The AP (12/17, Tanner) reports, “Accidental overdoses cause 90% of all U.S. opioid-related deaths while suicides account for far fewer of these fatalities than previously thought,” research indicated. After analyzing data from “death certificates for people aged 15 and older,” researchers “found that suicides accounted for 4% of all opioid-related deaths.” The findings were published online in JAMA.

According to HealthDay (12/17, Preidt), the four percent figure is “far below recent estimates of 20% to 30%, said the” study authors. The findings were published online Dec. 17 in a research letter in JAMA.

Related Links:

— “Most US opioid overdose deaths accidental, 4% are suicide, “Lindsey Tanner, AP, December 17, 2019

HealthDay (12/16, Preidt) reports that about 75 percent “of U.S. teens who use e-cigarettes are vaping addictive or mind-altering substances – more than once suspected,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from more than 14,500 teens who were part of a 2017 nationwide survey.” The findings were published online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Youth Vapers Often Use Nicotine or Pot, Not Just Flavoring, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, December 16, 2019

HealthDay (12/16, Preidt) reports, “U.S. teens and young adults are as likely as older people to overdose on prescription opioid” analgesics and “have the same risk factors, researchers” concluded after analyzing “data on 2.8 million privately insured patients from 12 to 21 years of age who received opioid prescriptions between 2009 and 2017.” The findings were published online in JAMA Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Teen Opioid Users Face Same OD Risks as Adults, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, December 16, 2019

Medscape (12/16, Lowry, Subscription Publication) reports, “The powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl is ubiquitous and laced into so many substances of abuse that many patients may not even realize they have been exposed to this key driver of opioid overdose deaths in the US,” research indicated. The “study of more than 700 visits to a psychiatric ED which services US veterans revealed 14% tested positive for fentanyl,” but in these visits, “21% of patients reported no opioid exposure.” These findings “suggest fentanyl screening should become routine in all psychiatric emergency departments (EDs).” The study was recently presented at the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) 30th Annual Meeting.

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

WGBH-FM Boston (12/15, McKim) reports on “the responsibilities and challenges of public schools to respond to the increasing mental health needs of students,” particularly since “suicide is the second-leading cause of death for teenagers.” Currently, “most health specialists agree that school personnel, in contact with students for a large part of the day, can be a key resource in providing help” to seriously troubled adolescents. But, while “the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention recommends that states require that all public school personnel receive at least two hours of suicide awareness and prevention training each year,” the “foundation says only 13 states require such annual training.”

Related Links:

— “Massachusetts Case Probes The Role Schools Play In Teen Suicide Prevention, “Jenifer Mckim, NPR, December 15, 2019