Reuters (1/27, Borter) reported some “psychiatrists say internet addiction, characterized by a loss of control over internet use and disregard for the consequences of it, affects up to eight percent of Americans and is becoming more common around the world.” But, “neither the World Health Organization (WHO) nor the American Psychiatric Association recognize internet addiction as a disorder.” In 2018, “however, the WHO recognized the more specific Gaming Disorder following years of research in China, South Korea, and Taiwan, where” experts “have called it a public health crisis.”

Related Links:

— “The digital drug: Internet addiction spawns U.S. treatment programs, “Gabriella Borter, Reuters, January 27, 2019

Reuters (1/24, Rapaport) reports that research suggests “a diagnosis with certain types of cancer can still be upsetting enough to increase a patient’s risk of suicide.” Investigators looked at “data on more than 4.6 million cancer patients, including 1,585 people who died by suicide within one year of their diagnosis.” The data indicated “this was a suicide rate about 2.5 times higher than what would be expected in the general population.” The findings were published online in the journal Cancer.

Related Links:

— “Suicide risk rises in year following cancer diagnosis, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, January 24, 2019

HealthDay (1/24, Reinberg) reports, “Young people jailed in adult prisons, often while awaiting trial or sentencing, are at high risk for suicide, and the prison system is doing little to stop it,” researchers concluded. The researchers “reviewed 2003-2012 data from the National Violent Death Reporting System on more than 200 suicides among jailed teens and adults in their 20s, as well as more than 9,900 suicides among youths not in jail.” The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry published the findingsonline Jan. 23.

Related Links:

— “Teens’ Odds for Suicide May Triple While in Jail: Study, “Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, January 24, 2019

Healio (1/23, Demko) reports, “Robust evidence supports a protective relationship between objectively assessed physical activity and major depression risk,” researchers concluded in a “two-sample mendelian randomization study” involving data on some 611,583 adults. The findings were published online Jan. 23 in JAMA Psychiatry. The author of an accompanying editorial observed, “The data have told us – over and over – that exercise is a viable plan to minimize the burden of mental illness. The question is how we execute against this plan,” he added.

Related Links:

— “Physical activity protects against depression, “Savannah Demko, Helio, January 23, 2019

The New York Times (1/23, Sanger-Katz) reports that the number of uninsured Americans “plunged” after the ACA took effect, but that figure “inched up throughout last year,” according to a new Gallup poll. Data indicate “the uninsured rate for adults increased by 1.3 percentage points,” which means there was “an increase of more than three million people without insurance between the first quarter of 2018 and the end of the year.” According to Gallup, “this was a four-year high, although a major methodology change a year ago may make such longer-term comparisons less precise.” The article says this “trend matches other data suggesting that health coverage has been eroding under the policies of the Trump administration.”

The Wall Street Journal (1/23, Armour, Subscription Publication) reports that data show the number of uninsured adults rose to 13.7 percent during the fourth quarter of last year, from 12.4 percent in 2017, and 10.9 percent in 2016. That means there were some seven million more uninsured Americans during the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2016. The Journal says this trend provides more fodder for Democrats who contend the Trump Administration is sabotaging the ACA, and Republicans who argue that high ACA premiums are responsible for the increased loss of coverage.

Related Links:

— “After Falling Under Obama, America’s Uninsured Rate Looks to Be Rising, ” Margot Sanger-Katz, The New York Times, January 23, 2019