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

Healio (10/16, Gramigna) reports researchers found in a 12-year study that bulimia nervosa is tied to an increased “risk for any cardiovascular disease, as well as death, among women.” The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Bulimia nervosa associated with increased risk for cardiovascular diseases among women, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, October 16, 2019

Healio (10/15, Webb) reports research indicates that “both short- and long-term use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [SSRIs] was associated with increased risk for hip fracture among patients on hemodialysis.” Included in the study were “4,912 patients on hemodialysis who experienced hip fracture” who were each matched “to 10 controls with the same risk set.” The findings were published online Oct. 9 in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

Related Links:

— “Certain antidepressants linked to increased hip fracture risk for patients on hemodialysis, “Melissa J. Webb, Healio, October 15, 2019

The Chicago Tribune (10/14, Buckley) reported that self-reported suicide attempts “by black teens have spiked since 1991, even as their peers in other groups have experienced a downward trend or remained unchanged,” researchers concluded after examining “more than 20 years of data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention based on surveys from nearly 200,000 students in all 50 states from 1991 to 2017.” The findings were published in Pediatrics.

Also covering the study are CNN (10/14, Christensen), the ABC News (10/14, Schumaker) website, the CBS News (10/14, Runcie) website, U.S. News & World Report (10/14, Norton), and HealthDay (10/14, Norton).

Related Links:

— “Reported suicide attempts among black teens have spiked since 1991, study shows, raising concerns about availability of mental health care, “Madeline Buckley, The Chicago Tribune, October 14, 2019