The AP (10/29, Tanner) reports, “Gun injuries, including many from assaults, sent 75,000 U.S. children and teens to emergency” departments (EDs) “over nine years at a cost of almost $3 billion,” researchers concluded in “a first-of-its-kind study.” The study revealed that “11 of every 100,000 children and teens treated in U.S.” EDs “have gun-related injuries,” amounting “to about 8,300 kids each year.” The findings, which were published online in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics, “highlight that gun violence involving kids extends beyond mass shootings that gain the most attention, said Dr. Robert Sege, co-author of an American Academy of Pediatrics gun injuries policy.” Dr. Sege had no involvement in the study.

HealthDay (10/29, Preidt) reports, “Males were five times more likely than females to be treated for gunshot wounds, and the rate was highest among males aged 15 to 17, at nearly 86” ED “visits per 100,000 people,” investigators found. The principal “causes of gunshot wounds were assault (49 percent), unintentional injuries (39 percent) and suicide (two percent).”

Related Links:

— “Gun-Related Injuries Send More Than 8,000 Kids a Year to the Emergency Room: Study, “Lindsey Tanner, AP, October 29, 2018.

U.S. News & World Report (10/26, Levine) reported, “According to the American Psychiatric Association, most racial and ethnic minority groups have similar rates of mental disorders than whites.” But, minorities “face numerous barriers to treatment that make them less likely to get the care they need and, as a result, the consequences of mental illness in minorities may be long lasting.” Minority patients may lack health insurance, not speak English, lack access to mental healthcare professionals, or harbor “distrust” of the healthcare system, thereby hampering them from “getting proper mental” healthcare.

Related Links:

— “Helping Patients in Minority Communities Cope With Serious Mental Illness, ” David Levine, U.S. News & World Report, October 26, 2018.

MedPage Today (10/27, Boyles) reported, “Having asthma during pregnancy was associated with roughly double the risk of developing postpartum depression,” researchers concluded “in an observational study involving more than 35,000 women with asthma and close to 200,000 women without the respiratory disorder.” The findings were published online Oct. 5 of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.

Related Links:

— “Requires login, October 27, 2018.

Reuters (10/25, Banerjee) reports, “Amnesty policies may encourage college students to call for help with alcohol-related issues before they or their intoxicated peers become seriously ill,” researchers concluded after reviewing records of Georgetown University’s emergency medical services (EMS) “agency for three years before and three years after” an “amnesty policy went into effect in August 2014.” The study revealed that while “the average daily number of alcohol-related calls to the school’s” EMS “agency went up…calls requiring advanced life support services fell by nearly 60 percent.” The findings were published online Oct. 4 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Related Links:

— “Amnesty Policies May Encourage College Students To Call For Help Before Serious Alcohol-Related Emergencies Ensue, Researchers Say, “Ankur Banerjee, Reuters, October 25, 2018.

HealthDay (10/25, Reinberg) reports, “Anxiety, depression and panic attacks are sending U.S. college students to mental health clinics in record numbers,” researchers concluded after examining “data from the American College Health Association to collect information on more than 450,000 undergraduates.” The study revealed “a significant increase in the diagnosis and treatment for eight of 12 mental problems…examined, with anxiety, depression and panic attacks accounting for the biggest increases.” The findings were published online Oct. 24 in the Journal of American College Health.

Related Links:

— “More College Students Seeking Mental Health Care, ” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, October 25, 2018.