The Boston Globe (4/10, Weisman) reports critics warn that the Food and Drug Administration “may sacrifice patient safety” in an effort to accelerate drug approvals. Public Citizen’s health research director Michael Carome says the process is “already too fast,” and believes that the agency can’t “make it any faster without compromising public health.” Others say there is “no evidence the FDA is a bottleneck,” and call the efforts “wrongheaded.”

Related Links:

— “Critics worry faster FDA drug reviews could compromise safety,” Robert Weisman, Boston Globe, April 10, 2017.

Healio (4/7, Bortz) reported, “Rural children from small communities exhibited a higher prevalence of mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders than children living in cities and suburbs,” researchers found after analyzing “data collected from the National Survey of Children’s Health.” The findings were published March 17 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “Developmental, behavioral issues more common among rural children,” Lara R. Robinson, PhD, Healio, April 7, 2017.

HealthDay (4/7, Mozes) reported, “Opioid treatment programs for low-income Americans are in short supply in areas where they’re needed the most,” researchers concluded, with a “lack of affordable access…particularly apparent across the Southeast.” Investigators arrived at the study’s findings are examining “data on approximately 1,150 opioid treatment programs” that “were located in 465 counties in 48 states and Washington, DC.” The findings were published online March 27 in Health Services Research.

Related Links:

— “Rehab Services Lacking in States Hit Hard by Opioids,” Alan Mozes, HealthDay, April 7, 2017.

Healio (4/5, Oldt) reports, “Individuals who deliberately self-harmed were more likely to commit violent crime,” researchers found after conducting “a population-based longitudinal cohort study among all Swedish citizens aged 15 years and older (n = 1,850,252).” The findings were published online April in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Deliberate self-harm increases risk for violent crime,” Hanna Sahlin, MSc, Healio, April 5, 2017.

Scientific American (4/5, Zamzow) runs a Spectrum article reporting, “Most children with autism go undiagnosed until after age three, and many of these children remain undiagnosed until after they reach school age,” researchers found in a large study published in the April issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Screening Status Quo Misses Most Children with Autism,” Rachel Zamzow, Scientific American, April 5, 2017.