1. LGBTQ+ Health

NBC News: Psychiatrists Aim to Assist Millions of LGBTQ Americans Affected by Religious Trauma
1 in 3 adults in the United States who have suffered from religious trauma at some point in their life, according to a 2023 study. ... Religious trauma occurs when an individual’s religious upbringing has lasting adverse effects on their physical, mental or emotional well-being, according to the Religious Trauma Institute. Symptoms can include guilt, shame, loss of trust and loss of meaning in life. While religious trauma hasn’t officially been classified as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), there is debate among psychiatrists about whether that should change. (Macnaughton, 1/28)

2. Children’s Health

The Washington Post: Study Reveals Delays in Treating Infantile Spasms for Children of Color
Prompt diagnosis and treatment of infantile epileptic spasms syndrome, a severe seizure disorder beginning in infancy, can prevent developmental delays. But non-Hispanic Black children are less likely than their White counterparts to get timely treatment for infantile spasms, a recent analysis suggests. The study, published in Epilepsia, looked at a group of 100 children with infantile spasms who were diagnosed at Boston Children’s Hospital between January 2019 and May 2022. (Blakemore, 1/28)

Reuters: FDA Grants Approval for Dupixent to Treat Esophageal Condition in Younger Children
The U.S. health regulator has approved the use of Regeneron and Sanofi's Dupixent to treat an allergic inflammation of the esophagus in children aged one to 11 years old and weighing at least 15 kg, the companies said on Thursday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022 approved the blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug for treating eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in patients aged 12 years and older, making it the first for the immune condition in the country. (Leo and Singh, 1/26)

The New York Times: Surge in Syphilis Cases Across the United States
The rates soared in every age group, including newborns. In November, the C.D.C. said more than 3,700 cases of congenital syphilis were reported in 2022, roughly 11 times the number recorded a decade ago. The disease caused 231 stillbirths and 51 infant deaths in 2022. Experts pointed to a slew of reasons for the continued increases in syphilis and other S.T.I.s. Substance use, which is tied to risky sexual behavior, has risen. With better prevention and treatment for H.I.V., condom use has fallen out of vogue — decreasing by about 8 percentage points between 2011 and 2021 among high school students, for example. (Mandavilli, 1/30)

The Guardian: Analysis Reveals 12% Increase in Premature Births Among U.S. Infants
The rate of babies born prematurely in the US grew 12% from 2014 to 2022 to nearly 8.7%, with pronounced racial and age disparities among the mothers, a new analysis from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) found. Black mothers were almost twice as likely as white mothers to give birth before babies reached full term, 12.5% versus 7.6% respectively. Similarly, women older than 40 had a greater risk of preterm birth compared to women aged 20-29, 12.5% versus 8.23%. (Glenza, 1/31)

3. Mental Health

CBS News: Recall Issued for ADHD Medication Due to Potential Presence of Unintended Medication in Bottles
Azurity Pharmaceuticals is recalling some of its ADHD and narcolepsy medication because packages of the drug may contain the wrong pills. The drug maker said in a recent recall notice that it is calling back one lot of Zanzedi 30 mg with lot number F230169A and an expiration date of June 2025. The product is being pulled from shelves after a pharmacist found an antihistamine called carbinoxamine maleate in a package of Zanzedi, the company said. The two medications have opposite effects. (Napolitano, 1/29)

The New York Times: Connection Found Between Mental Health Distress and Teen Substance Use
Teenagers who use cannabis, alcohol and nicotine are more likely to have underlying psychiatric symptoms, and worse symptoms, than their peers who are not regularly using substances, new research has found. The research, published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, found that such substances are linked to an array of symptoms and conditions, including anxiety, depression, hyperactivity and suicidal ideation. These findings suggest that asking adolescents about substance use may provide a powerful screening tool when looking for underlying mental health issues, researchers said. (Richtel, 1/29)

KFF Health News: Ketamine Therapy in Mental Health Described as a 'Wild West' for Both Doctors and Patients

In late 2022, Sarah Gutilla’s treatment-resistant depression had grown so severe, she was actively contemplating suicide. Raised in foster care, the 34-year-old’s childhood was marked by physical violence, sexual abuse, and drug use, leaving her with life-threatening mental scars. Out of desperation, her husband scraped together $600 for the first of six rounds of intravenous ketamine therapy at Ketamine Clinics Los Angeles, which administers the generic anesthetic for off-label uses such as treating depression. When Gutilla got into an Uber for the 75-mile drive to Los Angeles, it was the first time she had left her home in Llano, California, in two years. The results, she said, were instant. (Megli, 1/31)

Los Angeles Times: California Considers Mandating Naloxone Availability in Workplaces
A new bill would require California workplaces to stock their first-aid kids with a nasal spray that can prevent opioid overdoses. ... AB 1976, introduced Wednesday by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), would build on existing requirements for California employers to have “adequate first-aid materials” for workers. Including naloxone in the kits would ensure its availability in stores, repair shops and other work sites, giving bystanders more places to turn for the lifesaving medication when they see that someone is overdosing, Haney said. (Alpert Reyes, 1/31)

ABC News: Burnout Challenges Crisis Staff as 988 Centers Face Hiring Struggles
Data obtained by ABC News found that, in some states such as Oklahoma and Colorado, more than one-third of employees left within months of taking their first call. In addition, turnover rates continue to increase across the United States. In Washington, for example, state data shows attrition rates increased 1.5 times between 2022 and 2023. As calls to 988 balloon with ever-higher demand, and as the line continues to provide much-needed services at a pressing time, officials are expressing concern about what the burnout trends among employees mean for the hotline. (Cahan, 2/1)

The Washington Post: Elmo Inquires About Everyone's Well-being, and, Well, Things Aren't Going Great!
It was a Monday morning at the end of a long January — a double whammy of devastation — and Elmo had a question. “Elmo is just checking in!” the beloved Sesame Street character wrote on social media. “How is everybody doing?” Not well, apparently, and maybe really bad. Celebrities, news outlets, Sesame Street characters’ accounts and everyday people replied — many with existential dread, despair and exhaustion. By Tuesday morning, Elmo’s post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, had received over 110 million views. While there was plenty of banter among the responses, the overall tone also reflected a sense of hopelessness that appears to be common. (Rosenzweig-Ziff, 1/30)

Los Angeles Times: Bipartisan Agreement on California's Prop. 1 for Funding Mental Health Care
Gov. Gavin Newsom has an unusual ally in his Proposition 1 ballot measure to boost funding for mental health: an outspoken Donald Trump supporter and Kern County lawmaker who co-chaired the committee that led the failed 2021 recall effort against the governor. State Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) in September voted to place Newsom’s plan on the March 5 primary ballot. She recently wrote an opinion piece arguing in favor of his proposal to address the state’s mental health crisis and supported the California Republican Party’s decision to stay neutral on Proposition 1. (Luna, 1/31)

CalMatters: California Considers Broadening the Scope of Those Authorized to Impose Psychiatric 5150 Holds
A mother’s hug was on California Sen. Aisha Wahab’s mind when she authored a controversial state bill that would allow social workers and therapists to decide when to confine someone against their will so they can be treated for mental illness. Wahab was once a member of the Hayward City Council, and she’d just voted to create a local program that would send medical and mental health professionals to certain 911 calls, in an effort to reduce police officers interacting as much with mentally ill people. (Sabalow, 1/30)

4. Medicaid

Stat: Medicaid Unveils Strategy for Costly Gene Therapies Targeting Sickle Cell Disease
In response to concerns over multimillion-dollar price tags for new gene therapies for sickle cell disease, the U.S. government on Tuesday announced a long-awaited “access model” designed to blunt the cost that state Medicaid programs would pay for these curative treatments. (Silverman, 1/30)

Stat: Sickle Cell Therapies Present a Fresh Challenge for Medicaid Programs
Living with sickle cell disease has not been easy on Kourtney Cunningham. The genetic blood disorder typically causes her to experience three episodes of extreme pain each month and she can end up in the hospital at least twice a year due to these crises. Then there are blood transfusions every four weeks. So when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the first two curative gene therapies for sickle cell, she allowed herself to become hopeful, even though treatment requires chemotherapy that might cause various side effects. These include lowered immunity, hair loss, and infertility. (Silverman, 1/29)

5. Infectious Diseases

CIDRAP: Surveys Indicate 75% of Adults Conceal Infectious Illness for Work, Travel, or Social Activities
Up to 75% of adults have concealed an infectious disease from others in order not to miss work, travel, or social events, according to a new study in Psychological Science. The article, by researchers at the University of Michigan, is based on four studies and surveys given to 4,110 survey participants. All surveys were given after March 2020, when the COVID-10 pandemic began, and initial survey participants included 399 university healthcare employees. Only 5% of participants across all studies said they had concealed a COVID-19 infection. (Soucheray, 1/30)

The Baltimore Sun: 23 Measles Cases Reported in the U.S. in the Last Month.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging health care providers to be “on alert” for patients with symptoms of measles — a virus declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000 — after nearly two dozen cases have been reported across the country in the past month. (Roberts, 1/30)

CBS News: Probe Reveals Elevated Measles Risk in 350 Southern California Schools with Low Vaccination Rates
Concerns are heightened across the United States as the East Coast experiences an unexpected outbreak of measles. A CBS News investigation revealed that at least 8,500 American schools are at risk of similar outbreaks as vaccination rates drop below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended 95% for student bodies, hundreds of which are located in California. (Palombo, 1/30)

The Guardian: CDC Attributes Resurgence of Measles in the US to Vaccine Skepticism

Taylor Nelson, a University of Missouri healthcare center infectious disease physician, said to the news station KRCG that measles would probably spread to the Midwest and the West Coast given the situation laid out by the CDC. If measles cases are discovered, healthcare workers are asked to isolate patients, immediately notify local and state health departments, test patients with nose or throat swabs, and ensure all patients are vaccinated against the disease, especially if traveling internationally. (Salam, 1/30)