The Boston Globe (9/6, Krantz) reports, “One in five college students reported thoughts of suicide in the past year,” researchers concluded after surveying some “67,000 college students at more than 100 colleges in the” US. The findings were published online Sept. 6 in the journal Depression and Anxiety.

Related Links:

— “Study finds 1 in 5 college students reported thoughts of suicide, “Laura Krantz, The Boston Globe, September 06, 2018.

According to Healio (9/5, Demko), “the percentage of active-duty female Air Force personnel experiencing PTSD symptoms increased as number of wartime experiences increased,” researchers found after using “participants’ responses to the U.S. Air Force Community Assessment Survey in 2008, 2011, or 2013 to determine the connections between wartime experiences and PTSD symptoms.” Included were sample sizes of “18,012 in 2008, 12,249 in 2011, and 8,061 in 2013.” The findings were published online Aug. 21 in the Journal of Women’s Health.

Related Links:

— “, “Savannah Demko, Healio, September 05, 2018.

STAT Plus (8/30, Robbins, Subscription Publication) reports the first digital tablet that can alert a patient’s physician or caregiver after it has been swallowed will soon enter the market and be first sold to people with mental illness who are covered by Medicaid. The product will cost $1,650 per month. The digital pill was approved last year by the FDA “for patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder,” and “it’s a high-tech upgrade to the antipsychotic drug Abilify.”

Related Links:

— “At $1,650 per month, the first digital pill will soon roll out to certain Medicaid patients with mental illness, “Rebecca Robbins, STAT Plus , August 30, 2018.

HealthDay (8/30, Mundell) says a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on opioid overdose deaths across 11 states “finds the problem is increasingly complex, but more can be done to stop it.” According to the research team led by Christine Mattson, of the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, most states “were simultaneously struggling with a complex mix of prescription and illicit opioid deaths.” According to Dr. Harshal Kirane, who directs addiction services at Staten Island University Hospital in New York City, the CDC report “reveals two key areas of pressing concern: limited access to addiction care and limited community engagement in overdose education and naloxone distribution.” The report was published August 31 in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “States Struggle With Onslaught of Opioid OD Deaths, “E.J. Mundell, HealthDay, August 30, 2018.

HealthDay (8/29) reports, “Many U.S. Army soldiers who attempt suicide have no prior diagnosis of a mental health issue…and such histories may not be a good predictor of a soldier’s suicide risk,” research indicates. For the study, researchers “tracked the medical histories of thousands of enlisted soldiers (not including Guard or Reserve members) who served from 2004 through 2009.” The study revealed that “attempted suicide risk factors were similar for soldiers with and without a prior diagnosis of a mental health disorder.” The findings (8/29) were published online Aug. 29 in JAMA Psychiatry.

According to Healio (8/29, Demko), the authors of an accompanying editorial (8/29) wrote, “It is essential that suicide prevention efforts move outside of the silo of mental health.” They added that the study’s findings “support the recent changes by the Army to integrate mental health resources into a variety of nontraditional settings to increase access to care and decrease stigma.”

Related Links:

— “Soldiers’ Suicide Attempts Often Come Without Prior Mental Health Diagnosis, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay, August 29, 2018.