The New York Daily News (9/14, Fermino) reports New York City health officials announced that more people now die from suicide in the city than from homicide or car crashes. In 2014, 565 people died by suicide while 353 people died from homicides and 270 died in motor vehicle accidents.

Related Links:

— “Suicide claims more lives in New York City than murders or car crashes, data shows,” Jennifer Fermino, New York Daily News, September 14, 2016.

In an opinion piece in USA Today (9/15, Shulkin), David J. Shulkin, MD, undersecretary for health for the Department of Veterans Affairs, writes, “This past year, VA has expanded our suicide prevention efforts providing greater access to our services, and we are continuing to ensure same-day access for urgent mental health needs at every medical center.”

The VA is also “enhancing…partnerships with community-based” practitioners “to broaden the network of mental health professionals and are researching to find new solutions.” Dr. Shulkin concludes, “We believe our partnerships, research and new technologies will benefit all Americans, and we will continue to be seen as the forerunners in suicide prevention efforts.”

Related Links:

— “VA: Suicide prevention is a top priority,” David J. Shulkin, USA Today, September 15, 2016.

In an editorial, USA Today (9/15) asserts, “A veteran is choosing death every 72 minutes, and the” Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) “could be doing more to keep that person alive.” USA Today charges that the VA’s “mammoth bureaucracy, second only to the Pentagon, has been slow to embrace new ideas, chief among them managing the urge to commit suicide and not just treating underlying illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder or severe depression.”

Related Links:

— “Every 72 minutes, a veteran commits suicide: Our view,” USA Today, September 15, 2016.

Medscape (9/15, Nainggolan) reports research suggests “high rates of depressive disorder (10%) in patients with type 2 diabetes.” In a poster at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes 2016 Annual Meeting, a poster presentation “details” findings from the International Prevalence and Treatment Study (INTERPRET-DD), which is following some “3000 patients in 15 countries – Argentina, Bangladesh, China, Germany, India, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Thailand, Uganda, and Ukraine.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (9/15, Preidt) reports, “Negative experiences on Facebook can increase the odds of depression in young people,” researchers found after surveying “264 study participants.” Researchers found “the risk of depressive symptoms was 3.2 times higher among those who had any negative Facebook experiences compared with those who had not.” The findings were published online Aug. 18 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Related Links:

— “Facebook Bullying Can Cause Depression,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, September 15, 2016.