Reuters (6/24, Rapaport) reports on a study published in Pediatrics, finding that “teens who feel understood by their parents and teachers may grow up to be healthier adults.” The study included 14,800 participants who “completed health surveys at an average age of 15.” Researchers found that “at an average age of 28, participants with higher levels of school connectedness in adolescence had lower rates of emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, physical violence victimization and perpetration, multiple sex partners, sexually transmitted infections, and drug abuse.”

Related Links:

— “Teens with strong connections at home and school may become healthier adults, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, June 24, 2019

HealthDay (6/24, Preidt) reports, “U.S. veterans with PTSD are twice as likely as the general population to die from suicide, accidents and viral hepatitis,” researchers concluded after examining “the top causes of death among 491,000 veterans who began PTSD treatment at V.A. medical centers between 2008 and 2013.” The study also revealed that “veterans with PTSD also have a higher risk of death from diabetes and liver disease.” The findings were published online June 24 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Vets With PTSD Face Higher Odds for Early Death From Multiple Causes, ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, June 24, 2019

The Hill (6/21, Sullivan) reported, “The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent to the White House for review a proposal to lower certain drug prices in Medicare by linking them to the lower prices paid in other countries, an idea called the international pricing index.” President Trump “unveiled the original proposal in October,” and Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar voiced support for the proposal sent to the White House on Friday.

Related Links:

— “Key Trump proposal to lower drug prices takes step forward, “Peter Sullivan, The Hill, June 21, 2019

USA Today (6/21, Dastagir) reported, “The US suicide rate is up 33% since 1999, but for Native American women and men, the increase is even greater: 139% and 71%, respectively, according to an analysis out this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.” The article added, “Native Americans and Alaska Natives also experience PTSD more than twice as often as the general population, according to” the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). SAMHSA Regional Administrator Karen Hearod said, “You get this historical trauma, and people aren’t able to resolve it. It gets internalized and passed down to future generations.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide rate for Native American women is up 139%, “Alia E. Dastagir, USA Today, June 21, 2019

Bloomberg (6/20, Koons) reports, “U.S. suicide rates are at the highest level since World War II, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” and the problem is becoming “worse: The U.S. suicide rate increased on average by about 1% a year from 2000 through 2006 and by 2% a year from 2006 through 2016.”

CNN (6/20, Howard) reports the U.S. suicide rate “continues to climb, with a rate in 2017 that was 33% higher than in 1999,” research indicates. During that period, “suicide rates among people 15 to 64 increased significantly…rising from 10.5 per 100,000 people in 1999 to 14 per 100,000 in 2017, the most recent year with available data.” The findings were “published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics” on June 20.

Related Links:

— “Latest Suicide Data Show the Depth of U.S. Mental Health Crisis, “Cynthia Koons, Bloomberg, June 20, 2019