Week of July 3–7, 2023

General Articles

• Depression after a traumatic brain injury, such as a concussion, may be a distinct condition, different from other types of depression, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine. The findings are a step forward in understanding how depression can be treated differently in people with traumatic brain injury, or TBI, who often do not respond to psychotherapy and medication. The researchers are even proposing a separate name for the condition: TBI affective syndrome. Read more here.

 Gun Violence

• These are among the 11 mass shootings — defined as acts of gun violence injuring or killing at least four people — that have occurred this month, and 346 mass shootings since the beginning of the year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Mass shootings have been rising in recent years, as have other kinds of gun violence, making firearms a major public health issue. But the public health impact of gun violence extends far beyond those who are killed or injured. A far larger number of people are left grieving, traumatized, and at a risk of long-term struggles with a range of mental health issues. Read more here.
• Biden invoked last year’s Fourth of July when a gunman in Highland Park, Ill., used an assault rifle to kill seven people during a holiday parade. In the year since, state lawmakers have worked to prevent further mass shootings, successfully banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines across Illinois in January. While the lawmakers’ efforts will save lives, Biden said, “much more must be done in Illinois and across America to address the epidemic of gun violence that is tearing our communities apart.” Read more here.
• Each year, Utah sees its share of accidental injuries caused by firearms. When state health officials looked carefully at the hundreds of injuries that required emergency treatment in hospitals, they found most resulted from lapses in the most basic elements of gun safety. Nearly three-quarters of all unintentional injuries in the state are to males between the ages of 15 and 44, most of whom accidentally shoot themselves while mishandling or cleaning the weapons. Read more here.

The Opioid Crisis

• The state of Nevada has reached a $285 million settlement with Walgreens regarding the pharmacy chain’s role in the opioid epidemic, the state’s top lawyer announced Wednesday. The last in a series of multiyear settlements with pharmaceutical companies, retailers and others, it pushes Nevada’s total anticipated payments stemming from opioid claims to $1.1 billion, state Attorney General Aaron Ford’s office said in a news release. Nevada is among numerous states that have reached settlements now totaling more than $50 billion nationwide. Read more here.

Social Determinants

• The entire planet sweltered for the two unofficial hottest days in human recordkeeping Monday and Tuesday, according to University of Maine scientists at the Climate Reanalyzer project. For two straight days, the global average temperature spiked into uncharted territory. After scientists talked about Monday’s dramatic heat, Tuesday soared 0.17 degrees Celsius (0.31 degrees Fahrenheit) even hotter, which is a huge temperature jump in terms of global averages and records. Read more here.

Research

• An estimated 40% to 50% of people will experience adversity during childhood, which can increase the risk for physical and emotional challenges when they grow up. Studies show that parents who faced difficult situations in their childhood may pass on some of those risks to their children. However, the way this intergenerational transmission of risk occurs is not well understood. A recent study discovered that when mothers experience adversity in their childhood, it can negatively impact their mental health during and after pregnancy, which in turn, can affect their children's mental health. Read more here.

Health Insurance and Health Care Costs

• President Biden on Friday rolled out a new set of initiatives to reduce health care costs: a crackdown on scam insurance plans, new guidance to prevent surprise medical bills and an effort to reduce medical debt tied to credit cards. Biden’s remarks will build on previous initiatives to limit health care costs, with the Department of Health and Human Services releasing new estimates showing 18.7 million older adults and other Medicare beneficiaries will save an estimated $400 per year in prescription drug costs in 2025 because of the president placing a cap on out-of-pocket spending as part of last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. Read more here.

Bans on Gender-Affirming Care and LGBTQ Issues

• The Supreme Court on Friday ruled in favor of an evangelical Christian web designer from Colorado who refuses to work on same-sex weddings, dealing a setback to LGBTQ rights. The justices, divided 6-3 on ideological lines, said that Lorie Smith, as a creative professional, has a free speech right under the Constitution’s First Amendment to refuse to endorse messages she disagrees with. As a result, she cannot be punished under Colorado’s antidiscrimination law for refusing to design websites for gay couples, the court said. The ruling could allow other owners of similar creative businesses to evade punishment under laws in 29 states that protect LGBTQ rights in public accommodations in some form. The remaining 21 states do not have laws explicitly protecting LGBTQ rights in public accommodations, although some local municipalities do. Read more here.
• A Christian web designer has a First Amendment right to refuse to create websites for same-sex weddings, the Supreme Court ruled Friday in a decision that dilutes legal protections for LGBTQ people. By a 6-3 vote, the justices sided with Lorie Smith, an evangelical Christian and Colorado web designer who opposes same-sex marriage. Colorado law bars businesses from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, but Smith argued that the free speech guarantee of the federal Constitution entitles her to an exemption from that law. The high court’s conservatives agreed. Read more here.
• Rachel Levine remained optimistic about the LGBTQ+ community’s future in the U.S. at an event about health inequity. During Thursday’s event, hosted by The Washington Post, associate editor Jonathan Capehart and the nation’s assistant secretary for health discussed the recent slew of bills in state legislatures that target the LGBTQ+ community. These bills aimed to ban gender-affirming care, restrict drag performances and encourage the misgendering of children, among other measures. As the highest ranking government official who is openly transgender, Levine said anti-LGBTQ+ bills create obstacles to achieving health equity. Read more here.
•  Over the course of two years, they surveyed more than 8,000 people who either currently identify or previously identified as a woman about what life looks like for LGBTQ+ women who partner with women in the U.S. The executive summary of the survey report, entitled "We Never Give Up the Fight: A Report of the National LGBTQ+ Women's Community Survey," was released this week. It found that while LGBTQ+ women experience high rates of violence in multiple areas of their lives, they regularly rely on their friends, not institutions – such as the education system, law enforcement, or religious organizations – for support. Read more here.
• Six weeks after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that places restrictions and bans on gender-affirming care, many transgender Floridians feel uncertainty and dread about their future in the state. SB 254, signed into law May 17, has been criticized for its broad restrictions on health care for the estimated 94,900 transgender people who live in Florida. Under the law, a ban is placed on all gender-affirming care for minors. and further limits are put into place on how transgender adults can receive care. Read more here.
• North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed Wednesday a trio of bills aimed at LGBTQ+ youth that would ban gender-affirming health care for minors, restrict transgender participation in school sports and limit classroom instruction about gender identity and sexuality. While LGBTQ+ rights advocates say Cooper’s attempt to block the bills demonstrates his support amid what they view as unrelenting attacks from the General Assembly, his veto stamp carries little weight now that Republicans hold narrow veto-proof majorities in both chambers. Read more here.
• There are approximately 1.6 million transgender teens and adults living in the United States, according to a report published last year by UCLA’s Williams Institute. While not all trans people opt for hormone therapy, a 2020 study published in the Annals of Family Medicine estimated that 9% of those who did had obtained hormones from unlicensed sources, including friends and unregulated online pharmacies. Read more here.