ABC News (10/17, Bhutani) reports on its website that a study published in Stroke indicates that PTSD may be contributing to the increased incidence of stroke among “young and middle-aged adults.” Researchers “found that young veterans with PTSD had a 36% increased risk for stroke,” and “they also had a 61% increased risk for transient ischemic attack (TIA), a brief, self-resolving stroke-like event that can represent a warning for future stroke.”

Related Links:

— “Strokes are becoming more common in younger adults and PTSD may be a cause, “Dr. Saumya Bhutani, ABC News, October 17, 2019

The Washington Post (10/17, Siegel) reports a Society of Actuaries study “identified which parts of the economy have suffered the most from” the opioid crisis. The study found the epidemic “cost the U.S. economy at least $631 billion – and that more than two-thirds of that toll fell on individuals and the private sector.” About a third of the economic burden – $205 billion – came from “excess health care spending for people with opioid-related disorders,” and 40 percent – $253 billion – of estimated losses were from premature mortality “mainly due to lost lifetime earnings for people who died from overdoses.”

Related Links:

— “Opioid crisis cost U.S. economy at least $631 billion, study finds, “Rachel Siegel, The Washington Pos, October 17, 2019

The New York Times (10/17, Bakalar) reports, “Extroversion, an energetic disposition, calmness, and maturity” in high school “were associated with a lower risk of dementia 50 years later,” researchers concluded after administering “a 150-item personality inventory given to a national sample of teenagers in 1960.” That “survey assessed character traits – sociability, calmness, empathy, maturity, conscientiousness, self-confidence and others – using scores ranging from low to high.” Investigators then “linked the scores of 82,232 of the test-takers to Medicare data on diagnoses of dementia from 2011 to 2013.” The findings were published online Oct. 16 in JAMA Psychiatry. Also covering the story are HealthDay (10/17, Mozes) and Healio (10/17, Gramigna).

Related Links:

— “Can Personality Affect Dementia Risk?, “Nicholas Bakalar, The New York Times, October 17, 2019

NBC News (10/16) reports on its website that the death of transgender comedian Daphne Dorman by suicide “has underscored the disproportionately high suicidality rate among transgender people.” The article says that “the suicide rates for transgender and gender-nonconforming people are much higher than the national averages.” The article adds that “according to the National Center for Transgender Equality’s 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, 40 percent of adult respondents reported having attempted suicide in their lifetime – almost nine times the attempted suicide rate in the general U.S. population,” and “a 2018 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that the risks are equally as fraught for trans youth.”

Related Links:

— “Comedian’s death underscores high suicide rate among transgender people, “Gwen Aviles, NBC News, October 16, 2019

MedPage Today (10/16, Firth) reports two studies published in Health Affairs found that “exposure to violence was tied to higher rates of loneliness and hypervigilance among residents of violent Chicago neighborhoods.” The researchers conducted “in-person interviews with just over 500 adults from Chicago’s South and West side neighborhoods,” and found that “both direct and indirect exposure to violence was associated with higher levels of these traits, which are known to have negative impacts on both physical and psychosocial well-being.” The two studies can be found here and here.

Related Links:

— “Urban Violence Exacts Psychiatric Toll on Residents, “Shannon Firth, MedPage Today, October 16, 2019