Healio (10/8) reports, “First-time mothers in their third trimester of pregnancy during the seasons with shorter daylight hours were at greater risk for postpartum depression,” researchers concluded. The findings of the 279-woman study were published online Sept. 27 in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Fewer daylight hours in late pregnancy linked to depression, Healio, October 8, 2018.

Reuters (10/8, Carroll) reports, “LGBT adolescents are more likely than other kids their age to try to kill themselves,” research indicated. In fact, “data pooled from 35 earlier studies show that sexual minority youth were more than three times as likely to attempt suicide as heterosexual peers,” the meta-analysis found, with “transsexual youth” being “at highest risk, nearly six times as likely to attempt suicide as heterosexual peers.” The findings were published online Oct. 8 in JAMA Pediatrics. MedPage Today (10/8, Hlavinka) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “LGBT youth at higher risk for suicide attempts, “Linda Carroll, Reuters, October 8, 2018.

Congressional Quarterly (10/4, Williams, Subscription Publication) reports “opioid use among Medicare patients has fallen by 18 percent in recent years but remains widespread.” Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) experts reviewed data “showing nearly one in three enrollees in the government health program filled at least one opioid prescription in 2016.” Rachel Schmidt, a principal policy analyst for MedPAC, said, “Even though it’s cut back some, it’s still a lot of people.” The commission sees a need for better opioid tracking at hospitals and is expected to final recommendations due to Congress in March.

Related Links:

— “Congressional Quarterly, Subscription Publication, October 4, 2018.

Oncology Nurse Advisor (10/2, Garbutt) reports on a study presented at 2018 ASCO Quality Care Symposium in Phoenix, Arizona, finding that integrating “mental health professionals into the cancer care team can improve recognition and management of delirium in cancer patients.” For the study at the Cleveland Clinic, “psychiatrists, psychologists, and clinical social workers accompanied caregivers on multidisciplinary rounds to facilitate discussions about delirium and its management.” The findings appear in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Related Links:

— “Integrating Mental Health Into Multidisciplinary Oncology Care Improves Inpatient Care, “Tiffany Garbutt, PhD, Oncology Nurse Advisor, October 02, 2018.

Marc Siegel MD, professor of medicine and medical director of Doctor Radio at NYU Langone Health writes in an op-ed for The Hill (10/1) to discuss the rising suicide rates in the US, saying “the numbers are not subtle.” A report by the CDC found that “between 1999 and 2016 suicide rates increased in almost all states, with a greater than 30 percent increase in 25 states.” CDC’s Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Dev Houry says research “demonstrates that many factors contribute to suicide beyond mental health conditions alone,” adding that “overdose misuse associated with the opioid overdose epidemic could be driving the suicide rate higher.” Siegel adds that “research has shown that talking about suicide not only doesn’t cause it to occur, but can also help prevent it, by breaking through an individual’s isolation and decreasing associated stigma.”

Related Links:

— “Suicide rates are rising across the US and the numbers are not subtle, “Dr. Marc Siegel, The Hill, October 01, 2018.