The NPR (11/8, Hamilton) “Shots” blog reports that researchers found in a small study that “feeling down was associated with greater communication between brain areas involved in emotion and memory.” The findings were published in Cell. Dr. Joshua Gordon, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said the new study confirms earlier research done in animals, “It’s finding a circuit, a piece of the brain that we kind of already knew was involved in mood – that’s the less-than-wow part. The wow part is that it’s in human beings.”

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— “Researchers Uncover A Circuit For Sadness In The Human Brain, “Jon Hamilton, NPR, November 08, 2018.

USA Today (11/8, O’Donnell) reports cigarette smoking has reached the “lowest level ever recorded among U.S. adults,” according to a report (11/8) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Cancer Institute. Only 14 percent of adults – around 34 million people – smoked within the past 30 days. That is down from 15.5 percent in 2016. The report also showed “about 10 percent of people aged 18 to 24 years smoked cigarettes in 2017, down from 13 percent in 2016.”

ABC News (11/8, Jackson) reports on its website that adult smoking rates have declined by 67 percent since 1965. For those aged 18 to 24, the rates “were even lower, dropping from 13 percent in 2016 to 10 percent in 2017.” CDC Director Robert Redfield said, “This new all-time low in cigarette smoking among U.S. adults is a tremendous public health accomplishment, and it demonstrates the importance of continued proven strategies to reduce smoking.”

Related Links:

— “CDC: Cigarette smoking hits new low among adults, but youth vaping ‘epidemic’ still a concern, “Jayne O’Donnell, USA TODAY, November 08, 2018.

According to HealthDay (11/8, Preidt), “people with mental health problems are much less likely to kick” the smoking habit, researchers found after analyzing “2008-16 national survey data on tens of thousands of adults.” The study revealed that “smokers with mental health issues are only half as likely to quit as those with good mental health.” The findings were published online Oct. 23 in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

Related Links:

— “Smoking Persists for Americans With Mental Health Ills, ” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, November 08, 2018.

Medscape (11/7, Stiles, Subscription Publication) reports researchers found that “of more than 100 patients who left a major tertiary care center after experiencing cardiac arrest, about 30% showed early signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The group with PTSD also showed a threefold increased adjusted risk for death or cardiac events over the next year compared with the rest.” The findings are scheduled to be presented “during the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2018.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (11/7, Preidt) reports, “As stigmas surrounding mental health issues have eased, more U.S. college students are seeking help for emotional problems,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from the Healthy Minds Study, an annual online survey involving more than 150,000 students from 196 campuses.” The study revealed that “the percentage of students seeking mental health treatment rose from 19 percent to 34 percent, straining college health services” across the US. The findings were published online Nov. 5 in Psychiatric Services, a publication of the American Psychiatric Association.

Psychiatric News (11/7) quotes the study authors, who wrote, “The trends revealed in this study have strained counseling centers across the country, given that many are underresourced and operate at full capacity with waitlists for much of the year.” But, “there are a multitude of approaches to consider for alleviating this strain, including universal prevention programs and rapid referral to community treatment,” the study authors added.

Related Links:

— “Colleges Strain to Keep Up With Students’ Mental Health Concerns, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, November 07, 2018.