USA Today (3/22, May) said that a new report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates an “increasing number of African Americans are dying from fentanyl overdoses – what has long been pegged as a problem primarily for white communities.” The report found fentanyl overdoses “claimed 18,335 lives in 2016, up drastically from 1,663 in 2011,” and that while non-Hispanic “white people remain most affected by overall fentanyl overdoses…African Americans saw the sharpest increase in deaths, rising 140.6 percent each year. Hispanics experienced a jump of 118.3 percent annually.”

Related Links:

— “African-American, Hispanic deaths by fentanyl overdose rising sharply, “Ashley May, USA Today, March 22, 2019

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (3/22, Pirani) reported the US CDC has found that the US “experienced a nearly 30 percent increase in suicide rates between 1999-2016,” according to new data. The piece added that a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine “found that increases in state minimum wages in recent years have been associated with decreases in suicide rates.” The piece also said the research is the “first study the authors believe examines the effect of minimum wage changes on suicide rates” and that previous research from the CDC and from the National Institutes of Health shows “individuals with significant debt are generally more likely to report physical health challenges.”

Related Links:

— “Could increasing minimum wage help reduce the suicide rate?, “Fiza Pirani, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution , March 22, 2019

Reuters (3/22, Rapaport) reported that a review suggests children “with school attendance or truancy problems might be suffering from anxiety.” Investigators came to this conclusion after reviewing “eight previously published studies with a total of almost 26,000 young students from Europe, North America and Asia.” The findings were published online Feb. 27 in Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “Childhood anxiety tied to school absences, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, March 22, 2019

Reuters (3/21, Carroll) reports, “People who are terrified of heights may be able to conquer their phobia using a virtual reality [VR] app and an inexpensive set of cardboard VR goggles,” research indicated.

Healio (3/21, Demko) reports there were 193 participants in the randomized study. The findings were published online March 20 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Psychiatric News (3/21) reports, “The strong symptom improvements were maintained at a follow-up assessment three months later.”

Related Links:

— “Phone app may help conquer fear of heights, “Linda Carroll, Reuters, March 21, 2019

Reuters (3/20, Rapaport) reports that “opioids account for more than 90 percent of the painkillers used after plastic surgery, according to a U.S. study” published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery. The study “examined data on 466,677 people who had plastic and reconstructive procedures” from 2007 to 2015, and found that “almost 55 percent of patients received” pain medication “prescriptions afterwards, and 92 percent of the prescriptions filled were for opioids.” The findings also indicated that “patients who filled an opioid prescription shortly before or after surgery were about three times as likely as those who didn’t to still be using opioids up to six months or even a year later

Related Links:

— “Opioid prescriptions after plastic surgery tied to long-term use, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, March 20, 2019