Psychiatric News (1/17) said, “Black adults who have a low level of mistrust toward medical professionals may be more willing to seek mental health services than those with no medical mistrust, reports a study.” Researchers found that “above a certain threshold, however, more medical mistrust was linked with less mental health care seeking.” The findings were published in Psychiatric Services.

Related Links:

— “Low Level of Medical Mistrust May Not Discourage Mental Health Care Seeking in Black Adults, Psychiatric News, January 17, 2025

Healio (1/16, Herpen) reports, “Higher consumption of red meat, including processed red meat, was associated with a higher risk for cognitive decline and dementia, according to research.” The investigators said, “Replacing red meat with alternative, healthier protein sources, such as plant-based options, could help reduce cognitive decline and the risk of dementia. … Replacing processed red meat with healthier protein sources may have substantial benefits for maintaining cognitive health.” The findings were published in Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Higher red meat intake increases risk for cognitive decline, dementia,”Robert Herpen, Healio, January 16, 2025

The Washington Post (1/15, Roubein , Ovalle ) reports, “The Biden administration released a proposal Wednesday to dramatically reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes, a move that anti-smoking advocates believe would save millions of lives even as it threatens the powerful tobacco industry.” Under the proposal, “tobacco companies would be required to cut nicotine in cigarettes to no more than 0.7 milligrams per gram of tobacco, which the FDA says is significantly lower than the average concentration in products on the market.” The FDA’s “proposal would also apply to most cigars and pipe tobacco, but not to e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches.”

The New York Times (1/15, Jewett ) reports, “The FDA’s proposal includes projections that by 2100, the nicotine reduction measure would prevent an estimated 48 million young people from starting to smoke.” By 2060, the FDA “also estimates that 1.8 million tobacco-related deaths would be prevented, and that $30 trillion in benefits would accrue over 40 years, mostly from the generation that would not begin smoking.”

NBC News (1/15, Edwards ) reports, “If finalized, the change would mean that cigarettes would lose their ability to hook most people into addiction.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

HCPlive (1/14, Derman) reports, “A recent study suggested that the genetic variants in the opioid use disorder (OUD) risk algorithm do not meet reasonable standards in identifying OUD risk.” The researchers said, “We found no evidence to support the clinical utility of the 15 [single nucleotide variants] purported to predict OUD risk.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Genetic Variants in OUD Risk Algorithm Do Not Meet Standards in Identifying Risk,”Chelsie Derman, HCPlive, January 14, 2025

KFF Health News (1/14, Ridderbusch ) reports, “Over 5,000 male construction workers die from suicide annually – five times the number who die from work-related injuries, according to several studies.” That is “considerably more than the suicide rate for men in the general population.” BL Harbert International, a construction company, “has added mental health first-aid training for on-site supervisors and distributed information about suicide prevention to laborers in the field.” According to KFF Health News, “the efforts are part of a larger push led by the industry and supported by unions, research institutions, and federal agencies to address construction workers’ mental health.” However, “initiatives to combat this mental health crisis are tougher to implement than protocols for hard hats, safety vests, and protective goggles.” Additionally, “some of the potential solutions, such as paid sick leave, have drawn pushback from the industry as it eyes costs.”

Related Links:

— “Beyond Hard Hats: Mental Struggles Become the Deadliest Construction Industry Danger,”Katja Ridderbusch, KFF Health News, January 14, 2025