The New York Times (5/7, Lucchesi) reports that “mental health experts now recognize that PTSD can indeed affect nurses, both military and civilian.” Specifically, “as many as 28 percent of nurses experience PTSD at some point in their careers, said Meredith Mealer, an associate professor at the Anschutz Medical Campus at the University of Colorado, Denver, though health care providers still often struggle to treat it.” One “recent study in the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation found as many as 48 percent of nurses working in a critical care transplant unit met the criteria for PTSD symptoms included upsetting dreams about a traumatic event, difficulty falling asleep, irritability or outbursts of anger, and upsetting memories about the event that arose against the person’s will.”

Related Links:

— “For Nurses, Trauma Can Come With the Job, “Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, The New York Times, May 7, 2019

Healio (5/6, Demko) reports that “history of engaging in injurious violence in the six months before baseline assessment and recent violent victimization were the most powerful predictors of later injurious violent behavior in individuals with schizophrenia,” researchers concluded after examining “18-month data from 1,435 individuals with schizophrenia who participated in the NIMH’s Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) study.” The findings were published online April 24 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “History of violence, victimization predicts later violence in schizophrenia, “Savannah Demko, Healio, May 6, 2019

In “Health & Science,” the Washington Post (5/3, Opar) reported in a nearly 2,000-word article on “a deep divide in the autism community: On one side are parents of” children with autism “with severe traits – including intellectual disability, limited language ability and self-harm – who say autism is a medical condition that needs often-intense treatment.” The “other side” is made up of “supporters of ‘neurodiversity,’ who maintain that the condition represents a neurological difference and a disability – one that society should accept and accommodate rather than try to prevent or cure.”

Related Links:

— “A medical condition or just a difference? The question roils autism community, “Alisa Opar, The Washington Post, May 3, 2019

Reuters (5/3, Carroll) reported that “a tiny percentage of people at high risk for opioid overdose are getting prescriptions for naloxone, a medication that could potentially save their lives, a new study” published in JAMA Network Open suggests. Specifically, “researchers determined that a mere 1.5 percent of high-risk patients were prescribed naloxone, which can reverse an overdose, according to the study.” People “were more likely to receive a naloxone prescription if they had a prior diagnosis of opioid misuse or dependence along with an overdose compared to individuals who had those diagnoses without an overdose, the researchers reported.”

U.S. News & World Report (5/3, Newman) reported that “among those who had overdosed before but did not have a misuse or dependence diagnosis, only 0.8% received naloxone.” Further, “people from the Midwest or West also had a lower likelihood of being prescribed naloxone compared with those in the Northeast and the South, according to the report.” US News & World Report added that “the time frame analyzed in the study…predates a December decision by a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel in favor of recommending that naloxone be dispensed along with prescription opioids,” and “in April 2018, the U.S. surgeon general issued an advisory calling for the prescription of naloxone to those at high risk of an opioid overdose, as well as to their friends and family members.”

Related Links:

— “Few at risk for opioid overdose get potentially life-saving naloxone, “Linda Carroll, Reuters, May 3, 2019

HealthDay (5/2, Reinberg) reports that a “survey of 72,000 Swedish adults found that 9% of women who suffered from severe tinnitus had attempted suicide, as had 5.5% of men.” But, following data analysis, “researchers found that the association between ringing ears and risk for attempted suicide was only significant for women.” The findings were published online May 2 in a research letter in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

Related Links:

— “‘Ringing in the Ears’ May Drive Some to the Brink of Suicide, “Steven Reinberg, Steven Reinberg, May 2, 2019