General Mental Health Articles
- About 4% of U.S. adults aged 65 and older say they have been diagnosed with dementia, a rate that reached 13% for those at least 85-years old, according to a report of a national survey. The report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was based on the 2022 National Health Interview Survey. Read more here.
- A CBS News California investigation found that there is no reliable data to track the state-wide success of the new Mental Health "Diversion" courts. It's also difficult to determine who the most successful program candidates are and how many of the "successful" participants re-offend after having their charges dropped. Read more here.
Youth Mental Health
- Mental health diagnoses in children have skyrocketed since the COVID pandemic — led by gender dysphoria and eating disorders, according to a new report. LexisNexis Risk Solutions analyzed medical claims data submitted between 2019 and 2023 for patients under age 18. Overall, mental health claims rose 83% among young people in that time frame. Read more here.
- Schools across Kentucky will soon enact new suicide prevention measures put in place by the state legislature in hopes of bringing mental health resources to students as young as fourth grade. Each year, students from sixth to twelfth grade are given a mental health screening at the beginning of the school year that tracks stressors and potential trauma that could impact their education. Read more here.
Veteran Mental Health
- U.S. soldiers were almost nine times more likely to die by suicide than by enemy fire, according to a Pentagon study for the five-year period ending in 2019.The study, published in May by the Defense Health Agency, found that suicide was the leading cause of death among active-duty soldiers from 2014 to 2019. Read more here.
Gun Safety and Firearm Suicide Issues
- Gun suicides consistently outstrip gun homicides in the U.S., despite drawing less attention than other forms of gun violence. Suicide rates have increased in the U.S. over the past few decades and become a leading cause of death among young and middle-aged Americans. Gun suicides have outpaced gun homicides for the past 25 years, according to the New York Times. Firearm suicides (27,032) made up more than half of all suicides (49,476) in the U.S. in 2022, per data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more here.
- Firearms are the leading cause of death in the United States for children aged 0-19 years, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting over 4,700 pediatric gun-related deaths in 2021. Many of those deaths are unintentional. Read more here.
988 Hotline
- Almost two years after the debut of a revamped national suicide hotline, its promise of a quicker, more seamless crisis response across the country is still a work in progress. Congress gave states $1 billion to build out the 988 hotline, amid nationwide concern over worsening mental health, with the expectation that states would establish their own long-term funding to operate call centers and crisis services. However, those efforts have been uneven, contributing to significantly lower response times in certain states. Read more here.
The Opioid Crisis and Addiction Issues
- Hunter Biden was found guilty on federal charges for lying about his drug use on a gun purchase application in 2018, for lying to the gun dealer, and for owning the gun. Yet, Hunter Biden’s drug problem is America’s drug problem. His case reflects the reality of widespread substance abuse in our nation, reinforces harmful behavior through media glamorization of substance use, and underscores systemic problems in social services. The case also highlights the need for comprehensive drug reform in the United States. Read more here.
Gender-Affirming Care and LGBTQ Issues
- A federal judge has ruled that Florida’s new restrictions on gender-affirming treatment for children are unconstitutional, and that Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican lawmakers who supported them were not acting in the interest of public health. By refusing to allow children to access treatments, Tallahassee-based district court Judge Robert L. Hinkle wrote in a ruling that DeSantis and Republicans who voted for the measure responded in a way that was similar to racism and misogyny. Read more here.
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