES, October 24, 2019

The CBS News (10/23, De Pinto, Backus) website reports CBS News has conducted a poll of 1,292 US adults, the findings of which revealed that “two in three Americans think mental illness is a very serious public health problem, and few say there are adequate services and support in the U.S. for people living with it.” The poll also found that “a majority say they personally know someone who has been diagnosed with a mental health disorder.”

Related Links:

— “Most Americans think there is stigma associated with mental illness — CBS News Poll, “Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus, CBS News, October 23, 2019

HealthDay (10/23, Thompson) reports, “Tasty flavors entice young people to try e-cigarettes, getting them hooked on what can become a lifetime habit,” researchers concluded after assessing “data collected in 2013-2014 to see whether people are more likely to first try a flavored e-cigarette or other tobacco product,” then examining “data gathered a year later to see if those who first tried a flavored product were still using tobacco.” The study revealed the “seven out of 10 kids who were new users of tobacco first tried a flavored product, as well as more than half of young adults.” The findings were published online in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Flavors Draw Young People to Lifetime Habit of Vaping, Study Shows, “Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, October 23, 2019

On its “Morning Edition” program and in its “Shots” blog, NPR (10/23, Daley) reports, “Though there are websites, hotlines, therapists and coaches to help teens manage nicotine cravings, there’s been little research to show what” really works. Now, “some programs have turned to texting to help kids find resources specific to vaping cessation.” For example, this past July, “National Jewish Health in Denver launched a” vaping “cessation program tailored to teens’ needs” called “My Life, My Quit.” That program, which “has a traditional phone helpline…also offers coaching by text and chat.” Meanwhile, “the Truth Initiative, a nonprofit public health group aimed at helping young smokers quit tobacco use, has also expanded its resources to include a program focused on e-cigarettes,” using “a free text messaging program ‘tailored by age group’ to give teens and young adults appropriate recommendations about quitting.”

Related Links:

— “Teen Vapers Who Want To Quit Look For Help Via Text, “John Daley, NPR, October 23, 2019

Healio (10/22, Gramigna) reports, “Patients with autism spectrum disorder [ASD] and co-occurring ADHD can safely and effectively take medication for” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), research indicated. Investigators arrived at this conclusion after selecting “60 adults with” AD/HD “and comorbid ASD from an outpatient clinic and compared treatment outcomes of similar regimens with 226 adults from the same clinic with only” AD/HD. The findings were published online Oct. 18 in the Journal of Attention Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Patients with comorbid autism and ADHD can safely take ADHD medication, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 22, 2019