Psychiatrist "Bible" Gets a Numeric Overhaul
The American Psychiatric Association will release the latest version of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM) this Saturday at its annual meeting, according to Reuters. The current version is the DSM-IV, which was released a full 10 years ago -- the new version will be recast as DSM-5 (not DSM-V), with an eye toward updating the catalog of psychiatric conditions much more frequently with intermediate versions (DSM-5.1, DSM-5.2 and so on). The newest version also aims to introduce more scientific rigor and clinical confirmation of mental illness, such as, "using neuroscience in particular to tell the difference between, say, normal sadness and major depression." Though some criticize that the science just isn't there yet, and that the current version could lead to overdiagnosis. Read more on mental health.

Most Adults Enforce Smoke-Free Rules in Homes, Cars
Four out of five U.S. adults report having voluntary smoke-free rules in their homes and three out of four report having voluntary smoke-free rules in their vehicles, according to a study published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite the high prevalence of voluntary smoke-free rules in homes and vehicles, the study found that almost 11 million non-smoking adults continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke in their home, and almost 17 million non-smoking adults continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke in a vehicle. The study also showed that voluntary smoke-free rules were more prevalent in states with comprehensive smoke-free laws and tobacco control programs. Read more on tobacco.

Living Near Fast-Food Outlets Might Boost Obesity Risk
Black Americans who live within two miles of a fast food outlet have a higher body-mass index than those living farther away -- and that link especially holds true for those with lower incomes, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health. The study involved more than 1,400 black adults divided into two groups: those making less than $40,000 per year and those making $40,000 or more per year. Read more on what it takes to create healthy communities.

WHO Reports First Patient-to-Nurse Transmission of SARS-like Virus
The World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting that two health care workers in Saudi Arabia have become infected with a potentially fatal new SARS-like virus after catching it from patients, which represents the first case of the virus spreading this way within a hospital. Novel coronavirus, or nCoV, is thought to be spread through close contact, but, "scientists are on the alert for any sign that nCoV is mutating to become easily transmissible to multiple recipients, like SARS -- a scenario that could trigger a pandemic," according to Reuters. Read more on infectious disease.

Repeated Head Injuries Raise Soldiers' Suicide Risk
Soldiers who sustain multiple traumatic brain injuries, even if they are mild, are at greater risk for suicide, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. Researchers found that the risk for suicidal thoughts or behaviors increased for soldiers with such injuries over the course of a lifetime -- not just in the short term after the injuries occur. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among U.S. military personnel, and researchers say this study provides further guidance on assessing risks and supporting wounded soldiers. Read more on military health.

HHS Announces $1 Billion to Fuel Health Care Innovation
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched a nearly $1 billion initiative -- the Health Care Innovation Awards -- that will fund work to transform the health care system by demonstrating better care and lower costs. This is the second round of the award. In the first round, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded 107 Awards out of nearly 3,000 applications. Round one awardees included a medical home for people with disabilities that showed a 71 percent reduction in hospitalization rates. Read more on access to health care.

One in Five Kids At Risk for Suicide Live in Homes with Guns
Nearly one in five children and teens found to be at risk for suicide report that there are guns in their homes and fifteen percent of those with guns in their home said they know how to access both the guns and the bullets, according to a study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

The study researchers recommend that emergency department doctors screen all children and teens for suicide risk. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24 years in the United States, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly half of young people who die by suicide use a gun. Read more on injury prevention.

Teen Girls Who Exercise Are Less Likely to be Violent
A study from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health finds that high school girls who play sports or run have a lower risk of being in fights or in a gang. Researchers at the school reviewed results of a 2008 survey completed by 1,312 students at four inner-city high schools in New York to determine if there was an association between regular exercise and violence-related behaviors.

The survey results found that girls who had exercised more than 10 days in the last month had decreased odds of being in a gang, those who did more than 20 sit-ups in the past four weeks had decreased odds of carrying a weapon or being in a gang and those who reported running more than 20 minutes the last time they ran had lower odds of carrying a weapon. Girls who participated in team sports in the past year had decreased odds of carrying a weapon, being in a fight, or being in a gang.

Among boys, none of the exercise measures were linked to decrease in violence-related behaviors. But the researchers say that a connection may not have been found because a smaller percentage of boys than girls completed the survey and that more research is needed to see if exercise interventions can reduce youth violence. Read more on violence.

USDA Announces New Rules to Fund Broadband Service in Underserved Rural Communities
The USDA has announced new rules that simplify the proposals to request funds for internet broadband access in rural areas. USDA broadband funds have provided internet access for nearly 65,000 rural households, businesses, and community organizations such as libraries, schools and first responders. Read more on preparedness.

HHS Makes Hospital Cost Information Available to Consumers
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a new initiative that, for the first time, gives consumers information on what hospitals charge for many procedures and services. The information will be posted on the website of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and will show comparative charges for services that may be provided during the 100 most common Medicare inpatient stays, such as knee replacements. The new data shows significant variation across the country and within communities in what hospitals charge for common inpatient services. The agency is also providing close to $90 million to states to collect, analyze, and publish health pricing and medical claims reimbursement data. To help show how the data can be used the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced a data visualization challenge. Read more on access to health care.

CDC Issues Updated Hepatitis C Screening Guidelines
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new screening guidelines for Hepatitis C that recommend anyone born between 1945 and 1965 be screened for the infection, as well as anyone who received a blood transfusion or organ donation before 1992 when screening of the blood supply was improved, and anyone who has ever injected drugs. The CDC is making the new recommendations because only half of Americans identified as ever having had hepatitis C received follow-up testing to see if they were still infected, according to a new Vital Signs issued by the agency. CDC researchers looked at data from eight areas across the country and found that of the hepatitis C cases reported in those areas, follow-up testing was only done in 51 percent of the cases. “Complete testing is critical to ensure that those who are infected receive the care and treatment for hepatitis C that they need in order to prevent liver cancer and other serious and potentially deadly health consequences,” says said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH. According to the CDC, about 3 million Americans are infected with hepatitis C and up to 3 out of 4 do not know they are infected. Read more on infectious disease.

Researchers Call for Independent Review Process for DSM-5 Updates
Arguing that that the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) missed “crucial population-level and social determinants of mental health disorders,” a group of researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Columbia University Medical School are calling for an independent review for any future revisions of the American Psychiatric Association’s guidelines. The article appears in the journal Health Affairs. “As the DSM evolves, we must ensure the accuracy of psychiatric diagnoses and their equitable use in health care by systematically reviewing and applying the lessons in the population health and social science literature,” wrote the authors. The factors include various environmental factors, cultural perceptions and institutional pressures. Read more on mental health.

CDC: Only 20 Percent of U.S. Adults Meet Aerobic, Muscle-strengthening Requirements
Only about one in five U.S. adults meet the aerobic and muscle strengthening components of the federal government's Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, according to a new report in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The guidelines call for a minimum of 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, or 1.25 hours of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, as well as at least two days of muscle-strengthening activities. About half of adults meet the aerobic minimums and 30 percent meet the muscle-strengthening requirements, which Carmen D. Harris, MPH, epidemiologist in CDC's physical activity and health branch, called “encouraging.” "This is a great foundation to build upon, but there is still much work to do,” she said. “Improving access to safe and convenient places where people can be physically active can help make the active choice the easy choice." Read more on physical activity.

Hospital Programs Find Success in Cutting Antibiotic Prescriptions, Drug-resistant Bacteria
Hospital programs designed to decrease the number of prescriptions for antibiotics also successfully cut the number of drug-resistant bacteria, according to a new study in the Cochrane Library. Such bacteria, as well as the possibility of secondary infections, can leave patients especially at risk. "Antibiotic resistance is recognized worldwide as a public health problem that's just getting worse. Really around the world people are worried that we'll end up with bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotics we've got," said Peter Davey, MD, of the University of Dundee in Scotland. Researchers found that while persuasion/education programs were effective, actually restricting prescriptions saw more improved outcomes early on, which persuasion/education’s effectiveness catching up later. "We got good evidence that restrictive interventions work faster in terms of changing prescribing and microbial outcomes," he said. Read more on preventing antibiotic resistance.

Suicide Rate Up Significantly for Middle-aged Americans
Attempts to explain the dramatic increase in suicides by middle-aged Americans over the past decade have left many public health experts “dumfounded,” according to Lanny Berman, executive director of the American Association of Suicidology. "The best we can come up with is maybe this is the group most likely to be affected by the recession and unemployment and [home] foreclosure," he said. "It affected suicide rates both nationally and internationally." A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that suicides for people aged 35-64 rose by 28 percent from 1999 to 2010. For comparison’s sake, more Americans died by suicide in 2010 (38,364) than in car crashes (33,687). According to an agency news release: "Suicide is a tragedy that is far too common. The stories we hear of those who are impacted by suicide are very difficult. This report highlights the need to expand our knowledge of risk factors so we can build on prevention programs that prevent suicide,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD. Read more on mental health.

Immediately after the explosions at the Boston Marathon yesterday, both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) updated their crisis management resources and moved the information to the top of their home pages.

Yesterday, NPR reported that business owners near the blast site are beginning to return and reopen their doors.

"They fled in a panic last week and returned both eager and anxious," said NPR reporter Tovia Smith. The piece describes how business owners returned to find food left half-eaten and rotting, because so many left in such a hurry, and blood splattered in some spots from those who were injured.

To help make sure businesses get the help they need to reopen safely, public health inspectors played a role in visiting every building on every block. "They also stood ready with trauma counselors, pro-bono attorneys and clean-up crews," said Smith.

But the public health response to any disaster goes beyond helping to restore normalcy in the immediate aftermath. An earlier interview with John Lumpkin, director of the Health Care Group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, about the sustained response to Hurricane Sandy also applies here:

We saw with Katrina and are seeing again now with Sandy, [public health officials] are not only concerned with food, air, and water during and immediately after an emergency, but also with ensuring that services related to health care delivery and mental health are provided when and where they’re needed. It’s an interesting statistic, for instance, that the demand for mental health services was higher five years after Hurricane Katrina than it was immediately after the hurricane hit.

The Boston Public Health Commission announced this week, for example, that the organization has opened a new drop-in center to continue to provide emotional support to anyone affected by the Boston Marathon attack.

"While the physical injuries and destruction that resulted from the bombings might be the most visible signs of trauma, many people experience serious emotional distress based on what they saw, heard, and felt during and after the attack. Sometimes these symptoms do not surface immediately," according to the Commission release. "Understanding the deep impacts of this emotional distress, city officials opened the drop-in center as a safe place for people to come together and talk about their experiences over the past week."

>>Read more about building community resilience to recover from disaster.

New York City Moves to Ban Cigarette Sales to People Under 21
A bill introduced to the New York City Council would ban cigarette sales to anyone under the age of 21. The current age limit is 18. "Too many adult smokers begin this deadly habit before age 21," City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said. "By delaying our city's children and young adults access to lethal tobacco products, we're decreasing the likelihood they ever start smoking, and thus, creating a healthier city." Though not introduced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, he does support the bill. New York City also has the highest taxes on cigarettes of any U.S. city, with a city tax of $1.50 on top of a state tax of $4.35. Read more on tobacco.

Insurance Authorization Delays Trap Psychiatric Patients in ERs
Thousands of hours of physician time is lost each year caring for emergency department patients in need of psychiatric care, but waiting for insurance authorization to be admitted into the hospital, according to a letter to be published in the May issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine. Researchers found that about half of authorizations were completed in less than 20 minutes, but 10 percent took at least an hour. About 2.5 million people are admitted to hospitals for psychiatric care each year. "Psychiatric care is really the poor stepchild in the world of insurance coverage," said lead author Amy Funkenstein, MD, of Brown University in Providence, R.I.. "Insurance carriers reimburse poorly and as a consequence, hospitals often have inadequate resources for patients who urgently need this care. The situation is so dire that ERs are now being designed and configured to house psychiatric patients awaiting placement as inpatients. These patients deserve better." Read more on mental health.

Report Finds Positive, Negative News on U.S. Air Quality
Areas across the country have seen a mix in terms of improvement of air quality over the past decade, according to a new report from the American Lung Association (ALA). "The long-term trend is positive and headed to much cleaner air," said author Janice Nolen, ALA's assistant vice president of national policy and advocacy. "[However], there is an uptick in some areas that are a concern and some areas where the problem remains very, very serious." Approximately half of the 25 most polluted cities in 2000 saw improvements in air quality, with the others seeing declines. And some of the “improved” cities still were highly polluted, such as Los Angeles and Bakersfield, Calif. Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Cincinnati, New York City and Washington, D.C. were the other cities with the highest levels of ozone. Overall, the report found that 132 million people were living in 254 counties with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. Read more on environment.

Supreme Court Lets FDA Move Forward with Graphic Cigarette Warnings and Other Tobacco Regulations
The Supreme Court yesterday announced that it will not hear the tobacco industry's appeal of a March 2012 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on graphic cigarette warnings and several other tobacco regulations. That decision allows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to move forward in developing graphic cigarette warnings allowed by a 2009 law that gave the FDA sweeping new authority over tobacco, and other recent court rulings.

The 2009 law requires graphic warnings that cover the top half of the front and back of cigarette packs and 20 percent of cigarette ads. According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), a tobacco control advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., the graphic warnings are needed to better inform Americans about the deadly consequences of smoking. According to CTFK, the current, text-only warnings which are printed on the side of cigarette packs haven’t been updated since 1984 and often go unnoticed.

The appeals court ruling also upheld other key provisions of the law that:

• Tobacco companies are prohibited from making health claims about tobacco products without FDA review
• Several forms of tobacco marketing that appeal to children would be banned, including brand name sponsorships; tobacco-branded merchandise such as caps and t-shirts; and free samples of tobacco products
• Tobacco companies are prohibited from making statements implying that a tobacco product is safer because it is regulated by the FDA.

In a statement released yesterday, CTFK Executive Director Susan Liss said: “The FDA should move forward aggressively to reduce the death and disease caused by tobacco use, which is the nation's number one cause of preventable death.” Read more on tobacco.

Task Force Finds Insufficient Evidence for Universal Suicide Risk Screenings
While the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s latest draft guidelines stated that there is not enough evidence to support universal screening to identify people at risk of suicide, it’s still critical for health care professionals to be wary of certain signs, said David Grossman, MD, MPH, a member of the Task Force. "Although we did not find enough evidence to say ‘here are the right questions and tools to find the people who may be at risk for suicide,' doctors should be screening for depression and alcohol abuse disorders in their primary care population," he said. Top risk factors include depression and alcohol abuse. There are approximately 37,000 cases of suicide in the United States each year. Read more on mental health.

Poll: Nearly 1 in 4 High School Students Have Abused Prescription Meds
Approximately 24 percent of high school students have abused prescription drugs, according to a new poll from by Partnership at Drugfree.org. With about 5 million kids admitting to the medication abuse, the rate is up 33 percent since 2008. About 13 percent say they’ve experimented with Ritalin or Adderall, both of which are used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. At the heart of the problem is the misconception by both kids and parents that misusing prescription drugs is not as dangerous as taking other drugs. "The key here is that kids and often their parents are buying into the myth and misunderstanding that prescription drug abuse is a safer way to get high, a safer alternative to street drugs, and that they can control it," said said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO at the Partnership organization. "And it's very important to note that, on this, kids and parents are in the same place. Kids say that they don't think that their parents are going to be upset if they know about this, and parents are essentially saying the same thing." Read more on prescription drugs.

Experts Debate Expected Changes to ADHD Diagnosis
Medical experts are at odds as to what to ultimately expect from the predicted changes to the diagnostic criteria for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The DSM-5 will be released in May by the American Psychiatric Association. The broadened criteria should increase the number of people diagnosed with ADHD in part by expanding the age time frame for the onset of symptoms. "In the current version, it's seven years,” James Norcross, MD, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. “That will be changed to 12 years in the DSM-5, which may make things easier for adults and adolescents, because they'll be able to better recall some of the challenges that may have occurred." Norcross said the changes are positive overall. However, Allen Frances, MD, chair of the task force for the DSM-4 and former chair of psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., worries the new criteria will serve to increase the unnecessary use of stimulant medications. "We're already overdiagnosing ADHD,” he said. “Almost 20 percent of teen boys get the diagnosis of ADHD, and about 10 percent of boys are on stimulant drugs. We don't need to make it easier to diagnose ADHD.” Read more on mental health.

FDA Releases Violations on Several Dozen Compounding Pharmacies
Yesterday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a list of violation reports for 28 of the 31 drug compounding pharmacies it’s inspected since April. The safety of drugs produced at compounding pharmacies came into question last year after the Framingham, Massachusetts-based New England Compounding Center was linked to a meningitis outbreak that caused 39 deaths and 656 cases of illness in 19 states. Found violations range from “inappropriate clothing for sterile drug processing to insufficient testing for contaminants,” according to Reuters. Still, FDA reiterated its stance that it needs more increased regulatory authority when it comes to compounding facilities. Last month Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, proposed the FDA be given greater authority to oversee high-risk sterile compounding facilities that distribute drug products in advance of or without receiving a prescription. Read more on prescription drugs.

USPSTF: Limit Oral Cancer Screenings to Patients with Signs, Symptoms
Primary care physicians should limit oral cancer screenings to adult patients who actually show signs or symptoms of the condition, according to new draft recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). "The evidence shows that it is difficult to detect oral cancer and that the evidence is not clear whether oral cancer screening improves long-term health outcomes among the general adult population or among high-risk groups," said Jessica Herzstein, MD. "We need more high-quality research on whether screening tests can accurately detect oral cancer and if screening adults for oral cancer in primary care settings improves health outcomes." Tobacco and alcohol are both major risk factors for oral cancer. The task force also recommended physicians take into account patient wishes, medical histories and other expert opinions when making decisions. Read more on cancer.

Media Coverage of Mass Shootings Harms Attitudes on Mental Illness
Media coverage of mass shootings by people with mental illness can increase support for policies to reduce gun violence, but can also increase the stigmatization of people with mental illness and lessens the chance they will seek help, according to a new study in the American Journal of Psychiatry. “The aftermath of mass shootings is often viewed as a window of opportunity to garner support for policies to reduce gun violence, and this study finds public support for such policies increases after reading news stories about a mass shooting,” said study author Emma E. McGinty, MS, a PhD candidate with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, part of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “However, we also found that the public’s negative attitudes toward persons with serious mental illness are exacerbated by news media accounts of mass shootings involving a shooter with mental illness.” Read more on violence.

Study Links Excessive Television Viewing, Antisocial Behavior in Young Children
Antisocial behavior is more likely in young children who watch three or more hours of television a day, according to a new study in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. Researchers found that five-year-olds in that demographic were more likely to exhibit such behavior by the age of seven. Study author Alison Parkes, of the University of Glasgow in Scotland, said the findings support the decision by many parents to limit television time. Still, the researchers noted that this correlation does not equal causation. Excessive television watching by kids has also been linked to poorer physical health and performance in classrooms. Read more on mental health.

Cutting Medical Interns’ Hours Reduces Training Time, Increase Risks to Patients
Efforts to increase the amount of sleep by medical interns by reducing the number of continuous hours they work actually decreases the number of training opportunities and increases the risk to patients, according to a new study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. They also don’t get any more sleep in an average week. "Despite the best of intentions, the reduced work hours are handcuffing training programs, and benefits to patient safety and trainee well-being have not been systematically demonstrated," said study leader Sanjay Desai, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the internal medicine residency program at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. "We need a rigorous study. We need data to inform this critical issue." Read more on access to health care.